Academy West Animal Hospital

Academy West Animal Hospital
Academy West Animal Hospital 6231 West Bell Road Glendale, AZ 85308
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Consumer Feedback

(2 Reviews)
Service
4 star average for Service
Environment
3.5 star average for Environment
Value
5 star average for Value
Expertise
2 star average for Expertise
Recommended
1.5 star average for Recommended
Staff
4 star average for Staff
I wish I could say I had a good experience but truthfully I can't. I have been taking my American Staffordshire Terrier, Shea to this vet for about 3 years now, mostly for vaccinations, once for a bump that was removed and biopsied. for the most part it was good service, but about a week ago I took her there because she was just not acting herself. weak and just sickly. she is nine years old so I don't mess around and took her in right away. they could not find anything wrong, not that they did anything but take her temp and feel her tummy. I requested a senior blood work to be done, which they said came back fine. Two days later I get home from work and she is having cramping in the rear area, around the stomach and intestines, very lethargic and cold body temp. I took her in immediately. I did not know it but she had also vomited a little in the car. They again said they did not see anything wrong, but took an x-ray which took a long time. apparently the machine was not working right or something. he had asked a tech to try to get a urine sample from her by taking her outside I guess, but that was unsuccessful. He came back in later with the x-ray and said he could find nothing wrong except her colon was backed up and full of poop. his diagnosis was constipation and to leave her in the yard for a while. otherwise he said I had a healthy dog who should live many more years.

I got one more week. The following Saturday she woke up with the same symptoms. Unknowingly I'm thinking constipation again. I called the vet and they said just watch her over the weekend and see if she is better, if not bring her in. she continued to worsen, so when I called again I was told the Dr had left for the day and there was nothing they could do, I had to go to the emergency clinic. In the meantime thankfully we all spent some time with her, she never acted in pain, just lethargic, cold, and the spasms now and then. But an hour later, she could not stand to walk, so we rushed to the emergency vet. They immediately said she was very critical, and "down" as they put it. After an hour of waiting for them to take x-rays and try to stabilize her, the vet came back and said it appeared that she had a perforated bowel which had leaked into her stomach and was septic. the option was surgery which being an emergency could cost up to $30,000, or to euthanize her. While we agonized and cried over this, my daughter, being a critical care nurse, explained that it was unlikely the surgery would help her. When I went back to see her, I could tell she was going, her eyes were not hers anymore. They put her on a gurney and we got about 5 minutes to say goodbye and then she was gone.
In my heart I know that had this vet at Academy West insisted on cleansing out her colon and doing another x-ray, he probably could have diagnosed her correctly and performed the surgery before it went septic and possibly have saved my baby. As it is, I have lost my best friend and a large part of my reason for living. I am so angry at myself for not taking her somewhere else, among many other things. On top of that, when I called them this morning to cancel the appointment I had set on Saturday, I explained some of what happened to the receptionist. the vet has not called me to find out what happened or follow up in any way.
by Diana xxx.xxx.95.156
February 10, 2014
Did this provider have reasonable prices?
Absolutely!
Is this provider easy to reach in an emergency?
Yes, they answered my call right away
Were the examining rooms clean and free of odor?
Sort of, I felt like they could be cleaner.
Did you notice a foul odor when you arrived at this provider's office?
No, I didn't notice an odor
by Anonymous
March 07, 2012
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