Lauderdale Veterinary Specialists LVS Did Subpar Evaluation/Diagnosis on my Dog Fort Lauderdale Florida

My complaint:

I brought my pet there because I noticed throughout the day on 12/4/2017 she was shaking and trembling and didn't want to urinate as if she was in discomfort. It was around 5:45 P.M. and Hero's my normal vet was closed so on there website listed was LVS lauderdale VET Specialist for us as patients to use if they are closed and it was an Emergency.

  My dog had no other issues/symptoms no vomiting/no diareah/she was not lethargic/no blood in poop or urine/no difficulty in breathing/no coughing or sneezing.....which I advised the clinic at the time I filled out the paperwork at check-in.

We were seen by a young lady never even got her name because the assistant that took us in the room said Jennifer will be with you shortly, and that is not who even came in I found out later at checkout. The Vet we saw never even corrected me when I addressed her as Jennifer.

She did a basic one min exam looked at her teeth/gums she listened to her heart and took her temp.  She said she has a fever of 103.00 and needs fluids she said we need to run a full blood workout and pee analysis/culture. I said OK well how much is all this going to cost I need to know  like we all would. Her reply was she is the VET here and does not  do the pricing I will have someone come in an talk to you about that and then you can see how far you want to take this. As we waited in the room I could heard the VET in the back speaking with another person maybe a college after she examined my dog as If she was unsure of what to do or recommend.   So a young guy comes in the room and give me my options. He said the VET recommends keeping her here overnight for fluids for $2,200.00, and you do a blood work up with a urine analysis and urine culture. I said I can't do the $2,200 right now so he leaves and says ok. Then the VET returns again (like a tag team effect here) She says dogs can't talk (REALLY!) unfortunately to tell us what is wrong. She said I needed to do the basic blood work/urine analysis and urine culture and give her fluids I said yes that's fine, but I don''t have $2,200.00 for you to keep her here overnight can u give her fluids under her skin and do the basic blood work and urine anaysis and see what that shows us. She said ok but even with me doing just that may not even tell us anything. You really need to take it futher and all of the above with the full blood work for $140.00. She leaves and says think about what you want to do and leaves. All while we still sit here to get the money thing figured out and my dog laying there not feeling well.   Next the assistant comes back in the young guy and he has me sign a paper saying I do not want to do the $2,200 suggestion from the VET to keep her there and give her fluids overnight. He then leaves again and comes back in and says now I need you to sign for the costs of what you want to do. So I said lets do the basic blood work and urine anaysis and fluids under the skin. He says ok I will be back leaves again and then comes back with the paper for me to sign on the charges i agreed to pay.  He then comes back 15 mins later to take my dog to do the tests.  Vet comes back in after waiting for results and says Urine was clear no crystals/blood and says blood work showed nothing of any real issues maybe it's behavioral.   Well it is not behavioral I told her. She said well that's all we can do for now unless you want to go into more tests which is going to cost more money... So she left me there to decide what I wanted to do. I was just unsure of what to do at that point and was not feeling very confident about there skills here.  So the VET returned to the room to see what or if I wanted to do anything else I explained to her i was just unsure at this time so she suggested they give her the fluids and just go home and watch her.  I was charged $213.90 and my dog was the same way when I brought there no diagnosis.

I called again the next morning because my dog was no better and she had me up all night trembling /shaking off an on throughout the night.  I called Hero's my vet that morning on 12/5/2017 and they suggested I bring my dog back to LVS and seek the advise of another VET since If I brought her back there I would not be charged again for an office visit. So I do just that on 12/5/2017 I went back there I was there almost 2.5 hours another VET came in and did a one min exam with my dog she said her gums were red and her private looked a little red and she did not seem warm anymore that was the extent of the exam second opinion. Her recommendation was to give her a Antibotic a general one and see if that helps her along with a pain medicine called Gabapentin which is terrible its like a sedation medicine. I gave my dog a 1/4 piece of one 25mg pill to see how she would react to it and it completely made my dog like she was in a sedation state yes 1/4 of the pill and the prescription was two pills 25mg every 8 to 12 hours. (I was informed by my regular Vet HERO's that dosage was way too much for a dog weighting 11 pounds that also has a heart murmur.)

  So they charged me another $74.20 for medicine at LVS and no one even discussed the cost with me it was filled and brought out to me in the lobby and when I asked how much is it the young lady replied I am not sure when u check out they can tell you then she made an inappropriate comment well don't you need the medicine for your dog!!! not appropriate to say to a customer.  I said well you guys state she needs the medicine not me, but I have to make sure I can afford it. So the VET prescribed my dog a pain medicine that was the incorrect dosage and I am not sure If I gave that to my dog at the dosage suggested on the bottle by there licensed VET what would of happened to my dog.   So my dog on the antibotic only is still no better as of 12/8/2017 so I call HERO's my vet and I got an appointment for 12/9/2017 they did a full exam/urine/blood work and Xray of her spine because from the exam the VET determined she had no issues in her urine/blood, but she did have lower back pain from the EXAM! and determined it was due to inflammation in her back causing her pain. He gave me an anti inflammatory medicine and a muscle relaxer within 24 hours of these medications she has not been shaking/trembling.   So I reached out to the LVS and explained the situation and requested a full refund as I was given subpar service on my visit there and my dog was not diagnosed properly, and she was given the wrong dosage of pain medicine They charged me for a one minute exam $80.00 which was not even a thorough one they did not look in her ears/her eyes/they did not do a physical exam of her body/joints/back and they are charging people a high price for as an after hour service. . 

I paid $213.90 on 12/4/2017 and $74.20 on 12/5/2017.  I had to pay HERO's Veterinary clinic for the proper diagnosis and medicine for my dog and requested a FULL REFUND.  They refused to give me a refund so I am now disputing the charges with my bank.   I felt like it was all about the money there and a rush for the vet to leave as she was on her way out as I was waiting for the medicine for my dog. I mean my dog was not going to be cared for until I agreed/signed for services. The whole time back and forth with the assistant and VET to get the money right all while my dog laid there not feeling well. So in my opinion is it all about the money at this place not the animals.   They replied back taht they will not issue a refund as that would be admitting guilt/fault on their part and they are not all about the money and there doctors do not work on production or commissions-based medicines: I replied I can't speak for others visiting your hospital/clinic I am merely speaking on my personal experience from bringing my dog there and what took place with me and your staff on my two visits there. With all due respect to your doctors and their perspective Salaries they are there to make money for the hospital or they would not be getting a paycheck or salary.  I wrote this review so others can read it and they can make there own judgment call If they choose to bring there pet to this hospital.