On Feb 21 I took our dog to our local vet, only to find out he had kidney stones. He had become lethargic, would not eat, at at the last point he did nothing but cry (imagine how we feel when we have kidney stones) Our family Vet did not feel comfortable treating the condition, and made a call to CARES on our behalf. I drove this poor dog over an hour to the clinic, walked in, filled out some paperwork, and was then placed into a room.
Over an hour later one of the receptioist came in and said that to do the treatment he needed it would cost over $1,300.00 and they wanted full payment upfront. Keep in mind never once did a vetrinarian come into this room to look at the dog, at no time did they ask to see the x-rays, ot the lab results I was still in possession of. When I asked how they could make this determination as far as his treatment was concerned, I was told this is an educated guess. I had no issue paying this much for his treatment however I was uncomfortable with this as he had not been seen by a licensed vet. I asked that a vet see him before I made out a check, and was told this is not how they perform services, in other words before you poor sick animal can be seen by a vet you have to hand over cash, check or charge card, then and only then will the dog be seen.
I called my vet explained this to him, he ordered me back to his clinic, where he would do a different procedure that would not be as simple but just as effective. I walked out of CARES, and have as of today June 5 received hundreds of harrassing calls, and numerous invoices. They are charging me $62.00 because I brought this sick dog into their holding room, where he recieved no care, no meds to relieve his pain, nothing to calm him down, just because he and I walked through the door. I would not to be put down.
Talk about over charging, no wonder they are able to afford the really nice waiting area, and receptionest area. Do your pet a favor take him to your local vet where he/she will be treated like a valued family member not a dollar sign.
0 comments