Complaint Review: Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine Of GB - Towson Maryland

To the initial poster: I'm not really taking a position here except to say that, if you couldn't understand what the vet was saying due to his/her accent, you should have found another vet. To the first responder: Just because you had a great experience with the clinic, don't assume everyone did or does. From what I read, the original poster is simply frustrated that she didn't get a diagnosis. Of course she wasn't happy about paying good money and getting no help. Would you be? Also, it's really not that unusual for people to diagnose illnesses based on internet searches, but I do agree that that she probably got the diagnosis wrong. The dog was probably suffering from something that simply resolved by itself. Perhaps it was eating that poisoned dog food from China until she started force feeding it. To the second responder: You must be a vet. Only vets include the phrase just like a human doctor when justifying the education vets receive. The truth of the matter is you might have the same number of years of education, but you are nothing compared to a human doctor. First and foremost, vets are part of some insane little cult that is shielded from public scrutiny by the state licensing boards. Vets, even if they are guilty of malpractice, will never pay the outrageous punitive damages that human medical doctors pay because animals are considered property under the law. Owners can't sue for things like loss of companionship or emotional suffering. If the dog is a mutt, he probably has a value of $50. That's one of the reasons vets don't have the outrageous costs of malpractice insurance. You also don't have to deal with health insurance companies that set your prices and dictate how much you can charge or be reimbursed for a procedure. You don't have to deal with hundreds of people every day. Consequently, most vets lack the ability to deal with a variety of human personalities. Last but not least, your patients can't talk. So, unless you do something really horrible and your clients have proof, you will practice your profession without fear. I'm not saying all vets are bad, but I think it's absurd every time someone compares a veterinarian to a medical doctor. What a joke.

Veterinarians cannot necessarily diagnose (accurately 100% of the time) a condition based soley on clinical symptoms. If they could it would be "MAGIC". Diagnostic test and procedures are clearly necessary to obtain an accurate diagnosis. The fact that you were quoted $X amount of dollars for them to do a procedure/test that might help to define a diagnosis, and therefore a treatment plan, is certainly not unreasonable. If you prefer to go to a person that can just look at an animal and "guess" what may be wrong and treat based on a "guess", because it will benefit YOU financially, then you go there. If you want to go to a veterinarian that ACTUALLY does care about your pet the go somewhere where diagnostic tests and procedures are offered. Veterinarians go to 8 years of school just like a human doctor. Saying they became veterinarians by applying for a "certificate" (which you are implying they received no education) simply because they couldn't give you an accurate diagnosis (based on your budget) does not make them a bad Doctor. Next time you go to a Physician, how bout you go to the doctor that "Guesses" what you have without any tests and just puts you on "pills" to see if you get better. I think you should think twice about owning pets in the future.

I credit AVIM and particularly Dr. Petrus with recently saving the life of my Bulldog. Not only did they diagnose the problem very quickly, but they were able to effectively treat the problem, which turned out to be pancreatitis. My dog was in pain when I took him to AVIM and had not been able to keep food down for five days. He was admitted to the PET ER and transferred to the care of Dr. Petrus with AVIM. Both facilities have been exemplary in the care and treatment of my dog. Additionally, I have been using Dr. Patterson with the Chesapeake Dermatoloty Referral Center at the same location. I found Dr. Patterson after my primary care vet had misdiagnosed a very serious autoimmune disease called pemphigus. Dr. Patterson and Dr. Petrus have had to work together to cure the pancreatitis while treating the pemphigus - not an easy thing to do given that the drugs that are used in treating pemphigus more than likely caused the pancreatitis, which often happens. Dr. Patterson and Dr. Petrus have demonstrated a great deal of competence and have been more attentive than any physician for humans I have ever encountered. Dr. Petrus has called me twice a day every day to update me on the progress of my dog. Yes, the services are expensive, but I understand the costs involved in operating such a clinic. As an attorney, I am always skeptical of negative reports filed by disgruntled people who have the luxury of reporting only the facts that they choose to report. I am also very skeptical of an untrained individual claiming to have been able to correctly diagnose a medical condition and then successfully treat said condition. I note with great interest that the individual filing the negative report was unhappy with two veterinary clinics, which begs the question of whether this person could have been pleased by anyone. I certainly cannot attest to the veracity of the complaint, but I can attest to the wonderful care that my beloved pet has received.