Made an appointment here for my dog because he hurt his tooth- saw blood on a snack and now he's whimpering when eating. They charged me $395 and did not look at his teeth or discuss his potential injury/ pain with me. They told me they don't do that at their office- wish I knew that when I made the appointment.
I called a week ago because of the blood/ potential tooth injury. It looks like one of his teeth cracked in half/ it's clearly cracked off. He was recently adopted from the shelter, so I also needed to establish vet care. I explained this on the phone. We went today and I reviewed with the vet tech that the primary concern is his teeth. She was aware of this as she had been given the concern list (made via the phone call) from reception. Other concerns were minor- getting up to date on vaccines & he's been chewing at his paws. The vet came in and asked that my dog be put on the table and immediately started listening to his heart with her stethoscope. My dog is a very mellow, gentle boy, but due to abusive past, he is scared of objects coming at him. He won't even eat peanut butter off a spoon cuz he's scared of spoons. The vet didn't even greet my dog/ let him sniff her, just told the tech to put him in a choke hold and started poking at him. He was scared and cried out a little. I tried to tell him it was ok and the vet scolded me and told me to firmly tell him "no" and not coddle him when he cries out. I'm glad that he expresses when he is nervous and he usually just needs a little reassurance- her method is how dogs bite "out of no where" when you tell them they are bad for communicating their discomfort. (I didn't stop the exam, I just spoke to him in a soothing voice and stood where he could see me.) She then lifted his cheek and barely glanced at his teeth. She maybe saw 3 back teeth from the side- the broken tooth is in the front. She stated he needed a teeth cleaning (I know and wanted to get that scheduled today.) She then said he was gaining weight because I have him on a grain free diet (no advice about how much I should be feeding him or any food recommendations). I tried to start a discussion around his diet and tried to explain why I chose the food he was on. I said "I've read the studies, but it seems that the main problem is replacing grains with legumes." She cut me off and only said "anyone can write anything on the internet." She then left the room with my dog to give him vaccines, but I wasn't really sure what was happening. The tech came back with the cost breakdown. This seemed standard and I signed. I had provided them with his vaccine paperwork, but they still gave his extra vaccines he wasn't due for yet. Then a new tech brought me my dog and told me they would be giving me his heartworm to take home and we would be all set to go. I asked if the vet would be coming back as we didn't really discuss any of the things that I came in to discuss- not his mouth injury or even his general health/ wellness. The tech told me that the vet didn't really talk to people. I asked if there was another vet or if the vet could come talk to me since I still had questions/ concerns. They said I could come another day, but the vet refused to come back into the room to speak with me anymore and that she had "moved on to other patients for the day." I had 2 employees tell me that there are other vets at the office I could request to see next time and it would be understandable- this seems to be a common problem with this vet (Briar Cunningham). The office manager said I could discuss my concerns or have a vet tech perform an exam on my dog, but I would still be charged in full as the vet "did perform an exam." (I stated I did not want to pay the $55 vet exam if the vet would not examine my dog for the problem we booked this appointment for.) She also said that they didn't know I was coming in cuz of my dogs teeth and they don't do that at their office and would give me a referral to their other location. I left crying and my dog is still in pain. Now dog has to wait another 2 weeks for appt at Morgan vet. read more