Michele Johnson

Review of Vista Veterinary Specialists

I had a very bad experience with this office. My d...

I had a very bad experience with this office. My dog had been seeing another neurologist and we had not received good results. His seizures had doubled in frequency and he had tried two different medications, one which was not traditional. My primary veterinarian recommended that I contact Dr. Toyoda at Vista veterinary and said they knew each other from vet school. When I called the office they told me that Dr. Toyoda would not agree to an appointment for my dog, because I had already seen another neurologist and I needed to stay with him. Carrie, the neurology coordinator, said they do not see each other s patients (I m sure they don t want to step on each other s toes or question each other s recommendations). I explained that I wanted to receive a second opinion based on worsening seizures improvement and delayed responses back. She then said I could not see them, and when I explained that my primary vet recommended she did not seem to care very much. She called me back a few days later and said that if I had a recommendation they might consider seeing me but I had to agree to the $5000 MRI cost. I explained we did not have pet insurance and that I felt like she should still be able to evaluate or give me an opinion based on his history and prior medication. This seems ridiculous that you could not get a second opinion, and also that she would not see us without this expensive test. Carrie also thought it was important to clarify that they were not colleagues in vet school but that my veterinarian was a student of Dr. Toyoda. This did not seem like in a significant fact because now they are both practicing veterinary medicine and should be able to communicate with each other and collaborate. This treatment seems very unfair and I would think that a human would be able to get a second opinion and it seems inhumane not to meet with us if we can t afford the MRI test, which is optional to clarify the root problem of the seizures. This test is not commonly done unless people have pet insurance and nine times out of 10 I was told that they just treat the symptoms of the seizures. I do not recommend this office and do not feel they have the best interest of the animals in mind.