- Report: #648385
Complaint Review: Animal Emergency Center Inc. - Tulsa Oklahoma
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Animal Emergency Center Inc.
7220 E. 41st St. Tulsa, 74145 Oklahoma, United States of America
Phone:
918-665-0508
Web:
www.tulsaanimalemergency.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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Animal Emergency Center, Inc. Dog died! Veterinarian ( vet ) 24-hour bad dog and cat hospital clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma
My dog Toby was not acting right so i took him in to Tulsa Animal Emergency clinic on Monday, July 26th, 2010.
They told me to have Toby get on the scale to be weighed then after he did that he stop walking so the employee took him back to the Vet.
Then the employee came back out and asked me if i had money or not, i said i did.
A little later the vet came out and said that Toby needed to be kept overnight and that the appointment that I had with the other heart vet would be moved up till in the morning and that the other vet would contact me in the morning and tell me about Toby going on a diet and medication to monitor his heart murmer.
The vet told me i could go ahead and go home as Toby would be monitored throughout the night and the other vet would contact me in the morning.
The employee told me i would have to pay deposit of 403.59 as they would be keeping him all night. I paid it. She also asked me if i wanted CPR done if it become neccassary and I said yes.
As soon as I got home the vet office called and said Toby was dead and asked if i wanted to continue CPR i asked if it would do any good and she said stuff was coming out of his nose so i said to stop.
She then said I know this is a bad time but you have a balance due of (aprox) 75.00 dollars that needs to be paid NOW. I told her to send me a bill or i would go in later and pay it, she said NO it needs to be paid TONIGHT.
She had no concern if i was even emotionally stable eneough to drive back down that instant, all they cared about was the money.
A couple days later i went down to pay the rest and talk to the vet. I told the vet i did not understand how it went from the apointmet was in the morning to your dog is dead, especially since he was alert when i brought him in.
One of the things the vet said was we didnt try putting him on a diflabator. I didnt know anything about a diflibator i didnt know when i said stop CPR that meant they couldnt have tried something else?
I also found out that the other vet not assiciated with them but in teh same office had a heart machine locked up but she doesnt allow them to use it.
After i paid the remaining i recieved a itemized statement in the mail per my request.
I found out from 12:35am till 1:10am they did NOTHING and the dogs TOTAL time was in there less than one hour.
500 Dollars for one hour! Then i notice a half half hour of that they did nothing. This seems exessive!
Money is at the heart of any bad vet behaviour in my view or at least it has a major influence. And I mean chasing money...! Prioritising money over welfare and this is a modern phenomenon.
It makes you wonder if Toby was already dead or they knew he was the same as dead when they came out and asked me if i had money because they didnt do anything for the first half hour. They may have just wanted to be able to collect some money.
In my opinion, At best, extremely poor and heartless bed side manners. At worst, just evil greedy veterniarn practice that didnt care anything for Toby just wanted the money.
Their response:
The complainant did present Toby to our clinic at the time/date specified in their original filing. What they failed to mention is that their pet was diagnosed with a heart condition approx. 1 year previously. In fact they had an appointment with a specialist within the following two days for continued evaluation of the heart problem.
Their patient did indeed deteriorate rapidly after being admitted, put contrary to their assertion supportive treatment was provided. Toby was provided with oxygen therapy in the ICU unit. X-rays were taken to determine the cause of the respiratory distress and he was allowed to received oxygen for approx. 1/2 hour prior to being handled or stressed. Appropriate diuretic medication was administered to help alleviate fluid accumulation in the lungs.
Toby did indeed experience arrest and passed away, however he had significant underlying heart disease. No warranty of outcome is ever present in medicine, especially on a patient with a chronic condition. While Toby's passing is sorrowful, we did not act in any "excessive" manner as asserted, and I can assure you that Toby was "not already dead" when the financial discussion took place.
A copy of the medical records will be faxed to support this response.
My rebuttal:
There records confirm what i was saying. By there there own addmission and records they waited a half hour to treat a dog who was having a heart attack which was ridiculous. There excuse is they didnt want to stress the dog.
This would be the same as a someones mother going to the emergency room and the doctor coming out and saying we arent going to treat your mother who is having a heart attack because it might stress her however we are giving her oxegen.
There response would be comical had not someone died.
They immediatly took x-rays which is the only thing they did right, then they should have immediatly began treatment.
I would like a copy of the x-rays.
After the half hour of sitting on there thumbs it appears as soon as they handled the dog he almost immediatly died.
They did nothing for Toby in the first half hour except give him some oxegen and as the saying goes, oxegen is the only thing in life thats free.
Instructions for treating a dog who is having a heart attack from WebWire "Veterinarians diagnose heart failure in dogs by testing their heart rhythm and blood pressure as well as conducting more in-depth cardiograms, which record you dog's heart activity. Treatment for heart failure is often costly and complex with your pet having to be hospitalized, being put on a drip, and taking a cocktail of drugs, which allow its heart to recover and function better in the future"
THEY DID NONE OF THIS!!!!!! YET THEY HAD AT LEATS A HALF HOUR!!!!!!!!! All they did was give him some freakin oxegen during the first half hour by there own addmission and take an x-ray!
NO TESTING HEART RYTHEM
NO CARDIGRAM
NO DRIP
NO COCKTAIL OF DRUGS
I could understand it being expensive and would have been more than happy to pay whatever had they done these things intially. No where on the world wide web can i find anyone or any place that says to let the dog stay on oxegen for 35 minutes while you sit and do nothing.
If they can find ANY reputable website anywhere in the world that states that i will drop my compliant immediatly!
They have never responded to my rebuttal!
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Paul
tulsa,Oklahoma,
U.S.A.
Animal emergency clinic tulsa More compliants keep pouring in!
#2Author of original report
Mon, July 23, 2012
The owner still has not contacted me to even try to resolve this.
Here is another compliant below i found online, Judge for yourself! Is it me and everybody else or does the vet clinic need a new owner?
Avoid this place!! I don't know if they hire new Vets or just bad ones, but they over charge and mis diagnose. I took my pet in because he wasn't eating and was acting strange. Vet did an xray and showed me a blockage. Wanted to do an $1800 surgery. I told her I wanted a second opinion . But she told me my pet was severly dehydrated and shouldn't leave. So I left my pup there for 3 hours to get hydrated again and waited for my regular vet to call me back. When I returned to pick him up the entire bag of saline solution was still completly full. They hadn't done anything. I paid almost $400 for a bag of saline solution and 2 xrays. When my vet was able to see my dog he immediatly doubted there was a blockage. But I insisted there was, afterall I saw the xray. When he viewed the xrays he said there was NO blockage . One xray was completly clear, the other one that supposedly showed a blockage , was no blockage, it was a side view of one of his internal organs. Either the vet at this clinic was unknowledable or was trying to rip me off. My dog has gastric upset. AND he was not dehyrated either. Upset stomach. Thats it. Nothing more. Do not go here if you have ANY other choice. You can tell by the initial phone call their only concern is the money. SHOW ME THE MONEY! should be there tag line. They do not care about your pet. I would go to Marina animal clinic if I need emergency care again. They have experienced caring vets and they do not try to milk each person for as much money as they can.
Paul
tulsa,Oklahoma,
U.S.A.
The owner just doesnt get it and still hasnt contacted me
#3Author of original report
Tue, June 28, 2011
Unfortuantly, the owner, who wasnt even present at the time this happenned, apparently just doesnt get it. Since my compliant, yet another owner compliant have surfaced on Google. (see below)
Since i apparently have the owners attention I would beg him to please investigate his clinic!
PS. The owner is correct, I did not respond to the BBB BUT it was because the owner stated to the BBB "..Further debating of his allegations from a medical standpoint will not occur because neither the BBB or the client are educated on the level necessary to decide what medical therapy would be appropriate"
It was only after he stated this to the BBB that i gave up on my BBB compliant. It appeared to me he didnt want to discuss it anymore. Even to this day, He never has contacted me to even try to resolve this, even after he saw my compliant on the website. This tells me what type of person I believe he really is. He apparently does not care to try to resolve this????
Another review on google about Tulsa Animal Emergency Center Inc, I dont know anything about it, but it reminds me of Toby:
My sweet, innocent, and hurting Chesapeake Bay Retriever received was simply neglectful and the worst I've ever seen! I agree with the other comments to NOT TAKE YOUR DOG OR CAT HERE
UNLESS YOU WANT THEM DEAD. I brought my dog in stating that he's been lethargic, 'not himself', but more importantly I brought him in at 11pm due to uncontrollable shaking, having very rapid shallow breaths. The vet was adamant that it was due to arthritis (mind you our dog was 2 yrs old) and 'that is why he is having difficulty getting up the past 2 days. She proceeded to listen to his lungs and heart (or rather PRETEND TO AUSCULTATE HIS LUNGS AND HEART SOUNDS - more on that in a moment) then told us she would like to xray his pelvis to make sure it was arthritis. 1.5 hrs later we were called back and said everything looked good but he had a slight temperature so they wanted to keep him overnight. The next day after bringing him home he died within two hours due to a pneumothorax (autopsy showed)!!!! This COMPLETELY IGNORANT, MORONIC, and NEGLECTFUL VETERINARIAN WOULD HAVE SEEN his serious pneumonia had she completed a chest xray (100% indicated due to dog's shallow rapid breaths) AND...IF SHE MISSED THAT...SHE WOULD HAVE AT LEAST HEARD DECREASED BREATH SOUNDS ON ONE SIDE AND MUFFLED HEART SOUNDS HAD SHE ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO USE HER STETHOSCOPE. This proclaimed veterinarian should have her licensed revoked!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT TAKE A LOVED ANIMAL HERE...EVERY!!!! In hindsight I should have known better when the 'veterinarian' continued to call my male dog a female as well as calling him a lab everytime (despite correction). I hate myself for not asking more questions and challenging her blantantly wrong (even idiotic) diagnosis.
AECtulsa
Tulsa,Oklahoma,
United States of America
Rebuttal regarding Toby
#4REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, January 20, 2011
The AEC would like to reply the complaint regarding Toby's care. First, we would like to acknowledge that we understand the pain and grief client's experience when a beloved pet is lost. We have attempted to resolve this matter through the local BBB office; the owner had filed a complaint with them approx. 1 week after the pet's passing. Their finding (included below) show this case as resolved in our favor due to consumer lack of response.
Background information: Our facility is an emergency and trauma center, not a general veterinary clinic. The owner had presented Toby to our facility on two previous occasions; the first was in July 2009 (patient's foot was shut in the car door) and the second in March 2010 (patient fell from owner's lap while seated in a chair). On both instances medical records indicate that our doctor's noted the presence of underlying heart murmurs, which the owner was notified would need further attention by their regular vet. The following are the discharge instructions given to the owner when seen in March 2010:
"Please monitor closely tonight for continued problems. Administer the pain medication as prescribed. It is important to establish a relationship with a regular daytime practicing veterinarian. I recommend that a heartworm test be performed and an echocardiogram be discussed when you choose a regular veterinarian as well as initiating heartworm preventative. If Toby's clinical signs persist or worsen, please do not hesitate to call or bring him in to be re-evaluated at the AEC.
Thank you for using the Animal Emergency Center and thank you for letting us care for Toby."
This shows that Toby suffered from a long term (chronic) heart condition for quite some time before being presented to our facility in July for a drastic worsening of his condition. While all doctors (human physicians and veterinarians) strive to save each and every one of our patient's, sometimes this is just not possible.
Furthermore, the fact that the owner used our facility on two previous occasions with no apparent complaints/problems or concerns about the care provided should give some credibility to our rebuttal that while Toby's passing is a tragedy, it was not done with any malice or attempt to deceive the consumer as he is alleging.
We have attached below the COMPLETE copy of the BBB report that
the owner
used to file his complaint on this website (please note that the medical
record and owner's name have been omitted due to privacy issues).
Several important historical points have been omitted in the owners
complaint to this website.This report shows that we did indeed completely reply to his complaint and that the local BBB office closed this case in our favor because the owner failed to reply to them. A review of the entire report, which the owner failed to post on this website, will reveal that we provided him with the requested information regarding the medical care provided. Instead of replying to the BBB and dropping his complaint, he has simply found another avenue where he can attempt to discredit our facility.
My dog Toby was not acting right so i took him in to Animal Emergecy center on Monday, July 26th, 2010.
They told me to have Toby get on the scale to be weighed then after he did that he stop walking so the employee took him back to the Vet.
Then the employee came back out and asked me if i had money or not, i said i did.
A little later the vet came out and said that Toby needed to be kept overnight and that the appointment that I had with the other heart vet would be moved up till in the morning and that the other vet would contact me in the morning and tell me about Toby going on a diet and medication to monitor his heart murmer.
The vet told me i could go ahead and go home as Toby would be monitored throughout the night and the other vet would contact me in the morning.
The employee told me i would have to pay deposit of 403.59 as they would be keeping him all night. I paid it. She also asked me if i wanted CPR done if it become neccassary and I said yes.
As soon as I got home the vet office called and said Toby was dead and asked if i wanted to continue CPR i asked if it would do any good and she said stuff was coming out of his nose so i said to stop.
She then said I know this is a bad time but you have a balance due of (aprox) 75.00 dollars that needs to be paid NOW. I told her to send me a bill or i would go in later and pay it, she said NO it needs to be paid TONIGHT.
She had no concern if i was even emotionally stable eneough to drive back down that instant, all they cared about was the money.
A couple days later i went down to pay the rest and talk to the vet. I told the vet i did not understand how it went from the apointmet was in the morning to your dog is dead, especially since he was alert when i brought him in.
One of the things the vet said was we didnt try putting him on a diflabator. I didnt know anything about a diflibator i didnt know when i said stop CPR that meant they couldnt have tried something else?
I also found out that the other vet not assiciated with them but in teh same office had a heart machine locked up but she doesnt allow them to use it.
After i paid the remaining i recieved a itemized statement in the mail per my request.
I
found out from 12:35am till 1:10am they did NOTHING and the dogs
TOTAL time was in there less than one hour.
Consumer's Desired Resolution:
500 Dollars for one hour! Then i notice a half half hour of that they did nothing. This seems exessive! Money is at the heart of any bad vet behaviour in my view or at least it has a major influence. And I mean chasing money...! Prioritising money over welfare and this is a modern phenomenon. It makes you wonder if Toby was already dead or they knew he was the same as dead when they came out and asked me if i had money because they didnt do anything for the first half hour. They may have just wanted to be able to collect some money. In my opinion, At best, extremely poor and heartless bed side manners. At worst, just evil greedy veterniarn practice that didnt care anything for Toby just wanted the money.
BBB Processing
08/01/2010
web BBB Complaint Received by BBB
08/04/2010
LRN BBB Member or MIP Complaint Validated by BBB Operator
08/04/2010
Otto EMAIL Send Acknowledgement to Consumer
08/04/2010
Otto MAIL Inform Member of Complaint
08/13/2010
OttO BBB No response to first notice to member
08/13/2010
OttO EMAIL Consumer - Have You Heard From the Company
08/13/2010
OttO MAIL Second Notice to Member
08/17/2010
WEB BBB RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : The complainant did present
Toby to our clinic at the time/date specified in their original
filing. What they failed to mention is that their pet was diagnosed
with a heart condition approx. 1 year previously. In fact they had
an appointment with a specialist within the following two days for
continued evaluation of the heart problem.
Their patient did indeed deteriorate rapidly after being admitted, put contrary to their assertion supportive treatment was provided. Toby was provided with oxygen therapy in the ICU unit. X-rays were taken to determine the cause of the respiratory distress and he was allowed to received oxygen for approx. 1/2 hour prior to being handled or stressed. Appropriate diuretic medication was administered to help alleviate fluid accumulation in the lungs.
Toby did indeed experience arrest and passed away, however he had significant underlying heart disease. No warranty of outcome is ever present in medicine, especially on a patient with a chronic condition. While Toby's passing is sorrowful, we did not act in any "excessive" manner as asserted, and I can assure you that Toby was "not already dead" when the financial discussion took place.
A copy of the medical records will be faxed to support this response.
08/18/2010
LRN EMAIL Forward Business response to Consumer
08/21/2010
WEB BBB RECEIVED CONSUMER REBUTTAL : (The consumer indicated
he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
There records confirm what i was saying. By there there own addmission and records they waited a half hour to treat a dog who was having a heart attack which was ridiculous. There excuse is they didnt want to stress the dog.
This would be the same as a someones mother going to the emergency room and the doctor coming out and saying we arent going to treat your mother who is having a heart attack because it might stress her however we are giving her oxegen.
There response would be comical had not someone died. They immediatly took x-rays which is the only thing they did right, then they should have immediatly began treatment. I would like a copy of the x-rays. After the half hour of sitting on there thumbs it appears as soon as they handled the dog he almost immediatly died.
They did nothing for Toby in the first half hour except give him some oxegen and as the saying goes, oxegen is the only thing in life thats free. Instructions for treating a dog who is having a heart attack from WebWire "Veterinarians diagnose heart failure in dogs by testing their heart rhythm and blood pressure as well as conducting more in-depth cardiograms, which record you dog's heart activity. Treatment for heart failure is often costly and complex with your pet having to be hospitalized, being put on a drip, and taking a cocktail of drugs, which allow its heart to recover and function better in the future"
THEY DID NONE OF THIS!!!!!! YET THEY HAD AT LEATS A HALF HOUR!!!!!!!!! All they did was give him some freakinoxegen during the first half hour by there own addmission and take an x-ray!
NO TESTING HEART RYTHEM
NO CARDIGRAM
NO DRIP
NO COCKTAIL OF DRUGS
I could understand it being expensive and would have been more than happy to pay whatever had they done these things intially. No where on the world wide web can i find anyone or any place that says to let the dog stay on oxegen for 35 minutes while you sit and do nothing.
If they can find ANY reputable website anywhere in the world that states that i will drop my compliant immediatly!
LRN MAIL Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business
09/01/2010
OttO BBB No Response from Business re: Consumer Rebuttal
10/25/2010
LRN MAIL Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business
10/25/2010
WEB BBB RECEIVED BUSINESS' REBUTTAL RESPONSE : In response to
the client's rebuttal, our company can not possibly equate the
information he found by searching the internet on unreferenced
websites with current medical guidelines. His rebuttal mentioned one
singular website that is intended for pet owners and is not directed
at all towards medical professionals and how to diagnose and treat
complicated medical conditions. It mentions a "cocktail" of
medications without any specifics. There are, conservatively
estimating, 15-20 different cardiac medications.
Nor should our company be held to the low standards suggested as measuring criteria by the client (i.e. using websites to guide our therapy).
According to a search on the Veterinary Information Network (a paid subscription service for the veterinary profession), there are over 144 scientific articles in the last 5 years regarding emergency treatment of heart failure in DOGS alone. Not all of these articles will agree on every aspect of treatment given the complexity of the disease in any ONE INDIVIDUAL PATIENT. To believe that Mr. R****** interpretation of one articles on a general public oriented, non scientific based website should outweigh a licensed doctor's medical decision is ludicrous. Furthermore, canine (dog) patient's RARELY ever suffer "heart attacks" as the complainant asserts in his letter. They typically do not have heart muscle disease, but suffer from valvular insufficiency.
Further debating of his allegations from a medical standpoint will not occur because neither the BBB or the client are educated on the level necessary to decide what medical therapy would be appropriate.
The medications/diagnostics/treatment administered to Toby were all provided in accordance with what the attending veterinarian felt was appropriate at that time and for that patient.
I will restate that we sympathize with his loss and understand the grief that comes with losing a beloved family member. Furthermore, I would like to extend my personal apologies to him for the way he feels he was treated, however emergency medicine is a very challenging field and not every patient will survive a critical event. Finally, medical care does not come with a guarantee of outcome, this is an impossible expectation of any physician, be they human doctors or veterinarians.
10/25/2010
LRN EMAIL Send Business' Rebuttal Response-New Offer
11/08/2010
OttO BBB No Consumer Response- Assumed Resolved with Letter
11/08/2010
OttO MAIL Inform Business - Case Closed ASSUMED RESOLVED
11/08/2010
OttO BBB Case closed - Assumed RESOLVED
