VCA Castle Shannon Animal Hospital

09/28/11

Worst Experience Ever!!!

by rhonda8008 at Citysearch

My cat had been throwing up for two days and had diarrhea. He was lethargic and something was clearly wrong. I took him to this PLACE, this supposed veterinary hospital, on Tuesday evening. They took two X-Rays and ran some bloodwork. I was there for 4 hours, all told, and the bottom line was my cat had an obstruction in his stomach. The vet showed me the X-Rays, showed me the obstruction. The vet pointed it out to me. She said, "There it is." This is important for you to remember this. She showed me the obstruction on the X-Ray.

It was determined that my cat would stay overnight and they would try to get him to pass whatever it was. They gave me an estimate for this and I almost passed out. The estimate was $1,066 to $1,332. They would not even begin treatment until I paid 50% of this, or $533.00. I paid it. What else could I do? My cat was sick. I was then informed that if the obstruction did not pass on its own, they would need to do surgery. The estimate for this was $2,810 to $3,512.

With my head spinning, I left my cat in their care and went home. The following day, I waited until noon for them to call me, and when they didn't, I called them. The same vet said they had taken additional X-Rays and the obstruction had moved, but was still in his stomach. She said she would call me later with an update.

At 4:00 she did call, and what she told me baffled me into utter speechlessness. She said, and I quote, "It doesn't appear that your cat has an obstruction after all. It looks like the image on the X-Ray is actually his stomach."

She mistook my cat's stomach for an obstruction. A trained veterinarian. I was completely shocked and extremely angry. I asked her what was wrong with my cat then, if it's not an obstruction. She stated that she did not know, but they would be happy to keep him overnight again to monitor him. Another overnight stay at this incompetent place would have cost an additional $500. I said no thank you and went to retrieve my cat from these unprofessional and utterly clueless people.

When I got there, they wanted me to pay the remaining balance of $433.00 before they would give my cat back to me. I refused. I spoke to the supervisor and then to the medical director. They stated that it was not a misdiagnosis, but rather they were ruling out an obstruction. Why then, did the veterinarian point out to me, on the X-Ray, the exact location of the "obstruction"? Why then, did this same veterinarian tell me today at noon that the obstruction appeared to have moved? It was a blatant misdiagnosis, not a ruling out, and I was thoroughly disgusted by all of this.

Bottom line, they would not give my cat back until I paid the remaining balance, so I paid $976.00 for them to misdiagnose my cat and then tell me they don't know what is wrong with him. When they gave him back to me, he smelled awful and had feces in his fur. I will never use this animal hospital again and I urge anyone with a pet to go elsewhere. They are incompetent and charge way too much. I have already consulted an attorney and am considering legal action.

08/30/11

Terrible service and overpriced

by vsnod at Citysearch

I would give no stars if I could. I took my cat there when I thought he had a urinary track infection at around 7:00 pm on a Saturday. My regular vet was not open. The doctor said they would have to do blood work to pin point the problem, but they didn't think he had a UTI. I decided to make an appointment with my regular vet that Monday instead. In the mean time, I asked them to fax over his records to my Vet. They promised they would, but they did not. This is only one example of the poor service of this place. My regular vet told me the blood work would have been a waste of money. My cat had fluid building under his lungs. I had stopped going to VCA Castle Shannon 5 years ago when I took the same cat there for his shots and a check up. The doctor asked me if I had any questions. I had one. She answered my questions in all of 10 seconds. Then when I was checking out, I was charged $33 for a "consultation".

07/19/11

Excellent compassionate care!

by Jean6578 at Citysearch

I have been a client of VCA Castle Shannon since before it was "VCA", over 25 years. I love the staff and doctors. They are so kind and caring. They make me feel at home, and make my pet feel at home and reassured. I would not go anywhere else. There are not many vet clinics open overnight and on holidays and weekends. Im so grateful they are there when I need them. The prices are a bit high, but you get what you pay for and my pets deserve the best.

07/03/11

Uncaring, poor care for your pet

by rlsdmd at Citysearch

They forgot all about my dog when I left her in their care. I was visiting her during her hospital stay and moniors would go off for other animals and no one would be in the kennels for more than half an hour.

They never called me back when I tried to check on her and were rude to me when I asked questions. they told me that if I didn't like them I could take her somewhere else. Unfortunately my dog was too ill to move and we were trapped there. It was the worst decision of my life to take my wonderful dog there. Please drive to another hospital for your pets sake.

06/21/11

God Bless the staff of this hospital. Wonderful people

by robertharold at Citysearch

Last month I had to make the toughest decision of my life, to put to sleep my beloved golden retriever. From the moment I made the appointment , to the actual appointment, to the day I picked up his ashes in a little urn they put him in, the staff was WONDERFUL. so caring, so kind, so understanding. They were SO respectful and compassionate. I can not say enough good things about the care my boy received or the wonderful doctors and staff who took care of him for so many years. thank you. You should be proud. You are wonderful people. I AM going to get another dog (hopefully soon) and I will ONLY bring him or her to your hospital.