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| - I believe I was deceived by the veterinarians here in an effort to get me to spend more money at their office. I do not recommend taking your pet here unless it's an after-hours emergency. They have a very smart and capable staff, but don't trust them not to attempt to fleece you during the treatment of your pet.
Synopsis of my experience: My dog was vomiting and suffering for two days before I was able to take her to the vet (I was out of town and wasn't aware of the severity of her condition until I saw her). In a state of emergency, I immediately took her Dr. Beaubian at about 11pm. I made it clear right away that cost would be an issue for me, and asked that we try to keep testing to a minimum. I agreed to have them perform x-rays, and take a blood sample. Dr. Beaubian's interpretation of the x-rays and blood test results were that my dog had "pancreatitis and a mass near where her stomach met her intestines which was either a blockage in her digestive tract or a growth on her adrenal gland." An accurate diagnosis would require an ultrasound which would have to be done on a follow-up appointment since they don't have the equipment onsite and use outside techs. When I brought up cost being an issue again, they first suggested that I try their financing program, but finally agreed to let me shop around for an ultrasound that might be cheaper than theirs before moving forward.
Over the next two days (this was around the 4th of July, so many places were closed for the holiday), I cared for my dog at home while searching for another local vet that could perform a cheaper ultrasound than the original quote. I spoke to Dr. Beaubien on the phone during this time to talk about their radiologist's interpretation of the x-rays, other possible treatment options, and how to care for my dog properly at home. I even went in to the office again to buy more sub-dermal fluids. As soon as I found another local vet who could fit me into their schedule to perform an ultrasound on my dog, I received a call from Dr. Wells (a different vet at PVR&E) who tried to convince me that the sub-dermal fluids I was giving my dog "weren't hydrating her enough," and that I should let them keep my dog in their facility on IV fluids instead which would run me between $1200 - $1600 including further tests. I said I couldn't afford that, and towards the end of our conversation, Dr. Wells said she was concerned about my dog's ability to pass "the rocks in her stomach..."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I was completely floored. There hadn't been any mention of rocks inside my dog by either of the vets, or any of the attending techs until that moment. I questioned Dr. Wells as to why no one had told me about rocks and she said "Dr. Beaubien mentioned calcified masses in the stomach on her notes" but that "they definitely looked like rocks" on the x-ray. Alarm bells immediately started ringing in my head. I politely asked her to send all of the existing test results to the new vet I'd found, and rushed to the new appointment. By the time I arrived, my new vet had already seen the existing x-rays and blood test results. He said that instead of an ultrasound, we needed another x-ray to see if the rocks had passed through her system and he confirmed that indeed they "definitely look like rocks."
This story has a happy ending in that my dog passed the rocks she ate without surgery, and is doing much better now because of the treatment and medicine prescribed to her by the new vet. This improvement is in NO PART due to Dr. Beaubian's decision to withhold important medical information from me. I believe that Dr. Beaubian did not tell me that there were rocks in my dog's stomach because she wanted me to continue to pay for more testing and treatments. I also believe that I was cold-called by Dr. Wells in an effort to have me spend +$1200 to properly hydrate my dog instead of just prescribing her medicine that could have helped her pass the rocks through her digestive system.
These doctors are extremely intelligent, capable, and knowledgable veterinarians, but I believe that they preyed upon my fear in an effort to extort me for money.
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