Veterinary Dermatology

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PRACTICE!!!
I wish I had read the other reviews before choosing this practice. I expected to get a higher bill than usual as seeing a specialist is always more expensive than seeing a regular vet, but I did not expect to walk away with a bill for more than 700$ after our first visit - and I had to insist that only the minimum exams would be done to get started. Yes, our dogs skin issues look concerning but before paying so much money, I need to get the feeling that a doctor really cares about us and at least attempts to keep the costs as low as possible. Yes, long term treatment may get expensive but in my view building a relationship with the patient should come before any major decisions about treatment. We came back one week later and walked away with another invoice of over 200$ just for a visit with one of the technicians performing a routine treatment and another two weeks of antibiotics. I actually had to remind them that the antibiotics were supposed to be given several weeks - communication inside this office does not seem to be working either. When I dared to raise concerns about the high expenses and voiced my worry of not being able to keep paying bill after bill, I got the snappy response: "It is your choice"! Really??? You are right. I am going to choose a different practice!! I will never set a foot into this practice again!! This practice is all about making money. I did not feel any empathy! I should have listened to my feelings when I made my initial phone call because the main focus of the conversation was the cost of the visit.

Grossly overpriced. I'll admit it's a nice and professional vet clinic, very clean etc. but the prices are absolutely insane. On my first visit I was expecting to pay $160 for a consultation fee. That covers walking in the door. ANYTHING they do beyond walking in the door and paying 160, costs more than you can imagine. A handful of very basic tests (skin scraping, blood, cytology) came to over $800. And I left paying over $900 with NO ANSWERS as to what I should do. Their best suggestion was intradermal skin testing. But they charge $1400 for this. This runs $350-$700 max everywhere else i've called. Needless to say I'm not paying 2-4 times the cost of this test. I'll be taking my dog elsewhere for dermatology.

It's too bad because I get the impression that Dr Stewart really knows her stuff and is a solid specialist but if she insists on pricing her services so ridiculously then I feel obligated to let as many people as possible know.

Stay away unless you have insurance or you're rich. You'll need one or the other.

I was looking forward to this appointment, to help me find answers to help my dog with some skin condition . My office visit was 170 bucks just to be seen. This did not include any tests, medications, shampoo's etc. I was hoping by one look at my dog that they would be able to see what condition she had. Then they left the room to get me the "Quote" for about 900.00 bucks. She wanted to do the same exact tests my Vet did. I flat out refused and told them I was not paying for more of the same tests(which a copy of those records were sent to her office and the results could be seen by her) that came back negative for mites, ringworm, etc. I was arguing with the Vet Tech, and then the Vet came back into the room. She told me that after trying to convince me of these test, that in about 4 weeks, we should consider having my dog put under anesthesia and conduct allergy testing that would be approx. 2000-3000 dollars, at which we still might not know what is wrong with her or what allergies she may have. After deciding that certain test didn't need to be done, my bill ended up being almost 600 bucks.
Seems the reviews sound the same. Stay clear.

This was my worst experience with a Veterinarian! Dr. Stewart presented me with $800 quote for a myriad of lab tests but wasn't able to offer a medical opinion about what might be wrong with my dog. When I asked her to explain the rationale for ordering certain tests, and the benefit for each, she immediately became indignant and condescending toward my questions, and indicated that it “wasn’t magic.” She even wanted to repeat tests that my other Vet had done 3 weeks previous because she is “an expert.” Evaluation of a skin scraping isn’t something that a typical Vet is likely to get wrong. As it stands, she was unable to identify a systematic approach to determining my dog’s condition and left me frustrated and tasting bile.

Hold onto your wallets going here!! $1000 for 1st visit. Dr. Stewart will suck you dry with tests, tests and more tests!! Don't GO!!