ComplaintsforEmergency Animal Hospital of Collin County

• Initial Complaint

  04/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Date of the transaction: 3-19-24 Description: emergency care for our dog Price paid: Over $5K +fees for the cardiac echocardiogram. We had a terrible experience with Emergency Animal Hospital of Collin County. We took our dog **** to Emergency Animal Hospital of Collin County when he developed breathing problems. We were told he had pulmonary hypertension. He was in *** care for 2 days. During the entire period, out of 4 doctors who changed shifts, only one called us with an update on his condition. We had to keep calling to get any update on his condition.While he was in their care, they ran several tests on our dog including a cardiac echocardiogram. We asked that they send us the results of the cardiac echocardiogram. All we got was a one line text from ************************ about the results. The copy of the results was not sent to us. When he was discharged, he was still very ill. The doctor on duty, ************************, did not meet with us and discuss his treatment and prognosis. We asked that she call when she was available, but never received any call from her or any other doctor with discharge directions. He was discharged by a tech with discharge papers. He was also not cleaned up after having diarrhea while he was in their care. The same afternoon, we took **** to our regular vet who examined him and said he was gravely ill. ***** condition declined overnight. The next day, his regular vet said he would not live through the day. The decision was made to end his suffering with euthanasia. **** passed away less than 24 hours after he was discharged by the Emergency Animal Hospital of Collin County. We request that BBB investigate the Emergency Animal Hospital of Collin County for gross negligence and incompetence in treating our dog ***** When a dog is seriously ill, a doctor should meet with the owners and provide a prognosis and next steps. They did not. They charge thousands of dollars for the most inferior services we have ever received.

  Business response

  04/16/2024

  First and foremost we are sorry for your loss. Your pet was with us under intensive care for the two days, and during that time, we made very effort to communicate the gravity of your pet ****'s condition.  We contacted you by phone, spoke with you in person, and even sent text messages to keep you updated with progress.  When you did reach out to us, inquiring to take **** home, we recommended that you to continue hospitalization due to his poor condition.  **** did receive an echocardiogram which did confirm that **** needed further care and support for his heart and respiration.

  Every step of the way we did our best to communicate ****'s status and recommendations for treatment.  Our doctor messaged you with your ****'s condition and additional hospitalization recommendations still awaiting your approval for the echocardiogram. Thirty minutes later you arrived and the doctor discussed the same recommendations and continued *** status care in the room with you.  Following that you visited him in the treatment area prior to paying for the agreed upon *** status.  The doctor also met you in the lobby to discuss the *** status and treatment plan again.  With your understand at that time you paid for the additional *** hospitalization and echocardiogram.

  Upon discharge, it is standard for the technicians caring for any patient to discuss any discharge instructions with the owner.  Included with that discharge were instructions and guidelines to return if the breathing did not get better and other indications of decline. **** did not return subsequent to his discharge, nor did we receive a phone call about his condition once he left.
  

  We have over sixteen documented instances of communication with you the owner to keep you as informed as possible on ****'s condition.  And again, we are sorry for your loss and hope that you are doing well.

  Customer response

  04/16/2024

  I am rejecting this response because of the following reasons.

  1. We had to keep calling to get any updates from the doctors regarding ****'s prognosis.

  2. ****'s prognosis was not discussed with us at discharge nor did any doctor meet with us when he was discharged. This is the least that would have been expected after our dog was critically ill in the icu for 2 days. When we picked him up, we did not know the severity of his condition and prognosis until we met with our regular vet.

  3. We did not get any explanation with the results of the echo. ************************ told us that she would call with the results. No call was received. 

  I have included a timeline of events with further explanation:   

  3/19 Evening - We took **** to the hospital with breathing issues. We spoke to ******************** and he explained that **** would need to stay overnight under oxygen and would be discharged the next morning. ****************** called us with an update at 7 am the next morning and said we could pick up **** that morning. ****************** did not discuss his prognosis. 

  3/20 Morning - 8:30 am We went to the hospital to pick up **** only to be told that he will need to stay for another day. We meet with Dr. ********** who said that **** will need an echo cardiogram and it will be done during the day and he needs oxygen. She told us that she would call us with the results of the echo. We never received a call with the results, only a 1 line text was received on 3/21 without any explanation. Dr. ********** also did not discuss ***** prognosis. 

  3/20 evening - We went to visit **** and met with ****************. He took us to see ****. **** was heavily sedated and barely moving. We were told he had been given an opioid to help with his breathing. After questioning him about ***** prognosis, he said that if he came out of oxygen tonight, his prognosis is fair. He told us he would call with an update at the end of his shift at 1 am. No call was received.

  3/21 morning - 7 am: we called to get an update and talk to the doctor on night duty. ******************** told us that **** is now on room oxygen and can be picked up. Again, she did not tell us his prognosis. 

  7:30AM:  We also asked numerous times for Dr. ********** to  call us with the results of the echo. All we received was a 1 line text without any explanations or prognosis. 

  9 am We arrived to pick up ****. Since **** has been in the *** and critically ill for 2 days, we expected to talk to a doctor at discharge about his condition and prognosis and the next steps. Dr. ********** sends us a text saying that she will be in surgery at that time and to follow up with our regular vet on monday. The text includes a 1 line description of the echo results with no explanation. We ask the front desk to ask her to call us to discuss condition and prognosis. No call is received from her or any of the other icu doctors. A tech arrived with **** and a printout of discharge instructions dated 3/20. **** had diarrhea the night before and he had not even been cleaned up. We ask the tech also to ask Dr. ********** to call us, but she never did. 

  That afternoon, **** was looking very ill. we took **** to our regular vet at ************************* hospital. He said that **** is so ill that he will not live through the weekend. This information on his condition and prognosis should have been communicated to us at discharge by Dr. ********** who was on duty or any other doctor at this establishment. 

  3/22 - ****'s condition has declined even more. We take him to our regular vet who said he would not live through the day. The decision was made to end his suffering with euthanasia. 

  Summary: We are extremely disappointed with ****'s treatment at the emergency animal hospital of collin county. We received extremely inferior services for the amount charged. It appears that this hospital cares more about receiving payment not about providing quality services.

   

  Customer response

  07/03/2024

  We are very disappointed in the lack of resolution by BBB in this matter. We would have expected that you should have been able to take some action in this matter when it concerns one of your member businesses.

  This lack of accountability will only result in the Emergency Animal Hospital of Collin County continuing to provide low quality services to other pet owners with critically ill pets and to continue to charge high fees.

  We expect that our negative review of the business will be posted on your BBB website for others to view and to continue to increase awareness of the low quality services of this business.

  We will continue to pursue other avenues to hold this business accountable for the lack of service we received when our pet was critically ill in their hospital. Their services were totally unacceptable. 

  ******

   

   

   

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  07/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I took my cat to the emergency vet on the night of 6/23 (early morning hours of 6/24) because he couldn't urinate. He was hospitalized and had a catheter placed, and iv and antibiotics. He was discharged less than 48 hours later. We returned within 24 hours as he still couldn't urinate. The vet on our second trip said that there wasn't anything we were going to be able to do for him and that we would end up putting him to sleep. We asked her to catheterize him and allow us to take him home for the remainder of his time with us. My husband and I were devastated, as he is only 4 years old. My 26, 20, 19, 17 and 12 year old were devastated as well. Once home, we started doing research and found that there is a surgery and a specialist that he could go to. We have followed up with the specialist and the cat is doing well. I'm still devastated and my family is heartbroken over the fact that had we not had the foresight to do the research - we would have lost our cat. Ironically enough, she called us the next day to tell us the surgery existed after talking to another vet. I have tried to contact the emergency vet clinic 4 times without a return call. I never get to speak to a manager or to a voicemail. I get told that someone will call me back and they never do. I'm seeking a refund of the payments I made that total almost $3000.

• Initial Complaint

  11/01/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Date of Service: October 7, 2021 Amount Spent: $367.92 Business to Provide: Euthanasia service for my dog, communal cremation with a Paw Print made prior to cremation Nature of dispute: Dog was cremated and no Paw Print was made. Are offering to refund the $40 portion for the paw print as if they left a cheeseburger out of my order. Business tried to resolve: Awaiting a manager to call me back to discuss. $40 refund for my dead dog that there is nothing we can do is an unacceptable resolution. I now have a dead dog and nothing more than a picture of her dying in this vet as my last memory of her. Account/ Order Number: ****** (This could be the invoice solely for the $40 they are wanting to refund) If having to put your 6 year old dog down is not already hard enough, being told that the services you paid for in getting a paw print had a mistake and they did not make one is icing on the cake. When I went here 3.5 weeks ago with my dying dog and had to make the tough decision, I made a huge point in making sure I would have this paw print made and even questioned the reliability of trusting this to be completed. I was reassured over and over that nothing would go wrong they had switched companies and the new one did a great job. Here we are a few weeks later and I get a phone call telling me there was a mistake and that they did not make the paw print. So now, I have NOTHING from my dead dog. But don't worry, they are going to refund the $40 I spent to have this done and are very sorry. Treating this like it was a cheeseburger from McDonalds left out of my order. If there is one part of a job that cannot be fixed after the fact it is when dealing with dead/ cremated animals. My advice if you are reading this is to take your animals elsewhere for ALL of your needs. Now I have a dead dog that I spent over $400 to have to euthanize her and these people can't even transfer paper work properly for a paw print to be made...

  Business response

  01/04/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/11/10) */ Mr. ****** was contacted by the Hospital Manager on Nov 1, 2021. They spoke about his experience at the hospital and about his concerns. A full refund for Mr. ******'s visit was given that day along with an apology and assurance that this would be handled with the employee as well. Mr. ****** was appreciative of the phone call and refund.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩