got scammed

my 15 yr old dog was at her time which I was prepared for so I took her to the same vet my family has been going to for 30yrs, unfortunately they sold a few years back and have new owners.

They signed me up for all these super expensive tests, used classic "fishing" methods to try and figure out how much I was willing to spend. 1 hr and 1000.00$ in a couple tests and special diet food, all sorts of expensive pills etc. That was the "low end", they actually wanted to do $2500 in tests and do surgery to remove a fat lump on her leg and one on her eye lid, which would have been another $2200 on top of the $2500.

The vet (who is also part owner) talked really fast like a used car salesman, used words like "road to recovery" and painted a picture of false hope for my dog Symba.

He called with test results from all the blood screening and never used the word "cancer" or euthanize etc, he said there were slight abnormalities in her liver and pancreas and recommended a very expensive liver supplement.


I felt the whole situation was weird so I took her the next day to the emergency vet, without even taking her back to the room yet the real vet who cared about my dog said shes very very sick. He said I will bring her back and wave the ultra sound wand over her to see if we can just see anything. $99 exam fee and 10minutes determined that my dog had tumors all over her organs which had ruptured and her abdomen was full of fluid.


I could not believe the ethics of the other place after talking to this vet, they really avoided what was really going on and just saw $$$$$ signs.

hard to believe people like that exist

First, I am really sorry to hear that your dog is that sick....went through that about 10 years ago and it can be rough. My vet wasn't much better than the first one you talked about.

Even worse, there are a lot of medical doctors out there doing the exact same thing with people. I lived next to an old-school doctor that still made house calls and he told me how to find out if you have a good doctor or not.

Here is what you do. Go to your doctor complaining of a sore throat. If he/she takes a throat culture (simple swab) you are okay. If they prescribe you an anti-bacterial med without testing (penicillin for example), then you have a bad one.

A sore throat could be caused by bacterial or viral infection. There is no way to tell without the results of the culture...only takes a few minutes to test. If it is viral, then the penicillin is useless.....other than making them a few more bucks since they get part of that money when they write a prescription.

When you were seen by my neighbor, he would always tell you the following when you had the flu or a cold:

"I can prescribe something for it and you will get over it in 3-7 days or I can give you nothing and you will get over it in 3-7 days".

ya it was about like that except 3 medications and 60cans of their house brand special diet food which was about $5 per can.     Cheap patte style wet food too they are probably getting it for .30

we put her down at the second place,   only option was really invasive very expensive surgery to try and remove her liver which i would never do.    

Her life span is what bothered me about the first place,   9-12 yrs average for her breed and she was 15.    

you could really take a look at her and say shes about on her last leg without even being a vet or doing tests,   but this car salesman like vet basically pumped a bunch of false hope into me in order to rack the bill way up.    

he knew what the deal was and what time it was for her but he decided to use it to take advantage of me and my wallet

I filed a report with the Veterinary division of the health department after reading their yelp reviews and seeing this was not the first time they had pulled this on someone, 2nd review on the list described exactly what happened to me to a T

I only read the first post, and let me first say I'm sorry for you and your dog.........Our pets become part of our family, and loved ones, so I know.

But I've always said most vets are the worst when it comes to screwing us. They take advantage of your love for the pet by dipping in to your wallet as much as you will allow. They know people have great love for their pets, and they take great advantage of that, I believe.

Good for you, filing that complaint should help others that follow....again, sorry to hear about the loss. I still miss my pets.

what a dirtbag. As if running a few tests to confirm what you suspected and the fees to put Symba down wouldn't be enough. Sorry for your loss.

Real sorry, that SOB will get his, karma is a bitch. Sorry for your loss. It's one of the reasons I don't own a dog. Almost everybody I know has had this experience, from the german shepherd who broke his leg in 2 places+ $6,000, to my sister in laws shitzu's cataract surgery = $8,000. I work for several vets, they have bigger estates than brain surgeons- they are ultra loaded with cash, I never give them a break, lol.

Sorry AC...sucks when people prey on our emotions....you had enough whits about you to handle it well for both the dog and you. I would take this further....I hate scum and live my life just the opposite. We are a Christian family and know some day these people will have to answer to this. how pitiful.

thanks guys

Sorry about your dog AC, Having to put your dog down is a gut wrenching thing to do. Symba gave you a lot of years of companionship.

My dog couldn't even get up when it was her time. The vet came to the house to put her to sleep.

I avoided getting a dog for a lot of years but my daughter was persistent. She has a big heart ache coming when its her puppies time to pass

Wow, I guess they should add veterinarian to the list before roofer, auto mechanics and carpet cleaner huh ?
Sorry for your loss AC !