CARE | Charlotte Animal Referral & Emergency

Ashley L

Brought our 10 year old kitty here for an echocardiogram this past Friday. Dr. Rouben and team were very compassionate and helpful with the entire visit. Dr Rouben took the time to make sure that what he went over with his findings and all my questions were answered before we left. You can really tell that they love doing what they do. I really appreciated that they still have covid 19 protocols in place to protect every one! Big thank you, we look forward to our follow up in 6 months.

Sal Macaluso

Read this before emergency spine surgery. Our dog had emergency spine surgery that went as planned. The recovery rate is 50/50 and we knew that at the time of our decision to move forward. Since we had to make an immediate decision, we had no opportunity to fully understand the ramifications both physically and emotionally for the family and dog when caring for a paraplegic, especially a 50LB dog. We are now in month 3 of rehab and he is starting to put weight on his back legs, taking his own steps in the water treadmill and fighting each day to walk again. He still can’t do 1&2 on his own so we are helping there since day 1. Guess what, we don’t regret the decision and are committed to keep fighting as long as he keeps progressing. However our family has taken on a 24/7 vet tech type responsibility that should be considered very closely before moving forward with this type of surgery. My goal here is to give first hand experience of where the surgery went well, however the ramifications of the surgery is enormous. I believe the DR should see this and incorporate it as part of explaining the pros/cons of surgery prior. The 7k in cost wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg. That was the easy part actually.

Collin Parsons

Honestly, I don't even know where to begin. Starting from the front of the building to those behind the scenes seems the most logical. The front desk staff are incredibly friendly as well as genuinely sensitive to the fact that our pets are often at a specialist for reasons we don't want them to be. They are always warm and helpful which makes walking into the doors of a sometimes scary situation much less intimidating and gives you a sense of calm many of us need when attending the emergency vet or specialist (We have seen both quite a few times) Dr. Fred Wininger - My Educational and Emotional Confidant. Intelligent, kind, and personalized in his care plan are just a few things that come to mind. He truly makes you feel that your pet is a individual patient and that they have their own plan for the best quality of life, while taking time to also explain everything thoroughly. He answered all my questions and never made me feel rushed. He has continued to care for my dog as part of his neurology team and it's easy to say my pup absolutely adores him. I also really appreciated, while having a smaller dog, Dr. Wininger, never made me feel like he deserved less activity, fun play, general shenanigans, and that he could continue to be the spunky personality in our family. People have often treated Sir Finley like he is fragile due to his size and breed. The fact that he has an absurdly unnecessary and pretentious name probably hasn't helped much either. However, Dr. Wininger, has always treated him for who he is, a fun loving dog who thinks he big, and never like hes a fashion accessory that weighs 11 lbs. Dr. Stephen - My Guardian angel. Writing this about her truly brings tears to my eyes. She is a Neurology Resident at CARE. When Finley was being kept in the ICU after multiple seizure episodes things finally started to seem under control. I know making the phone call to me that he had additional seizures wasn't one anyone would've wanted to make. Im also sure hearing how devastatingly I was handling it on the other end of the phone is not something anyone would've wanted to experience either. She was kind, non-judgmental, and I felt completely confident with Finn under her care. I suffer from panic disorder and anxiety which is another reason Finley is such a big part of my life. When I was not handling the news well and explained that I needed to see him for my own well-being she got right to work on how to make that happen. I will forever be grateful for the care she not only provided Finn but also me. Her working out a way for me to come see him truly saved my sanity and emotional well-being over the days he was there. And that brings us to Josh. Josh - My grounding spirit and gentle soul. Technically Josh is a 'technician' but he is so much more than that job title. I like to think of him as more of a Client and Patient Care Facilitator as well as an absolutely amazing human. Trust me, there are very few people in this world that can see a person come into an patients room with eyes red and swollen, tears streaming down their face, needing every tissue in sight, and handle things the way Josh did. I'm pretty sure at a one time I wasn't even using actual words. Josh gave Finley and I a safe space to feel all of my big feelings. Not only that but I felt extremely calm and confident knowing he'd be keeping an eye on Finn that first night which was probably the most difficult for me. He never made me feel judged for being the emotional mess I was and when he took Finley from my arms, he did so in such a gentle and caring way, knowing just how difficult letting him go was for me. The kindness and delicacy he beautifully handled the situation with as well as providing me the confidence that Finley was in the right place and surrounded by people making sure he was getting all the loving and care he could possibly get meant the world to me. I even smiled after handing Finley back to Josh knowing he was in amazing care filled with so much kindness. I left feeling calm and confident all because of Josh.

Laura Thomas

If I could give a negative zero I would! The scheduler in oncology lied to us. I specifically came to CARE for the Oncept vaccine to treat oral melanoma for my golden retriever Alamo. And CARE was aware of the reason we were coming. The vaccine is in short supply. Our attending oncologist at Virginia Tech is temporarily out of the vaccine and suggested I reach out to other teaching hospitals or specialty hospitals to see if I could find the vaccine. I called CARE and they said they had plenty in stock. I called back a couple of times to make sure they had the four vaccines we would need to complete the treatment. She assured me yes, they had plenty. Today after driving 1.5 hours to get there, I was told they were out of the vaccine. I had given up an earlier appointment at another facility that was further away because CARE said they had plenty on hand. So now I’ve lost 2 weeks and have to start my search all over again. I should have known not to trust CARE - Alamo was there 2 years ago for liver cancer. The surgeon at CARE tried to remove the tumor but could not. He was given 6 months to live. We drove across the country to UC Davis for treatment where the surgeon was successful in removing it. The oncologist at CARE, lacked compassion, commitment and never followed up with us on the post-surgical care that UCDavis recommended. Her attitude was - “well call me if you need me.” Anyone with a bit of common sense knows cancer is not a one and done. I have no level of trust in CARE’s oncology department. Though I did speak to the hospital administrator who was very professional. For cancer go to a university veterinary teaching hospital. That is where you get the best care and most current treatments.