Veterinary Emergency Referral Center Reviews Page 31

literally the worst emergency animal care center I have EVER been to. My cat got sick yesterday and he was stumbling and falling over, so we decided to take him to what we thought was a great place. Walked in the door and paid 90$ to talk to them, doesnt stop there though, then we paid even more for their care. Well it all added out to 500+ dollars. When we went there this morning to find out what all was wrong, they had nothing to say besides the obvious that he is sick. All that money and they didnt do shit, thanks a lot. Dont go to this vet place on davis hwy. But shouts out to the vet clinic off hwy 98 though. They helped alot, Very appreciated. –Nick S


It’s a shame that you have a sick dog and do everything you can to save your dog and this place says oh your out of deposit money we can’t treat your pet anymore guess the ethics in being a vet or a doctor goes out the window.i say do the tests and give her the medical treatment my dog needs and I’ll pay the bill they want 2000 then 2000 my savings is empty I can make payments I make 1k a week take home what is wrong with these people –Paul L

I brought my cat in with a huge gash on back leg (to the tendon) as well as other injuries from questionable Car vs Cat accident. Charged up front for $1200 and after 10 hours NOTHING had been done!!! I have worked in a hospital for over 35 years and NO ONE goes totally untreated for that length of time……….EFF-ing ridiculous!! Is there not another game in this town?? –Sheila L

Ridiculously expensive!!! 3+ time the normal cost of a regular vet, and the only 24 hour vet in town and they know it, so your choice is pay it, go to Mobile AL, or allow your animal to suffer!!! Needless to say if you use there services have a deep wallet or expect to be turned away!!!! Long story to go with this but no need to explain the facts are listed!!!! –Dan C

One Star –Jennifer F

One Star –Gena G

One Star –Shannon F

Worst place ever! Do not bother taking your pet here. Your pet will die and they could care less. All they care about is money money money. –Daniel D

If I could give you zero stars I would. You people are thieves and downright horrible people. Y’all are suppose to be there to help save people’s animals in emergencies yet the only thing y’all are truly worried about is taking everything they have. Y’all refuse to take any action to save the animals until you get paid large amounts of money. This is completely asinine. People come their in tears needing y’all to save something so important to then yet y’all refuse to do anything about it until they give the $500 and $600 right then and there. Don’t worry I will share all the other stories of how terrible y’all are that I’ve found. –Clifford K

One Star –John E

My local vet referred me to this emergency vet because he was capable of providing some specialized services (ultrasound). My cat was suffering from something and the next step was to do an ultrasound. I took him in, they messed around, didn’t do the ultrasound and charged me essentially for keeping him locked up in a metal cage for 36 hours. On top of that they charged me for an early extraction!!

My cat was not doing well. My local Pensacola vet did some blood work and x-rays, was not able to identify the problem. She concluded I needed to have an ultrasound done to further narrow down the problem. At their recommendation I took him to the Veterinary Emergency Referral Center. They checked him in and did some additional blood work. I spoke with them on the phone regarding the next steps. The head doctor gave me all the possible options of what could be going on. In my grief stricken moment he asked that I consider whether I wanted the ultrasound to be conducted (I was kind of surprised that he hadn’t already done it on the command of my main vet). The previous bloodwork that had been ordered would take a couple days or more to get the results back. He said that if I did want the ultrasound done that I should call back in the morning and tell them one way or the other what I want them to do. (side note: upon dropping my kitty off I was told to call between 5 am and 6 am to speak directly with the vet on duty) I called back the following morning and requested that they perform the ultrasound. My usual nature is to pester to make sure that things are being accomplished as requested. I held off in the thought that they were following my requests…. I called the emergency vet at approximately 3pm, after hearing nothing, no results, from them all day. THEY HAD NOT PERFORMED THE ULTRASOUND AS REQUESTED. My vet had requested it. I had ultimately requested it and still they did not do as I asked. What’s the worse is that they basically kept my poor scared kitty locked up in a metal cage for 36 hours FOR NO REASON!!!! I updated my local vet on the fact that the requested service had not been performed. They scrambled a bit and were able to procure an ultrasound professional that is able to travel from one location to another. The catch: it was 4:30 and I needed to get my cat from the Veterinary Emergency Referral Center to my vet. My office to the Emergency Vet is 5 min. There to my Vet is 10 min. That leaves 15 min with which to get my cat. I hopped in my car, immediately calling the emergency center to inform them that I’m on my way and that time is of the essence. They say….”oh, there are other people here who are ahead of you. We will do our best” I get there. There is one other couple in the huge complex (very, very fancy digs btw). I spend 15 min just standing there waiting to actually speak to the desk clerk. Finally she comes and settles my bill. When I checked him in I had to leave a $1,000 deposit. The lady tells me that I will receive a $14 refund (oh, golly, gee whiz! a whole $14…insert massive sarcasm here) I tell her she can keep the $14 if she’ll just give me my cat so I can go. She laughs. I sign paperwork, they give me a refund. I wait 5 more minutes. OK, now I get to go to a room where they will go through the check out procedure… still no cat. I wait in the smaller room for 5 more min. Another lady (vet tech?) comes in, has me sign more papers. STILL NO CAT. She says, “ok, now I’ll go get your cat”. Holy s*** really!? Now I get my cat back?! Wait 5 more min. She finally comes back with my cat in my crate. I beat feet out and head to my vet, where they have been holding the Ultrasound person longer than necessary because I’ve been keeping them updated on the uber slow check-out process. i.e. they know why I’m late, and it’s not my fault. Upon handing my baby off to the Ultrasound person the head vet pulls me aside and apologizes for the ordeal of dealing with the Emergency Vet. By doing an ultrasound they were able to see that my kitty had a collapsed lung and multiple tumors. I take him home for the evening, to give him one more night in a comfortable place (as opposed to a horrible metal crate) and then I brought him back to my vet to let him go. – The emergency vet did NOT do as I requested, nor as my vet requested. – The emergency vet needlessly kept my kitty locked up (I could have brought him home) – They charged me for the early release…yes, they charged me $50 because I took him out earlier than they anticipated… – Slowest most convoluted check-out process ever. – My vet was ashamed of the trouble I went through because of the emergency vet – The Veterinary Emergency Referral Center is well aware that they are the only game in town and they will fleece you for it. –D D

Absolutely would give 0 stars if I could. Brought my kitten in there with suspected broken paw, and they from the get-go took their time. They wanted almost $500 before they would even consider an x-ray. They didn’t look at him at all and didn’t even GUESS as to what was wrong with him. They in the end shortened our bill to $159, but refrained from telling us this didn’t cover an x-ray, didn’t cover any kind of splint or cast, and actually led us to believe that they would x-ray him and if it wasn’t broken, we’d be reimbursed for the fee, but two hours later after we finally got sick of waiting, we were discharged and that was that. We payed them $159 to sit in one of their rooms for over 2 and a half hours, and worry about our pet and watch them come in, take his temp, and not even give us an educated guess as to what was wrong with his arm. Avoid at all costs unless you’ve got a ton of money to give to them. I’m sure a rep of theirs is going to reply with the typical business lawyer type response of their “payment options” but I’ve got the recording on my phone of me asking if they took payments and was outright refused. So in short, avoid at all costs. They act like the do not care about animals, only your money. –Cory W


WORST PLACE EVER!!! being in the veterinary field, I am somewhat familiar with the protocol and procedures, and all this place wants is your money- care is crap- prices are INSANE- even for a emergency facility- would NOT recommend anyone taking their pet there!! –Susie G


Absolutly the worst place to go in Pensacola unless you have an absolute emergency and even then Id try to find a different place. This place is SOLELY about money. They do NOT care about you or you pet! The techs know very little about anything, they rely on the vet and are unknowledgable!
–Scott S.


If there was a minus star rating, that would be the one I would choose. The lack of sincerity on the part of the office manager, after LOSING my dogs cremains, was positively INSULTING! Definitely lacks in the people skills department. No thank you, never again, lesson learned! –Ramona T


I say all unhappy with these cruel, sorry animal torturers, we should get together and picket this place and run them out of town.
We need to get together and contact animal activists and file animal cruelty chgs against them. We can get rid of them if we stick together. Im retired i know who to contact. I have nothing else better to do. –Edna B


They have no idea what there doing.

I think the employees are taking the ketamine. Seriously. –Andrew W


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