scott clothier says:

Hey there. I am sort of new to your blog, but we have a friend in common from your high school… I am sorry to hear about your mistreatment at the Brambleton Vet. I don’t know of any place to take dogs, but i have lots of friends who have cats and they take them to “Vets to Cats” on Electric Road. You might check that out, they came highly recommended recently when I was thinking about getting some cats. Good luck, and great blog!

Morkleb says:

Actually, finding a good, helpful vet is very difficult. This story, while it’s aggravating, doesn’t really surprise me.

It’s too bad, considering you’ve been long-term customers. And give me a break; people change methods of payment ALL THE TIME, either because of other expenses that crowd up room on cards, or money that didn’t go through when they did their banking that morning. That’s absolute crap.

More on Brambleton Veterinary Hospital says:

[...] Last night I wrote about my horrible experience at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Roanoke. [...]

MsElenaeous says:

This is discouraging because I am looking for a new vet myself and was just looking in the phone book! I’ve not had much luck with care for my corgi and am running out of places to go. I won’t even bother with this one.

Still more on Brambleton Veterinary Hospital says:

[...] I’ve found out a few more things about Brambleton Veterinary Hospital and Dr. Linda Jennings. First, besides responses here, I’ve gotten a ton of e-mail from [...]

And yet more about Dr. Linda F. Jennings and Brambleton Veterinary Hospital says:

[...] get this. Dr. Linda F. Jennings of the Brambleton Veterinary Hospital — who I wrote about here and here — had threatened to sue us if we told people about the horrible treatment we got [...]

Eric Berlin » Blog Archive » This place is a zoo says:

[...] animals, because she evidently doesn’t know the first thing about working with people. Start here, then here, and then watch as things really leave orbit [...]

Leland says:

My animals are full fledged members of my family. Had that low life scum sucker held my animal hostage under those circumstances, there would have been all out war.

Nuke that fatherless child and those responsible for his presence in that facility. (Apologies to all those fatherless children that gained the title through birthright rather then attitude.)

Jackie says:

I have worked for several Veterians in the Roanoke area and Dr. Linda Jennings is the most talanted, compassionate, and dedicated Dr. in our area. She does not deserve this kind of harassment. As for with holding any meds, P.J. had already received pain meds with his sedation and was not due meds at that time. Dr. Jennings stayed after hours to repair the wound P.J. had so we would not have to send them to EVS. She did this because it was the best thing for the animal and she always does whats best for the animal. All she wanted in return was to be paid as any other Vet would want. P.J.’s owner new that payment was due before the dog could be released. Why did she not go and get her Visa or Ck while we repaired the wound that took about 45minutes? I doubt that because of this unfortunate incident that our hospital will suffer any damages. Just to let everyone know what kind of people the Kantor’s are they were in our office the morning after causing a scene and calling Dr. J F—— B—-!! So if you want the very best care for your animal, you will go the the best which is Dr. Linda Jennings !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christa says:

I work for Dr. Jennings and have seen the woman at work. She took great care of the Kantors dog and stayed late to do it. She always does what is best for any animal that walks through her hospital doors. You will not find a more professional staff in Roanoke or a cleaner hospital anywhere.Mrs. Kantor had plenty of time to make any arrangements for payment but just happened to mention the problem with forgetting her purse when P.J. was finally ready to go home. We the staff had to stay over at least an hour just to deal with her outrageous behavior while she cried and screamed profanitys at us. She had the choice to go to the Emergency Vet Clinic where she probably would have been charged double what she was charged and they would have wanted to get paid too, they demand it. As for P.J. and pain medicine he recieved exactly what he needed when he needed it.These people are ludacris in thinking they will affect our buisness in any way, our calendar is never empty and the poor client who witnessed Mr. Kantors outrageous behavior called to say she couldn’t believe how he acted and that if Dr. Jennings needed any witness to verify his behavior she would gladly do it, as would many of her clients. Bottom line, these people are just upset because they had to pay their bill and as Mr.Kantor noted in his letter up above their account was empty.Which is what we were told which was why we didn’t accept their check. If you want the best care in Roanoke then you won’t listen to this slander by a disgruntled client.b

gnomic says:

I suspect that this is all going to end in a he said/she said state of affairs. And we all know just how unreasonable Andrew has been over the last few years - his sladerous ways are well known to Mac Fans everywhere. I’m sure it won’t hurt your business.

But you never quite know when the next person is going to show up with a pet and a micro-miniturized camera, do you? Or a hidden microphone. And in this day and age when we can find out everything about a person, right back to Ms Fuhrman’s days back in Cold Spring Harbor High, you might just have to think twice about pissing a customer off to this point - or withholding meds for a hurt pet. Because if that customer is and my pet is hurt, I’d expect the same care my child gets.

And for the record, my dog loves my vet. And that’s the standard I go by.

Andrew says:

Jackie is lying.

1. The vet tech in the office didn’t say “PJ already had meds.” She told my wife she wouldn’t give him any. Any responsible vet would have said, “He’s already had them” if that was the case. Therefore she was either lying or simply being mean.

2. My wife never screamed profanities at anyone. She did cry, though, because she wanted to take our dog home where he belonged and the office wouldn’t take our money.

3. My wife only had an Amex on her. She made repeated offers of payment, all of which the office refused, including having someone else call in with a Visa number or taking our check. Considering that a Visa would have been approved electronically, there’s no issue about getting paid. The office staff was deliberately being uncooperative.

4. There was no “they” coming to the office the next day. Just me. And I never called Dr. Jennings “F—— B—-!!” I can prove this. I recorded my entire visit there and I am happy to prove that point. And yes, I am serious. Virginia has a convenient one-party notification law when it comes to taping. Good thing I think ahead.

On to Dr. Jennings’s other employee (who shows the same grasp of the English language as “Jackie”).

1. Again, my wife never screamed profanities. If you knew her — as, say, the folks at the SPCA do — you would know this is a joke. So that makes you a liar.

2. Yep, one account was empty. That’s why we wanted to pay by check. If there wasn’t money in the checking account, Christa dear, how was I able to go to Bank of America down the block and withdraw the $300+ I needed to pay?

[waiting, waiting] Yeah, I thought so.

As for hurting the business, I wouldn’t trust Dr. Linda Jennings’s office to admit it if that was the case. But as you can see by the comments here, the office has quite the reputation around town. Too bad I didn’t realize what a bad vet she was beforehand.

Andrew says:

I also note that Dr. Jennings’s dear employees didn’t address the good doctor calling the SPCA to attempt to get my wife fired. How would they explain that as professional behavior?

By the way, the tactic worked so well that the SPCA asked us to foster another set of kittens. Pics coming soon.

Dana says:

heh. I have had some experience with the Kantors, and I can’t imagine either of them screaming profanities. They have adequate vocabularies and don’t need to resort to four-letter words.

As for Dr. Jennings, if she’s so wonderful why was she calling the SPCA about an office experience she had with someone who happens to volunteer there? Will she be calling the grocery stores next? Sounds pretty unprofessional to me.

Also, I note that the Kantors paid their bill immediately and in cash. That would be hard to do from an empty account, wouldn’t it? (Unless they have a secret life of crime, I suppose.)

Andrew says:

Oh, I just read “Christa’s” comment more carefully — one part in particular.

“…the poor client who witnessed Mr. Kantors [sic] outrageous behavior called to say she couldn’t believe how he acted and that if Dr. Jennings needed any witness to verify his behavior she would gladly do it, as would many of her clients.”

Christa dear, are you saying that Dr. Jennings would ask someone to commit perjury, or that the “poor client” would ask someone to?

Because, as you pointed out, it was a single client who was there. So when you say that “many of her clients” would act as witnesses to verify my behavior, are you referring to psychics or perjurers?

Questions for the staff at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital says:

[...] couple of people claiming to work for Dr. Linda Jennings have weighed in, in one of the comments sections. They tried and, I think, failed to make some [...]

Dorene says:

I also want to back up Karen and Andrew, having known at least one of them for just short of three decades. The thought of Karen calling anyone obscene names is beyond laughable, because she is one of the most professional, kind people I know. And Andrew isn’t about to go into a business throwing around insults, either, although I’d say that at the point that the two of them had reached, I’d say that they had a right to be disgruntled.

I also don’t think that the fact that Karen had time to get her payments arranged while waiting is terribly important. She was worried enough about PJ to have left the house, door open, without a purse. Obviously she wasn’t going to run from the clinic before she knew what was going on - and she had other things on her mind at that point, anyway.

Good move to tape everything, Andrew. You’re always a step ahead. Best of luck. :)

Dorene says:

Ah, I missed the bit that Karen had told the staff immediately about her lack of purse. Sorry. So I wonder what happened in that 45 minutes to make them think that she is part of a great terrorist scheme to rip off local vet clinics.

Miranda says:

Golly gee, I really thought that to work in a vet clinic (or anywhere else professional, for that matter) that you’d at least have to have a functional command over the English language.

Dang.
I’m glad PJ’s ok.

Suzanne says:

I know the Kantor family, and the idea of Karen or Andrew screaming profanities is laughable; they are both well-behaved, professional people. I really don’t think criticizing Karen because she was upset proves any point except the people at the clinic are nasty and lack compassion. They also lack common sense. If the Kantors were upset solely over paying the bill, why do they have a flawless payment record at the clinic? Why did Andrew pay promptly the next morning? Why did the “talented, compassionate and dedicated” Linda Jennings try to get Karen fired?

Stevie says:

When I “use the Google” as our President would say for “Brambleton Veterinary Hospital” this blog comes up as the fourth choice. #2 links on MetaCrawler and Excite.

There’s a few lessons to be learned here: Never piss off a journalist, investigate potential vets beforehand, stuff like that. OH! And confiscate the batteries when Andrew visits!

unblvbl says:

im glad pj is fine now! Why is it that you can spend so much time hateing someone when we were taught to forgive everyone….why cant all of you take this anger and use it for the good of the people, stop thinking of yourself and he said she said….take your knowledge of the internet and use it for the good instead of all this hatered, take a moment out of your time and think about the mother who just got a phone call saying her son/daughter died from a road side bomb because they are fighting for this country, or the woman who found out she had breast cancer or the child in our country died of starvation there are so very many ways to use all this time you have to help someone instead of trying to hurt someone….god bless…..although for the people who said something about the english language i dont think there was anyone who had correct spelling and or punctuation so there should be no person correcting anyone……

Dana says:

hmm. why not take the time you used to write this to do the same? Let he without sin and all that……

Stevie says:

I think this is pretty good stuff. Someone might be looking for a Vet on the internet use Andrew and Karen’s informed opinions to choose a different provider.

Please notice the fact that there is not one spelling mistake in the above post! Yes I am a a rewly godo speller and ahve been posting on theintenrte s for year s.

Mary says:

I just want to say that I have been going to Brambleton Vet for years. I also know that payment is due at the time of services. Dr. Jennings is a very compassionate Dr. and I would not take my pets to anyone else. The fact of this case seems to be that this family is upset about having to pay the bill. First off…how often have you all been there…once or twice a year…not enough to remember your face I’m sure! You go to a restaurant, they don’t bill you! Go to your own personal Dr. and they ask for payment before you are even seen. And as for paying with another persons credit card, it is just not possible these days. Do you know how much fraud is out there. I mean come on people, you had a negative account, why would they take a check! And why was your wife not making arrangements for payment, if you all are such GREAT clients, then she should have known in the 45 minutes that she waited for PJ that they were going to ask for the bill to be payed. So let me ask how the service was with the situation before you found out about the bill. Did they stay late to care for your pet? Did they rush PJ back to repair him as soon as you got there? Was your pet in better shape than when he first walked through the doors? I’m sure! They did there part! Now all they asked from you was to do yours!

Andrew says:

Mary, it helps if you actually read what happened. We wanted to pay. We tried to pay. But the people at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital were more interested in rushing home and giving us a hard time than in taking our money.

That’s why I had to show up there at 7:00 the next morning with the cash they demanded. For the umpteenth time, we had the money in the checking account, but they wouldn’t take a check, wouldn’t take a Visa, and wouldn’t give us time to run the 1/4 mile down the road to get the cash.

I mean, show a little brains, wouldja? If I didn’t have money in the account, how did I get it the next morning from the ATM?

Sheesh. We are definitely not dealing with the brightest lights on the family Christmas tree, are we?

Matt says:

I’ve heard of vets doing things like this. Seems that even though they have to learn the same sorts of infromation that human doctors (MD) do, they have to learn it for several species, but, now get this…they don’t make nearly as much. Despite the whole liability insurance differential. Anyway, they are still held accountable for their student loans, car loans, health insurance, children’s daycare, and grocery bills for example. Thus, it becomes very contingent that they receive payment for their services. And when a client comes in with an animal that is in need of treatment, but is unfrotunately a deadbeat, they’re put into a tough situation. And when said client comes in and reports that they want to write a check, but have no money in said checking account, what would you expect said doctor to do? Perhaps this disgruntled client would be more happy if he or she were allowed to commit the felony of check/bank fraud by writing a bad check on an account that has insufficient funds. Who knows…and when you post things like this with your warped side of the story, it becomes very close to a legal type of issue, wouldn’t you say? And perhaps the pain medication you were turned down for (as if you were expecting to get it for free?), you might want to note that it was the pain medication to be sent home with the animal, not anything that would be actually given to the animal at the time you were showing behavior typical of someone who might wear Huggie’s Pullups. When you’re an adult in western civilization, you need to do your best to pull your head out of your ass before interacting with those around you. Might make your day go by a bit brighter. And oh, by the way, since this is apparently the area to post things like groundless accusations based entirely on one person’s conjecture, I feel that it’s important that I point out the following: I have no direct evidence that you do not blow goats. Or molest collies. Nothing personal, but I just have no reason to believer either of those assertions any more than I have to believe yours regarding Brambleton Veterinary Hospital. Have a nice day. Hugs, not drugs.

Leland says:

Matt is funny.

Andrew says:

Matt’s an idiot who can’t read. Deadbeat? Yeah, amazing how we paid immediately and in full every other time we were there. Insufficient funds? Yeah, we mugged some people overnight to bring them the money the next day. Turned down for pain meds? Learn to read, Matt — we paid for one dose but were given the smaller one. Unfounded accusations? I’ve got witnesses to their behavior.

Man, the people defending the vet are just, well, stupid.

Andrew says:

Oh, and amusingly, “Matt” and “Christa” (who said she works for Dr. Jennings) apparently share an IP address. Imagine that.

Emily says:

Why is it that everyone that agrees with you seems fairly rational and everyone that agrees with the vet seems to be on some kind of drug?

Andrew_is_a_weenie says:

Ok, so which of the above participants shares the IP of my cable modem (or whatever)? HMM?

Andrew says:

If I were you, Steve, I’d be careful about the word “weenie.” PJ still likes the occasional snack. ;-)

k12 says:

You guys need to listen to the “other than negative” responses. There are too many crazy people in this world who wants something for nothing; no matter if it involvew their’s “so called loved ones”…

Andrew says:

And what “something for nothing” did we want, k12? Hmm? Considering we offered four different ways to pay our bill, that’s kind of a stupid label to try to pin on us.

potcake says:

I noticed a comment about BVH clipping the quicks of dog’s toenails…interesting. That comment was made by someone who worked there in 2000. Well, guess what? They STILL clip the quicks and have dogs bleeding! The person who does this is named Stephanie, and I imagine she’s the same person who did this back in 2000. For some reason, Dr. Jennings isn’t inclined to correct this situation — other than to require that her own dogs be brought upstairs after their baths to have their nails clipped by her, personally. (I’m the vet, so my dog matters more than yours…???) Is good help THAT hard to find? I’ve been clipping my own dogs’ nails for some 30 years now and have NEVER cut to the quick. As for the “exercise” they claim they give your dog when it’s boarded, you’d better pray that your doggie doesn’t have to potty right away when it goes out. If the dog goes out and does its business right away it’s immediately taken back in to its cage, with hardly enough time to even sniff fresh air. I guess they consider squatting or lifting a leg as sufficient exercise for a dog that’s being boarded so it won’t be couped up at home all day. (Hmmmmm, didn’t one of BVH’s employees use the word borded — maybe she meant bored???) Dogs that go out in groups do get a little more time — I guess they haven’t figured out how to teach them synchronized leg lifting, yet…

There is, however, a fool proof way to get good care for your dog at BVH — own a boxer. Rottweilers come in as a good second — at least JB wouldn’t give them the wrong dose of meds, and probably wouldn’t perform the wrong procedure on them. (Then, it could be that JB’s “minor errors” are limited to his work on cats, alone — I dunno.)

I don’t know Dr. Linda Jennings and don’t take my pets to BVH. I do know something about some of her employees/practices and do believe that “animals first” is not one of her mottoes or a standard she uses in hiring people. The fact that she doesn’t trust her own employees with HER pets says a lot, imho. In all honesty, I have heard from several people that she’s a nice lady. The bigger problem seems to be with the employees she trusts the most and who, therefore, wield the most power — JB and Stephanie.

lionemom says:

I have so much to say on this I can hardly contain myself.

First of all, to Mary and her comment that you see the vet once or twice a year, hardly enough to be remembered….I see my OB-GYN exactly ONCE a year and she remembers me, my face, my conditions, my medications, my issues and my last visit. Sure she has a file to get some of that from, but she KNOWS me and treats me as if she does (if she doesn’t remember me, I can’t tell.) My vet’s office remembers me as well. The front desk folks and the vet herself. They remember my dog and they remember me. And I have been there exactly twice with this dog. It’s called bedside manner and ALL doctors should have it.

Next, I am just appalled at the treatment that Andrew and his wife got at this place. They are right to boycott and file complaints against them. I know Andrew for something like 30 years now and when he makes a claim like this, I can assure you it is above reproach. He does not need to fabricate stories and details in order to make a case for something like this. The truth speaks for itself. What he does know is how to document, how to respond and how to spread the information so that people that need to know can know about things like this.

There is no defense for a vet’s office treating a client like this. Certainly not a client of more than 2 years who has taken their FIVE PETS to this vet, probably at the cost of a few thousand dollars at this point.

And, by the way, who the hell CARES WHO PAYS THE BILL?!? When I had to put my beloved Malamute to sleep 2 years ago because she was terminally ill, my best friend paid the bill. She gave them a credit card and paid it. She said I shouldn’t have to pay for something like that for my own dog. It was a gift to me. And no one at the vet’s office stopped her saying, “Hey, this is not the owner’s credit card, you can’t pay this bill!” That is absolutely ridiculous! Who cares who pays it, as long as it gets paid! The moron who would not take her check because she got her checkbook “too fast” is as bad as the kids who can’t make change for $16.25 when you give them $21.25 and want a $5 back!

Andrew, you have my full support and, believe me, if I lived down there, I would post signs and call all the local shelters and SPCA groups to spread the word!

Appalling!

Anonymous says:

the dr. can sue, just to let you know because it is called slander. your dog is obviously ok and u should be thankful for that. maybe they thought your check would bounce since your visa did not work

Andrew says:

She can only sue for slander if what we’re saying isn’t true. Truth, at least in the U.S., is a positive defense against a slander charge, and everything I’ve said is.

Further, by attempting to get my wife fired from her job, Dr. Jennings herself (who had been paid) demonstrated malice. There was no professional or even ethical reason to make that call. Further, in that call she made demonstrably false statements about my behavior that could be construed as slander.

As for the check, you’re right — maybe she thought it would bounce. But that doesn’t explain her staff’s refusal to accept any other Visa card. Visa cards don’t bounce.

Anonymous says:

You obviously took your animals there for years, and they must have received good care in those years or you would not have taken them back, because you had payment issued this time you decided to pull a hissy fit? that’s rediculous and childish. You think i would believe you did nothing wrong, just by something you simply put on the internet because you were mad? NO, i think it’s stupid. Your dog P.J was ok wasn’t he. you need to think about your dog adnd not yourself. they fixed him and you should be thankfull

Andrew says:

Actually, Anonymous/Marissa, it’s the other way around: We took our dogs and cats there for years and never gave even a hint of a problem. But the moment something doesn’t go perfectly, Brambleton Veterinary Hospital throws a hissy fit — treats us like criminals, effectively holds our dog hostage, and then — AFTER we paid — tries to hurt us by calling what they thought was my wife’s job.

So, how can you justify in any way that kind of behavior on the part of Dr. Linda Jennings? Answer: You can’t.

Marissa says:

Just to let the person know about the quicking of nails. it’s hard to not quick nail sometimes, especially if the owner does not clip them and they let the quicks get long. people make mistakes andd tat is why they invented something called quick-stop. I have been to plenty of vets and the vets themselves even cut the quicks sometimes. And if your dog fighghyt against it, it makes it even worse. if you ccut your dogs nails and don’t quick tehm then why did you bring to the vet to get quicked and not do it yourself

Marissa says:

They could probably prove more than you could becasue i imagine they would have cameras

Andrew says:

I hope they do — any evidence on those cameras will only help my cause. They’ll help demonstrate the lies they’ve told about us. Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll have to check to see if they recorded any of this. (My guess is that if they did record it, they erased it to destroy the evidence of how they treated my wife!)

Anonymous says:

you must imagine how many deadbeats they do get in a place like that though, people that don’t pay or who pay with bad checks or who don’t care for their animals properly, lets be realistic here. Instead of being imature you could have went on with your norml life and your now healthy again dog

Andrew says:

And THEY could have let it drop instead of trying to get my wife fired.

If they were worried about deadbeats, once again, why wouldn’t they take a different Visa card?

Why were they rude?

Why did they charge us for an overnight stay we didn’t want PJ to have?

Why did they say they wouldn’t give PJ pain meds?

Why did they give him the wrong dosage?

Why are so many ex-customers and other members of the local animal community posting here with Brambleton Veterinary Hospital horror stories?

gnomic says:

I’m not defending these people. but if the dog stayed overnight, or the standard of care is to charge for an overnight stay as part of a procedure, that is a reasnoable and customary practice. Typically if a dog receives anastesia or strong pain meds that can result in respitory problems several hours later, the standard of care is to keep them overnight. They bundle the charge because people don’t want to pay an additional fee and are less likley to take the dog home once they’ve paid. I can’t say that’s what happened since I don’t know the specific details.

BTW, merchent cannot refuse to take a visa card - although they can require a photo ID. To do so is a violation of thier merchant agreement EVEN IF THEY SUSPECT FRAUD. If they do, there is a number to call and check, but if the card isn’t stolen, they have to take the payment. PERIOD. (I used to have a business that took visa nd you wouldn’t believe the fine print).

gnomic says:

Oh- and to the kid who works there or is defending the clinic - your ignorance and attitude aren’t helping your employer. She can sue - anyone in America can sue - but the case has no merit and she has no cuase of action. Andrew is an unhappy customer and is sharing his experience. Such is the risks of being in business. The best defense is to not have unhappy customers. Going aroudn saying your are going to sue your customers is not good for business. And arguing about it only keeps the issue alive. You want ot make your point - post the video on youtube and link to it here. Put up or shut up. But quit whining - it isn’t helping.

Suzanne says:

Hey, anonymous poster, what the heck are you talking about: “You were treated like dirt by your vet, but your dog is OK, so move on with your life and forget about it?” Give me a break. I once had a very negative experience with a doctor who had a bad attitude and treated me like dirt; sure, I emerged intact from the clinic, but you’d better believe I told my regular doctor about his scum of a colleague and wrote a letter to the business detailing my experience and letting them know how unhappy I was. Plus, I tell everyone I know to avoid that doctor. This is not being “imature;” this is trying to make sure your experience doesn’t happen to someone else. I would not another young woman to go through what I did with that doctor, and I’m sure Andrew doesn’t want anyone to go through the situation he’s going through. There is nothing wrong with sharing bad experiences; if you receive crappy service at a restaurant, do you keep quiet about it? No, you tell your friends and don’t go to that restaurant again. It’s an obvious thing to do.

lionemom says:

K, I think part of the problem here is that too many people are used to bad service and take the stance that if things turn out okay, why bother complaining, it just makes you a whiner. I do not agree with that point of view in any way. Part of the point here is that you are PAYING someone to provide a SERVICE to you, and not just an unskilled service such as digging a ditch. You are paying someone who had to go through at least 8 years of medical training and get a degree. PLUS you are getting service from their staff who, most often, have some vet assistant training as well. Aceepting poor service as a standard is a stupid thing to do. It lets people who should be meeting certain standards get away with less. This is an animal’s HEALTH you are talking about.

I know plenty of vet’s offices who would let payment for an emergency service slide for a day until their patient’s owner could come back with their checkbook or wallet. If the vet that I went to would deny treatment to an animal that had been hit by a car and needed emergency treatment because they didn’t know if they would get paid, I would use a different vet. There are people who will pony up the money for a situation like that, not to mention the thankful owner who comes in after finding out their animal was injured and pays the bill.

If this vet office has problems with deadbeat customers, maybe they should move to a different location or pre-screen their customers for credit-worthiness. Maybe they should take cash only or cash and credit only and not accept checks. Maybe they need to examine WHY so many people refuse to pay them for services rendered. Maybe they should partner with a local animal advocacy group who can help pick up the tab if low-income patient-owners cannot pay. There are so many options its ridiculous.

But to argue that Andrew and his wife were wrong to complain about being treated poorly, or about their dog not being treated properly, or about the vet taking malicious action against them, is just unfounded. There is no GOOD reason to argue that point of view.

Marissa says:

I think andrew jus tliekt o complain and sit on his computer all day and be lazy. this must be whta he does for a living. complain complain complain. They were not treated poorly they just wold not except their payment, that’s not poor treatment. any place can say what kind of payment they will except and they did not have to wait for him if they were closed. he should haev been greastful they stayed. This guy sounds like a whine baby to me

Andrew says:

Marissa has finally become a joke.

“They were not treated poorly they just wold not except their payment, that’s not poor treatment.” Classic.

MsElenaeous says:

Andrew, I think your leg is being pulled…

Andrew says:

I’m slow, but I’m beginning to think you’re right. Especially with her spelling and grammar getting worse and worse.

Suzanne says:

Marissa, it’s normally a bad sign when you’re drunk by lunchtime.

scott says:

for some, its a goal!

Emily says:

I think it’s those Special K breakfasts that are the problem.

ann v says:

honestly, now. there have got to be far better things to do than sit online and bash a vet office/veterinarian. i was rummaging about the site after posting a comment about the stray and had no idea that so many of you had commented! now, yes, everyone hates the evil doctor. get on with it! andrew’s dog is fine and he is taking legal action. the money was paid. the vet business is still up and running as it is going to be regardless of how you feel. that’s life. quit blogging, commenting, etc about it and move on to issues that need real attention. blog/comment/take action on issues like drugs, poverty, the like. put your anger towards helping a real problem in society or the world. or if you feel the power of animal love overwhelming you go out and help the strays by fostering, volunteering, and donating as andrew has. or lets blog and write about positive things that happen. moral of the story is it is done and you should be the bigger person and simply handle it yourself and move on. i promise you will all probably feel alot better and be a lot less stressed out if you got off the computers and went out into the sunshine!

Leland says:

I don’t know about that, Ann V. I think the staff at the Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Southwest Roanoke County and the not-so-good doctor deserve a bit more knife twisting in the court of public opinion. Especially over that part about the botched euthanasia.

They are lucky that was not my cat.

ann v says:

yipes! but that has to do with courts. not blogs.

Emily says:

ann v, what part of “court of public opinion” do you not understand?

Leland says:

The court of public opinion is a very different thing from a court of law. Blogs like this give regular folks like us an informal voice in the court of public opinion.

Before the internet and blogs regular folks like us had only he courts and lawyers to speak for us. A bad and/or dishonest business person skirting the gray areas of the law could operate for some time before the word got around town. When that happened all that person had to do was move to a new town.

Now when something like this comes up, the facts can be aired instantly. Then the public acts as jury. The jury votes with their money.

The verdict in this case will be made clear soon enough.

ann v says:

emily, emily. calm. i didn’t get on here bashing him or saying that he can’t do as he pleases. he can say anything .. its his site! i was just amazed at the people on here commenting and whining instead of taking actions themselves. don’t be so quick to be mean.

Emily says:

ann v, you must live in a very strange world where my comment could be construed as mean or not calm. I was only trying to help you understand what leland was posting.

Maybe you are new to this form of action. Stay tuned for the results.

Gnomic says:

Ann, thanks for letting me know what to do with my pathetic life. Nots since Shatner said “get a life” have I felt such direction. You should certainly take this powerful message to Dr Phil so the country can move on from Anna Nicole.

OF course, you might note that people feel sympathy towards a hurt pet, frustration and anger towards the crappy service that we receive, and outrage towards an incompetnt business owner and that this story resonates with most of us. Add to the mix that some nitwit employee that spells worse than I do keeps the story from dying out, and you start to have some understanding of how blogs really work.

Don’t like it? You too can move on. Or go back to watching Anna Nicole.

Andrew says:

HEY HEY HEY. Stop it. Emily, I can see why Ann thought your comment was a little… harsh. :) It’s the old “emotion doesn’t come through in e-mail thing.” But Ann, considering how the people defending the Brambleton Veterinary Hospital have been rather nasty here, I can see why some folks jumped to the conclusion that you were one of them.

So everyone chill. Ann is one of those odd folks who is able to disagree here without being nasty about it. :) Let’s be nice in return, ‘K?

Emily says:

Harsh? Moi? o:)

Ok, I’ll be sweet. ;-(

ann v says:

touches all around. and thanks andrew. i just don’t have it in me to be downright nasty to strangers .. especially those i’ll never meet in person. just threw in my two cents here and there. move along from it since it obviously seemed biased. :) … and was anna nicole’s death really on dr. phil? ahaha. from over protective husbands to the death of america’s most famous gold digger. love it.

Anonymous says:

On the morning of May 15th-I was dropping off my ragdoll cat,Ziggy, to be boarded for a few days at BVM. I am the unfortunate client who did indeed witness Mr. Kantor’s foul behavior. As I opened the door very early in the morning I could immediately hear aloud angry male voice. I tried to ignore it and go about my own business but the truth is he was so loud and disruptive I was unable to even communicate with the vet tech about the care of my animal. I did hear him slam the phone in the receiver and then refer to Dr. Jennings loudly as a B—h. He then continued onto another phone call(I assume he was talking to his wife) and was completely disrupting the office. When I heard him say something about the SPCA I turned to him and confronted him myself telling him that if I knew his name I would call the SPCA and tell them of his behavior in this office. He replied “what do you know about what happened herelast night.” My response was I don’t know what happened but I know these are good people and no one deserves this kind of treatment. As I left he was still in the office screaming and it was severe enough I called back to make sure the techs were OK. I was actually worried about their safety. At that time I offered to be a witness to his behavior and NO ONE asked me to do it prior to that . I volunteered. And no I won’t be perjuring myself. I would also like to add that I work for a major airline where I am also the Health,Safety,and Security chairperson. It is common knowledge we are exposed to unpleasant behavior frequently and Mr. Kantor’s display was one of the most egregious I’ve encountered. Had he been at my workplace he would have been arrested as he was very threatening.

Now on to the important information-Dr. Jennings and her kind, competent and PROFESSIONAL staff have taken care of my dog, my bunny, and my 4 cats since the opening of her office. The treatment of my animals and my person has been nothing short of stellar and I would not even consider leaving her practice. Cases in point-my 19 year old cat fell from a ledge and severed her femur-Dr. Jennings did such a tremendous job putting her back together she didn’t even limp and lived another 2 years. My cat Ash that I just picked up this morning fell incredibly ill last week. He can be so wild that Dr.Jennings has offered to make house calls for his care so he doesn’t become too stressed. I picked him up this morning and thanks to fine care he was purring like a kitten( i do believe JB is resposible for completely calming my cat) and feels great. My cat Ziggy is treated so well when he boards (he is given the run of the office) he gets excited when we pull into the parking lot. The staff keeps me informed of the care of the condition of my pets in a timely manner and have never been anything but patient and kind. The bottom line is this-exceptional medical care by both vets and nursing care by the vet techs as well as exceptional customer service. Diane C Whitmore

Andrew says:

A good part of what Diane Whitmore posted was true, but not all of it. First of all, she had no problem communicating with the vet tech; she’s saying that to make it a bigger deal than it was. Ditto for her saying I was “still in the office screaming” when she left. I didn’t scream.

As for my behavior being “one of the most egregious I’ve encountered,” I sincerely doubt that. Again, it’s exaggeration to try to make a better point than simple truth would.

As I pointed out before, I recorded the entire interaction and can prove all this. (At this point it’s clear that I need to do this, so I’ll transfer it to my PC and upload it.)

I’m glad Ms. Whitmore got good treatment at Brambleton Vet. But she is clearly in the minority based on what I’ve seen posted here. She’s also clearly not above stretching the truth a bit to try to make a point.

I stand behind what I wrote, and I think the vast majority of people here support what I said.

It’s interesting that Ms. Whitmore believes that Dr. Linda Jennings’s behavior was acceptable — calling the SPCA (after she was paid in full) to try to get my wife fired. I wonder how she justifies that — “spouses of people I don’t like should lose their jobs”?

At least Dr. Jennings has one customer. Judging by the empty waiting room there lately, that may be about it!

Andrew says:

Oh, and readers will realize that I never said that Ms. Whitmore would be perjuring herself. If she had bothered to read what I wrote here, she would have understood that the person who posted — a Brambleton Vet employee — said that ‘a customer and her friends’ would testify to my behavior. I pointed out that, as there was no one else there, getting those friends to testify would be suborning perjury.

Not that accuracy is important to her.

And finally, as for fearing for the safety of the people there, I note with some amusement that Ms. Whitmore works in airline security. Far be it for someone in that line of work to exaggerate when it comes to security threats. :)

Brambleton Veterinary Hospital says:

[...] case you hadn’t noticed, I stopped posting about the horrible experience I had at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Roanoke. Yes, there are some things still going on behind the scenes, but I was content to let it [...]

Anonymous says:

While I have no intention of being manipulated into engaging in bantering with Mr. Kantor I will respond to his post of 8:13 only because it questions my credibility based solely on the fact I work in airline security. I will not respond to further posts. Since my credibility and my integrity have been challenged I will cite some of my qualifications. I have a B.S. in Biology-GPA 3.51 with an emphasis in animal behavior. I have an additional 71 hours in health related sciences and am currently pursuing another degree in science at Virginia Tech. I was a teaching assistant in both the biology and sociology departments of my alma mater. I am a Red Cross Volunteer as well as a patron member of the Blue Ridge Zoological Society. I am not prone to sensationalism or exaggeration-my credibility is of the utmost importance to me. I will not comment on what happened between Dr. Jennings and Mr. Kantor. I cannot-I did not witness it-I did, however, witness his behavior in her office and on that I can comment. Again her entire office was disrupted and I could not communicate with the vet tech over his tirade.
As for someone in airline security exaggerating -perhaps because of my position I have access to information Mr. Kantor does not.

One last personal observation: Any person who callously draws attention to his perceived educational disparities of others as Mr. Kantor has in this blog displays not only immaturity but a mean spiritedness that renders him quite capable of indulging himself in the type of behavior he so vehemently denies.

Andrew says:

I’m not clear what a degree in biology — or any other educational qualifications — has to do with credibility.

In your previous post you said I was “screaming.” I can prove I wasn’t. Ergo, your statement was inarguably wrong.

I see three possibilities offhand.

1: You were lying to sensationalize your story; end of credibility debate.
2: You misremembered what happened and assigned me negative behavior subconsciously; end of credibility debate.
3: You hallucinated my “screaming”; end of credibility debate.

As for not being prone to exaggeration, perhaps your earlier post was a momentary aberration.

Yo Scott says:

Man, I can’t wait to hear this recording!!!!

Andrew says:

The thing of it is, is, it’s pretty boring. Yeah, you can hear I’m upset, but there’s no screaming, no cursing — at one point I even tell the people in the office that I’m not angry at them, but at the situation. It’s pretty tame.

Brambleton Vet audio and Diane Whitmore says:

[...] her integrity is very important to her. Le’ts put that to the test — compare her post here with what you hear on the audio. That way you can reach your own conclusions about her accuracy and [...]

Andrew says:

OK, recording is up. So much for Ms. Whitmore’s integrity.

Miranda says:

I worked in customer service for three years. Andrew’s behavior was nowhere near egregious. In fact, had he been treated properly and his concerns had been addressed, I bet he wouldn’t have gone home to post about the sub-standard care he received.

lionemom says:

I have worked in the Customer Service field doing Customer based Support and technical support as well as Workers’ Compensation Claims Adjuster, which is also customer based work, since 1993 - so just to do the math here, that is 14 years. Before that, I worked retail for the better part of 8 years, mostly as a cashier or floor person - again, helping customers.

Andrew’s recorded reaction is nowhere near egregious. It is not rude, it is not out of line and it is not out of context for the treatment of his wife and of his business there.

I have been CURSED at by claimiants who want their check, yelled at by international customers whose orders have been screwed up by manufacturing, and dressed down by sales people, managers and customers for not providing the best possible service to my customers. In no way did Andrew even begin to broach the levels of unacceptable behavior.

In fact, he behaved much better than I might in the same situation. The one thing that can piss me off to the point of cursing and threatening someone would be someone messing with my pets! Believe me - I got in a year-long fight with my ex-husband over our dog and didn’t speak with him the whole time (and we divorced amicably!)

Andrew, I think you should take your intended action and leave this post and all of its comments behind you now. You are clearly not in the wrong and did not act as this person was alleging. The rest is you filing whatever complaints against the Vet office and them handling it as they will.

If everyone reading this KNEW you, they would not even question that kind of behavior from you.
(p.s. I have known him for going on 30 years now.)

Andrew says:

I had been letting this go, but I got tired of people lying about me, whether they were employees of Brambleton Veterinary Hospital or — like Diane C. Whitmore — friends of the business who were willing to sacrifice their integrity its behalf.

No one can truthfully say that my attitude was anything worse than “angry but restrained.” I didn’t scream, didn’t yell, didn’t curse, didn’t threaten to hurt anyone. And I’ve proven it.

On the other hand, employees and/or friends and/or customers of Linda Jennings have repeatedly lied about my conduct while excusing hers. Thankfully, I had the means to demonstrate the fact that they were lying.

As for Diane Whitmore and her 3.51 GPA, coursework in “health related sciences,” volunteer work, and society memberships — that’s all great. (She was also inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at Virginia Western Community College, by the way.)

But it’s hard to accept that she is “not prone to sensationalism or exaggeration” when I have proven otherwise in less than four minutes.

Andrew says:

This is funny.

Diane Whitmore touts her membership in the Blue Ridge Zoological Society. Essentially, that’s a non-profit group that runs our little zoo here in Roanoke. (It doesn’t do much more than that.)

Here’s the funny part: On the Zoo’s “Links” page is one to “Our vet! http://www.valleyanimalhospital.com.” I.e., the Zoo on whose board Ms. Whitmore serves doesn’t even use Brambleton Vet.

Brambleton Vet folks losing it says:

[...] guess the Brambleton Veterinary Hospital folks have run out of [...]

Jennifer says:

Why didn’t you call the police? I’m sure they could have gotten that situated in a faster fashion. Good thing I read this, I was thinking of making an appointment there for my dog this week.

Andrew says:

We didn’t think of that until later, when it was pointed out that they couldn’t hold PJ if we were willing and able to pay, which we were. Ah, hindsight.

FWIW, we’re loving Cave Spring vet, and I’ve heard great things about Big Lick — it’s owned by Linda Jennings’s ex-partner.

anon animal lover says:

I have read all comments and have tried to understand this issue as well as possible, considering I am not privy to all of the inside information from both sides. I don’t understand the payment issue and obviously this could have been handled more tactfully. As a business owner myself, I don’t have a problem where payment comes from. So, this part of the issue does not make sense to me. Has there ever been a nsf or payment issue in the past? if not, poorly managed facility.

I am curious as to exactly what it is you are so upset about. They did stay lat, e and address your pet’s medical issue, saving you all a trip to the ER. I can understand being upset and or insulted, but it doesn’t strike me as being as big a deal as it is being made out to be. At the very worst, your pet had to spend the night at a facility and you were personally insulted by how you were treated. These are all things to be upset about, but to take the time and create a blog to rant about just seems a bit immature or off balanced.

Andrew says:

We were upset about my wife being treated like a criminal because she offered different payment methods. We were upset about their threatening to withhold medication from our dog. We were upset at our dog having to spend the night alone, in a cage, needlessly. We were upset at having to pay for this.

We were further angered by Dr. Jennings calling what she thought was my wife’s place of employment to demand that she be fired (this after she was paid in full and on time). Think about that. You have a disagreement with a merchant, pay in full, and then have that merchant try to ruin your reputation simply for complaining about how you were treated.

We were even further upset that Dr. Jennings lied about our conduct in that phone call. We were upset at the lies written to this blog by employees and friends of Brambleton Veterinary Hospital — lies about our conduct and our finances, for starters. We were upset that they tried to hide their identities while posting here.

Sure, it could have been a single blog post about a lousy experience with a vet. And that’s how it started. But once Dr. Linda Jennings’s conduct became grossly unprofessional, I wrote more. Then her staff joined in, and I reported that.

In fact, the moment her staff and friends stopped writing here, I went on to other things. It only picked up again when Diane C Whitmore posted further lies here — lies that, amusingly, I was able to call her on.

I have better things to do with my time. But if these people are going to continue to attack me here and elsewhere, I’m certainly going to share those experiences.

anon animal lover says:

Back to the initial cause of all of this, the payment issue: Was there any reason for them to doubt your ability and desire to pay for services. Any history of nsf or payment issues?

Andrew says:

Nope. We’d been customers in perfect standing for about two years. Always paid immediately and in full. In fact, when I pointed this out to the vet, she said that some of her regular customers had passed bad checks — to the tune of $40,000 a year. (I don’t believe her, but she said it.)

Heidi says:

I’m not going to take sides or make a judgement. I was googling veterinary hospitals and came across this message board. I only have one suggestion for all of you. I think it would be more civil, intelligent and helpful if you all debated the incident rather than resulting to name calling. A good natured debate is often informative and a good way to vent; when attacks get personal, it’s no longer about the topic at hand.
Just a note to everyone: unless you are in the shoes of the staff there, you really will have no idea where they are coming from or what was going on behind the scenes. Ditto with Andrew (as a side note,your definition of purgery is incorrect).
To everyone, maybe we should all take a step back and look at the way we treat businesses. It seems like everyone sues for everything and blows situations up in their mind due to their emotions taking over. Maybe we should all take a step back, chill for 5 minutes and logically access the situation without insulting anyone. Have we really gotten to the point where we think we need to record conversations and use profanities? Maybe this is why there is so much violence today. We are teaching are children this type of behavior is acceptable and as time goes on, life is becoming more about a pissing contest.
It makes sense to start a board because of a bad situation. I understand that. The bottom line is, keep it about the experience, not the posters responding.

carriedvm says:

My husband and I recently discovered your posting about Brambleton Vet Clinic while doing a google search. We use to live in the Roanoke area and I worked for several veterinarians in the area (not Dr. Jennings). She is also not very well respected among her colleagues, mostly due to her unprofessional nature. I am now a veterinarian in the northern VA area. I would highly recommend Dr. Katie Eick to anybody in that area. She owns Big Lick Veterinary Clinic. I did read one posting though that I thought I should comment on as a veterinarian. One person had a bad experience with a euthanasia because the veterinarian had a difficult time placing the catheter and then the anesthetic didn’t work correctly. Now, I do think it should have been handled more compassionately, but I thought I would explain to everybody that not every euthanasia will go as smoothly as we would like it to. And trust me, we always want it to go smoothly!! The cat being euthanised most likely was very elderly. The more elderly the animal, the worse the blood pressure and the more fragile the veins are. This can make placing a catheter very, and I mean very difficult. That means that when we finally do get a catheter in, sometimes the anesthetic doesn’t flow nicely into the vein. Sometimes it leaks some outside the vein, which means it takes longer to euthanise the animal. There are also the animals that take a much greater dose of euthanasia solution than can be expected. So, please don’t judge your veterinarian just based on this (Even though it’s hard not to). We all have euthanasias that don’t go well. And believe me when I say that unless your veterinarian is truly evil, she or he doesn’t want to watch your pet suffer during its last moments either. It is one of the worst feelings in the world. However, do expect your veterinarian to be compassionate about the situation. That is something we should all do well.

Blah, Blah, Blahg - Techie, security, political, and other useless miscellany » Kantor on Brambleton Veterinary Hospital says:

[...] but I really can’t help but respond to Andrew Kantor’s request for links back to his story on poor service and Brambleton Veterinary Hospital nor his follow-up article from the day after. And when he has even more troubles with a [...]

B9 says:

Well I am so glad these stories have been shared. I have been taking our dog to the Brambleton Vet Clinic for about a year. I was actually googling the name to get the phone number to make a call, and just clicked on the first link - which was this blog.

Althought the doc had never treated me as bad as the other posters, I have wondered several times about the staff. They were definitely borderline, but I usually chalk that up to having to sort of get tough emotionally to deal with some tough things they must see.

Also, whenever we have gone there, we have had to wait outside with our dog, because the waiting room is so small, that the animals are extremely close together, and if you sit near the door, the dogs coming in react to the dogs waiting, so there is a growl fest (or more) every time you come or go.

Thank you to the original poster for taking the time to put out the word of what you experienced. It is common sense that people regularly try to think of other forms of payment when their first option doesn’t work out. Maybe part of that $40,000 is people putting a stop payment on a check because of their experience there.

Dave says:

I dont really know Dr. Jennings very well, and haven’t talked to her for at least 5 years, but I do remember I was in a bind one time and had a dog that was really sick and asked her if she would see him and wait until my payday to get paid and she did it for me. That earned my respect. She was very nice and saved my dog that was on the verge of death. She started out at Southern Hills over by Tanglewood I think and I use to take all of my dogs there for shots and other things. Thats how I met her. She had just opened the Brambleton Clinic when I had this problem and she came thru for me. Sounds like you are just having a control problem. Why would you want to ruin someone else’s business by creating bad publicity on the internet while at the same time accuse her of the very thing you are attempting to do? That’s kinda hypocritical if you think about it. Everyone makes mistakes and maybe one of her employees was rude to you or you didnt like the way things went. I havent seen even an accusation worth the time you have put in to this. Oh, the “vet tech withheld the pain med”.. Well, Im at a loss to how you would know that. Do you happen to have a “confidential informant” working there? I seriously doubt it. That just wouldn’t add up. So, let me get this straight..This all started because you didnt like the way the payment process went? Maybe the guy at the front was just a butthole. You probably could have talked with Dr. Jennings about that a couple days later and explained to her the bad impression that this employee left on you. Any respectable vet that has been in business as long as she has would value her business and try to solve any problems that arise like this. It sounds like you fabricated several parts of this story. You turned this from a rudeness/payment issue into an ethics issue and the only thing you have to back it up is “I found out the vet tech withheld pain med until I paid”. Yea, right. You need to see a doctor about your anger and control issue sir.

Dave says:

I have been to many vets over the years and could complain about the staff at every one of them. Those guys dont make much money and work long hard hours. Its human nature to get stressed out some times, or to forget something, or to make mistakes period. Dr. Carter in Troutville is an excellent Vet but has outdated equipment and is way too short staffed for the clientele he handles. The office is also tiny. Southern Hills does quality work, but the two doctors that own it are not very personable. Vinton Vet has a big lobby with plenty of room, but they are prone to employ vets right out of school with no experience doing work that should be done by experienced vets. They are short staffed up front too.

Andrew says:

I actually said that the vet’s office threatened to withhold pain meds. You oughta read things before commenting on them, Dave.

Of course, you still haven’t explained all the other people who have shared their bad experiences with Brambleton Vet and Dr. Linda Jennings. Perhaps they all have anger issues as well? Or are we back to the conspiracy theory?

Finally, it wasn’t just the staff that was rude and unprofessional. It was Dr. Jennings herself.

Please, know what you’re talking about before commenting.

Gnomic says:

I’ve had pets my entire life and have dealt with any number of vets, probably over 20 although I don’t have an exact count. And I can think of only one or 2 that I’d have even a small complaint about. You must really live in a bad area for vets Dave.

Dave says:

“I didn’t know this at first. The veterinary technician at Brambleton Vet refused to give our dog pain medication until we had paid in cash.”

This was an update? Likely.

Andy, I dont want to war with you bud. Anyone with common sense would realize that every vet in the area would have a huge list of complaints proportional to their length of time in business as any business in general will, but this particular line of work is dealing with a majority of high stress people. That is the nature of business and the very essence of public service. You cant please everybody and never will. Do you ever walk out of your doctor’s office and think to yourself “wow, what a pleasant experience. I think I will go back as soon as possible.” Of course not. It’s not a pleasant place. There is too much much stress and negativity and sickness and death in that business to assume people are always going to be happy even when given quality care. Why should I explain that to you? I would bet that there are 100 satisfied customers for every complaint. Thats what it takes to survive in business. You have to take the lumps and keep going and just move on to the next person and try to save their dog even if you cursed the last person out because you were stressed or just worked an 80 hour week or your child has cancer or your mom died or your employee was badly injured in a car wreck or you have suddenly developed a bad bout of depression or had a miscarriage or your best friend slept with your spouse. You dont know what goes on in everyone else’s life sir. When we are so quick to judge others on their own mishaps, we often overlook our own. “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and and her gain than fine gold.”-Proverbs 3:13-14 I do not wish bad on you. I have no motivation to support or protect Dr. Jennings. As I said, I haven’t even talked with her for 5 years. I appreciate and respect your activity with the SPCA and helping animals. Im just asking is it really worth it? It seems that you went overboard. Is striving to ruin someone’s career giving you satisfaction in your own life? Do you honestly believe she means to hurt animals? That just doesn’t sound like Dr. Jennings.
Animals die and some people are going to understand, and some are going to complain. Possibly, the vet just let’s them die, but since she has been in business for over 10 years after passionately going to school for over 10 years to learn to save animals, that doesn’t sound very rational. You had a bad experience. Maybe the vet was having a bad day, maybe she isn’t the best at screening potential employees, maybe the employee was having a bad day. Does that motivate you to try and ruin someone? You won’t succeed anyway because she has lasted this long for a reason. She must really love the animals.

I am blind sir, have been for the past 7 years. My 9 year old read these posts for me before I responded so perhaps she has made a mistake and if so, I apologize. We are looking for a vet to remove a completely broken tail from her cat and allow me to pay the bill when I receive my next disability check as we have no money today. The cat cannot use the litterbox effectively and may also be at risk of infection. We happened across these posts after a search. Linda Jennings did this for me before and I had hoped that she would again, but after calling this morning, I learned that she is out of town until monday, so albeit this conversation has been charming, I must find help for little girl’s cat and I do wish you the best of luck sir.

Leland says:

““I didn’t know this at first. The veterinary technician at Brambleton Vet refused to give our dog pain medication until we had paid in cash.”

This was an update? Likely.”

Dave, you should really read the all the material before you write. ;)

Dave says:

ok, do you have an extra $200 I can borrow Leland?

Leland says:

Possibly… What interest rate do you have in mind?

Leland says:

Dave cracks me up. So Andrew, does Dave’s IP address go back to the Brambleton Vet or Dr. Linda Jennings?

gnomic says:

Dave,

We all hope your cat gets that care it needs. We’d all hate for you to lose your friend.

Dave says:

Neither, I am Dave. I live in Salem. Check my IP. I wasnt able to get her cat taken care of today. I really am not joking. This is serious. Does anyone have any ideas? Please help my daughter’s cat. He is a good cat.

Andrew says:

The emergency clinic off Peters Creek Road and 581. They’ve been great to us.

Take 581 to Peters Creek West. The clinic is on the left. You’ll have to pass it — there’s a left-turn lane a 100 feet later that will let you get to it.

Dave says:

but I dont have any money Andrew.

Andrew says:

Then the only option I can think of is to go to Virginia Tech — the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. I don’t know what they offer, but they might help.

There’s also the SPCA off of Orange Av. Dr. McFarland (sp?) might be able to help.

Dave says:

ok, thank you very much. I will try both of them.

Leland says:

Andrew, verify Dave is for real and I’ll kick in a few bucks toward taking care of the kitty. I can’t go the whole $200 right now, but I’ll help.

Dave says:

leland, I will meet you at the vet if you like my friend. No loss there but a little gas money if I dont show up. As soon as I figure out what Im going to do, I’ll let you know. Im currently having family problems which have put me in a very bad bind. My father had a heart attack and stroke and my mother is disabled in a wheelchair. He was her primary caregiver, so my wife and I, along with my two daughters are moving in with them this weekend in bedford co. If you would like to take the cat to the vet, I would gladly bring him to you. I have never asked for money on the internet before, but i have no shame either. I cannot bear to hear my daughter cry when there is nothing I can do.

Dave says:

ok, thanks but I found a vet to help me now with payments.

D says:

I once worked for BVH, and the stories I could tell would raise the hair on your neck. It was my first job, and that’s the only reason I stuck it out there. There were so many times where my fellow staffers were unprofessional, and don’t even get me started on that ass JB. Dr. Jennings was a decent vet back then, as far as abilities went, but I never respected her choices to order every little test that she could get away with. Once upon a time I did respect Dr. Jennings herself, but over time she showed herself to be a vindictive person who had no reservations about striking out at former employees, or people who she thought crossed her. There were good people that worked there, but she drove most of em off in the end…..I left for college, and when I wouldn’t return the next summer, she tried to have me fired at my new job.

It was a good hospital once.

Imaginethat! says:

Shucks ya’ll! You ain’t seen nothing until you all try to deal with North Roanoke Veterinary Hospital and that money hungry woman vet out there!

dvm doesnt mean good person says:

I’m sorry for the problems you’ve had. If anyone would like to try having the same experiance, visit the Staunton River vet clinic…AKA “the home pet vet”. Dr.Tatum (Dr.jekyll) has a serious lack of people skills to the degree that it is probably criminal.

Andrew Kantor's Place:  Reminder: Don’t use Brambleton Vet in Roanoke says:

[...] If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can read the start of the story in this post, entitled “Avoid Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Roanoke.” [...]