I took my cat Nika to VCA Wexford Animal Hospital two times. I made an appointment for a…read morenew-patient exam, and then I made an appointment with a vet tech for blood tests.
I would prefer that this animal hospital have more evening and weekend hours, but we did get evening or Friday appointments that worked for us. For both appointments, the front staff quickly checked us in, and we used the separate waiting area for cats.
The vet techs started our appointments on time. I appreciated that they had familiarized themselves with my cat's previous medical records.
For the first appointment, the veterinarian arrived several minutes late, but she was very knowledgeable and nice (even after my cat when being palpated peed on the table!). She did a physical exam on Nika, and we discussed Nika's history of kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, anemia, and UTIs. The vet said that many kidney-disease cats need longer than 2 weeks of antibiotics, which is true and something that my previous veterinarians never said. She recommended a supplement to prevent UTIs. Later, another veterinarian here promptly ordered a refill for a thyroid medication for Nika.
Employees at the front desk promptly rang up the fees for the exam, supplement, blood tests, and fecal test. I thought that the prices were OK.
A few days later, Dr. Santabene called me about the test results. We spoke for about 16 minutes, and she communicated very thoroughly and politely. Nika's kidney labs were much worse than before, so we increased her lactated ringers (LR) and added a phosphate binder that was ready for pickup hours later.
For my upcoming international vacation, Dr. Santabene was still willing to keep Nika at VCA Wexford's pet hotel where the vet techs would administer 100 mLs of lactated ringers on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and 150 mLs on Mondays and Fridays (because vet techs do not work on weekends).
The employees at the pet hotel took a while to tell me accurate prices, but the final estimate was $1,324.30 - $1,374.30 (which included $344 for 10 fluid therapies, $86 for 10 biohazard waste disposals, $244 for 10 technician office visits, and $650-700 for 13-14 nights in a nice-looking feline boarding condo).
However, days later Nika began to show serious symptoms, so I had her euthanized by a different veterinarian. Weeks later Dr. Santabene mailed a handwritten sympathy card to me.
For my next pet who has a medical diagnosis, I will probably bring her/him here, because I think that Dr. Santabene has knowledge and empathy that many other vets lack.
