Rivergate Pet Emergency Clinic

Quality Care and Advice. I've had two interactions with this clinic. The first time, my dog had an anaphylactic reaction to yellow jacket stings. She'd had a reaction once before, and we knew she needed more than Benadryl, so we took her to the the Rivergate Clinic (it was a weekend night). They gave her the shot she needed and got us on our way and Mae on her way to recovery.

My second interaction was when Mae ate some Play Doh. I knew Play Doh had high salt content and read mixed reviews online as to whether or not it could cause sodium toxicity and death. I called the Rivergate Clinic to ask if I should induce vomiting. In the past, I've called other emergency vets who have refused to give advice over the phone. I was pleasantly surprised at how thorough and helpful this clinic was! The receptionist took the information and Mae's weight and asked the vet if I needed to do anything. She returned and said that Mae would've had to have eaten 20 oz of Play Doh to need to do anything about it. She said it wouldn't hurt to mention it to our vet if we were there in the near future and that they might check her blood levels and just to watch for vomiting or abnormal stools.…

I was very pleased.... On Saturday evening, I decided that my cat needed to see a vet immediately. I'm new to the area, and found this clinic via Google. The receptionist took some basic information, and moved us into an examination room immediately. A tech was in almost immediately, and Dr. Stacy Smith came in very shortly thereafter. She examined Pasha thoroughly, and then explained what she found, and what she wanted to do.

A tech came in with a breakdown of the costs, and it was simply more than I could afford. Dr Smith returned, we talked more, and came up with an affordable, and I beleive medically sound solution.

When i came back the next evening either to pick her up or determine a further course of action. Her condition was virtually unchanged, barring the fact that she was no longer as dehydrated. Dr. April Smith explained what she believed the situation was, and what my options were. Most of what she discussed involved follow-up with a private vet, i.e., options that would provide no income to the clinic. In response to my questions , she indicated that Pasha was very ill, and that no matter how much money I chose to spend, there was very little chance of her recovering to a quality life.

At that point I decided to have her put to sleep. Dr. Smith was extremely compassionate, and indicated that she thought it was the best choice under the circumstances. One of the techs indicated that she had looked after Pasha all day and had seen no movement, and that she thought I was doing the right thing. They allowed me all the time I wanted alone with Pasha before she was euthanized. They allowed me to hold her as the injection was delivered. They allowed me to stay alone in the room with Pasha until I was ready to leave. Dr Smith hugged me.

I spent about $1,300.00 for one night's Intensive care. It's expensive, but emergency and intensive care are both always expensive. I appreciated the fact that they told me ahead of time what the cost would be. This allowed me to make informed decisions.

In short, I have no complaints at all regarding my experience there. I found the staff to be both competent and compassionate. I feel comfortable that I gave my beloved Pasha the best care that I could.…

Not worth the heartache. I took my 3 month old baby ferret here a few weeks ago when I found him lying in his bed unresponsive and limp. My usual vet is Dr. Corwin at Airport Animal Clinic, and he is incredible, whether your pet is an exotic or not. Unfortunately, it was the weekend, and his office was closed. This was the only other place I could find that would see a ferret. Once I got there and checked in, I waited for almost **15 MINUTES** while my baby lay against my chest, not blinking or moving, taking irratic deep breaths, producing bloody stools all over himself and me. Once the vet finally called us back, she told me he was dying. OBVIOUSLY, do something about it, that's your job! Then she left the room, and ANOTHER 15 minutes went by, while my baby is taking fewer and fewer breaths. All throughout this process, *none* of the things she should have been doing were done. He was severely dehydrated, but they waited until after taking x-rays to even bother giving him fluids. Then he started seizuring due to low blood sugar, but of course these idiots didn't think of that, they just gave him a sedative. While all this was happening, I was out in the waiting room, under the impression that they were doing everything they could. They called me back when he finally stopped breathing, and I just had to stand there and watch him die until his heart stopped. I feel no hesitation in saying that they helped him die, if not caused it. This whole ordeal cost me $800. I paid nearly a grand to watch my sweet little ferret die suffering on a cold metal table. I have no problem paying whatever it costs for good, quality pet health care. But this was unethical, cruel, and heartless. When this clinic sent their report to my regular vet, he said he crumpled it up in frustration and anger. He was so appalled at what they did or rather didn't do for my baby.

So the point is, if you value your pet's life, if you don't want to pay people to basically stand by and let them die, then DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, go here.…

Stay away from Dr. Stacy Smith. I took my poor baby there to be treated and they acted as if I were stupid! Dr. Stacy Smith was the the doctor who was on and she went out of her way to make me feel bad for not having the money to treat my pet. She had her techs come into my room so many times with different prices of treatment. It was a joke and a horrible thing to put me and my baby through. Her techs were horrible and smelled very bad. One of them had long nasty hair and a very bad odor.

There was one tech named Izzie? who was the only nice thing about the experience. She seemed to care and understood my money issues and she did not smell. She did not rush me and made me feel better. She was the only one who cared, and that is sad. She wrapped my baby up for me just as I wanted her to be and also cut some hair for me to keep. She even hugged me and really cared. Everyone there shoud take a lesson from her.

Shame on the doctor Stacy Smith and her smelly techs. They should never be allowed to touch pets! Stay far away from this place!! MY baby died because they only care about money and then they make you feel bad if you can not afford to treat your pet!…