SAGE Veterinary Centers - Campbell — Attraction in Campbell

The nurse came out and i was on the phone in my car confirming payment with my partner, i lifted one finger up and she made eye contact and gave me no time and just left. I called the front desk and asked what happened she had found me and left she said maybe she missed me and to try standing outside my car -- I mentioned I was the only one in front of the six and the only honda fit but sure i could do that.

She came over and i tried to clarify what had happened with the instructions. mentioned that at Medvet and Petsfriends there's a process for pickup and i was confused on theirs. as i gave the make and model of my car and the location of plate number six. She already had an attitude. "I made eye contact with you twice and you didnt get out of the car, so I left."

I said i was finishing up a call with my partner about the payment and had lifted up my finger one moment, and i did immediately get get off the phone but she left. Also i am disabled and I cannot move that quickly.

she also desided to chastize me for the color of my car tho i had given two color options to recteption.

moved on and said that I had a few questions and the desk had said the nurse could answer them for me. So i said that when i called and scheduled i was walked through the appointment and that i would be in the rehab facility with her for about an hour so they could assess and i was nervous and thrown off that there was suddenly construction and i wouldnt be with her and I wanted to know why I was not alerted to the change at the time of booking, because I might have wanted to go to redwood city. She just said we have construction and i said yes but was that not known at the time of booking? how long will the construction be going on? she said into next year and I said ok Im just confused why I made the appointment and was given one set of expectations and then suddenly they were different? She didn't answer any further. asked if we were "doing this or not?"

I was told that i would have to do a reassessment at redwood and i mentioned that i couldnt afford that why couldnt they use the same assessment? I just wansnt sure i was comfortable bringing her here for treatment or not yet with all the construction and communication issues.

When i told her i wanted to go ahead with the assessment and then i would follow up with the front desk about options with potentially moving to redwood city she started to ask the pre visit questions and she said i know we make you fill out a form but we like to ask you anyways i said ok. She asked how long the issue has been going on -- I am disabled and have a medical condition with brain fog. I mentioned that Petsfriend had told me they had sent records and did they recieve them, because i dont remember but i promised that PetsFriend normally has very good documentation and whenever they stated her problem started would be correct as we brought her in right away to the vet when we noticed issues with her shoulder and mood changes and vocalization. She rolled her eyes and said "You don't know when this started?" and i said no but Pets Friend would know and I offered to call and get the start date for her then she procedded with a month? months? years? I said not over a year more like months but i wasnt sure but again that the record would have more accurate information as I didnt remember. This is an accessability issue. I am dissabled, i did not deserve to be treated like this. I was polite and direct in my responses and they were to the best of my ability. I did NOT deserve her to be mean to me when I was just nervous about my pets care given that the run down of the appointment was nothing like I was told on the phone.

When she took my pet she was not carrying her kindly and was swinging her carrier. I almost went to take her back. I went to talk to the front desk about why she was so rude to me and didn't answer my questions, and that she was harsh with carrying my pet. I mentioned I did not want to have her working with my pet with the way she treated my pet and me.

Complaint Filed...

This was the most appalling vet visit I have had yet with Dr. Christina Vitale at SAGE Campbell.  After checking in at the front desk, I was called on my phone by the vet tech and told I had to provide my dog's history over the phone instead of in a private room.  I told the tech that I had 4 typed pages of history to give her and she said we had to do it over the phone so she could ask "clarifying questions."  Are you kidding me?  After being forced to share my dog's history in a crowded lobby, the tech finally came out to get my dog and take him back for an exam.  Once again, SAGE proves they do not understand the concept of a fear-free veterinary experience, let alone being transparent with the owners.  She also took my typed history to have the front desk staff scan it in, though I am not sure why, since I'd already given her all of the details over the PHONE.

In less than FIVE minutes, and it felt more like 3 minutes, from when the tech took my dog to the back, I received another phone call.  This time it was from Dr. Vitale to discuss her 'findings' with me.  Once again - are you kidding me?  What sort of thorough exam can you do on a dog with serious neuro deficits in 3 or 4 minutes?  I asked why we were not meeting face to face, and instead she wanted me to review my dog's case IN THE LOBBY with everyone staring and listening to my conversation.  She proceeded to tell me I could go to my car, and she would wait while I walked outside.  I kid you not!  I was extremely upset after having driven over 3 hours to meet with her, and she couldn't find her way to talking with me in person?  She offered to come out to let me see her face, but "due to the remodel, they don't have exam rooms available for recheck appointments."  This is the single most absurd thing I have ever heard from a vet, and I refuse to be treated in this dismissive and callous manner.  I was livid and I told Dr. Vitale just how upset I was.  I have paid SAGE and Dr. Vitale thousands of dollars to examine and diagnose my dogs, and she refused to meet with me in person to discuss my dog's case?!  Her response?  Perhaps you should seek a second opinion.  Umm, yes, I think that is pretty clear.  She then went on to tell me that my dog's condition is, in her opinion, Idiopathic, and she was clearly uninterested in pursuing further testing.

When I pushed for more answers, she said I could do an MRI for "peace of mind" but that it likely would not show anything different from what was seen on the December 2024 MRI.  Sure, let me again pay you thousands of dollars to treat my dog when you have already made up your mind that his condition is 'idiopathic' - which is a fancy word for you have no idea what's wrong with him and clearly no interest in actually finding the cause of his symptoms.  I had a list of questions to ask, and while she answered the questions, she made no attempt to relate them to my dog's case or inform me how they may or may not apply to his situation.  Do you think I'm just asking these questions because I have nothing else to do?  Obviously, when I ask why a certain condition keeps coming up and what it means, I expect you to tell me that yes, it can sometimes cause similar symptoms, but because he doesn't have these other two related markers, then it is likely not the root cause of his condition.  I do not expect you to tout some paper you wrote years ago when it clearly does not have relevance to my dog's case.

I will NEVER waste my time or money on a visit to SAGE to see Dr. Vitale again. And I encourage anyone who is considering an appt with her to rethink your decision. You will be left frustrated, upset, and without the answers you seek, and it will cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Look for a neurologist who is willing to treat your pet with an open mind and a curiosity to find out what is actually happening with them, and someone who will meet with you face to face instead of hiding behind a telephone. I would never accept this treatment for myself or my family, why would I put up with it...

I could never recommend this place for any emergency care, and I would never take an animal there again. I took my German Shepherd, Bonnie there on Friday, May 9th, Mother’s Day weekend, from Santa Cruz since there was no surgeon available at our emergency vet that afternoon/evening. My vet had sedated her for an ultrasound and discovered hemoabdomen, internal bleeding usually caused by a tumor on the spleen or liver that has burst, and felt that emergency surgery might be a viable option…so they referred me to SAGE for further testing and possible surgery. I arrived and they took her in, and had me wait in a room to talk to the surgeon. The surgeon came in, and told me either I had to do emergency surgery or euthanize her?!? I asked to do testing first to see if surgery was indeed a viable option. No, it was all or nothing. Testing would have run $3-5,000 and surgery added $25-30,000 more. I was told that usually the surgery would only add 2-4 weeks to her life if she survived. During this time I was not allowed to see her, to use my own judgement on what I wanted to do, which made me feel quite lost with not knowing how Bonnie was actually doing. Then a nurse came in and told me that they could also rehydrate her, and let her come home with me until I felt like she was in pain and needed to be euthanized or she passed on her own, which could be a day or a week, as that was unknown. I chose this option and was assured they would give her something for her pain. They also gave me some herbal meds that I could give her at home which helped other dogs with this condition. If more was needed I could buy it without a prescription on Amazon, or elsewhere. They loaded her back in my car, as she was too weak or (what I thought, drugged up) to walk. After a long drive home, my neighbors and family helped me unload her. We placed her on her bed next to us, and she was obviously getting more distressed. I couldn’t tell if it was related to the pain meds, her condition or both. I called SAGE and whomever got on the phone with me, told me they never gave her anything for pain/sedation, and it was all my fault that I took her home with such a painful condition. I was devastated, and am still haunted by knowing my dog was in such pain due to lack of compassion and caring on SAGE’s part. I immediately had everyone help me load her into my car and called the Paciic and Santa Cruz Emergency Vet over here. They gave Bonnie a very caring and dignified euthanasia, with plenty of time for our tears and goodbyes. It has taken me two weeks to write this as I keep breaking down in tears, due to losing Bonnie in such a traumatic way…💔 I also checked to see how much the herbal meds were that I paid over $100 for, and the most expensive I found them for was $11. In my opinion SAGE is all about the money, as they really do not...