VCA All Creatures Animal Hospital

Sunday Gus didn’t seem himself, like he still wasn’t feeling well. Monday evening, he was just lying there; his breathing appeared labored and he seemed unresponsive. I rushed him out to the 24 hour Animal Hospital in O'fallon. They did X-rays and ran a bunch of tests. The vet said that it was possible that the steroid shot triggered an underlying problem with his heart, causing heart failure and for his lungs to fill up with fluid, making his breathing difficult. He also pointed out that his glucose levels were very high, indicating that he could be diabetic or that the stress of the situation combined with the steroid shot could also have increased Gus’s blood sugar levels. He was not 100% sure. They gave him an antibiotic shot and fluid under his skin. Tuesday morning Gus's breathing was not improving. I took him back to All Creatures to see Dr. Miller and she also said that it was possible that the steroid shot triggered an underlying problem with his heart, causing heart failure and for his lungs to fill up with fluid, making his breathing difficult. She went on to say that though giving a steroid shot to a cat with an ear infection is common, she wouldn’t have done that given his age, Gus was 13 years old. Dr. Miller sent us out to see a specialist in Chesterfield and they put him in an oxygen cage and gave him medicine to try to clear out his lungs. He was there most of the day in the ICU. They called me to let us know that we could pick him up, gave me heart medicine that was supposed to clear out his lungs and they suggested that I take Gus back to the vet the following day for more x-rays to see if there was any progress. They suggested that I take him to a Cardiologist and said that I would need to take him back to a vet again to make sure that his high glucose levels were just from stress and not from diabetes. *Wednesday, I took Gus back to Dr. Miller at VCA All Creatures for updated x-rays and bloodwork. When the tests were all done, she told me to take him to a cardiologist as soon as possible. The cardiologist did more bloodwork and did an echocardiogram. She said that Gus did have heart failure and that that was easy enough to treat, but that he also had Diabetic Ketoacidosis. He had to be admitted and they wanted him there for a couple of days. He was to be kept in an oxygen cage and given liquid food through a tube, since he hadn’t eaten for days. He was going to be transferred into the care of a Criticalist, a vet that deals only with critical cases. I made them promise to call me with any updates on his condition. They called me three times that night to let me know that his condition was stable, getting worse, and then stable again. Thursday morning, just before 9am, the Criticalist called me himself to let me know that Gus’s kidneys were shutting down and that Gus was unable to empty his bladder. The medicine they were giving him to remove the fluid from his lungs (caused by the heart failure, which was brought about by the steroid shot several days earlier), as well as the aggressive treatment of potassium to counteract the insulin for the diabetes, dehydrated him to the point that his kidneys shut down. He suggested that I come see him right away. Over the course of a few days, I took him to an Emergency Animal Hospital, and two specialty Animal Hospitals. I spent thousands of dollars trying to save his life. He was suffering, he was just shutting down. Gus was my child; I've lost my child. Today, July 5th, I received a condolence card from All Creatures, with a picture of a cat that looks much like my Gus, letting me know that they understand my loss. Let me ask you this, would you want to receive a card from someone that brought about the untimely the death of your child? *During the Wednesday, June 21st visit to VCA All Creatures, we were charged the nearly $600 bill twice, and when we tried to get a refund, the Office Manager gave us a hard time. We have gotten the money back for the second charge, but that’s not much considering the thousands of dollars we had to shell out to try to save Gus’s life, because their incompetent vet gave a senior cat a heaping dose of steroids that ultimately killed him!

The staff is always really nice. They know Piper. We trust the doctors there. He's basically been going there probably for 4 years and he's a 5 years old dog. There's no waiting. If I need to take him, they'll usually just have me bring him on in.

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It was a good experience. She was very helpful and very understanding. She look into what the problem was because I've experienced it for many years of my dog and she's an elderly dog. I had never seen this doctor before and she's very easy to work with.

rMy dog Ginger is prone to bladder infections. She was thoroughly examined and her urine was tested for ph balance, crystals and white blood cells. I was told I would get the results in a day or two. However, the doctor called me that very afternoon with the results. Ginger had a bladder infection and the vet wanted me to know as soon as possible so she could start antibotics. Ginger sees Dr. Miller or Dr. Baggett and they both are very good and caring to my dog.

We love Dr. Baggett, she is so sweet and so good with the animals while getting the job done. We have been going to her for years, with previous pets, too.

The cat had to have extensive surgery to repair the leg and he was left with a limp because of the damage. Years later he had problems with eating and began losing weight. We took him in and did several tests and were told they couldn't find a problem. We finally took him to a pet emergency center where they reviewed the tests and found several problems. They operated but he was too weak and died. When I talked to the surgeon he said had they read the tests and gotten him sooner he could have been saved.

I recommend them, they have always cared and treated our animals well. Specials for services such as half price shots at certain times help with cost. They are always professional and doctors are always on top of it. Staff is also friendly and helpful.

All my visits have been great. They are always professional and and answer all your questions. As I said I have been going there for over 15 years. They truly are the best.

I have kitties that sometimes have health problems fairly young due to their feral history. I also have older cats, 17 plus years. They have sophisticated tools and lab work to diagnose issues, tricky ones especially. They offer very good recommendations for care, old age and disease (FIP and FIV). Overall, I have been very pleased. When necessary, they refer me to the vet school at Columbia or local specialists. They do not hesitate to do so although they seem to be very capable. It is rare, but sometimes we do need a referral. The vets are also good at coordinating care with each other about the animals. They are all extremely qualified and interact with their colleagues to add to the collective knowledge base, working as a team. They have tons of really good technicians there too who kind to the animals. No one treats my cats roughly or abruptly; they are treated very well. There can be a wait for routine services, it's well worth it.

THEY ARE COURTEOUS AND OUR DOGS SEEM TO DO WELL THERE.