Our dog started experiencing seizures. My spouse and I were desperate, and the closest emergency animal hospital to us is famous for slamming people with $20K bills. So, we turned to Dutch telehealth services, bought the yearly membership, and hoped for the best. The vet was nice, and I have absolutely nothing against her. She assessed our dog the best she was able and then wrote a script for gabapentin for a week. Given all of the factors, it seemed like the safest choice. Fast forward a week, our dog is doing phenomenally. Her energy is up, she’s walking and eating—just all around doing better. We sent a message to the vet on February 13th asking if she would renew the script for a month, just to buy us time to find and see a vet in-office that could take over care. The vet agreed to refill it directly in the chat and just confirmed the pharmacy. All of a sudden, we were cut off from the vet. It was only their customer service representatives that were responding. After a couple of days, we were officially out of the medication. I messaged again, and meanwhile, the symptoms are starting to come back. I found another service that also provided in-office visits with the membership, $200 flat rate a year. We got her in the same day. Meanwhile, Dutch sends an email a week later apologizing and saying that their AI chatbots were basically hallucinating having sent the message to the vet and the vet responding. They tell me that they’ve passed on the message. At which point, I’m ticked off, but it’s not even needed at this point anymore. February 26th, I receive an email asking how the services were, and I went off. What I said was not becoming of me, but they basically just dropped off and were going to allow my dog to have seizures if I didn’t figure it out myself. Yesterday, I receive an email from their director of customer experience, Kate. Kate proceeds to tell me that they don’t tolerate abusive language or cussing and that the vet had sent off the script on February 28th. 15 days after it directly communicated with her or possibly their chatbot hallucinating being a veterinarian. Do not use these incompetent people. They are out for your money. I’ve opted for Modern Animal, and they are phenomenal. They have even squeezed us in last minute for end-of-life care today, given that our pup’s condition has gotten worse. If you are someone desperate for help like we were, please feel free to message me for a referral code. I don’t even care about the incentive program; I want to be an evangelist for this service because they are absolutely amazing humans.
I’m sorry to hear about your baby. I hope things are going better now. On another note, their chat bot hallucinating being a veterinarian. I never heard of this before.
This sounds incredibly frustrating. I can’t believe how they handled your situation. It must have been so stressful for you and your spouse.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s so important for others to know how these services operate. I’m glad you found a better place for your dog.
I’ve heard mixed reviews about Dutch. It’s good to know there are alternatives like Modern Animal.
I’m so sorry you had to go through that. It’s heartbreaking to see our pets suffer. You made the right choice for her.