Arizona Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Center (AVECCC) — Attraction in Gilbert

DO NOT TAKE YOUR PET HERE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!! THIS PLACE IS A SCAM! In January we took our cat here to try and save her. At first things were going really well until we told them we were starting to hit a financial cap and then conveniently the next day, she started to decline rapidly. Interesting if you ask me. Our cat was there for about 10 days in total and they kept insisting we do test after test (you can imagine the cost) despite our concerns which we voiced. Interestingly enough, we tested for cancer twice before they insisted we test for it a third time, when they finally said they think it's cancer (notice that I said think). At one point, "Doctor" Wilkins told us that we needed to put our kitty down and that it was "unethical" to even let her live any longer because she wasn't eating, drinking, showing signs of life, etc. which made absolutely NO sense because they brought her in to see us and she ate an entire can of baby food, drank water, explored the room, and happily purred and chirped in our laps, and she STILL had the audacity to tell us that we needed to put her down?!?! We felt pressured to put her down right then and there and we even felt guilty for wanting to take our pet home, even for at home euthanasia because she had told us how "unethical" it was. It made no sense and it was awfully suspicious considering her words weren't matching what was going on. Not to mention, Wilkins prescribed ineffective medication, when apparently (after talking to many other vets), it's a known fact amongst Vets that cats don't respond nearly as well to Prednisone as opposed to Prednisolone. Embarrassing on her part. She also admitted that she barely read over our cat's chart before coming in to talk to us and said our cat was probably partially succumbing to heart failure, which if she looked at the notes at all, she would have seen that we had already ruled that out days prior. Again, embarrassing. On the last day that our cat was there, they told us that she needed to be put down and as we cried and begged if there was anything else that we could do, Dr. Hopey held our hand and told us there was literally nothing more that we can do to save our cat - nothing. We went home with our cat expecting to do at home euthanasia, and then conveniently, the next morning Dr. Hopey called us back with a "Hail Mary" way that we can save her for another $6400 and then MAYBE our cat might be eligible for an oncologist. Which again, is weird because we had asked about that prior and she said she spoke with an oncologist who said our cat wouldn't be eligible. So, tell me, what changed? NOTHING! The most intriguing part of this, is that she conveniently gave us the corrected medication (Prednisolone) which just so happened to improve our cat immediately overnight. She had said that if we hospitalized her for another couple days to get her values in a better spot, that they can re-consider becoming eligible for oncology. I had told her that if she could tell me what "changed" overnight that we would consider it, because less than 24 hours prior they had told us that there was absolutely, positively, NOTHING that could be done to save her. Being suspicious of them at this time, we decided to take her somewhere else and they checked her values and they were cut in HALF just over night - meaning we would have brought our cat back with better values than she ever had the entire time she was there. Sounds like a SCAM if I've ever heard one. We took it up with the board of directors, however, they basically told us they did nothing wrong. After taking our cat to a different vet, they confirmed after looking at notes from AVECCC that too many chefs were in the kitchen (we had worked with at least 7+ doctors) and confirmed that the ball was dropped for our kitty. Now our cat is doing absolutely WONDERFUL. It is scary to think of the amount of time we would have been robbed had we listened to AVECCC and their horrible "advice" to put our cat down. I'm so glad we followed our gut and...

My dog was alive when we arrived, dead dog walking 12 minutes later..

So my 8 year old French Bulldog has a specific heart condition wherein fluid builds around his heart making it difficult for him to breathe, which in turn causes coughing in an effort to get oxygen. He’s been to a different emergency vet in Gilbert 3 times the last 18 months with the same issue, shortness of breath, labored breathing. The solution has been to put him in an oxygen chamber, give him a shot of a mediation to reduce fluids around his heart, then an hour later, we are home. Today his symptoms were the same, we should have left together.

Instead, this is what happened…. I called the office 20 minutes prior to arrival to tell them my dog’s condition and that I was coming in. I walked in calmly holding my dog, he was exhibiting the same shortness of breath he had been for several hours. The following took place over a time frame of about 12 minutes.

First, I began to explain the situation.. again….to make sure they understood he needed to be put in oxygen chamber, given a a shot of a certain medicine to help remove fluid around his heart, and be given an IV he would stabilize. However a worried employee took my dog from my arms in 30 seconds. So I asked is he going into an ICU cage. However, the front office medical assistant interrupted me, started with the forms to sign. The significant form was consent for a $625 treatment plan that included the initial emergency care, blood test, EKG, it had around 6 possible steps, procedures, and medications. The cost was $625. I calmly reviewed each item and I asked if a chest scan was included. That’s how calm I was. After I signed the form, I tried to explain to them again my Vetenarian’s name and the previous emergency facility I went to so they could get his charts (minute 2), they chattered through their devices talking asking if I had some the form, “not yet, he’s about to now.” The second I finished signing I turned around to go get my coffee out of my Truck and had a panicked veterinarian in my face telling me she needed to talk to me (minute 4), I said I just want to grab my coffee really quick, she told me she just needed to talk quickly, so I went to room 6, she “asked” me if it was ok if they put a breathing apparatus down his throat to help him breathe. As I asked a couple questions, I quickly caught on that she already started that procedure, and that he would he would not be waking up again unless I forked out $4-5k a night (minute 6). She said just putting him under and tube down to breathe for him would be $195. I said “noooo.. nooo he doesn’t need that, he only needs the ICU cage, the shot, the IV.” The doctor nervously said she thinks they already started to do the procedure and that “he was um, turning blue, and um probably going to die if they didn’t do that procedure. I said “we will never know will we? He’s had these exact same symptom for serval hours this morning and only needed treatment.” (Minute 8).

So he had the tube in him, only choice was to kill him or pay $5000 a night.

So basically, I came to an emergency room, they made me sign for procedures under duress, then before the ink dried they’re putting my dog under so I had choose to pay or or kill him.

Needless to say, they were all very friendly while they teetered on the gray area of malpractice and ...

UPDATE: I was contacted by the Client Experience Supervisor, who listened to my experience and addressed my concerns and issues directly. I have updated my rating as I respect any busy that takes concerns seriously and works to address them.

Unfortunately, my experience here with my dog clearly highlighted the organizations desire to put profit over pet care.

I brought my small terrier into the facility over the weekend as he had been having stomach and bowel issues over the past week. His family vet had recommended if symptoms led to vomitting or additional issues to have him seen. Since the issues happened over the weekend when the family vet office was closed I decided to bring him to the ER vet as a precaution. Here is my experience.

Once we were taken in to be seen by the vet, I was asked to give an overview of his syptoms which I had not only formally written down during the intake process but had also verbally told the front office staff and tech. The vet seemed to have ZERO prior knowledge, so I am not sure why I had bothered to outline the symptoms the first three times.

He immediaetly went into the top three worst case scenarios without ever examining my dog, then stated he needed to take the dog into another room to exam him. Why his family vet can examine him in the room while I am there, and he couldn't is a mystery.

After that, a vet tech brought my dog back into the room and said the exam didn't show anything 'remarkable' (whatever that means) and left.

From there a woman from the business office came in and presented me with an iPad outlining the over $1500 dollars in charges and services that I would need to signed off on that needed to be performed . EXCUSE ME, SIGN OFF ON ?!?

The vet still hadn't come in and spoke to me about the exam, his thoughtS for treatment - just a woman asking me to pay the highest bill and then the vet will come back in.

I immediately refused and had to ask why the vet couldn't come in and explain the course of treatment and if this was the only option especially given that his family vet, the one my dog has seen for years, didn't feel as concerned that this was a life threatening serious illness.

After outlining my frustration to the vet and business office, MIRACULOUSLY, none of that work was essential and that he'd probably be okay with a small shot, observation and a visit to his regular vet the following day.

THIS BEHAVIOUR BY THE STAFF IS DISGUSTING! I knew enough to push back and ask questions, but if someone was in there and seriously concerned about their pets health they could and probably would spend anything when some of the treatment may not even be required. I would NEVER recommend this business to anyone. Find another ER vet, do your research before you get into a real emergency situation to prevent being taken...