Columbia Pike Animal Hospital & Emergency Center

Or call (703) 256-8414 or email info@columbiapikeanimalh.com for more information.

• Simplychris
  Sep 12, 2023
  Disappointing Lack of Communication and Concern for Our Pet

  My experience with this emergency vet clinic left much to be desired. My dog was in critical care, and while some of the doctors and staff initially showed concern, things took a concerning turn towards the end of her stay.

  Firstly, there was a significant lack of communication among some of the doctors and staff, leading to contradictions about my dog's condition. This inconsistency left me feeling uncertain and worried about the quality of care she was receiving.

  What troubled me even more was the sudden push for euthanasia. I had questions about my dog's care and was met with resistance when I asked for the feeding tube to be flushed or replaced, which could have given her a fighting chance. Instead, the doctor seemed more interested in pushing for euthanasia.

  In the end, the doctor's failure to listen to our request to save our dog, even through a relatively simple procedure like replacing a blocked feeding tube, was disheartening. It left us with a sense that our dog's best interests were not a top priority at this clinic.

  Furthermore, attempts to discuss the quality of treatment, care, and the charges on our bill with the practice manager went unanswered. Requests for open communication to get answers about my dog's care and the bill were consistently ignored. Despite our repeated requests, the practice manager never fulfilled our request to speak via phone, leaving us in the dark about important details.

  While it's worth mentioning that this clinic seems to handle minor issues like UTIs and other minor problems effectively, my experience with critical care left much to be desired. In cases where a pet's life hangs in the balance, how a practice handles the situation becomes paramount. Having unresolved questions about my pet's care during such a critical time made it incredibly challenging for me to properly grieve and find closure.

  Additionally, the ability to openly communicate with the practice manager to resolve issues or seek clarification on billing matters is of paramount importance. Unfortunately, my attempts to engage in this crucial dialogue were consistently met with silence, leaving me with unanswered questions and a sense of frustration.

  Based on my experience, I regret to say that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this clinic to anyone, even in the most critical of circumstances. The lack of effective communication, concerns regarding care decisions, the push for euthanasia without thorough consideration of alternatives and unresponsiveness of the practice manager have left a lasting impression that I believe others should be aware of when considering where to seek care for their beloved pets.

• Tammy
  Sep 21, 2022
  This place is completely incompetent and is the reason my dog unnecessarily suffered for months.

  I visited on an emergency basis, they are less than 3 miles from my house, and my dog started bleeding down her legs on our after work walk. I was too panicked to drive to our regular vet during rush hour. I wish I could go back in time and do so. Due to COVID, I had to wait in the parking lot for hours. When my dog was finally seen, I was then told that I had to collect a urine sample from her. Having never had to do this before, I asked "How?" and the attendant practically threw a plastic bag at my face in the parking lot and flipidly said "With this!" She then went on to say that had tried to do it by walking my dog so many times and she wouldn't pee and I should just take her all the way home and then bring back a sample. Reminder, this was an emergency visit and they were asking me to do this with no diagnosis and I had been sitting right out front and they had NOT brought my dog out for any walk to collect urine. Though I did see many staff members taking long cigarette breaks instead (and still do every single day when I have to pass this horrific place on my way to and from work). I quickly walked her over to the small strip of grass out front where she immediately squatted and I collected a very scary urine sample that looked like pure blood. I took it to the attendant. After waiting another hour, I was told it was "just a bladder infection". When I expressed my doubts, they assured me that this was "normal" and she had to be on nearly 2 months of antibiotics to rid her of the infection. I still doubted what they were saying but they talked me into thinking that I was overreacting.

  We started this protocol and made an appointment with our regular vet towards the conclusion of that timeframe. I told my normal vet what happened and what the diagnosis and treatment was and based on those things, he thought the worst case scenario was that she had bladder stones that would require anything from more medication to a minor surgery. These were his initial guesses over the phone based on what Columbia Pike had told me. After my vet performed a very simple ultrasound, he called me in the parking lot expressing his deepest sympathy stating that she had bladder cancer that could have been caught and treated more effectively two months ago. He sounded just as shocked and distraught as I was. He was so upset himself with what my dog unessasrily went though and the sheer incompetence of Columbia Pike, he didn't charge me for this visit.

  I was too busy caring for my dog to bother writing this review previously. Then after nearly a year had passed, they had the nerve to contact me and say that I didn't pay my full bill from that night. Once again, their incompetence is now my problem. I explained the full situation to someone on the phone, they said they'd speak to the billing person and get back to me. I also replied to the email that was sent saying that I spoke to someone explaining the full situation of the evening and I'd like to talk to someone. I said due to the way I was treated and the misdiagnosis, I wanted my bill adjusted at the least. I didn't hear back. I was much too naive thinking that perhaps someone with a brain and a heart had read the notes, saw what happened and decided that billing me further for my now deceased beloved pet was a poor choice.

  Nope, nearly another year has gone by and I was now contacted by a collection agency because yet again... their incompetence is now my problem. I went straight there after work earlier this week and paid them the last cent I will ever give to this joke of a business and am horrified by the other sad reviews here.

• James
  Jan 11, 2021
  Terrible Place. Horrible Service. My dog almost died from their care!

  My Dog Went to Columbia Pike Animal Hospital for a Routine Procedure but almost died under their care. Do not send your pets here.
  On December 22, 2020, our 6-month-old English Bulldog Maya had a scheduled spay and cherry eye correction. We dropped off a healthy 6-month-old puppy at Columbia Pike Animal Hospital for relatively basic procedures and ended up living out a nightmare finding out Maya had pretty much died for 3 minutes under the hospital doctor’s care. Instead of moving forward with running tests and figuring out what went wrong, the primary doctor running the surgery pretty much told my wife and I to pick her up and take her somewhere else. I understand that at the time, Columbia Pike Animal Hospital changed their hours due to COVID and did not have 24-hour care at the time, but at the very they could have offered to run tests to figure out if transporting her elsewhere is safe. The front desk staff did not help the situation. We continued to get charged for our visit and the person speaking to us lacked empathy and acted as if an 80-dollar discount and saying 'Merry Christmas' was something we should have been grateful for. Instead, it came off as condescending and heartless.
  Even though the doctor did not run any tests to determine the issues that may have caused our puppy to stop breathing, the doctor told us the reason for this was due to one of two things.
  1) My dog either had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia or,
  2) She has an underlying heart condition such as a murmur.
  My wife and I obviously took the doctor’s assessment very seriously and since we were told to pick up our dog and to take her elsewhere, we went to The Regional Veterinary Referral Center Veterinary Hospital (RVRC) to have them not only monitor our dog overnight but also run tests to make sure there were not any residual effects or identifying issues.
  Though my wife and I were initially relieved Maya was healthy, our feelings of joy immediately reverted to fear and ultimately anger. We are very disappointed in the treatment Maya and my family received from Columbia Pike Animal Hospital. If this had happened to me where I had gone under for 3 minutes, I do not see any hospital calling my family to come pick me up without running a single test to see what happened. Also, on top of that, to give two scenarios that most likely did not happen in that room to the grieving family. Instead of paying 2500 for my dog to undergo routine surgeries (cherry eye correction, spay), my wife and I ended up spending over 3500 dollars that day on measures to make sure Maya was okay. Those expenses and tests that we paid to have done were all based on Columbia Pike’s Care and assessment.
  We are grateful that Maya is okay, but the hell Maya and my family went through cannot go unnoticed. It was our hope that Columbia Pike Animal Hospital would understand as animal lovers, that this is something we cannot just let go.

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