ARL Afford-a-Care East

Love this place! We were seeing another clinic for our dog, approximately 2ish years. Was disappointed with the way I was treated at that clinic. Low Cost Spay Clinic is a refreshing change. Staff are all so welcoming & friendly. It is obvious they truly love animals. My pup and I are so happy to have found them. Niki is amazing!

We used to always bring our pets here and had trusted them with our animals’ care. That changed completely after what happened with our dog, Tyco. He died less than 48 hours after he was at this clinic. While my husband and I were out of town, my sister was watching our pets and noticed Tyco wasn’t himself—he had stopped eating for days, was panting heavily for no reason, had become lethargic, and started vomiting water. Desperate to get him to eat, she gave him a single slice of pepperoni, which he did eat, but he continued to refuse all other food and kept vomiting. Concerned and not wanting to take any chances, we asked her to take him to this clinic, assuring her we’d cover whatever it cost to make sure he got the care he needed. To our shock, the vet barely looked at him and dismissed his symptoms entirely, saying he was just “missing his owners” and blamed that single slice of pepperoni for his nausea. They didn’t do a physical exam, check his vitals, or run any tests. Foolishly, we trusted their judgment, we thought he was in good hands. The next day, things got dramatically worse. My sister left early in the day and by the time we returned from our trip that evening, we expected our big, goofy boy to greet us. Instead, we found him panting heavily, in clear distress, and unable to move. We rushed him to Blue Pearl, where they immediately checked his vitals and told us the heartbreaking truth: Tyco was critically ill, suffering, and too far gone to save. We were told us that even if we found the cause, his chances of surviving treatment were slim. We had no choice but to say goodbye that night. We’ll never know exactly what caused Tyco’s decline, but I’ll always believe that had he received proper care at Low Cost—just a basic exam or vitals check—we might have had a chance to save him. Instead, we were robbed of that opportunity. To this day, we still get appointment reminders for Tyco from Low Cost, and every time it reminds us of the grief and trauma his death caused.

I called everywhere nearby to see about pricing for an ear infection. Just about every place I called quoted me about $250. I got my boy taken care of you less than half of that price here! They are (mostly) all so nice too!

The "Low Cost" in their name is strictly a gimmick to attract business. We chose this place on recommendation from the ARL because of cost of services. They don't charge any less than other vet clinics in Des Moines. First call I was quoted half of what it actually cost, and only a third of the final total. Definitely a surprise when the total was over $250 for a standard spay without any complications. When they told me the total I asked to speak to the guy I checked in with this morning to clarify what's going on. When I asked him for a breakdown in price he said "$195 for the spay and $80 for blood work, and all cats over 'six' years old are required to have blood work done." Ok. Thats not what we were quoted when we called and the only price mentioned when I dropped the cat off was $80, plus those two amounts don't add up to the total. This is the first time anyone has said anything about the spay itself being this much. At this point I'm frustrated. I feel like I've been lied to and scammed so I step outside for a second to make a call. When I come back in the lady at the desk tells me the breakdown is actually $160, $80, and $10. Still not sure if we were lied to when we called for the quote, if they even know their own prices, or if the price just went up after I dropped the cat off. Since they had the cat in their possession I had no choice but to pay. This must be pretty common here because you aren't allowed anywhere near your pet until it's been paid for. So next I asked who said the cat was over six or did they just guesstimate? Lady tells me they don't guesstimate and begins looking it up. Birth date in their system is January of 2021... 4 years, 2 months old. She then quickly changed the explanation to every cat over 'three' years old has to have blood work. The process wasn't bad, I'm sure the vets are wonderful people, but the logistics were an absolute nightmare. I can't even begin to imagine how lying to a customer at your counter while you are changing their pets info in the system to cover your mistake is an acceptable practice. Edit- No results were offered or provided for the required blood work and no proof that it was even performed. No explanation of what they were testing for or any reason other than her age, which they didn't even look up until after surgery. They made sure to change it after I pointed out the error, the receipt that printed off now shows the cats age as 6 years and 2 months.

We absolutely love this clinic it is the Only place we trust we our fur babies. I am extremely sad to hear that it is closed until further notice. My baby needs her medication. If I had known ahead of time I would have gotten it when I was there the other day. This has me livid. Not sure what we will do now. To the wonderful people that work there, you not deserve this.