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Animal Medical Center Cruelty to Animals ripoff Somerset Pennsylvania
My fiance and I had recently adopted a dog from the Humane Society of Somerset County. The shelter requires a $30 spay/neuter deposit which an owner gets back if the dog is spayed or neutered within a two month period. The dog had been at the shelter for almost four months and the people at the shelter did not know if the dog was spayed or not.
After the adoption, we received a free examination at any local veternary clinic in the area. We took our dog to Animal Medical Center and she received her first checkup. Since I am not a veternarian and don't know the heat cycles of dogs, I was looking for advice from the vet during the checkup. He felt around her stomach and said he couldn't feel any signs of a previous operation.
Ok, here's where I start to trust him. Since he is a doctor. He then proceeds to tell my fiance and I that there is really no way of knowing if the dog has been spayed without going in and doing exploratory surgery. He even made it a point to say that if the dog had been spayed he would usually only charge half for the procedure.
Ok, the cost of the procedure is on a price list and it goes from $170-$220. Remember these numbers and use them later in this complaint. I remember looking at my fiance and saying, "Oh, so it would be around $90." and the doctor replied by saying "Yeah, around $90." She also remembered his words, later on, without me reminding her after the kick to the stomach that I had yet to receive.
The dog was scheduled for surgery four days later and the procedure was done. I even called to check on her and they said she came out OK. I went the next day to pick her up and still had not been told that the dog had already been spayed, until it was time to pay.
I noticed that the bill said something about no spay neccessary and I had to ask the receptionist if my dog was spayed or not. She then asked me if they had told me that! Since I wasn't psychic and didn't know the doctor casually I guess I wouldn't have known that. TIME TO PAY UP. The bill was for $156 and change. You know, half of $170 or $220! Oh wait, the cutting open of the dog was half off. The itemized list of everything else was full price. Just like the vet hadn't explained.
I questioned the bill and the receptionist came back to the desk and said there was a mistake. The bill was $135 and change! You know, still half of $170 and $220!
Now, I realize I am the one that scheduled the spay and I realize that I am the one whom was willing to pay $90 for an exploratory surgery, but my hindsight has become 20/15 since this happened. If the dog had been at the shelter for four months and she had been with us for one month why wouldn't the vet have told us of the typical heat cycle of a dog and had us SIMPLY wait to see if she came into heat!? Isn't that their job? It was not emergency surgery and the $30 deposit at the shelter could have probably been donated back if the two months would have expired.
I'm upset because I have called and have asked why the procedure was not half off and have been told that the procedure (surgery) was half off. But I am livid because of the unethical approach to animal care that this place has displayed. This was a spay, not a malignant tumor removal.
The doctor has a duty to tell his patients about typical nature cycles. His number one priority was cutting this animal open and making money. If a woman thought she was pregnant, she probably wouldn't have a doctor cut her stomach open to find out. There would be tests and the best way to find out to date, time.
Again, I am responsible for my dog's well being and I should have thought better of the decision I made, but I'm not the doctor holding the scalpel and a high bill for a customer to swallow. If this happened to my dog I can't imagine how many other animal lovers have been bilked into spending money at this place. $45 is $45 and I can get over that, but a vet putting an animal through a pointless surgery is cruel and I can't accept it.
Had I known the heat cycles of dogs, I could have waited a month and if she didn't go into heat I would have known she was spayed. But, I chose a different profession and left my trust with someone who should have known better. This next part is sarcasm at its best. I have to quit typing now, my wrist hurts. You know, if I went to this same doctor with a sore wrist maybe he would suggest surgery or possible amputation. But if it's a muscle inflammation maybe he'd only charge half and sew me up! Thanks, Doc. This is for my dog and my $45!
Russ
Berlin, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Tom Beck Sr.
Belle Vernon,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
You receive only the best of care at Animal Medical Center.
#8Consumer Comment
Mon, March 09, 2009
I became a client of Animal Medical Center several years ago. We were staying at a Campground in Somerset County when our Sheltie became very ill. I found Animal Medical Center by looking in the telephone book. I called the doctor and he made an emergency visit for us, as it was the weekend. Our dog was given the best of care, and we were told that he had liver failure and he might not make it, but to give it a chance. We had to take the dog back the next day and have him euthenized. We received the best of care and support from the doctors and have been going there ever since.
We have had several dogs treated there for various illnesses and surgeries, and all were done by a qualified professional. We are so satisfied with the doctors and staff at Animal Medical Center that we continue to take our pets there for all veterinary needs. We think so much of the center that we take our pets there even though we live near Pittsburgh, Pa and it takes over two hours to drive there and back.
If a person really loves their pets cost shouldn't matter!
Mamabeck
Boswell,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Best Vets around
#8Consumer Comment
Wed, February 18, 2009
I've been taking my animals, dogs and cats alike, to AMC for years. I wish that my Doctors were as nice and caring as the Vets here are. When I had to have my cat put down in December, Dr. Vince Svonavec was so understanding. He had done everything he could for her and helped to comfort us as we made the decision. I think he was as upset as we were, you could see it in his eyes. I got to hold her as she fell asleep in my arms and then he took her to a seperate room to give her the euthanasia. When it was over he took me back to see her. She was covered in a white sheet and treated with the same respect as any human being. I have nothing but good things to say about AMC.
As a pet owner, I feel that when taking on the responsibilty of pet ownership you are also taking on the financial burden as well. If you can't afford a pet and the care it needs, don't get one. I would have paid anything to have kept my cat healthy and have her here with me. An animal is not a burden, nor is the expense of having one. To receive unconditional love from a pet you must give it as well. Just because a Vet gives you an idea what something will cost doesn't make it set in stone. Take a smashed car to several garages and you're going to get several estimates. When they rip it apart they will probably find something more that needs fixed.
S.n.
Bucyrus,Kansas,
U.S.A.
The Vet Couldn't See A Previous Spay Scar?
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, September 05, 2006
Don't go back to this vet. Find a good vet that you can trust through referrals from other canine companion owners. Any GOOD vet would have told you there was a scar and they would be hesitant to open the dog up for "exploratory" surgery.
S.n.
Bucyrus,Kansas,
U.S.A.
The Vet Couldn't See A Previous Spay Scar?
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, September 05, 2006
Don't go back to this vet. Find a good vet that you can trust through referrals from other canine companion owners. Any GOOD vet would have told you there was a scar and they would be hesitant to open the dog up for "exploratory" surgery.
S.n.
Bucyrus,Kansas,
U.S.A.
The Vet Couldn't See A Previous Spay Scar?
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, September 05, 2006
Don't go back to this vet. Find a good vet that you can trust through referrals from other canine companion owners. Any GOOD vet would have told you there was a scar and they would be hesitant to open the dog up for "exploratory" surgery.
S.n.
Bucyrus,Kansas,
U.S.A.
The Vet Couldn't See A Previous Spay Scar?
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, September 05, 2006
Don't go back to this vet. Find a good vet that you can trust through referrals from other canine companion owners. Any GOOD vet would have told you there was a scar and they would be hesitant to open the dog up for "exploratory" surgery.
P
Colorado Springs,Colorado,
U.S.A.
Heat cycles in dogs
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, September 05, 2006
Russ,
Heat cycles in dogs vary so widely that the vet would have only been guessing to tell you that they take place every 6 months. They vary anywhere from 4 months to over 12 months, depending on the breed and other factors. Without knowing the cycle history of your dog, he had no way of telling and if he had guessed 6 months and your dog came into heat 2 months later and got pregnant, then what?
If your dog did not have a scar from the spay procedure, then the vet had very limited choices on what he could have done to find out if she had been. I believe that there are only 2 other ways, besides waiting it out, to find out if a dog is spayed. One is the procedure that you had done. The other would be to ultrasound the abdomen to look for a uterus. If your vet didn't have an ultrasound machine (which most don't), he gave you the only option that he had available to him. Ultrasound can be FAR more expensive because of the lack of availability.
The analogy about pregnant women doesn't work in this case. Your dog wasn't pregnant (something that CAN be tested for in dogs as well as humans). Vets do not have access to the technology that human doctors do.
If you are angry about the billing, I understand that. It's frustrating to have them tell you one thing and then be charged another. That's why most vets do written estimates now before the procedure is even started. But to call this procedure "animal cruelty" is incorrect and unfair.