A Calgary cat owner is raising concerns about the care her Siamese cat received while at a local pet hospital and she’s not the only one who has had problems with the clinic.
Julie Krivitsky said she brought Matilda to the VCA Animal Emergency Centre in southeast Calgary over the Victoria Day long weekend, after the cat stopped eating and drinking. Matilda underwent a specialized ultrasound and other diagnostics.
The cat was discharged about two days later, with recommendations for her continued treatment with VCA.
But Krivitsky said Matilda didn’t seem like herself when she visited each evening in the hospital. She said, at the time, staff told her that Matilda had ripped her IV bag and escaped her kennel for some time during the stay.
When she raised concerns about the animal’s care, she said she was told not to come back.
“I would be required to spend, what, another $5,000 to start this process all over again?” said Krivitsky, whose bill for Matilda’s stay came to $4,698.73.
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She said she was told they would give her a referral, but it never came.
It’s a familiar story for Jenna Fraser, who said she attended the same clinic about a year-and-a-half ago after her dog broke some teeth and needed help from a canine dentist.
Fraser said the dog had to fast before being brought to the clinic for a scheduled surgery at 7 a.m., and that, despite repeated calls, she didn’t hear back from her veterinarian until about 5 p.m.
“He said she hadn’t been in surgery yet,” recalled Fraser. “There had been delays because there was other emergency surgeries coming in. I said, ‘obviously that’s understandable, but I’m a little concerned because I couldn’t get ahold of anyone here. And that makes me a little uncomfortable. She’s also been there for a really long time.'”
“At this point and he’s like, ‘if you’re so uncomfortable then I’m not doing the surgery.'”
She said she went to the clinic and demanded that her dog be returned, about 12 hours after the original drop-off.
“I brought her outside. She had the longest pee I’ve ever seen her take. And she hadn’t had any food or water at that point,” said Fraser. “And it honestly took us threatening to go the media to get the ($3,000) deposit back.”
In a statement to Global News, VCA Canada said “the health and well-being of our patients are our top priority, and we take great pride in providing the highest quality of medicine for all pets entrusted to us.”
VCA Canada said the details referenced in Krivitsky’s story are “overwhelmingly out of context” but could not speak to Fraser’s circumstances.
“Unfortunately, we have not received the identity of the second client, and therefore we are unable to comment on the client concerns. We appreciate the trust our clients place in us daily and remain dedicated to delivering compassionate and comprehensive veterinary treatment to all our patients.”
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