Last night I wrote about my horrible experience at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Roanoke.
So I went this morning at 7:00, with cash, to pick up PJ at Brambleton Vet. The front-desk staff didn’t know about what happened, so when I challenged the overnight-stay charge (because we didn’t want him to stay overnight), they got the vet, Dr. Linda Jennings, on the phone.
Dr. Linda Jennings was incredibly rude. She referred to my wife’s crying last night as “theatrics,” and told me that she had to pay seven people overtime because of it. (How that’s possible, I have no idea. I guess the other six were bodyguards or something.)
But then — amazingly — Dr. Linda Jennings threatened to sue me if I told people about my experience at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital.
Needless to say, I was incredulous. “For telling people what happened, you’re going to sue me?” I said.
“Yes.”
Wow. Then she told me that she lost $40,000 per year in bad checks, including from her regular customers. Really? Odd, then, that the local emergency vet took our check without question, even though we had never been in before.
I wonder if other people have had bad experiences with Dr. Linda Jennings and the staff at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital and thus refuse to pay.
But then she flat-out lied to me. Dr. Jennings said my wife claimed to have found her checkbook in her car, which is what made them suspicious.
That’s blatantly untrue. In fact, my wife called me and asked me to bring the checkbook on Brambleton Veterinary Hospital’s phone. With the staff right there. In other words, they knew her husband was bringing her checkbook.
When I told Dr. Linda Jennings that I was in contact with the SPCA, she said, “I’m going to call the director. I know the director. And I’m going to have your fired.”
Good luck with that. I don’t work for the SPCA. My wife and I are volunteers and foster parents for dogs, and we too know the director.
Ain’t it nice to have your soon-to-be-ex vet threatening your job because you’re telling people what happened at her hospital?
Wow. So after the rude treatment by the staff and vet at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital, I bought PJ home where the doctor said he should have been in the first place. (Ergo, keeping him overnight was the second choice; he wasn’t getting the best possible care.)
Now it’s time to find a better vet — one who, unlike Brambleton Veterinary Hospital, won’t treat us like criminals for offering different methods of payment.
Late thought: I didn’t want to create a new entry for this. According to Dr. Linda Jennings, she loses $40,000 per year to bad checks including, she said, from her regular customers.
Think about that a second. You’re a customer of a vet for a year or two or more. But suddenly you decide to pass a bad check? Does that make sense? After all, the vet knows who you are.
So there are two explanations I see: 1) Dr. Linda Jennings is lying about that, or 2) long-term customers of Brambleton Veterinary Hospital are willing to sever their relationship with the vet by refusing to pay for services.
Either way, is that the kind of vet you’d want to use?
The Fray
Jeff St Real says:
Yipe! What a crazy experience. You’d think after all your business they would just offer to SEND YOU A BILL. That’s what our vet does, if the situation warrants. Try Cave Spring Veterinary Clinic on Old Cave Spring Road. We’ve been taking 8 or 9 cats there over the past 12 years. They aren’t the cheapest in town, but we like them. I’ve also heard very good things about Southern Hills, near Tanglewood.
Andrew says:
Thanks for the recommendation, Jeff — obviously we’re looking for someone new. I’ll tell ya, the whole thing was surreal. The lack of logic was incredible: We can’t take your check because your husband brought it to you, we’ll sue you if you tell people what happened, and on and on. Just wild.
And the fact that the vet, Dr. Linda Jennings, was so incredibly rude just sealed the deal. Avoid Brambleton Veterinary Hospital like the plague! (Did I mention that it’s Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Roanoke? :)
Julie says:
That’s all annoying and sad and frustrating and such, but my question is, What happened to PH? Is he okay? Poor puppy….
MsElenaeous says:
One more note, I’ve never been to Cave Spring but I really did not like the treatment received at Southern Hills, so be careful.
Andrew says:
Julie — Yep, PJ is fine. Despite threatening not to give him pain meds, I suspect someone actually did. At least I like to hope they treat their animals a little better than they treat their customers.
Hey, MsE — thanks for stopping by! And thanks for the comment about Southern Hills. We’ll cross ‘em off the list. There are plenty of vets around, and we know so many people at the SPCA that I’m sure we’ll find one that’s more professional.
Suzanne says:
That clinic is full of jerks, and I can’t believe they treated my buddy PJ that way. I’m going to pass this story along to my housemate, a petsitter, and see what she has to say. Maybe she can warn all her clients not to go there if they’re going to treat people like poop.
greyrat says:
Brrrr! We’re kenneling our dog this summer for a couple weeks. I hope our favorite clinic here isn’t as slimy as Dr. Linda Jennings’ Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Roanoke. Our place seems so nice on the surface and our dog seems to love their doggy summer camp. Maybe I should get the dog to swallow a web cam.
Well keep us appraised with how the lawsuit filed by Dr. Linda Jennings of Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Roanoke goes. I’m interested in hearing what their proceedings will consist of.
RoanokeFound says:
Well, we use Valley Animal Hospital for our 3 dimwits. Never a complaint about Dr. Staley or most of the other staff – just avoid Dr. Stuart unless you have a high tolerance for “I’m the Doctor” attitude and lots of condescending dialogue. But Dr. Staley is the best thing going there.. so just make sure you get an appointment with her, or Dr. Jonen who is equally good.
Doesn’t hurt that they’re not too bad on the eyes either.
/jus’ sayin
Anonymous says:
Wow, I am so angry about this whole ordeal, and I wasn’t even there!
I think I will share my discontent with treating your wife like a criminal. *grawr* That is just… crazy. Not to mention really freakin’ rude!
Meanwhile, do keep us updated on your pending lawsuit. *chuckles*
Sara says:
Last fall I was forced to change vets as well due to a problem with Brambleton Vet Hospital as well. I was taking my new puppy in for one of her puppy visits. All was well until we were paying at the front desk when a pitbull/boxer mix of a dog raced up from the back and attacked my puppy. The people behind the counter didnt seem too upset about it and kind of looked at me weird when I demanded someone check her out. I thought this was a freak accident and that maybe I should overlook it….wrong! A few weeks later my puppy was now sick and they said they would try to work her in during the am hours. 5 pm rolls around and after my 3rd call to ask if they had looked at my dog they finally said she was ready. So I drove to pick her up and when they brought her out she was on a differnt leash and collar and they were carring the good dog collar I had brought her on. They then proceded to tell me that I was abusing my dog by having this collar on her and that she was aggressive towards them when they tried to take it off (she is a 14 week old gread dane = not aggressive). They tried to pull it over her head. The collar is not made to do that it has links that unhook to take it on and off. I would be nasty too if someone tried to pull it over my head. They also charged me for holding her the whole day even when I told them not to. Needless to say I have since switched vets (I was not going to let them spay do a gastroplexi on my young puppy). I took her to Roanoke Animal Hospital and they have been wonderful. Im glad I wasnt the only one who they have been rude to and ever since anyone who I talk to about vets…I tell them not to go near Brambleton. I hope your PJ is ok! Thanks Sara
gnomic says:
Glad to hear PJ doing well (got a pic?). We used to foster dogs too and telling the animal agencies about the problem is a fast way to spread the word. Vet’s with that kind of attitude shouldn’t be in business. Kudos for not bitch-slapping her; I’m not sure I would have had the restraint had it been one of my dogs. (Yes, I have more pics of my dogs on my desk than my son. Get over it.)
ronbailey says:
Wow – talk about a nightmare!
I’ve always used Valley Animal Hospital, and I agree with RoanokeFound 100% – Dr Jonen is great, and the staff is first rate as well.
I’ll be sending a couple of links your way as well – this post is already #2 on Google – I wouldn’t mind seeing it go to number one…
pet sittin gal says:
An emergency situation is definitely NOT the time to find out that your trusted vet is… unethical and downright hostile! I have been a pet sitter in Roanoke for nearly 8 years and I can tell you that I hear it all from clients, both good and bad experiences alike. I also had a bad experience several years ago with Dr. Jennings and have since warned new clients of the ill treatment I received at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital*.
For all you animal lovers out there, here are my recommendations formed over several years working with Roanoke’s finest pet mommies and daddies (and my own experience of course): Roanoke Animal Hospital is # 1 – Dr. Quattman comes HIGHLY recommended among my clients. The quality of care is A+ For those who are cat lovers, Vets to Cats is also superior esp since it is a cats only facility and therefore highly specialized. Dr. Canode is my personal favorite! :)
In addition to Roanoke Animal Hospital, my clients also give the thumbs down to Southern Hills. Bear in mind these are anecdotal references and for most of these less than savory experiences, I was not personally involved. However, these “bottom dwellers” do not appear to be merely isolated incidences but seem to point to a pattern of questionable treatment on many levels since I am referring to literally dozens of negative responses.
P.S. someone ought to get a survey going and get an “offical” ranking of Roanoke vets to be run in a future article in the newspaper. Now that’s geared toward the popular interest since there are literally thousands of pet owners who need to know the real deal when it comes to the treatment of their beloved family members.
I am most happy to learn that PJ will recover from his ordeal!
- pet sittin gal
* With pet sittin gal’s permission, I made a change to this post that she tried to make in follow-up comments. –Andrew
pet sittin gal says:
One more note: Again, I am referring to BRAMBLETON VET HOSPITAL together with Southern Hills as my “thumbs down” references (third paragraph) – No more blogging for me. ;0 If anyone needs further clarification, pls email me.
dog trainin gal says:
I will also back up the fact that MANY of my own clients have had negative experiences with this vet. I have had a bad taste about them for about 3 years now.
I also give a big thumbs down to Southern Hills and Brambleton Vet. I would recommend: Roanoke Animal Hosp, Cave Spring Vet, Valley Vet. All have had good reports from clients.
I second the survey idea. Anyone know a reporter that works for the local newspaper? ;)
Amanda says:
Funny this article is posted about Brambleton Vet, the past few times we have been there recently, we too were treated like crap. Mainly from Dr. Jennings herself. My husband took our new puppy in and the only thing she cared about was trying to sell us this stupid dog food of theirs. She was very rude to my husband and was irritated at the fact that she had to fill out paperwork for us as we have Pet Health Insurance on our new puppy. Obviously they don’t get many of these in as she had no clue what needed to be done to the paperwork (according to my husband) I was not able to attend the recent visits as he works different hours than I do. Needless to say after the recent experiences with her and their office I got online and emailed some friends to see who they recommended. When we need to take our 2 dogs to the vet again I can assure you 100% that it will not be at Brambleton Vet.
Brambleton Veterinary Hospital posts says:
[...] all my current and future posts about Dr. Linda Jennings DVM and the horrible experience at Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Roanoke are all in one [...]
Katie says:
I just found a link to this post on a friend’s MySpace page, and it’s odd because, while I’ve never heard anyone else say anything negative about Bramb. Vets, I had one of the most traumatic and upsetting experiences of my life there. I went with a friend of mine to put her 13 year old cat to sleep. The entire situation was cold and uncomforting, but to make matters a million times worse, the first vet (who hardley spoke) couldn’t get the IV into the cat’s leg. Every time she tried, the cat would howl and scream. She became overly frustrated, said “I have to go get someone else” and left the room w/ the cat barely breathing and his owner crying. So then another vet came in and was able to get the IV in. HOWEVER, the anesthesia DIDN’T WORK. The cat went “to sleep” and became very still, but then, about 30 seconds later, had a seizure and started crying and howling. Then it happened THREE MORE TIMES with about 1 minute between each episode. It was awful. I have sat in while 2 of my pets were gently put to sleep, and it was comforting to see them leave so peacefully. Because of this, I encouraged my friend to stay with her cat while it happened, but this was traumatic for her (and myself) to say the least. The most disturbing part was that the doctor didn’t say anything to my friend AT ALL and just stood over the cat trying to restrain it. I have always gone to Dr. Roff at Roanoke Animal Hospital and Dr. Katie Eick and Big Lick Vet Clinic and they both are amazing. I would never, ever, ever refer anyone to Brambleton vets.
Leland says:
Katie, that experience has got to be the ultimate Hell. It was bad enough to put down a beloved pet. But to have that kind of incompetence and that result is inexcusable and should be criminal. This vet needs to be shut down.
k12 says:
You are all liars!! Dr. Jennings does nothing but care for her animals. If you don’t know her…don’t make some false statements…
Andrew says:
Oh, my — she’s discovered the vast, Roanoke-wide conspiracy against Dr. Linda Jennings! Customers, other vets, pet-sitters, and other pet owners have all banded together to make up stories.
So, k12, which statements are false? (Hint: None.)
animal lover says:
if you can’t pay for your animals well being, maybe you shouldn’t have them again, did you think you were at the free clinic?
Andrew says:
Animal lover, who is also “Jackie” who works for Dr. Linda Jennings, is not very bright. Or she can’t read. One more time, being that you’re obviously a bit slow. WE TRIED TO PAY. In fact, we did pay. And we had no problem paying.
Tell me, Jackie/Anonymous/animal lover — why are you posting under so many names?
Trenna says:
I’m not surprised by this story as the place where I work has had bad dealings with Linda Jennings.
I LOVE Cave Spring Vet. Try them. Stay AWAY from Southern Hills. That’s a whole different post!
Anonymous says:
i still think this is so rediculous. if you don’t like them don’t go there. you did not pay til the next morning. so therefore you DID have a problem paying. They did take good care of your animal dud they not? HAVe you ever seen teh television show HOUSE? he’s so rude but yet the best doc. i would rather a man like him treat me then someone who was sooo sweet but didn’t have the experience. You should have thanked her for her services like jakie said, she and her staff stayed late for their families to care for you aniaml, they could have easily had you go to EVS where they charge you up front and a whole lot more
Amanda says:
In response to Anonymous…….in case you hadn’t figured it out yet……..those of us who have spoken up ARE NOT going back there……….duh? What part of these postings did you not get? Dr. Jennings is rude and her bedside manor is horrible. We will not be taking our animals back there. And from the looks of it no one else will be going back there either. Did you understand that part?
There are other vets in town and believe me they will be utilized.
Suzanne says:
Dear Anonymous: Thanks for sending us post cards from your little fantasy world. Please stop; they are pretty stupid. Love, the rest of us.
ronbailey says:
Dear Anonymous:
You might want to stop digging now – if you haven’t noticed, the only people who have anything positive to say about the wretched place seem to work there. What’s worse, a large number of readers have not only left negative comments here, but also went to other websites and written about it as well – to the extent this post is now #1 or 2 on almost every google search I can dream up for BVH or Dr Jennings. Congrats – you guys are famous!
Avoid Brambleton Veterinary Hospital in Roanoke says:
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