Do Not Use These People. I Repeat: Do Not Go Here!
I just recently had an emergency making my daughter's lunch. A small grape slipped out of my hand, hit the floor, and my golden doodle snatched it up. I checked online, saw how bad and even fatal grapes could be for dogs, so I didn't hesitate.
I took her to the "St. Johns Affordable Vet," the closest one to my house. I got there at 8 a.m. on the dot when they opened. Told them the situation. They were "waiting on the doctor" to get in--who apparently strolls in whenever.
The young technician, "Angie," took some notes and gave me two options: wait around for the doctor or leave the dog. I didn't feel comfortable with that because I read online you've got about a 2-hour window for the effects of grape toxicity to show. This was time-sensitive--that's why I came in as soon as they opened.
The conversation went south when Angie seemed more concerned with getting me to sign off on a laundry list of things that had nothing to do with the emergency. I made it clear the reason I was there was to expedite the cleansing process and flush the dog of potential toxins from the grape. She went outside, called the doctor, came back and said he'd be there in 20 minutes, and then immediately went back to pushing that paper for approval--blood work and all kinds of extras.
I stopped and asked if the blood work had anything to do with the toxins from the grape, since that was the actual emergency. She said, "We aren't an emergency vet." So I asked again: what's the blood work for? She replied, "I thought you said you wanted to check her liver lipids and thyroid panel." At that point I lost it. Here I am, worried about my dog who could potentially die of kidney failure from a damn grape, and this brand new tech is trying to upsell me on stuff I (1) never asked for and (2) don't need. And this list added up to just under $300 without addressing the urgent need to flush my dog's system.
I told them I was leaving, since wasting time there was only making things worse. By then it was about 8:40 a.m., 40 minutes since I arrived. I asked the tech her name, Angie, young African-American woman, for descriptive purposes if anyone else walks in there. She basically told me to go. When I mentioned I was going to make people aware of the situation, her attitude shifted slightly, but then she just ran in the back and hid.
Long story short: St. Johns Affordable Vet is anything but affordable. You'll waste time, you'll waste money, and you could lose your pet. Never once did I ask about a thyroid panel or liver lipids.
To Angie: I know you'll read this. You seem like a young vet tech, probably just out of school. My daughter is 9 and wants to be a vet. Maybe ask yourself why you chose this career. Was it to help animals in need? Or to upsell vulnerable people in emergencies? I get the business side you've got to make money but this is a medical industry. In emergencies, you don't push extras. You fix the problem quickly.
To the owner of this place: Shame on you. Clearly, these young techs are coached to push blood work and B.S. on everyone to drive up costs. That attitude comes from the top. You shouldn't be in business. I never write bad reviews, but people need to know about this.
It also looks like they delisted themselves off of Google Maps to hide other poor reviews. This place is the lowest of the low. read more