Animal kind--too many tests?

I only found this forum yesterday but I keep coming back and am especially drawn to this thread. To say the least.. I am an animal nut. Alafairnadia's recent comment made me think. Of course we choose a vet based on the quality of care they give our pets during their lifetimes but the "end game" does tell a lot about a vets office. Nine years ago my yellow lab who was near 13 took a turn for the worse. Dr Dentler had taken cae of him for all those years but when I called that Fri afternoon with an emergency I was told she wasn't there and was told go to Animal Kind. Who know if that situation has changed but she had NO coverage on a fri afternoon at 1pm. All of my dog's med records were in her office.. I had no choice under these dire circumstances and we took Danny to Animal KInd. This dog weighed 100 pounds. He was in the back of my van.. I ran in and explained the situation to the receptionist. Dr Gibson overheard what I was saying. He grabbed a tech and ran to the car with me. He and the tech carried Danny to an exam room. He felt there was no time to wait for a stretcher. That was the afternoon I met Dr. Gibson (for the first time) and Danny passed away that sunny Friday in June... And I mean he died right there in front of both of us. Dr. Gibson had just sent a tech to get the injection when the dog passeddied as we stood there touching him (both of us).. I won't go on and on here because years later I can't tell this story without tears But.. I was told to stay in the room for as long as I needed to after my dog passed.. . Dr. Gibson kept coming in (after each animal he was seeing) to check on me. I was there at least 45 minutes tying up an exam room on a busy Friday. I was dealt with so gently I never forgot the experience. The next day Dr. Gibson called to see how I was.. Three weeks later I got a note saying a donation had been made to Cornell in my pet's name. Seven months later I brought my new puppy to Animal Kind.

Two months ago my dear friends lost their 7 year old Westie suddenly. It was early in the morning and they rushed to Animal Kind (because they are open by 7am.. before actually) since their vet was not open yet.. I got a call and was there in 5 minutes. We were all distraught. Once again there was no one rushing us and we were told to stay in the room as long as we needed to. The bill was brought downstairs so that we didn't need to be in the reception area with other dogs and the general aggitation of the openning of office hours.. Bottom line... My friend are expecting their new puppy will be ready to come home from the breeder next month. Their new Vet.. Animal Kind..

For sure the prime directive in finding a doc to take care of your pet is that the care they receive during their lifetime is top notch but in my case I made a decision to use Animal Kind based on how My Danny and I were dealt with in the final moments of his life. This is a decision I don't regret> My two Maltese are 7 and 8 years old and they have been patients at Animal Kind since puppyhood and have received excellent care. Do I pay top dollar... yeah!!

Subject: Why were your claims denied?

windowdressing wrote: To comment on Pet Insurance:

I purchased Pet Insurance through VPI when I first brought home my pup. Unfortunately, after thousands of dollars in expenses for a variety of procedures--not a dollar has been reimbursed.
VPI always finds a reason not to pay...and when you call them they seem to take pleasure in poor customer service. Overall, an unpleasant experience.

I'm a VPI policyholder and I haven't had my claims denied, nor have I experienced unpleasant customer service. They are typically pretty transparent in letting you know if something is or isn't reimburseable. In fact, one representative encouraged me to submit a claims for for a deworming, since my wellcare portion of the plan covered that. Why did they say your claims were denied? A pre-existing condition? An unclear diagnosis?

Subject: nice response

it's actually nice and refreshing to have a business owner and professional, here the owner of animal kind, jump in and explain their viewpoint like that in a compassionate, non-defensive way. thank you, dr. gibson. it doesn't take away from what that person experienced (in fact there was one very much pro and one very much con experience related) but it does humanize the situation.

p.s. I have been to animal kind - & I realize the constraints that he mentions with the # of staff but it is very expensive. I think dr. salas there is great tho'. I've been to Hope Vet and I agree they are so nice and friendly and I still go there sometimes but I brought my cat there who eventually died and I also felt that they just didn't get it "right." For everyday things tho' I would still feel comfortable with them. But if something major came up, I would recommend a second opinion.

Subject: where did dr. salas go... do we know?

does anyone know where dr. salas went? that is a great loss!
thanks kirby for sharing your dr. salas story.

Subject: dr. salas...

hi kensingtonmom,

Spain... permanently?

I would have followed her too! I can't believe it. There are not that many vets or doctors that I would feel that confident about but her manner combined with her expertise were so perfect. At Hope, they are so friendly and lovely but I sometimes wasn't sure about the advice and the practice that was happening with my one cat who was very sick(and died). Now, I never had to 'test' dr. salas in a situation like that but I had brought sick or injured pigeons to her - when animal kind would look after birds (sadly no longer) - and she was amazing. that's a true test. unlike dr. keschner in kensington whose manner leaves MUCH to be desired.

hopefully she's happy and helping many animals and birds in spain!

thanks.

Subject: yeah...

casepeole, your telling of the story of what happened was bad and hopefully if dr. gibson remembers, or, if he ever has that happen again, he will think a bit more about what the animal and his or her guardian are going through. Of course, we are so sensitive to what the animals are going through - we are their care givers - and yours had an exceptionally traumatic background. A vet, in particular, must experience all sorts of (shall we say) indelicacies and really has to just get used to it.

the money thing is definitely possible (about differing treatment, although, of course, we would hope not). I know that animal kind is big and has lots of staff but an office is visit is over $80 whereas most fall around $50 average. so ...?? when I first got to park slope, i only heard really bad things about animal kind and was afraid to go there. then i was told to be sure you knew or had a reference about a particular vet. now, i don't know really what is true anymore. I had only gone to dr. salas more recently and really liked her.

i'm glad you found a vet (i've actually found dr. maddon and dr. parker - at times - sort of standoffish so i don't know. ??) that you feel comfortable with!