Ve+cc Las Vegas Bad communication, money hungry which led to the death of our dog and the chance to say goodbye. Las Vegas Nevada

My dog, Trouble, was admitted ito ve+cc on March 7, 2014 at approximately 7pm.  Trouble’s symptoms were vomiting large amounts of blood and foam.  We were told he would have to stay overnight and have more blood tests and an ultrasound to determine the exact cause.  Upon leaving our family member in your care, we verified with several people on your staff that we would be called with updates and changes to our pet’s status.  We reiterated the fact that although we live in Pahrump, we would drive down on a moment’s notice if his status changed.  We were told we would be updated all along and rest-assured he was in excellent care.  Aside from payment inquires, this would mark the beginning of the one-sided communication we received from your facility. 

March 8, 2015, Day 2 at this facikity no phone call with an update.  Around 11 am, because I was out of state, my sister visited Trouble and was told he was stable.  She also inquired if I would be able to visit him upon arrival back into town at approximately 9pm.  She asked three different people.  They all replied yes, it would be okay, as long as it was not busy.  Upon my arrival, I phoned your facility and was told it was too late to visit.  You can imagine my disappointment to hear that after all, you would not allow me to visit Trouble because it was too late (not too busy); although as I previously mentioned, my sister was told by several staff members that it wouldn’t be a problem.  

March 9, 2015, Day 3 at this  facility, and again, no phone call with an update.  I called for an update and spoke to the receptionist who transferred me back to the person caring for Trouble.  I was told Trouble was the most stable out of the animals that were being taken care of; they did blood work and were waiting to do an ultrasound that morning.  I was told they would call me with all the results, which no one ever did.  Later that day I visited him was told Trouble’s numbers were high in most areas they tested and that his gall bladder was enlarged and would possibly need to be removed.  Dr. Smee also stated, they would recheck Trouble’s blood and do another ultrasound the next day and would then reevaluate and let us know.

March 10, 2015, Day 4 at this facility, again, no phone call with an update.  I called for an update and spoke to the receptionist who transferred me back to the person caring for Trouble.  I was told he was stable and somewhat uncomfortable.  We visited that day at approximately 3:00 before Trouble was to go into surgery to remove his gall bladder.  They informed us during our visit that we would only have 5-10 minutes because they wanted to get him into surgery as soon as possible.  They came and took Trouble from us to bring him back for his emergency surgery.  While Trouble was waiting for his emergency surgery, they would not proceed until the money was processed on the account-which took an exceptional amount of time.  Also, I was the one to remind the secretary to call back and tell them to start with the surgery because things were paid for.  Dr. Smee and the surgeon did call that night to let us know the surgery was complete and Trouble came out of it well.  

March 11, 2015, Day 5 at this facility, again no phone call with an update.  I called for an update and spoke to the receptionist who transferred me back to the person caring for Trouble. She told me Trouble was in some pain and resting. We visited later that day at approximately 4:30 pm and were told his numbers did not change much and they were going to check his blood again and possibly another ultrasound and they would let us know, unfortunately, no one followed through then, either.  

March 12, 2015, Day 6 at this facility, again no phone call with an update.  I called for an update and spoke to the receptionist who transferred me to the person caring for Trouble.  I was told his night was good and he was still in some pain.  I did receive a call about a transfusion that was needed for Trouble.  After this news, I called 2 additional times throughout the day for updates.  We visited later that day at approximately 4:30 pm and were told the transfusion was going well and would continue into the night.  We specifically said if there were any updates, changes, or problems to please call us and let us know.  They stated they would do so with any news.   

March 13, 2015, Day 7 at this facility, again no phone call with an update (7 days later and still the communication was one sided).  I called for an update and spoke to the person caring for Trouble at approximately 8:07 am.  She told us Trouble had a good night; he was up walking around and used the bathroom outside.  We were ecstatic!  Finally, our Trouble was making progress and we could not wait to see him!!  At approximately 10:10 am I received a message stating they wanted to know when we would be coming in today to visit Trouble.  I called back instantly and said we were on our way; we were about 5 minutes away.  We got to the facility at approximately 10:25 and checked in with the front desk, there was zero indication from your staff that anything was wrong, until we got into the room.  At that time, Dr. Brabson informed us that Trouble did not have a great night.  In fact, it was horrible. 

We were told he had three blood clots throughout the night and into the morning, that his heart stopped and he died minutes before we arrived.  In my grief, I went from expecting to see Trouble up, walking around and using the bathroom to wondering why we were not informed of the first blood clot that happened hours and hours before Trouble died (remember, your staff assured us that we would be informed of any changes or situations in Trouble’s status). According to your website, you seem to pride yourselves on believing your statement “We are dedicated to setting the standard of excellence in veterinary emergency and critical care by treating our patients and their owners with compassion, and maintaining thorough communication with referring veterinarians and their clients- relationships we greatly value.” Where was the communication that my family was entitled to?  Was my family not greatly valued?  

This staff had not only the ability, but the obligation to inform us of the change in Trouble’s status.  You failed my family and me.  This staff’s inability to follow through with what we were promised took away the final chance I had say good bye to my Trouble.  Had your staff done what they assured us they would, my family would have been given time to get to him and say goodbye before the other 2 clots happened, his heart stopped, and he died.  This is a chance every person wants and needs. 

How can they pride themselves on their communication between client and yourselves when things like this happen?  In doing research on this facility, I have found your lack of communication has affected more than just my family.  Please take a moment and familiarize yourself with the following cases. 

• yelp.com/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ripoffreport.com%2Fveterinarians%2Fve-cc%2Fve-cc-vecc-dog-owners-beware-57e0f.htm&s=a05b2e131e5dddb6a49b66689dbc76ba8822d9b7ebb679e5e9d55072b74e6ef3  
• yelp.com/biz/veterinary-emergency-and-critical-care-las-vegas#hrid:LaLrPKdw6mEyjzZj5GlliA
• yelp.com/biz/veterinary-emergency-and-critical-care-las-vegas
• ripoffreport.com/reports/specific_search/VeCC

In reading these reviews, please focus on the ones who strictly refer to communication; you will see some of the same things my family experienced are similar to what others have too.  I too, will be placing information from my experiences with your facility on all the review sites I can.  

In addition to the lack of communication that we experience from this facility, there are a few other things that I would like to address.  

In regards to Trouble’s chart, I have noted some discrepancies.  Conditions that he suffered from that were not discussed with me, times not being accurate, being transferred to other areas of the hospital without notifying me are just a few I have noticed.  Are these charts not to be an accurate portrayal of what occurred during the days my beloved Trouble was in your care?  They are proving not to be. 

Furthermore, I have some issues with the care he was given.  Why were the complications of surgery not discussed with my family and me prior to surgery?  Your staff was sure to discuss payment and make sure that was all taken care of.  I cannot help but wonder why that was more important to your staff than my dog’s well-being.  Also, during Trouble’s surgery, biopsies were preformed that were not approved nor discussed prior to. Is paying for procedures that were not approved customary for patients of your facility?  

Although my choice in taking my pet to Ve+cc was one of convenience, I was comforted knowing my primary vet referred me to you after the fact, as well.  Sharing my experience with this facility and referencing the above reviews will be a conversation I will be having with my vet and all animal lovers I come in contact with.  My hope is they will think twice about referring clients to them  once they are made aware of these communication issues that have arisen among your previous clients and myself.   I do not want any other family to grieve the loss of their pet along with the guilt of not having the opportunity to say good-bye to him/her due to your lack of communication and assurances that were not adhered to.  

They need to take a hard look at their practices.  They trusted to take care of important members of people’s families and, as their website states, “Our team of dedicated doctors and licensed nurses monitor patients around-the-clock to ensure they receive the care they need”.  Following through with accurate communication is the key to making that statement a reality.

We did meet with Dean Penniman-hospital administrato- to adress some of our concerns   His responses were to give numerous excuses and blame others.  One thing that I will never forget about this meeting, is the fact he never apologized for the lack of communication or the policies that were not followed.  Although he did state " this will happen again".   Not will try our best to make sure it does not happen again.   No, his response is that it will happen again.