VCA Animal Emergency Hospital Southeast Calder Road

I have been going to VCA Animal Emergency Hospital Southeast Calder Road since 2015. Over the years, I've brought many animals with emergency needs to them, most with life-threatening issues. It's been a long road with them, and I never thought they would put me or any of my babies through anything like this. I have a few other different complaints, but it is with communication and does not have anything to do with patient care. The medical complaint began on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 6:02 pm. I called the clinic, announced who I was, and let them know that I had a male stray puppy found covered in ants and maggots and needed urgent attention. I let them know that I did not know where this baby came from or his medical history. To be careful, we came up with a plan of him going straight back to room 4 and closing the door so no other animals were possibly contaminated. I was waiting for my transporter to show up to the emergency clinic, so I announced that I had arrived, but the baby was still on his way. I waited in the main lobby area for about 10 minutes until they showed up. Once he arrived, we went directly to room 4 and closed the door. We waited in there with the puppy needing urgent medical attention for about 15 minutes. One of the front staff members came into the room with a manager of the clinic, Lisa, on the phone. She explained there is a note on my account that my dogs are only to be seen by Dr. Palm. I questioned why this was, and she did not have the answer for me. I asked her why no one told me this when I called to let them know what was going on or when I was waiting in the waiting room for him to show up. Lisa said she did not know. She said Dr. Hauke was refusing to see the dying puppy in my arms due to this alert on my account. To make sure I understood her correctly I repeated back to her, "What you are saying is that I have a puppy needing urgent medical attention and your doctor is refusing to see him because of a note on my account that should have never been placed on it?" Lisa said, "Correct. I'm so sorry." I told her that I wanted to be very clear and make sure that she understands that if something happens to this puppy and he doesn't make it that I would make sure that VCA paid for there poor decision. Lisa replied, "Yes ma'am. I am so sorry." I gave the cell phone back to the front receptionist that brought it in the room, got up, and rushed out of there to get him to a different emergency clinic that would see him. Thankfully, I was able to get him to Sugar Land Veterinary Specialists, and they were able to save his life. I have attached photos. These photos only include his wounds after the ants and maggots were removed. He needed a blood transfusion and many other things to survive! I have always paid my bills and have only ever been nice and cordial to these individuals. They save lives! So I thought. I guess they get to choose what lives they want to save. The oath they took when they became doctors meant nothing, I guess. So disappointing!

posted: 06/20/2024

We came home to find our silver lab Dakota had gotten into some medication and was in great distress. It was Friday night and this location was closest to us. We arrived with my lab in my arms. They quickly checked us in and took her back. They helped us get in touch with poison control and we came up with a treatment plan. We all were so worried and concerned for her. I didn't think she was going to make it. We asked lots of questions and they helped us understand what was happening to our dog and what we might expect to happen over the next few days. It wasn't good news, but it was helpful. They ended up sedating her that first night and told us that she needed to stay possibly until Sunday night or even Monday. Here is what I want to say about her stay. We could at any time call them or text them for an update. We could also drop in at any time and go see her. When we called, we would get to talk to the vet. They kept us in the loop from start to finish. They gave us a run down of the costs and updated us when things changed. While very expensive, which we were kinda expecting, the whole process was smooth, professional and we felt that they were taking 5 star care of our dog. In the end our lab came back to us. She metabolized the drugs (which were muscle relaxers) and we were able to take her home, under her own power, on Monday morning. She is back to normal and I would not hesitate to bring her back here again if she needed emergency care. I thank you, my daughter thanks you and Kota thanks you.

posted: 06/20/2024

I brought my shih tzu in on a Sunday evening around 6:15 pm because she wasn't eating or drinking water, and she was acting differently than her normal self. I waited several hours for a doctor to see her; I understand that they have to triage patients, but I would have appreciated some sort of an update on how much longer I would have to wait there. There was no communication from the staff about this. When the doctor finally did see her, he diagnosed her behavior as stress-induced because I had returned from a trip the week prior, and noted that she had some GI issues. Please keep in mind that my dog is not the kind of dog who gets anxiety whenever I'm gone; she's the most chill, laid back dog I know. He told me that it's ok if she doesn't eat anything for up to 3 days (!!), gave me some Trazadone to take home to sedate her, and we finally left after 10 pm. Well, I am SO glad I brought her to my regular vet the next morning because they discovered she had a herniated disc and was in extreme pain. She will have to be on crate rest for the next few weeks. My vet told me that because this wasn't caught earlier, they have to be very aggressive in their treatment--and now she's on 5 different medications and sedatives. I am extremely disappointed and upset that VCA was so lax and careless in their diagnosis. Further, I had to call VCA several times that week to get the doctor's notes in order to submit a claim to my pet insurance company. In the end, I spent $700 for the doctor to completely misdiagnose my dog and waste 4 hours of my time. Please DO NOT take your pets to this hospital; find another VCA location, or better yet, take them to another hospital altogether.

posted: 08/14/2024

My fiance and I are first time cat owners. The local vets around us were closed and we were frantically looking for a place to call for advice as our cat was dealing with a pooping issue. A kind woman by the name of Victoria answered the phone and consoled my fiance as she described the issue. She kindly waited with us on the phone as we watched the cat with our carrier ready for a swift journey to this location. Luckily the issue passed, literally, and we have Victoria to thank for guiding us through our options. I will definitely be saving this location for future issues for they were there when all other places were closed. And thanks for the Care Credit recommendation! It'll help LOADS as we get properly situated to being good cat owners. Victoria, YOU ARE AWESOME! Thank you!!!

posted: 03/30/2024

Brought my 18 year old cat in for what, to me, appeared very scary, and I was very worried. Melissa, the receptionist was so very sweet from the moment we walked in and helped to put us at ease as our cat was examined. Dr. Moseley, the vet who took care of our cat, was also very kind, personable, and excellent at explaining was happening and what to expect. The entire team we encountered while we were there were truly caring! I would highly recommend this emergency veterinarian center! Thank you all for your fantastic care in treating our old lady kitty cat!

posted: 09/11/2024