Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center

Emergency tech would not answer simple questions; when she did she was sarcastic with responses to me! Again, all they care about is the money...not animals in need! Over priced unprofessional emergency veterinary! Performed services that were not needed!

They have 24 hr emergency services. They're very fast and efficient but they explain the bill right up front. It's $95 for basic evalutation but they also offer a menu of prices and services. I found them very professional. They don't pressure you to have additional stuff done. The first time I took my cat here, we were referred here for a possible surgery; the surgeon I met with was wonderful and warm - she suggested to skip the surgery AND the meds. The second time I took my cat here, the other vet was very professional. It was after midnight and examined my cat immediately and said my cat was fine. We ordered more tests, and they immediately offered the price sheet. In a couple of days, my cat was better. It really gives us peace of mind that there is an emergency clinic here open 24 hrs.

Returned home, and at 6:45 the surgeon did call and told me that UConn was just going in for the procedure she called again
after the surgery was performed and told me exactly what was done and his current condition. She told me that I could pick him
up and take him home tomorrow, Saturday. Called a few times during the night to check on UConn, and the staff took my calls, promptly and gave me current information concerning his condition. Spoke to the surgeon the following morning and she was concerned that since he wasn't eating perhaps I could come and try and feed him. I went up to the VREC, and was promptly taken to see him. He looked good for the procedure just being done less than 12 hours ago. I went home, and went back again to try and feed him some of the food that I had, but he still didn't eat. Both the Doctor and myself agreed to let him stay their for another day to see if he would eat. Called repeatedly and all of my calls were answered promptly and with current information. UConn was released the following morning after I spoke to the Doctor. They let me pick the time to pick him up, and the staff was all professional and couldn't do enough for both me and UConn. Paid the bill, and the necessary information was filled out to be submitted to the insurance co. Got a complete set of instructions at UConn's discharge. All and all a very pleasant experience. I know that if I every needed them I wouldn't hesitate to take any of my crew to them. Great people with a very professional attitude. The Doctors saw UConn ten days later to remove his stitches, and again a good experience.

We were initially very glad to find a vet who was open 24 hours and available for emergencies. It was an hour drive to reach them and they took our dog in. The place is plush and looks like a high end Physician's office and had we not been so worried that might have alerted us to what might happen next.
We were told that we should go home and they would call us as soon as they got our dog into surgery.
We reached home at 9 pm and no one called us for two hours.
We called the vet at 11 pm and were told our dog will get into surgery when they could get her in and they could not tell us when that might be. We were also told that we needed to pick the dog up 2 hours after surgery or we would be charged an additional $500 for overnight hospitalization.
We got no update phone calls. Dr. Young finally called us at 3 am; the dog had been at the Vet's since 8 pm the evening before.
We were told we could come and pick her up by 6 am.
When we reached the vets we were presented a bill including things we did not want or need.
The worst part of the experience was the fact that the surgery is a complete hack job; the stitches are uneven, she has bumps on her skin even now that it has healed. It is the worst example of stitches we have ever seen. The anesthesiologist who delivered the dog to us described the stitches as 'smooth' and 'great' - when anyone looking at the dog could see it was anything but that. It looks like something done by a most inexperienced and nervous vet.
It was an emergency that took us there - we would never recommend Veterinary Referral Emergency Center and caution anyone who has to use their services to watch out for exorbitant charges and shoddy service.
The only reason they get a C overall is because our dog is back with us and still alive.