Here's a copy of the letter I sent to Dr. Mary Minor DVM. BTW, her response to me was a letter saying only that they would address my 3 hour wait by not letting anyone come in without a prior appointment.



Dr. Minor,



I am writing to you in regards to my recent experiences when my cat – Tera – was ill and I brought her in to the Dayton Valley Veterinary Hospital for diagnosis and treatment.



First, I want to remind you that we have been bringing Tera to your facility since shortly after we moved to Dayton, back in 2006. And I’ve been quite satisfied with your service – until this last time. Following is a list of the issues I had, starting with trying to make the first appointment.



• I called and left a message first thing in the morning asking if you were open on Saturday 6/1. Your receptionist, Diana, called back and did everything she could to try and get me to take Tera somewhere else. When I pointed out that we’d always taken her there and it was only 2 miles from our house vs. 20 miles to Carson City, Diana answered by saying in not a nice tone, “Bring her in then” and hung up on me.

• I brought Tera in and then spent the next 3 ½ hours mostly waiting. After finally getting a quick exam, a blood test, no real diagnosis, and then 2 medications I was billed $187.

• You asked that I provide a fecal sample, which I dropped off on Monday 6/3. That sample clearly showed some blood in the stool. After waiting a week to hear back from you or your staff, I called back myself on Monday 6/10. Diana went and looked up the chart and replied simply, “No evidence of parasites” and hung up. There was no mention of the meaning of the blood, or if it should be a concern. But most troubling to me is that no one on your staff ever thought to ask how Tera was doing.

• By Thursday 6/20 Tera was a little better, but still straining to defecate and leaving droppings around the house. So I called your office again to see about getting another appointment, possibly for an x-ray to see if there was some kind of blockage. Diana again tried to get me to take Tera somewhere else, finally telling me that the only appointments available were almost 2 weeks out in the first week of July. I booked an appointment for 7/3.

• Thinking that was far too long to wait, I finally took Diana’s “advice” and called another vet - the Riverside Veterinary Hospital. They actually apologized for not being able to see Tera sooner and booked an appointment for her the very next Monday 6/24. They also suggested over the phone that I try a commercial hairball product over the weekend.

• Amazingly, by Monday Tera was improved enough from the hairball treatment that I almost cancelled the appointment. I took her in anyway and - after spending only an hour there - the doctor said it was probably diet-based colitis, but did an x-ray just to make sure. There was no blockage, and the doctor prescribed some medication for colitis that even came in a syringe-like tube that is very easy to use. The bill for the exam, x-ray and meds was only $112. And unlike your facility, the doctor asked me to check back by Thursday to let him know how Tera was doing.



So, a couple of questions for you. First, has the receptionist been instructed to try and get people to take their pets elsewhere? And if so, wouldn’t it make better business sense to explain why you are doing this rather than just using terrible customer service to try and drive them away?









Finally, I have three requests of you:



• Please transfer Tera’s records – either directly, or by giving them to me – to the Riverside Veterinary Hospital. Please let me know how you want to do this.

• Please cancel my appointment for 7/3.

• Please refund the $187 I spent needlessly for Tera's last appointment at your facility.







Regards,

It is with great pleasure to highly recommend Dr. Mary Minor whom I have met and known for the past four years from the National Pony Express Association and at her veterinary practice at Dayton Valley Veterinarian Hospital in Dayton, NV.

Dr. Minor is a very sincere, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and a hard working person. On various instances she proved her loyalty, trust worthiness, and honesty and expertise in veterinary medicine to me.

Her cheerful and friendly nature and positive attitude has earned her special place among my animals and me. In my mind she is the most skill, talent, friendly and caring doctor.

Her compassionate and kind nature came out in a very prepared approach to care for my dog Spud with a broken leg. This is with great pride and pleasure I recommend Dr. Mary Minor as an expert Veterinary Doctor.

They were attentive and cared about my pets every time I brought them in. My dog loves the doctors. I never have to "drag" him in. I will keep taking my pets there

Weve been happy clients of Dr. Minor for several years now. With 3 dogs and 4 cats, weve had the opportunity to visit the office quite a few times over the years. The appointments have always been fairly quick and we have never had to wait very long to see the vet. The nice ladies at the front desk have always been really good to us as well. Would definitely recommend!

I recently acquired a stray cat while on a trip to California and since I didn't know anything about the cat's history, I decided to bring him in for a general exam. Dr. Minor quickly determined that he had ear mites and since the cat was a "Californian", she also checked him for flea eggs (something that didn't even occur to me before - but rather important since I have a house full of other cats at home). Sure enough, Mickey (the cat) had flea eggs burrowed deep in his fur.Mickey was also given all of the proper vaccinations. He is usually a mellow cat, but when it came time for the vaccinations he decided to put up a fight. Doctor Minor and her technician were great troupers through it all. They handled the ordeal professionally and were able to finish up the exam without anyone getting a single scratch!With updated vaccinations and ear mite & flea treatments, Mickey is healthy & happy in his new home. I would highly recommend Dayton Valley Veterinary Hospital - 5 Stars.

In the past, I had good luck with Dr. Lizette. Our most recent checkup, I had Dr. Mary and my husband was not impressed. I preferred the other vet, but kept an open mind. Then one of my animals became sick, losing weight, was dehydrated and essentially dying. I would have appreciated a candid opinion from Dr. Mary. Instead, she did a lot of tests, rehydrated the animal, sent me home with medicines and gave me a bill. I had to put the animal down two days later at an emergency hospital after watching her spiral down to a level worse than before she went into the vet. I didn't have a problem doing that since I can not watch an animal suffer. I did not appreciate the false hope I was given. Perhaps I did not ask enough of the correct questions, but when I am dealing with a professional, I expect a professional assessment, good or bad. Due to this experience, I will not return to this veterinarian.

Dr. Mary and her family have been Dayton residents for a long time and the fact that less than 10 years after she started practing veterinary medicine, she had to triple her office space and have a partner assist her, is a testament to her skill and compassion as a vet. Dr. Minor personally saved the life of one of my dogs, and for that, we will be eternally grateful to her, and continue to take our animals there for any care that they need. They're always busy because they're that good.

You might have had a problem getting an immediate appointment if you went in during surgery time. Every day from 10-12, the veterinarians do surgeries.

I tried to get my dog in to see a vet at Dayton Valley Veterinary Hospital. It was my first visit. There were no cars in the parking lot. The woman at the front desk said that the vets were busy and that they could "fit me in" late that afternoon. Fortunatly, it was not an emergency. The woman was not friendly and I felt that I was imposing upon her just to deal with me as a customer. I left and found another vet in Dayton. Eventhough there were people (and animals) at this vet, they got us in, and we had a good exam and treatment.I can understand why there were no patients at Dayton Valley Veterinary Hospital as the front desk personnel keeps them away. They may be great vets, but I guess I will never know.