Complaint Review: Monarch Vet Services/ Dr. Rebecca Schumaker

On June 6th, 2023, we trustingly took our beloved and so much loved elderly, 16 year old cat to Katonah Bedford VCA 24 hour hospital to see Dr. Heuter [male] for a simple blood test and an ultrasound to see if she had what we believed to be Hyperthyroidism along with the subsequent illnesses of Heart and Kidney conditions.

Our cat was terribly abused in the back, unbeknownst to us as we sat in the waiting room not knowing anything about the horrific abuse and rough handling that caused our beloved cat to have a heart attack, which went un-noticed as they continued on with all of their "testing." The lack of integrity, professionalism, and simple common sense was abscent from this terribly non-compassionate Vet and his Vet tech. 

Severe Trauma was caused to our cat as they downplayed her condition of a hunched over body, eyes dialated, blood and drool coming out of her mouth and breathing out of mouth with tongue out. She was in a shocked state, and again, my alarm at her condition after they brought her back to us was dismissed and we were told that she "just needs to calm down." This scenario was beyond confusing because Katonah Bedford IS an emergency 24 hour Vet Center, and they failed to treat our beloved cat with any gentleness given her age - or any age for that matter- and they completely failed to notice a cat in distress and in shock. 

We only trusted this Vet because of Dr. Rebecca Shumaker, who claimed he was a good Vet and she knew him. This was in opposition to my initial sense about this Vet with his gruff bedside manner and attitude upon meeting him the first time. I regret I listened to Dr. Schumaker instead of my own accurate instincts.

On June 7, 2023, I frantically called Dr. Heuter in the morning to tell him our cat never recovered, is breathing out of her mouth and eyes dialated and unable to drink water or eat at all. He dismissed my urgent observations and cry for help and told me to relax as she just needs to calm down. It had been a full 12 hours and she was getting worse every hour. 

I started calling Dr. Schumaker that morning and all afternoon every 30 minutes and every hour to plead for her second opinion and instructions on what to do as I was totally confused by what I was seeing and what this Vet [Dr. Heuter] was clearly misdiagnosing. 

Dr. Heuter's attitude and sarcasm was horrifying as he joked on the phone that he 'Can't send a Chiropractor for an Adjustment' as though I WAS OVER-REACTING TO HER URGENT CONDITION. THIS IS CONFUSING AND CAUSES ENORMOUS DELAY AS THE CLIENT DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO.... My feelings and description of our Cat's shocking state were dismissed.

Dr. Schumaker never answered one phone call all day. Each phone call was urgent and pleaded for her to at least just make a quick call to me to let me know her thoughts because I was confused about what a Vet [whom she convinced me several months earlier was so great] was saying and what my own eyes were seeing....

Dr. Schumaker only texted me on my cell phone that NIGHT at 7pm, and my cat had already died in my arms by then.

Dr. Schumaker's lack of care or concern for someone calling and calling all day to just ask "What do I do?" tells me how she is not anyone I would ever rely upon with a blade of grass let alone a beloved family member. 

The only thing she had to say that night VIA TEXT [if you can imagine the audacity] was that she saw no need to talk to me and she reiterated how Dr. Heuter was a "good Vet" which is FALSE. He is a wretched and abusive individual who should be Cited by the State Board for Abuse, Malpractice, Misdiagnoses, and Battery. 

How dare anyone who claims to be a Veterinarian be so callous and unresponsive for any urgent calls.