Mountain Emergency Animal Center

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We went to Mountain Emergency Animal Center because of our aging Chihuahua (Toby). Prior to going we called, and upon arrival we were met at the door by Erin, the receptionist. Erin took Toby and advised me to complete the form and she would bring Toby to the back. I barley had time to enter the date and my name when she returned and stated the vet would require $750 before he could be treated. I was shocked at the amount and inquired why it was so high. Erin stated the money would be for oxygen, X-rays and other test I don’t remember. I asked to speak with the vet and we were placed in a waiting room. The vet came in and announced herself as Dr. King. She then reiterated what Erin had said, and stated that Toby was in poor condition, to which I advised I was aware. After hearing Dr. King state the money was needed, and she offered no other solution I told her to give me Toby back. She initially refused and began telling me again what Toby needed. I determined that Mountain Emergency Animal Center and Dr. King was only interested in the $750, I again told her to return Toby, at which time I started walking towards the back. Dr. King stopped me and began to again tell me that Toby was in poor condition. Dr. King then went in the back walked out with Toby and stated his tongue is blue. Dr. King never made an attempt or effort to assist Toby, but continued to say how bad he was, that several test were needed and they would require $750. After we left Mountain Emergency Animal Center, we traveled about five miles when my girlfriend advised me to pull over, Toby was dying. We sat in a parking lot five miles away from Mountain Emergency Animal Center and held Toby as he died. We pretty much knew Toby was dying when we went, we’re just shocked at how little Dr.King seem to care! The time was 1939 hours when we arrived, on Dec 1, 2021 and there were no other people other than staff present.

This review relates to Mountain Emergency Animal Center (MEAC) and Dr. Caleb Palmer. If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself needing emergency animal care after-hours in north Georgia, and have no other choice (as Dr. Palmer will snidely remind you), pray that he is not the on-duty veterinarian. Dr. Palmer was unprofessional and his arrogant and combative posture, entitled attitude, and callous indifference to my pet’s condition leaves me questioning the quality of care my dog received in his final hours. In a business that should thrive on compassion and empathy, Dr. Palmer should not be an option for families contemplating their pets’ health, let alone in emergency situations.

On December 23, 2019, my best friend, a black Labrador Retriever named Chaucer, underwent intensive surgery to remove a cancerous spleen at Ocoee Animal Hospital. The night after, Christmas Eve, at around 11:30pm, Chaucer began bleeding significantly from his stitches. My father and I loaded him into the car and drove 50 miles to Blue Ridge to get him to the only emergency animal care center in the region, MEAC.

Throughout the nearly 4 hours that my family spent at MEAC early Christmas morning, Dr. Palmer became defensive in response to simple questions, mocked our situation, and imposed more anxiety and duress on his patient in his final hours than he relieved. Dr. Palmer dismissed critical facts and became annoyed with our follow up questions. At one point, in response to a question about Chaucer inexplicably gaining ten pounds in less than a day following his surgery, Dr. Palmer told us to “find another emergency facility willing to provide care, if we were going to ask so many questions." As Dr. Palmer knew perfectly well, there is no other emergency facility within 100 miles that was able to help.

After signing the invoice for Chaucer’s care, we did not see Dr. Palmer again for close to ninety minutes. While we waited, Chaucer began howling feverishly in the back of the facility. Chaucer rarely howled – this was a sign he was feeling stressed and abandoned. I begged the staff to either allow me to sit with him in the back or to bring him in the room with us while we waited. At Dr. Palmer’s behest, we were told that “it was against policy for us to be with Chaucer.” He continued to howl intermittently for the four hours we were there.

When Dr. Palmer finally returned, he recommended that Chaucer receive a blood plasma transfusion. Overwhelmed and sick to my stomach at what was unfolding, I called our normal vet who had performed Chaucer’s recent surgery. When I revealed this to Dr. Palmer, he became even more upset and defensive. He even went so far as to question my motives for the call- “Can I just ask you why you felt like you had to call him?” After trying to explain, I expressed sincere thanks to Dr. Palmer for his help. When I put my hand out to shake his, Dr. Palmer instead took the signed invoice, lowered his head, and did not stop or even look at me as he walked out. Given his standoffish demeanor, I was scared to ask if I could see Chaucer again before I left.

This vet experience was a living nightmare, and it isn’t because my pet died twelve hours later on Christmas Day. Dr. Palmer’s unprofessional, and childish behavior made the end of Chaucer's life worse than I ever thought it could be. Instead of focusing on his anxious patient and doing his job, he took my family to task for perceived slights on his fragile ego. We felt like our mere presence at the facility was an insult. Two months later, Chaucerâ€Â...