Dakota Veterinary Center
reviews and complaints

Through patronizing Dakota Veterinary Center in White plains, it has become increasingly evident that they care very little about the well-being of their patients and are solely motivated by making the most money possible from each client. The doctors at Dakota increased and exacerbated the suffering of my beloved pet and then, to add insult to injury, blatantly overcharged me for her euthenasia because they knew that they were my only option for the procedure at that time.

Over the past month or so, I had been bringing my dog to Dakota Veterinary Center in White Plains because Whiskey was limping as her leg appeared to be injured. We tried the medicinal route first and picked up a whole host of prescriptions that would have helped her if she had inflammation or arthritis. At a later date, realizing that Dakota’s prices were exorbitant ,I filled the same prescriptions at a different veterinarian. Dakota charged me over $100 while the other only charged $16. When it became evident that Whiskey’s leg and overall health was deteriorating, we realized that an X Ray was necessary to figure out what was ailing my dog. When we called to schedule an X Ray, they refused to do the X Ray without a whole host of other procedures such as blood tests which they estimated would cost us around $1,000. We explained to Dakota that the price was too much for us to handle and asked if they could work with us by only doing the X Ray. We explained that our Whiskey was suffering and that we needed the X Ray to get to the bottom of things. They agreed at Dakota that Whiskey was indeed suffering and that an Xray was necessary. However, they refused to X Ray our dog unless we agreed to pay the additional fees. Their lack of flexibility at Dakota illustrated their apathy for the suffering of their patient as well as their human clientele. Whiskey’s suffering did not matter in the slightest! It was their goal to extract as much money as possible from me at any cost.

After about a week of going back and forth with Dakota, it was evident that they would not budge on their estimate. In that week, we saw our dog suffer. She could barely walk, would not wag her tail and was urinating on herself regularly. It was obvious she was in great pain. We shopped around and found a vet office who agreed to do the X Ray only. Yesterday, I took her for the X Ray. After looking at the X Ray, the doctor told me that my dog had cancer and that it had spread throughout her body and that we would need to euthanize her. It was devastating but all parties agreed that Whiskey was in great pain and needed to be euthanized ASAP. I decided to bring Whiskey home to say goodbye to my wife and daughter and bring her in later that day to be put down. Furthermore, on the estimate from Dakota, they were charging around $700 for the X Ray and the new veterinarian only charged around $200 for the same procedure. When I saw the bill from the new vet, I became incensed! If Dakota had either worked with my family and me to figure out a fair price for the X Ray, or bypassed their inane and stubborn insistence that they only would provide care with a myriad of unnecessary and expensive tests, we could have figured out that whiskey had painful and terminal cancer weeks earlier. They prolonged my dog’s suffering through their greed and apathy!

After bringing Whiskey home, my wife and I agreed that she was in so much pain that it was our duty to end her life that day. She could not walk and was whimpering in pain constantly. We called the new vet but they were closed for the day. We then realized that we had no choice. We had to reach out to Dakota Veterinary Center to put Whiskey out of her misery. I called and reluctantly made an appointment for that afternoon. When I arrived, they had me sign the necessary consent forms and took Whiskey in the back room to place a catheter for the procedure. After about 20 minutes of waiting for the procedure to begin, the receptionist walked in with a bill for me to sign. To my shock and dismay, the bill for the euthanasia was aroud $800! I have had to euthanize pets in the past and the price had never been this high. I told the receptionist that the price they quoted me was exorbitantly high and that this procedure should not cost nearly that much. She agreed with me verbally and left the room. When she returned 10 minutes later, she told me that after speaking to the doctors, they refused to change the price and stated that “this is the price of the procedure.” When I spoke to them on the phone earlier, I told them about the sense of urgency we had. They knew our dog was suffering and that she needed to be put down ASAP to end her misery. I believe that they used this information against me to strongarm me into paying their insane invoice. When I expressed to the receptionist that I was unhappy with the result of her conversation, she added that if I was unhappy, I could take my dog somewhere else. The staff at Dakota knew good and well that they were our only option at that time and they used that fact to their advantage. The doctor (via the receptionist) even had the audacity to say “We can take $200 off if you take the body with you.” I of course refused this and realized that the staff at Dakota lack empathy and general business ethics. However, my hands were tied and I paid the fee to do one last kind deed for a pet that has brought us so much joy over the past several years.

Throughout this entire process, it was an absolute nightmare dealing with Dakota. Every step of the way, they unabashedly milked my family and me out of as much money as possible and even denied my dog care/prolonged her suffering in order to strong-arm me into paying as much as possible. Dakota Veterinary center does not care about the wellbeing of their patients and are insensitive and apathetic to the financial and emotional situations of their patients’ families. They are thieves and run a crooked business. I would advise pet owners in Westchester not to patronize this business as there are veterinary offices that operate in moral, compassionate and caring ways.

Sincerely,

Eric Loewenberg

I recently purchased a mini schnauzer from NY breeder in white plains, when I bought her I received paperwork stating she was completely healthy, the day I brought her home they told me to bring her to Dakota Veterinary Center to have her first exam and fecal exam, if her fecal exam showed ang infection or parasites they were to be responsible. She is now done with her medicine and she is still coughing, I just called up the vets office at Dakota and asked about her being checked to be sure infection is gone, after spending 3k on a dog I was told they are no longer responsible and I broke the agreement? I don't understand I continued on with the insurance Trupanion and I have a 700 dollar deductible to begin. It's not my fault she has these conditions and looking back on her previous records it seems she's been treated for this before I bought her. I'm worried she needs required treatment she isn't receiving