ComplaintsforCapital District Animal Emergency Clinic

• Initial Complaint

  10/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I Went to the animal emergency Hospital in Latham NY Saturday Oct 28th .The reason is my ******** ***** dog was in labor to have 8 puppies and in need of a C-SECTION... I had a X-ray for her last week at my local vet's office and was told she had 8 pups. The vet that took care of her yesterday name is Dr K*****, she told me she did ultra sound of the 8 pups and they were all dead or at least most were as she heard no heart beats no movements of the puppies. One puppy was born die in the back room so I was told....I was in totally shock... she then put my son and I and my poor ***** in a room on a few blankets on a cold tile floor and gave her a shot of ******** and then she came back in about one hour later and gave her another shot of ********. About 30 minutes later alive puppy was born on the cold tile floor, I had no help, no warm blankets, nothing to tie the umbilical cord so it wouldn't bleed out. I run to get help as I was shocked the puppy was alive...The women that came into the room was rude and yelled at me for keeping the puppy alive and looking for towels. My son ran to my car and came back with a warm water bottle, clean towels and a basket for the puppy to stay warm. New born pups need to stay warm or they go in to hypothermia. Now at this point I knew I was in trouble at this animal hospital and the Vet didn't know how to perform a c-section, as she also wanted to spay the dog during the c-section.....which would had killed the mother dog... So I nicely asked for the bill and asked to take my dog home and finish having the dead pups at home....As I am writing this the next day my poor dog is still in labor and every puppy has been born alive....One puppy just died because she was in labor to long but was born alive. I am still waiting for my poor little ***** to pass 2 more pups... She needed a c-section and this turned in to a night mare..... I live on a farm and we birth animals all the time. I also drove 3 hours to get no help....

  Business response

  11/02/2023

  Our Medical Director, Dr. Jennifer R*****, reached out to Ms. ********* yesterday, 11/1/2023. Dr. R***** had to leave a voicemail. She is waiting for a return call. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/31/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 10/12/22 I took my cat to Capital District Veterinary referral hospital on a referral from my vet for an ultrasound of her colon. I was told to bring her in and upon arriving was told they could do the ultrasound but do not have a board certified ultrasonography or radiologist on staff. After the ultrasound was complete I was brought in and told that my cat has FIP or Carcinoma and should not make her suffer and put her to sleep. I asked about the spot I was referred for and received no answer. They kept her for testing and to remove fluid from her chest which I had asked if it could have been from her being on IV fluids in the days leading up but I was ignored. I was not kept informed while she was in hospital and when I contacted them I was given multiple different answers about her state. Finally 10/13 I was brought in and told she was not doing well and needed an ultrasound and a biopsy done by a specialist. When I asked what of I couldn't get an answer. I opted to take her home as I was told she was not stable enough for the biopsy anyway. All the tests that were done on my cat came back negative almost a week later when I mentioned the IV fluids they said yes this could have caused the xtr fluids. I feel as though a scare tactic was used to get me to rack up a bill for work that didn't need to be done. Now she is still having trouble breathing, more x-rays show her lungs are fine but my vet suspects to much fluid was removed 50ml and 75ml on either side which sent her body into shock. This was all done at Capital District. I spent $3570.03 on x-rays and blood tests that were not necessary. I do understand they are an emergency clinic however I called ahead and told them I was just being referred for an ultrasound and it was not an emergency. I feel as though this was negligence on their part and a way to make themselves money, by scaring people into thinking something is wrong with their pets when in reality they did the most damage to my cat in their care.

  Business response

  11/02/2022

  This patient, *****, was presented to CDVRH on 10/12/22 after being seen by the primary care veterinarian for a possible foreign body GI obstruction and after a barium series and fluids were administered (had escaped the home on 10/8/22 and returned ill). On examination, the a boarded Emergency and Critical Care veterinary specialist evaluated ***** and found fluid in the chest and abdomen. This is a very unusual finding and indicates a potential for serious illness. The owner consented to testing to try to diagnose the cause for the fluid. Because the ultrasound showed a small heart and hypovolemia (indicating that the patient was not fluid overloaded), it was highly unlikely that the fluid in the chest and abdominal cavity was from the previously administered intravenous fluids. The volume that was removed was appropriate and would not cause shock, rather it would improve the patient's ability to breathe and provide relief. When the in house diagnostics do not provide an immediate answer for the cause of the illness, it is standard of care to offer referral to a boarded veterinary internist and/or a boarded veterinary radiologist.

  After review of the medical record and consulting with the specialist, it is concluded that there is no evidence of inappropriate diagnostics or treatment in the care of *****. We welcome all clients to contact the medical leadership here at CDVRH to discuss any concerns and review the questions that they may have, as it is our hospital's values to have full transparency with the clients and address any medical practices that were of concern.

  The diagnostics were offered and consented and were required to look into a possible diagnosis thus no reimbursement is indicated.

  Customer response

  11/03/2022

  Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  Regards, ******* *****

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩