Driving to work one morning I saw a stray dog just down the street from Monrovia Animal Medical Center. The dog did not have a collar and looked like she had been living on the streets for a while, so I decided that I would try to adopt it if I could not find the owner. I took her to Monrovia Animal Medical Center to have her checked out since it was so close. Since they could not find a microchip, I told them that I would pay for whatever the dog needed so that I could bring her home to my other dog that night, even though by then I knew they were more expensive than my regular vet. \r
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The staff was very polite and friendly; however they seemed just a little too preoccupied with selling me things for the dog rather than examining the dog - although I did not feel excessive pressure to buy everything they told me about. I decided that I would do everything they recommended except for the $40 bath, seeing as how my boyfriend and I have always bathed our dog ourselves at home for the last 2 ½ years I thought that was not necessary.\r
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The problems started once I bought the dog home after work that day. The dog had a strong stench to her that did not go away after we bathed her. After a quick examination I discovered that she was in heat! It was not a huge deal to me that Dr. Gueniat had not mentioned that to me that morning, even after making sure I was going to pay for the dog to have an exam. A week later we had gotten the dog spayed at our vet ($114 for a dog in heat vs. $640 Dr. Gueniat quoted me) but she still smelled fowl. Only then did I notice that she had a bad ear infection that looked to have been there for quite some time.\r
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I called Monrovia Animal Medical Center to express my concern that while I paid for an exam for the dog that day they didn’t tell me she was in heat and they didn’t find the ear infection. I spoke to the office manager, and she was not interested in shouldering any part of the responsibility at all. She told me the dog most likely came into heat when I got her home, and that we caused yeast to form in her ear after her bath by getting moisture in it. When I mentioned that I could smell the infection even before we gave her a bath she told me it was most likely the heat I smelled…even though she just told me the dog most likely came into heat once we got her home. She also mentioned that if I had paid them the $40 to give her a bath they would have noticed the smell too and probably would have checked her out more.\r
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It was only after I got off the phone with her that my vet called me back to let us know they found FOUR foxtail grass barbs in her ear that had been there for so long they were festering. Had Dr. Gueniat examined the ear better than just simply lifting up the ear flap maybe she would have seen it too – who knows, but I am upset that I paid for an exam and told them it was a stray dog I had just found and the level of care she received was minimal at best. I am even more upset because I called them in an effort to come to a resolution for my issues and was basically told it was my fault and they would not assume any responsibility. I will never go back there again, and I would never recommend any of my friends or family go there either.
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