Pacific and Santa Cruz Veterinary Specialists — Attraction in Live Oak

Do NOT TAKE YOUR PET HERE in an emergency GO anywhere but here if you want your pet to survive because they are USELESS for anything but overcharging you and LETTING YOUR DOG DIE. I brought my 16 yr old service dog in who was peeing blood after an injury and was concerned her teeth were accessing so I asked for CBC AND URINALYSIS to identify any Infections or liver and kidney disease/ dysfunction and pointed out repeatedly she had horrible teeth They charged $249.for a CBC that if she was a human is only $49 at Quest laboratories .They billed me $835 for cbc urinalysis and ultrasound and kept her in back room for 10 hours and I had to get financial help from a local non profit who was limited in funds and was only able to pay 250 of the 500 expected . I paid the balance and even had my fellow rescue associates calling in to help with the bill They assured me it was paid in full for the visit and labs but it was the holidays and due to limited funds they were only able to help with 250 . Instead of telling me they needed another 250 to cover the remaining bill They never said a word and even turned down donations offered thruout the day . They brought my Annie out 10 hours later never said a word about what they found and told they would call me or I could call tomorrow for the labs NO RX no CONSULTATIIN no I structures or hint of what they found during the 10 hours they had her I took her home and called and called and called for days hot put on hold and left there left messages no one called back FOR 11 DAYS STRAIGHT and I finally got upset and demanded a manager pull her chart and ACTUALLY TALK TO ME ABOUT WHAT HER LABS SHOWED ( 850 bucks and 10 hours in their ER and 11 days waiting for labs finally I took another lyft on day 12 ( 30 bucks round trip ) and learned there was an RX of antibiotics prescribed when they had her 12 days earlier but never gave it to me so that's 12 days of infection left untreated for almost 2 weeks I insisted they tell me her lab results .Was it a UTI CANCER kidneys The fall HER TEETH surely they had to have a general idea what is going on with my baby and thy put us in a room and a tech sits and says he was sorry for miscommunication Im like ok but WHERES HER LAB RESULTS he looked at her chart and as he read another guy comes in with her RX and hands it to me and MY DOG IMMEDIATLY PANICED and started SHAKING LIKE A LEAF I'd never seen her shake like that ever SO HE DID SOMETHING AWFUL TO HER for her to react that way. But I calmed her and read the RX bottle and as I'm reading the other guy Says OH here's her URINE TESTS she didnt have a UTI and he GRABBED the RX rught out of my hand and startled me . I asked So NO UTI ? then it has to be her teeth she stopped eating dry food or treats she normally LOVES so a bad infection could easily cause bloody urine And even sepsis SO if the ultrasound and urine test and culture were normal , no tumors masses growths blockages or bladder or kidney infection Then what did CBC show ? He said he could do a cbc for 100 bucks I'm like WHY I paid 289 for one already. He said NOO no cbc ordered ? I showed him my bill and reviews and authorization for treatment a CBC was ordered and paid for . So then he looks and that's when I learned for the 1st time and 2 weeks later ,that the rescue who pledged 500 Only had 250 SO.. instead of telling me about this development they never Said a word and TOSSED HER BLOOD WORK and avoided me like the plague knowing 3 ppl tried paying any balance but they refused it. I never talked to the vet who treated my dog just a tech and reception who was rude condescending and unapproachable and instead of addressing my concerns like anyone seeking emergency care for their beloved pet would expect . I got DISMISSED and sent home to wait for their call but instesd They REFUNDED my bill ( except 60 cash ) and had they told me i could hsve treated her sooner finally she couldn't wait and XMAS EVE ANNIE HAD A MAJOR STROKE caused from the untreated raging INFECTION in her teeth that get to her brain and...

I would strongly advise you not to go here unless it is life or death for your furry friend and there are no other options available.

Unfortunately, we’ve had to spend a lot of time here over the last six months as my baby was diagnosed with lymphoma. We are doing our treatments at Animal Cancer Center in Monterey which I highly recommend but his regular vet at Adobe (who we also love) needed to send him to Pacific for diagnostics since they have all the equipment.

Things did not start well, they recommend an ultrasound and then following the ultrasound they said an ultrasound wasn’t really what we needed, we needed to sedate him so they could do a CT scan and manually examine his soft palette... so why did I pay for an ultrasound? Every test was followed up with we don’t know, we need to run more tests- not their fault, that’s how medicine goes. But it was hard to get appointments. Time is so sensitive in these matters and we had to do a lot of waiting. Also, every time we picked him up we would be charged OVER the high end of the estimate we had been given. And the reception would hold him hostage until we paid and didn’t have the authority to correct the amount. It often took an hour or so after his scheduled pick up time for them to bring him out.

They know I am a single college student. They obviously know I’ve spent thousands of dollars with them already and will be paying for his chemo. It almost feels like extortion. They can charge whatever because they know if you’re desperate you’ll pay.

All of this made me feel taken advantage of, but here’s the kicker. One night he started to have excessive vomiting a diarrhea. I had to go to work so my mom took him to the emergency at pacific. They had him there all day waiting for the ultrasound tech (not their fault- the person covers lots of hospitals in the area). When I talked to the vet that evening he said there was a foreign body visible on the ultrasound. I told him I thought it was really unlikely he had eaten anything but the vet said it was there and he either would need to pass it on his own or have surgery. Hydration is the most important key to passing it on his own according to the vet. So I asked, has he been drinking water? Nope he hadn’t been. You have him on fluids though, right? Nope. So he had been there for 10 hours, in a kennel, AND HADN’T HAD ANY WATER. When the key to him passing this thing was hydration! Did I mention we are paying for those 10 hours? Even if there was no foreign body detected why would they not put a dog who has it coming out both ends on fluids?! They told me if he didn’t pass it soon he would die. I could either wait and see if he could pass it or opt for the surgery. They told me waiting is risky though and can have complications. With the knowledge that he hadn’t had water in 10 hours I didn’t feel very hopeful. Coupled with the fact that trying to let him do it naturally meant an other ultrasound in the morning and then possibly still having the surgery it just made it a longer stay in the hospital for my poor baby and more money. So we opted for the surgery. And oops! There actually was nothing in there. His tummy was upset from his chemo. Yeah so my dog had his entire abdomen sliced open and had to be on bed rest for 11 days and it cost 6,000$. He also had to miss his chemo that week. I had to borrow my moms credit card in order to take him home since no one would discuss it with me then and they wouldn’t let me have him until I paid. This happened in April folks! And I can hardly get a message back. We finally got someone to review our case and they changed the wording form foreign body to abnormal segment of intestine and also forgot to add my name to the form. Signing it with “I’d be happy to discuss this in more detail if need be” and then never responding...

I post this review with a heavy heart and sufficient time to reflect upon my recent experience with Pacific & Santa Cruz Veterinary Specialists (hereafter “clinic”). Not sharing my experience would disrespect my dog, Remi, and would also be a disservice to other pet owners who may rely on this clinic for emergency veterinary care.

On July 30th, I took my 10-month old Formosan Mountain Dog, Remi, to the clinic after seeing her eat a death-cap (DC) mushroom. I told them that I am familiar with mushrooms, and I provided a sample of what she ate. They neglected to send the mushroom sample to a mycologist or begin immediate treatment for DC poisoning on account they didn’t feel it looked like a DC—demonstrating their dangerous lack of DC knowledge due to the fact it is common knowledge that DC mushrooms can look very different due to maturity and growing conditions. Had they sent the mushroom in to a mycologist as expected they would have done a 5 minute Amatoxin iodine test (DC turns blue when stained with iodine) I have no doubt that Remi would still be with us today. Instead, they sent her home with fluid and anti-nausea meds and said to come back at 6 p.m. (11 hours later for a follow-up blood lab).

After returning home from the clinic, I quickly knew that something was seriously wrong and immediately called them to describe Remi’s condition was deteriorating, and I called the clinic and described to the staff her symptoms. I told them that Remi’s gums were turning pink (Remi is a black-gummed dog), she was panting, had stiff muscles, was incontinent, and had stopped moving or responding to me. They marginalized my concerns and, through either apathy or ignorance, dismissed both my concerns as well as Remi’s worsening condition. They told me that, ‘I could come back in if I wanted,’ but that Remi and I would most likely wait in their parking lot for several hours to be seen (COVID protocol).

Within an hour of that call it was apparent Remi was going into distress and I frantically rushed her into the clinic. Since no one is allowed into the clinic, I called from the parking lot, begging for someone to look at her. They refused and continued to completely dismiss me and my suffering pup. Through tears I told them Remi was clearly dying and even then, they made us wait another 20 min in the hot parking lot. When a veterinarian finally came out to observe her, within seconds of seeing her they rushed her into the clinic. Shortly after that, the clinic called and confirmed what I had told them over 8 hours before—that Remi was suffering from DC poisoning. Unfortunately, unlike when I brought her in early that morning, at this point her chances at survival were close to none. I did not give up on her and she fought till the end despite the negligent treatment. She passed on August 1st at 5AM.

I adopted Remi from a Taiwanese rescue which saved Remi and her siblings after finding them in a storm drain as babies. She was my world, my best friend, and my greatest source of joy.

Remi did not deserve the negligent treatment she received and I don’t want this treatment to continue. Santa Cruz is a mushroom hot spot and this will not be the last time a dog eats a DC in this area. I do hope that Remi will be the last dog lost to poor policy at this clinic though. I implore and request that the clinic responds to this message with the policy change they will be making and sympathy of the life that was lost. I request that the default corporate response is not included. It is disrespectful to Remi’s memory. She deserves...