Stephanie Waite

Review of Angell Animal Medical Center -...

I am very saddened and disappointed with this faci...

I am very saddened and disappointed with this facility's staff and best practices based off of my experience on Tuesday 12/29/15. I brought my 1 1/2 year old male cat, Wheezy in for inability to urinate, physical pain, vomiting. The vet told me that he was blocked and that time was of the essence and that they could not express him manually and to "unblock him" we needed to talk about payment and treatment. The ONE thing they did do right was give him pain medication right away, the humane thing to do. The veterinarian told me that she suggested the "gold standard" of care which was to use invasiveness to unblock him, IV fluids, and a few days stay for observation. She went on to explain that the cost would be anywhere from $800.00 to $2,000.00. I explained to her that I applied for the Care Credit and did not qualify and that I got paid on Friday (3 days away) and I would do anything to save my cat and I would be in on payday to pay my bill, even if I had to volunteer around the clinic in the meantime as a thank you for the generosity. Well, the vet's answer was "we do not accept payment plans of any type, I suggest asking someone to borrow the money or call around to other vet hospitals, OR it wouldn't be inhumane to euthanize him". I started weeping uncontrollably of course not only at the thought of losing our family's best furry friend, but the fact that you would think veterinarians get their job because they truly care about the welfare of animals- not based off of immediate "cash in my hand or we can put your animal down". You can try and throw policy around all you want- but when it comes to life or death on the line- to say they cannot accept payment on Friday with my paycheck and to kill my cat is completely unacceptable in my eyes. I would consider what the vet said to be a valid medical suggestion- HOWEVER my cat is only 1 1/2 not 15+ senior cat. He has barely lived a beautiful life thus far. I called a local clinic and they didn't hesitate to tell me to bring him right there, time is ticking for his life, be safe driving (because of the snow storm) and we will work with you on payment because we want to save your cat. Now THOSE are people that care about the welfare of animals. Could I say the same about the MSPCA Angell West if someone asked? No, I cannot. I also waited 20 minutes to get Wheezy back in my care after the vet came in and asked for a status on payment update. The receptionist continued to tell me that they will bill me $150.00 for today's visit and BEFORE I LEFT I had to pay $10.00 for the pain killers they gave to Wheezy? Are you serious? I handed her the $10.00 and couldn't wait to get out of there. Thanks to a local clinic full of loving people, my cat is still alive today and making a recovery. I would also like to add that I kept my word and made my first payment to them on Friday, when I got paid- correction Saturday due to the holiday and they were not open. My bare minimum thought of this clinic summed up is- if you are going to turn away saving an animal's life based off of IMMEDIATE payment, do NOT be an EMERGENCY clinic. Because, we all know, whether human or animal, no one can PLAN an emergency and not everyone has extra thousands of dollars lying around in the bank!

PS. The bill was nowhere near $800.00-$2,000.00