Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center of NE

The Vet sits on the floor with the pets. He knows what he is doing he is professional. Loves the dogs and takes care of them. I call for an appointment and they make it the same day if its early in the morning.

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I couldn't have asked for a more positive experience. The nurse/animal care technician we saw was sympathetic, professional and caring. She treated her for a large fecal mass (OK, gross, but better than cancer) stuck on her hind end with a sitz bath, and gave me advice on how to help her skin recover. Because I didn't actually see a vet they didn't charge me? How often do you hear that? I would highly recommend this practice for any future veterinary emergency visits.

OUR 5 YEAR OLD MALTESE SEEMED TO BE IN PAIN, AND SINCE IT WAS AFTER HOURS AND OUR REGULAR VETERINARIAN WAS CLOSED, WE RUSHED HER TO VESCONE. SHE WAS SEEN BY A VET WITHIN HALF AN HOUR, AND, AFTER EXAMINING HER, HE FELT SHE HURT HER BACK (MID BACK). TO CONFIRM, HE TOOK X-RAYS AND PERFORMED SOME BLOOD WORK. HE WAS VERY GENTLE WITH HER AND FELT THIS WAS A SOFT TISSUE INJURY AND DID NOT INVOLVE A DISC. AFTER REVIEWING THE TEST RESULTS, HE SENT US HOME WITH PAIN MEDS. SHE RESPONDED VERY WELL, AND RECOVERED WITHIN THE WEEK. SINCE SHE IS A PUPPY MILL RESCUE, WE WERE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT HOW SHE WOULD REACTE. I WAS VERY SATISFIED WITH THE CARE. THE COST WAS WORTH IT TO RESOLVE HER PAIN. I KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS TO TREAT EMERGENCIES IN TERMS OF AVAILABLE STAFF AND EQUIPMENT.

WE HAVE USED VESCONE IN THE PAST FOR EMERGENCY VISITS FOR OTHER PETS AND FOUND THEM TO BE VERY CARING. WE HAD TO HAVE ANOTHER DOG EUTHANIZED OVER A YEAR AGO, DUE TO AN EMERGENCY RELATED TO CANCER AND A COLLAPSED TRACHEA, AND I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT HOW COMPASSIONATE THEY WERE. EVEN THE PERSON AT THE DESK KEPT CHECKING ON US AND CRIED WITH US. THEY WERE EXCEPTIONAL, AND I WOULD NOT HESITATE TO USE THEIR SERVICES AGAIN. THAT SAME PET WAS SEEN THERE A FEW MONTHS EARLIER AND RECEIVED WONDERFUL CARE.

Our cat mysteriously became lethargic and in pain,. Since this happened on a Sunday we ended up at VESCONE, who has a 24-hour emergency room. After an exam and an x-ray they diagnosed him with two extremely arthritic hips and sent him home with a subdermal pain medication along with an oral to give him. They talked us into performing a double femoral-head ostectomy (FHO) to alleviate the pain in his hips.
The cat didn't tolerate the medication well, with a paw that was fluttering and he started listing to one side. We discontinued the medicine and tried another pain med, hoping that he would recover enough for surgery, but he was getting worse. We took the cat to another neurologist who diagnosed the problem as a probably brain tumor impairing motor function and getting quickly worse. She didn't think the hips were the real issue--they had been that way for years. The cat died shortly thereafter (we couldn't afford the MRI/surgery for the brain tumor).
While VESCONE (probably) got the diagnosis quite wrong, I can't fully fault them--it's extremely tricky to figure out what's going on. However I do wish they'd spotted the obvious neurological symptoms so that we wouldn't have gotten our hopes up.
PLUSSES and MINUSES:
+ 24 hour access to competent staff who understands why you're freaking out.
+ The staff was extremely attentive and helpful throughout the process and truly cares about the health of the pets.
- The waiting room is a little stark but understandably so.
+ The wait time was always significant (usually about an hour, sometimes three), because pets are coming through at all hours and our pet's complaint from a triage perspective wasn't as time-critical.
+ They do provide free coffee and tea (a permanent donation from a previous customer) which is nice when you're upset about your sick pet...
We'll definitely work with them again if/when we have to.

Charley stopped eating approx. August 1, 2012. We could hand feed him off and on in August. My regular vet was away for the month of August so I started bringing Charley to Vescone early September '12. Took him back for test after test. Doc said she could do more tests but they were and quot;expensive.and quot; When asked she said the tests ranged from $1500 to $7 or$ 8,000. Heck I can make or loose twice that much in the stock market in a given day.
The skill level is excellent, but the doc was too busy trying not to tell me the brutal truth. I wish she had told me day one that he was terminal and the best we could do would be to put him down!!
Charley lost 1/3 of his body weight while she was too busy soft soaping me. Finally I canceled the October 9th appointment which caused the doc to call me. I told her I wanted to put Charley down and she agreed. Charley was put down that day. The final visit was beautiful. Private and peacefully done.
I had Charley cremated and he now resides in a beautiful wooden box with his name and dob and dod on it, on one of my bookshelves.
I have only 2 regrets. 1. I'm too old for another golden, and 2. the doc didn't level with me day one!

I had a positive experience with them.

The surgery went fine. They were very professional and kind to our dog.

They have been very good so far.

They were excellent. I would highly recommend them. They are very professional, and they really know their stuff when it comes to emergencies or specialty procedures.

They were excellent. They were wonderful, kind, empathetic, professional, friendly, and knowledgeable. They were able to diagnose the problem right away.

They were fine, but very expensive.

At our first visit after admitting our dog, the vet tech brought her out to the waiting room covered in feces. The tech said that she just had an accident however she was covered in fresh and dried excrement. I could not believe they would present her that way. With raised voice I told the tech I wanted to see the veterinarian on duty. I told him I was ready to take my dog home after what I had seen. He convinced me to leave my dog for her good, that she wouldnt last the night without.an IV and said he would speak to the vet tech.

Our dog was cleaner on subsequent visits over the weekend and we waited longer for them to bring her, so I imagine the cleaned her when we visited. also the service was less rude after I complained to the veterinarian.

I can understand the expense and some problems with staffing since we used their services on the weekend. Still, I would not go back there and feel the services rendered were barely adequate. We euthanized our dog the day after we brought her home from VESCONE.

Our dog Zelda was having a difficult day: labored and wheezy breathing and a lot of bleeding from accidentally cutting her nails too short. We called, and of course they are always there for us and anyone else with a pet emergency. The receptionist opened the door for us, and called a nurse. The nurse saw our dog: she checked Zelda's vitals, and cleaned out some mucus in her nose to alleviate Zelda's breathing. The nurse told us Zelda's vitals look good, just slightly higher temperature than normal, but nothing to worry about. We decided to take Zelda to our normal vet, but their vet came out to check Zelda briefly anyway. The vet reviewed Zelda's condition with us, and said our dog seems OK and wanted to make sure we take her to the vet, which of course we will do first thing tomorrow. We were touched by their compassion and generosity. When it came time to check out, the receptionist said no charge. I am speechless and touched.
We have brought our other dogs to VESCONE before, and the care our dogs received was oustanding. The staff are reassuring and talented people.

Dr. Vascone owns this center and it is phenomenal. Dr. Spielman is the doctor who helped us with our dog.

They kept my cat for a week for a variety of tests - there were no surgeries or anything like that. They never did figure out what was wrong with it though. My cat is all right now. They charged me $5000 totally for their services. It was a slow accumulation of charge - it was about $800 the first day. My wife did most of the dealing with them. They were pretty good; however, she did mention that they were a little rude sometimes if she called to discuss things or something like that. They would say that they were dealing with real emergencies right then and that my wife had to hold the call. I guess that is understandable, but they could have handled it better. I guess some of their receptionists and other people are very nice; however, one of them made my wife break down. My wife had called them because the cat was trying to throw up again, and the person on the phone told her that they were not ready right then and that my wife had to bring the cat in. We did not have to wait very long when we went in there. They are the closest place available, so we might use them again in the future.

I liked her very much. She was unbelievably thorough with her treatment.

Everyone was very curteous, respectful and answered all our questions. The vet was wonderful. We were so glad we brought him here instead of Angell. They allowed as much time with him as we wanted.

They were very professional and friendly. It was comfortable to work with them. My cat has a bad temper but they knew how to handle her. They gave me all the instructions on how to take care of her after the radiation process. It was expensive but probably average for this type of treatment. I would recommend them.

Susan Majestra, DVM, admitted my cat and was responsible for most of her treatment, including the ultimate euthanasia. She is a new doctor so not vastly experienced, but I was impressed by her professionalism. She was extremely compassionate during the final hour with my pet, showing sensitivity to the needs of all involved. Her administration of the final drugs was smooth and expert. I was taken aback that sedation of my pet wasn't initially considered a necessary prelude to euthanasia, but it was readily agreed to when I said I wanted the cat to be as relaxed as possible. (She was very "hyper" after her two days in the hospital; maybe sedation wasn't given freely enough; as with human patients, it may need to be requested by the patient--impossible, of course, with a pet--or the patient's loved ones.) The setting where the euthanasia was done was comfortable and family-like. Given the extreme stress and sadness of the situation, I'd give Venzone's staff high marks.

This is a 24 hour operation. They are expensive but you get a good quality level of care for your pet. I also like the oncology unit there. I would certainly use this facility again in the future. I like the hours and the convenience. The only thing they could do is lower their prices a little.