Blue Pearl Emergency Medicine For Pets

We took our family cat of 18 years to Blue Pearl for some emergency care on a Sunday afternoon when we noticed she wasn’t doing well. The care we received beginning with the receptionists and continuing through the doctor was outstanding! It was already a very difficult time and the staff was kind, patient, and extremely empathetic! And then today, within a week of our cat’s death, my wife received a handwritten note from the entire staff expressing their sorrow at her loss. Very thankful for Blue Pearl during this time of need!

This is not the typical check in any pet lover looks forward to making and, as such, I have not checked in though I have been here twice. I am glad to have such a friendly, capable, and fairly quick, after hours emergency vet service so close to home! They took great care of my dogs when medical situations arose and sent the information on to my vet who followed that notification with a phone call the next day. The peace of mind is worth the extra emergency costs.

Let me start by acknowledging that emergency animal care can not possibly be an easy job. When the only option is what everyone knows is going to be expensive and yet they are so concerned about their pet that they’re willing to spend the money — you know you’re going to be dealing with some dire cases. If you’re an animal lover, and I assume that if you choose to be a DVM, you are at the very least fond of animals, this has to be a tough job.
Ok, so now that that is out of the way, if you are an animal lover and you are a DVM, please find another way to help animals. Find another model that works, because this one doesn’t.
My wife woke me Sunday to tell me that she thought our cat was dying. She’s not an irrational person, so I got up. The cat was lifeless curled up in a ball on a bed. He looked dead. He was lethargic and felt like he hadn’t been eating. We knew it would be pricey but wanted to know what we could do — so we called and arranged to bring him in to Blue Pearl.
No one was at the desk when we came in so we waited a few minutes — someone came from around the corner of the office and asked what was going on — we told her and was led into an examination room and given some paperwork to complete.
A little bit more waiting and an assistant came in, asked what was going on, took the paperwork and said she’d be back.
A little bit more waiting and she came back, asked a few questions pet the cat and left.
A little bit more waiting, she came back, took the cat.
A little bit more waiting, the Dr. came in, introduced herself, said the cat was dehydrated and suggested a blood test and an exam. $ 121 would be the total. Sure, we said. It’ll be quick she said, 10 or 15 minutes she said.
A lot more waiting, 30 minutes later, she came back. tests were normal but he was dehydrated and she’d recommend treatment for that if not an IV and a stay, then fluid under the skin.
The total would be either $ 330 or $ 800. Not being given any new information but already charged for tests, we’ve lost confidence at this point and declined. She was really not happy about that and told us that was against her medical advice.
At the front desk, they gave us a total of I think around $ 250. We didn’t understand the difference between what we were told and what they were wanting to charge and they removed $ 25. The total was around $ 225 but we didn’t get a receipt because they couldn’t figure out how to print one.
Something was wrong with the cat, we know that. It’s unfortunate we took him to a professional, paid over $ 200 and didn’t get any new information beyond a recommendation that we spend more money with them for an unknown condition.
We worried about him for the next three days but gave him water and wet cat food, even offered him food in a bottle. He recovered and now four days later is as ornery as ever.
We hope that if you find yourself in this position, you find other options. I believe there are choices, there are vets that make house calls. I suspect that if you have a relationship with a vet that they may make special considerations if there is a life threatening emergency. It would even be worth paying a little more to get some value from it.

Our dog became very ill over Labor Day weekend. A friend recommended us going to Blue Pearl. Dr. Dennis and his staff were caring, professional, kind and gave us every bit of information we needed to take care of our girl.
Can’t say enough about the experience we had in those two heartbreaking hours.