Veterinary Specialty Center

Sad Outcome. I brought my one year old Canada lynx Juneau in there for an MRI back in November 2010. He was experiencing dizziness and had been walking unsteadily for many months. No vet could figure out what was going on despite thousands of dollars worth of tests. The staff at VSC LOVED Juneau him and gave him a lot of attention. They were extremely sweet to me. However, the MRI tech had called off that day and I had to wait well over an hour for her replacement to come in. I was so upset, as I'd already traveled an hour and a half to get there from the south side during rush hour in construction. After the test was performed, Dr. Girard (neurologist) spent a fair amount of time going over the results with me, which were normal. She answered all of my questions and didn't rush me. She suggested a spinal tap, but also said it may not yield any more information. I felt as though she was NOT trying to get more money from me, as I asked her if she would do it if this was her cat. She said she probably wouldn't, because it likely wouldn't change the course of the outcome or treatment. I decided to do it anyway. It was normal. She was at a loss. However, she spent a lot of time talking with my vet several times over the course of the next week as he came up with questions and suggestions. She was open to ideas and different treatments. Dr. Girard and my vet suggested that it might be the result of a virus. I figured this might be something permanent and that he may have to live with this for the rest of his life. He'd had it for almost a year.

Juneau died a couple of weeks ago suddenly. His necropsy results just came back. It was astonishing. He had HYPOthyroidism, which is something cats just don't get. Dogs get it. Cats get HYPERthyroidism and it shows up when they're 7-8 years old. It's so rare that the U of I has only seen it in cats a handful of times. It's congenital. I am so sad. Thousands and thousands of dollars later, we have our answer. Kim…

an execellent place to bring your pet if he or she is sick. My teacup Chihuahua was very ill I had brought him there for knee surgery.The Dr. Pare suggested that my pet have a thorough examination to make sure there were no other issues with him. Dr. Pare discovered that he had indeed ingested a peach pit. Other doctors within a 24 hour period had completely missed it. He would have died if it had continued to his intestines. If it wasn't for their care I would have lost my beautiful handsome pet.Thanks Dr. Pare and your awesome staff.

Aletha K.…