I've waited six weeks to write this review in the hopes that what I share is fair and balanced. Maybe I was misinterpreting things? Maybe I was having an emotional reaction? Or maybe, after six weeks of time, I was exactly right. What I saw and what I experienced was not good. So, here goes:
I've been a dog owner for my entire life, and have had the joys of training puppies, rehabilitating strays, and helping older dogs in their final days until they leave this world. During that time, I've had tons of vet visits...some good and some ok. My visit to Pets & Vets stands out as the worst.
In early November, my girl Lucy, who is almost 13, had a serious health-related incident that required two days of hospitalization. Her time at Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) in Aventura was, although harrowing, wonderful. They took amazing care of her and we had the amazingly large bill to prove it. However, these are our kids and when it comes to them money is the least of our worries. When she returned home, we nursed her, gave her eight pills a day at varying times, and scheduled an appointment for one month later with Pets & Vets to do additional testing in the hopes that we could diagnose her issues. We were hopeful that the more advanced testing touted on their website would help with that. So, one month later we went to the appointment with hope in our hearts.
When we arrived, the front desk staff welcomed us, checked us in, and was pleasant. Ah, hope. Maybe this was the right place. Maybe they could help. Then, we were ushered to an exam room and we calmly settled in to wait. As we waited, I began to notice the dirt in the corners of the room. The exam room looked shabby. Not only shabby, but unclean. My mind thought, "Hmm...this isn't a good sign." However, I shrugged it off thinking that they are probably really busy and they would clean at the end of the day. Yes, that's what they'll do. So, we continued to wait...for over an hour. In the meantime, I organized my thoughts for the doctor. Lucy had history that needed to be shared clearly. I had her previous test results from VEG including bloodwork and an ultrasound. I was ready.
When the doctor finally came in, we began sharing her history and answering his questions. However, his demeanor was not the caring, compassionate style to which we were accustomed from vets. No, his style was one of "machismo". It was surprising...jarring. To illustrate that, here are a few examples:
- He asked what we were feeding her. I began to tell her that we make her food and he gave me a judgmental look of "sure you do, but you're doing it wrong." Then he began to lecture me on nutrition and that he could (for extra $$$) consult on her diet. I stopped him and told him that the recipe we use is from a nutritionist and designed for her health concerns. Then he realized that the recipe used was designed by the same company he was about to push on us. So, that conversation stopped dead. Good. Now let's move onto the real issues. The issue is not her diet.
- Lucy had lost 5 lbs off her 24 LB frame in two years. That's a big percentage to lose. I raised that concern and he said, "She's perfect. She's fine. Don't make her gain weight." I pointed out her muscle loss and the places where her skeleton was prominent. He waved my concerns away and reinforced that there wasn't a problem. FYI: The weight loss was and is a symptom of her condition, a symptom that he chose to ignore.
- Then, we got to her liver. Blood tests can only go so far and signs were pointing to the need for a liver biopsy. I knew that already, and I shared with him that since Lucy was almost 13 and frail that I didn't want to put her through anything invasive if at all possible. That's when he said in a burst of machismo, "There are a few ways to do a liver biopsy. The first is we put her on the table and put her out. We cut her open and take the liver out. Then we put it on the table and we look at it." Ok, let's pause there: This is my daughter. You want to "CUT HER OPEN" and "TAKE HER LIVER OUT" and "PUT IT ON A TABLE" and "LOOK AT IT"? That was the final straw. I barely heard the other words he said. He had just proven himself to not the right vet for us.
That said, Lucy still needed testing. So, we had her blood drawn, paid, and left with no more answers than we had when we arrived. But we had the bonus of the vision of her cut open on a table in a dirty exam room, so...there was that. We waited for the results. Nothing. I called. Waited. Nothing. Finally, I was told that her results were available on an app that I had to download. No call from the doctor to consult on her results and give us hope. Nope. Just an app.
Long story long: I view Pets & Vets as a pitstop on Lucy's journey, and forwarded the test results to our regular vet in Massachusetts. We did and she said, "These tests are useless," and that is what my experience was with Pets & Vets: Useless. read more