Westwood Regional Veterinary Hospital — Local services in Westwood

I didn't want to have to write this review but I am so disappointed in the care that my dog received and the attitude that I have received from this place. I brought my dog in for GI issues. An examination was performed and tests were run to rule out various issues. I specifically asked them to check him for a bacteria that caused him to have an infection when he was a baby, at which time we were advised that the sickness could come back at some point. Dr. McConnell, the vet at Westwood refused to run the test. When everything came back clean I was told he had a bout of Colitis and sent home with medication. After four days on the medication no improvement I tried to get in contact with Dr. McConnell which is a project in itself. When I finally got her she added another medication and said we should do an ultrasound to rule out other things. The word cancer was mentioned and we were absolutely terrified. At this point I again asked her to run the GI panel to check for that bacteria. She agreed and I brought in a fecal sample right away. When handing over the fecal sample to the vet techs none of them had any idea what test needed to be run because Dr. McConnell did not put it in my dogs chart. They called her cell phone and she told them which test to run. They ran the wrong test, checking him for for parasites, which had already been ruled out on day 1 of this whole ordeal. The ultrasound was run and we awaited the results. Finally, I got a call from a tech telling me that my dog had tested negative for parasites which I had already known. I told the tech that we were waiting on the ultrasound results and the GI panel at which point she said she didn't know anything about it. I became annoyed on the phone and asked to speak to a doctor at which point the tech called me rule and said she was going to "hang up on me." However, within the hour I got a call from Dr. Cattiny (the ONLY reason they are getting 2 stars). After looking over my dogs chart he apologized profusely for the issues and mistakes that had been made, asked for a fresh fecal sample so that he could run the right tests for me, free of charge, went over his ultrasound results with me, assured me no cancer was found and put him on a steroid to help with the GI issues he was still having. The steroid worked and we awaited the fecal results. Due to all of the issues we decided to bring our dog to see a new vet at which point we asked Westwood for his records. They were evasive and rude every time I attempted to follow up. It took two weeks to get the records. After two weeks we still had no fecal panel results. Yesterday, I got a call from Dr. McConnell telling me that the fecal results were back and that my dog tested positive for the bacteria that I asked them to check for since day one. She began to discuss treatment at which point I told her due to all of the issues that I would be moving forward with his treatment elsewhere and asked if they would send me his results as soon as possible so that I could give them to his new vet. This morning I received his results and records via email. At the top was a note from Dr. McConnell saying she spoke to me and that I was "rude", which I wasn't and that I stated I was going to a different vet because "they made me wait for an appointment when they had an emergency." At no point in my conversation with her did I mention anything about a wait time. I did say that I felt it was unfair of her to not run the test I had asked for because I would have known what was wrong with my dog weeks ago and could have avoided pain and suffering for him and for us after she threw the cancer word around with no evidence of it. This place is full of liars, rude staff, one very rude vet (Dr. McConnell). Dr. Cattiny is really good but he's not always there. So if you want to deal with rude, high school level lies and drama when you are paying for expert veterinary services, this is the place for you. I would recommend this hospital for emergencies ONLY and then take your dog and records to your regular vet to be...

Below will be a brief summary of each doctor and supervisor, what they excel at and are deficient in based on the multiple visits to this establishment including one surgical procedure.

Dr. George Cattiny - Skilled surgeon and owner of the hospital. This doctor can see basically any animal under the sun and if you have the money, he will make sure you have as many years as possible to spend with your beloved pet. However if you are looking for a communicative doctor he is not the one you should seek.

Dr. Maribeth Hartwick - One of the most thorough diagnosticians I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with. She stays after hours every single day to ensure that communication between owners and the doctors stays flowing and you never have to wonder about the status of your pet or their test results! She is truly the most communicative doctor on staff at this hospital.

Dr. Taylor McConnell - a skilled surgeon and certified for administering physical therapy for various animals as well as USDA certificates for travel. An extremely kind and knowledgeable doctor, who is sadly one of the least communicative people at this hospital.

Dr. Jessica Silver - skilled surgeon, and a doctor who is not looking to break the bank or drain your wallet in any way. She is there to make sure your animal is healthy and happy. She is blunt, but she is an amazing doctor who will take the time to explain things to you in detail and she is quite communicative with owners while having has an amazing sense of humour.

Dr. Giammanco - a skilled surgeon and a very thorough doctor who has no trouble going through all the details of the ailment your pet has. Never got the impression he was in it for the money, but rather there for the animals.

Dr. Martinez - New to the hospital she is a fantastic and kind doctor. She always takes the time to call clients and keep the owners in the loop. She always has times to answer even the most inane or silly of questions so ask them, because she truly is there for the health of your pets and for the love of these animals.

Dr. Katz- New to the hospital she is likewise a fantastic and kind doctor. She is extremely communicative with owners and similarly to Dr Martinez is always willing to answer even the silly or inane questions you might have.

Management Staff

Ms. Diana- if you are wanting refunds of any kind or to speak with a manager for any reason, do not count on Diana to call you back. Extremely unprofessional, she will literally never have the time to speak with a client regardless of how large or small the issue is. Do you need a refund for a large procedure like a surgery? Or a small $88$ refund for an exam fee that was mistakenly charged? Regardless of what you need help with you will be waiting 1 to 3 months for a response. Simply unacceptable for hospital management staff, communication is key to building trust amongst your clients and she has no interest in respecting the clients who come here.

Mr. Jordan Zubalsky - many clients who are regulars at this establishment know that Jordan is the only person who will get refunds processed or special medications ordered for clients. While he will have similarly long wait times to Diana at the very least he will eventually get the job done. A one month's time is at least better than 3 months but still extremely unprofessional and not appropriate for a hospital environment.

Reception - The reception staff seem brokenhearted and from what conversation I've had with them, it seems it is due to a failure of management to inspire or motivate them. The team feels they have no support and have no way to solve the most common problems that many clients have.

In addition my conversations with the staff suggest that their hours are cut whenever the owner wants to go on vacation, what makes this worse is it seemed to happen around holiday times such as Christmas and Thanksgiving! A truly reprehensible thing for a doctor to approve of!

Overall Impression This hospital is let down by incompetent management staff and communication...

First, know this was my second visit (with a different dog). This 2nd visit, which was scheduled, was driven by my amazing first visit a few weeks before with my other dog. Although that first visit was an emergency visit at 10:00 pm (did not get home until 1:00 am), almost everything about it was pleasant. My pet and I were checked in on often while waiting in a treatment room. My pet's "uncle" was allowed in with us while we waited. (He actually referred me to this practice.) Everyone was pleasant, and we were even offered a very late dinner by the owner/head vet who was quite ebullient despite the workload and the hour. Despite the wait for being seen, I knew (thought) I found my new vet practice.

This evening's appt was a180 degree turnaround. What a mess! We arrived 10 minutes early for his 6 pm. After nearly 40 minutes, a tech finally took a summary. She then took my dog - without me - to a treatment room. I asked to be present, but was told that Dr. Murphy didn't work that way. This was not due to COVID protocol at all - the staff was all unmasked as were 90% of the waiting pet parents. Confused but resigned to the vet's "preference", I agreed to watch my pup walk away.

20 minutes or so later, I was called into a room only to be asked if I was "Mars' " owner. No, I was not; I was MAX's mom. Dr. Murphy returned with the correct file but not my dog. I asked where he was. "The treatment room." Why and having what done? Cue the most unprofessional, disdainful, and indignant look as a reply from Dr. Murphy. The truculence was thoroughly unacceptable. She explained that she was very busy and preferred to not have the owners present when assessing the pets. I explained that I was at the office just a few weeks before, it was even busier, and that I was in the room with my pet. "The face" surfaced again; I swallowed my anger and pushed forward to find out what the diagnosis was for my pup.

All I received was a vague answer but with a lot of offerings for laser therapy, acupuncture, various injections, etc. Okay, but what is the actual diagnosis? Dr. Murphy explained that an x-ray would be needed. I figured as much, but was not willing to wait what was certain to be an extended amount of time and to interact with this obviously green, overwhelmed, unprofessional veterinarian any further. Also, why offer so many high-level options without really knowing the specifics? I said I would start him on Cosequin and schedule an x-ray or other appropriate diagnostic later in the week...true, just not at Westwood. Also, I had other general questions about Max who just turned 11 two weeks ago. I did not have the opportunity to ask these questions as I was not in the room with the vet who "assessed" my dog.

I was offered no interim strategies for alleviating Max's pain until the diagnostic. I was charged $88 for an evaluation that I honestly don't have the faith occurred in an effective manner. Rather, I am certain it was a perfunctory, assembly line-like quick check.

My other dog (the first one with the emergency appointment) was scheduled for a checkup and vaccinations this coming Saturday. I cancelled the appointment, which was a shame considering the great first experience I had with her there. I was going to make the switch to Westwood only because my long term vet is always so overbooked and they still do not allow pet parents in the building as a continued COVID protocol. I will deal with that because I know that even though I won't be with my pet, he will be in good hands with vets who care and extend that care to the anxious pet mom/dad waiting in the car.

Dr. Murphy has been at Westwood only 6 months. She's still a novice vet who needs to develop better case management skills and definitely better people skills. There should be a senior vet with her to guide her until she has been there at...