Not Great Dane or Dog Friendly - Worst Vet Experience Ever! (If I could leave 0 stars, I would)…read more
If you're a Great Dane owner or just love your dog, stay away from Hilton Head Veterinary Clinic. This place is NOT dog-friendly, and their staff is beyond unhelpful. From the moment I walked in, I could tell this was going to be a bad experience, and should trusted my gut and left.
To start, the office smelled awful, which was already a red flag. But it only got worse from there. When it was time to weigh my Great Dane (who is 150 pounds), they told me their scale was off when weighing large dogs! It read 132 pounds, even though I knew she was closer to 150. Instead of trying to fix the issue, they guessed her weight, writing down whatever I said I thought it was. This is a HUGE red flag, considering weight is such a critical part of a dog's health, especially Great Danes.
Once we got into the exam room, things continued to spiral. I suspected my dog had a UTI, so the vet tech, Alexa, followed us outside to collect a urine sample. When my dog finally peed, Alexa startled her by rushing over too quickly and barely managed to collect any of the sample because she wasn't paying attention. To make matters worse, when I called ahead to ask if I needed to bring anything to the appointment, no one mentioned that I should bring her first pee of the day for accurate results. They only told me this after the test was done, explaining that the sample collected during her 10 AM appointment wasn't accurate because it was her second pee of the day.
So now I'm out a lot of money and still don't know if my dog has a UTI. But don't worry, they told me to come back and pay for another test on Monday (today is Friday). Truly unbelievable, and completely avoidable if they had just informed me when I called multiple times before the appointment.
Then Dr. Kristina McGuiness joined us back inside, and things somehow got even worse. I had also brought my dog in to remove a tick from her face. I showed them a clear photo of the bottom half of the tick I removed earlier, but they insisted it was a skin tag. Dr. McGuiness picked at the spot, caused my dog to bleed, and then sent us home with the tick still embedded in her face--no antibiotics, no cleaning, just left her bleeding. Who does that?!
When I asked about my dog's hips, Dr. McGuiness barely examined her. She quickly felt my Great Dane's hips, didn't offer any explanation, and then just left the room without saying a word. I thought she was going to return with more information, but instead, she went off to see another patient without any follow-up or closure on my concerns. I was left standing there, waiting for answers that never came.
In my opinion, Dr. McGuiness seemed very distracted during the appointment. She came off as somewhat condescending, and extremely loud, and gave the impression that she didn't care about my dog or my concerns. I was shocked that she just walked out mid-appointment and never returned. I left feeling confused and frustrated, still waiting for some kind of explanation or help, but she was already on to the next patient.
To top it all off, I left the clinic with a $170 bill, NO ANSWERS, and a useless topical medicine that won't even address my dog's issues. I'm honestly shocked that this office has such great reviews and has been open for so long. The clinic staff was doing the bare minimum and it was very disorganized.
If you want a vet office that actually cares about your dog, DO NOT come here. 0/10. This was a truly HORRIBLE experience from start to finish, and I'm incredibly disappointed and frustrated that we wasted time, money, and stress here. :(