Laura Workman

Review of VCA Veterinary Specialty Cente...

My dog tested as having stage 4 kidney failure, an...

My dog tested as having stage 4 kidney failure, and my veterinarian of 30 years recommended that I take him to a specialist. He suggested the VCA Specialty Center in Lynnwood. I made the appointment and due to my own schedule had to wait several days. In the meantime, I read a bunch of reviews about VCA Lynnwood, and they scared the heck out of me. With great trepidation, I showed up at my appointment feeling pretty edgy, and I probably wasn't as nice as I could have been. Despite that, the staff were courteous and prompt. My wait was minimal. Once we were taken to an examination room, the vet assistant was very nice and took time to answer all of my questions thoroughly, to the best of her ability. She also provided me with a cost estimate for the tests and procedures that might be performed.

The vet, Dr. Polly Peterson, came in and examined my boy. She answered all of my questions and said she'd like to do an ultrasound and blood draw, and they would take my dog into the back to do these things. I told her I wanted to be with my dog at all times. The team came into the exam room to draw blood, and after disappearing into the back for a couple of minutes, Dr. Peterson returned and explained that their radiologist refused to perform ultrasounds with owners present. In my experience, this is not unusual, but I didn't want my boy stressed out, so I declined the ultrasound. We waited until the blood results came back, and then discussed the somewhat puzzling results. Apparently he had other problems as well as kidney failure. Dr. Peterson really wanted to have a look at his insides, so she carted the ultrasound machine into the exam room herself, sat on the floor (I have a pretty big dog), and performed the ultrasound! She stated a couple of times that she wasn't a radiologist, so it wasn't official and I wouldn't be charged for it. Not charging me was very nice, but what really impressed me was that she would go the extra mile to get the information she needed to diagnose my boy's problems. During the exam, she constantly explained what she was doing and what she was seeing, and what her findings could indicate.

Dr. Peterson was careful, gentle, and thoughtful, always checking to make sure what she was doing was OK with me and with my boy. We discussed treatment options and ordered some further testing. I never had the feeling that she was in a hurry. It was clear that her principal objective was to produce the best diagnosis she could given the information available, and to figure out what we could do to help my boy while waiting for the additional test results. Part of that involved a change in diet, and when I indicated that I wasn't really impressed with the ingredients in most commercial foods, she gave me some recipes and guidelines for a home-cooked diet.

Overall, the staff at VCA Lynnwood were great, and I was very impressed with Dr. Peterson. Now, a week after his appointment, my boy already seems to be feeling somewhat better even though we haven't gotten all of the test results back. I have high hopes that we will be able to help my boy be happy and comfortable for a long time to come.