Veterinarian or Veterinary Clinic Complaint

It's terrible to even consider that individuals who have supposedly dedicated their lives to helping make animals better are sometimes responsible for causing harm, but it does happen. More often that we'd like to think.

Following are steps PAWS suggests in order to resolve complaints involving veterinarians or veterinary clinics.

1. First, attempt to resolve the issue with the veterinarian, or work with the vet who owns the clinic (if different from the attending veterinarian).
   
   
2. If you have done so, what was the result?
   
   
3. Was the result satisfactory? If not, see steps 4-9.
4. File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the National Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (NBVME).
   
   
5. The BBB will contact the clinic in an attempt to resolve the dispute and notify them usually within 25 days. The BBB does not have enforcement capabilities, so the clinic may not respond to the dispute. If this happens, the BBB will notify you with your next options.
   
   
6. In meantime, file a complaint with the National Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.
7. Have you sent any correspondence to your vet or received any in return? If yes, please provide copies to Pet-Abuse.Com for our files. Send these to Pet-Abuse.Com, attention Advocacy Department, P.O. Box 2995, Del Mar, California 92014-5995, or send an e-mail to [email protected].
   
   
8. Have you received copies of the vet reports, test results, necropsy report (if animal died)? If yes, both Pet-Abuse.Com and the NBVME will need them.
   
   
9. When you file the complaints, please copy Pet-Abuse.Com on the letter and send us copies of any response received from the BBB or NBVME.