I will never visit this emergency service clinic - Metropolitan Veterinary Associates - again. The memories of my experience are personally traumatic. I was referred by my vet because my dog needed emergency surgery or he would die.
First I was quoted $3-4,000 with a better than 50/50 chance of my dog making it by the doctor who did the ultrasound. I was then told to wait for the critical care doctor in a cold and sterile room with my sick dog.
After 15-20 minutes the critical care doctor came in and told me it would be $6-8,000!! This after I had been told HALF the price by the previous doctor and had made the decision in my mind and told the previous doctor to save my 10 year old dog who I love dearly at that lower price. I was then told I needed to sign an estimate and pay half up front. The estimate provides a high and low range for the surgery and aftercare with all the individual costs broken down. The estimate was for $5,158-$7,832. Surgery went great with no complications.
The bill? $10,118!! You would expect since the surgery went so well that the final cost would be at the low end of the estimate. I have since spoken to two vets who have said this should have been in the $5,000 or less range. Apparently Metropolitan Vterinary Associates has a 15% buffer ABOVE the high range estimate in the fine print. I find it interesting how the final cost JUST hit this mark after the $350 for the ultrasound.
When I complained to the nurse who discharged my dog I was rebuffed. When I tried to email those in charge that evening my emails were blocked as spam. When I took my name, my dog's name and other words related to the situation OUT the emails went right through. Isn't that interesting? I can document all the price quotes and the spam issues as FACT.
I would recommend anyone with a pet plan ahead and look up other emergency vet services in the area now so if your pet needs emergency care you can make an educated decision. AND, it is not as if I am angry because my dog died or did not receive proper care. My dog is fine and the care was fine. My complaint is about how prices were presented and the emotional trauma it caused me as I had to put ever changing and increasing prices on the life of my dog when I don't even have this money to begin with and had to borrow it. I'll leave it to the reader to decide if I was treated fairly while in a very emotionally fragile state with the changes and increases in prices that were given to me to save my dog's life.
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