Pulse Veterinary Specialists & Emergency

The staff at Pulse are so professional and caring. My Yorkie was very very sick, but they were so good at keeping me informed on his progress for the three days he was there. I knew he was in good hands.

Unfortunately today we had to say goodbye to our best friend, Banshee, and while it is the hardest and most gut wrenching feeling, we are extremely grateful for everyone at Pulse veterinary. We got constant updates and weren’t pressured into anything. They went above and beyond to keep both Banshee and us as comfortable as possible. The doctor laid out all the possible options and set our expectations properly. While I’m devastated that we couldn’t save her, I am relieved that she’s no longer in pain and that I know we did everything we could thanks to the wonderful staff at Pulse.

I had been taking my beloved dog Ricky to the pulse for his care for many years where he always received fantastic care, Ricky had developed separation anxiety when we was 5 years old and as such he was always a nervous wreck when being taken to the vet however he was much more comfortable at this vet than previous vet clinics we had taken him to and then especially as he got older and was faced with health issues they were always ready and willing to not only help us but ensure we understood exactly what was going on at all times. When Ricky was 11 and became very sick and his quality of life became very poor and we were faced with euthanasia the team here made sure we understood every option available to us and never once made us feel pressured into any certain decision and that they would do whatever we felt comfortable with. When we had to say goodbye to Ricky I was deeply moved by all my interactions with every member of the team who was apart of Ricky’s care their compassion and dedication to helping him like he was their own deeply touched my heart and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to have entrusted someone so near and dear to my heart like them. They helped inspire me to make a change in my life and I’m proud to say I’m now in school to be a VMA and I sincerely hope to one day work alongside such a fantastic team of people.

Last week my puppy was hospitalized for 5 nights with pneumonia. The staff at Pulse were so good to him and communicated so well with our family at home. They took great care of him, and made a very scary situation much more manageable. The best part is, when we had to return my pup was excited to go there and see them.

IF YOU TRULY CARE ABOUT YOUR PET, AND WANT COMPETENT AND COMPASSIONATE CARE; GO ELSEWHERE! I am writing this review in hopes of sparing someone else the absolute heartache that we experienced by bringing BEAR, our 4 year old Siberian Husky here. Sadly this would be the last day of his life that was spent with a very cold-hearted, snotty and unprofessional veterinarian. We brought our healthy, happy, kind hearted and outgoing 4 year old dog to this emergency vet because he was suffering from seizures due to his epilepsy. He unfortunately had been battling epilepsy since he was 1 year old but was being managed through the competent care of VCA neurology in Calgary where he was always cared for with kindness, love and compassion and provided treatment that stopped his seizures when hospitalized. We had recently moved to Edmonton and when BEAR started having repeated seizures we rushed him to PULSE for emergency care to have IV medications help break the seizure cycle. We had expected the professionalism and care we received at VCA, and at intake, we were greeted by compassionate front desk staff and a what seemed to be caring vet on night shift. We left him overnight and expected to bring him home the next day; happy, loving and excited to see us like always. But that didn’t happen. The day shift vet was cold and terse and she seemed like she was about 20 years old. I’m not sure she was even a vet or just a practicum student. She advised us that the bloodwork we paid for to check BEARS seizure med levels was forgotten and left on the counter all night and could not be used. They also just left him in a crate crying and howling and having seizure after seizure. VCA had techs lay with him and give him affection and reassurance. Not PULSE though. The Vet/Student told us to come in right away and that she was going to put him down because he wouldn’t respond to meds. We immediately drove to PULSE and we were told by a young girl at the front that she would have BEAR brought to a quiet room where we could say goodbye. We went to the quiet room and our best friend was brought in on a stretcher with tubes everywhere so we couldn’t even hug him. He was so drugged he didn’t know we were even there. They unplugged his vitals monitor and the machine immediately started making very loud high-pitch chirps that were stressing out BEAR, more, even in his drugged state. I pressed the HELP call button repeatedly but it was not functional. So I had to go wander around the halls to find someone to help and missed my last opportunity to spend time with BEAR. When the vet finally came to the room to silence the alarm 8 minutes later, I told her it was unacceptable to leave it chirping. She scowled and sarcastically snapped “What!? You mean keeping him hooked to the machine that keeps him alive!” . She then silenced the alarm and tersely told us that he wouldn’t come out of his seizures and needed to be put down. COLD AS ICE. This wasn’t “just a dog” but BEAR was the nucleus of our small family, our best friend and the kindest sole you’d ever meet. But to this vet he was just a hunk of fur and meat that she had no interest in helping. I asked her to at least give him something to be awake to see we were there for him and she gave him an injection in his IV. BEAR then looked into my eyes with his loving demeanour, licked my hand and tried to play with his favourite toy we put into his bed/crate while this cold hearted vet then injected the chemical that stopped his heart and ended his precious life. When I asked her to keep his toy with his body and for cremation as she wheeled him away, she said “I don’t think they do that” and left with what was once our BEAR. BEAR passed on May 9, 2024 at PULSE. I will never know if I failed him by taking him to PULSE and not a better qualified vet or if his illness was beyond help this day. But our hearts are forever broken and we miss him terribly. He loved everyone he met, dog or person. He gave the best hugs and his passing has been devastating. He is an Angel now as he was in life.