Bloomington Veterinary Hospital

Reviews 5

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Sue S

After my having been a client for years, the veterinary hospital changed ownership and our beloved veterinarian semi-retired. A few months later, it became necessary to euthanize my 18-year old cat and I was treated very badly by Dr. Tyson Medlock during what was already a difficult time. I needed to call late at night and was forwarded to his home (I assume) by his answering service because he was the doctor on call that night. Id never taken my cat to him before and asked if my long-time veterinarian (who was no longer the owner but still worked there a few hours each week) could take care of the procedure. He tersely responded that, "If you want to bring the cat in after 7:00 am, I can meet you at the clinic, and its going to cost you 70 bucks. If you dont want that, then call the clinic after 9:00 am" I was so stunned by his nasty, irritated tone, that I just stammered that I would think about it and we hung up. My cat got worse and I called the answering service again that night asking if there was any way they could put me through to my long-time vet instead of the doctor on call. The clearly-tired receptionist said she would try, but then just forwarded me back to Tyson Medlock. I wasnt expecting to be connected to him, but I collected myself, explained who I was, and asked politely if there was any way I could reach Dr. Mary Alice (my former vet.) He bluntly said "No" and repeated that it would cost me $70 if I wanted to bring him in. I decided that I would rather have my cat die naturally (he was uncomfortable, but wasnt in excruciating pain) than subject him to a stressful appointment with an clearly-irritable veterinarian, and so I politely declined. At that point, Tyson snapped, (and this is a direct quote) "Well THANKS for waking me up TWICE" and hung up. Never once did he say he was sorry to hear that my cat was dying (or ANY kind of simple-but-nice statement like that). I get it. I understand that none of us like to be woken up at night, but if youre the OWNER of a veterinary hospital and YOU are on call for a night, then youd better expect an occasional call and youd better try to be polite - or at least civil - when it comes. I realized that if I cant trust this place to handle a really difficult moment in the life of my pet, then I dont want to trust them with vaccines or the other simple stuff either. I never went back and I now see the vets at College Mall Veterinary Hospital about five minutes down the road. Theyve been great, both with the simple stuff and the harder stuff.

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Dominique Bahr

Our vet is awesome! Dr. Wienman goes above and beyond to help our golden retriever who seems to be allergic to the state of Indiana. Unlike with other animal hospitals/vet clinics (in various states), our pup actually gets extremely excited to see the front desk staff, vet techs, and Dr. Wienman. What I appreciate the most (outside of all the TLC he gives Chloe) is that Dr. Wienman isnt afraid to reach out to other vets for ideas or suggestions. Knowing absolutely everything doesnt make someone a great vet. What makes Dr. Wienman a great vet is his genuine desire to do what is best for my pup while maintaining economical awareness for me, along with his willingness to research my pups relentless issues. The staff at the front desk are always proactive. Any time I call with questions, they either put me on hold to find the answer or call me back the same day. Additionally, while waiting for my pup to be seen, Ive overhead them talking about alternative methods of handling various situations to avoid future confusion. Veterinary hospitals can get a bit chaotic at times, especially when one throws an emergency into the mix. Therefore, I really applaud everyone at Bloomington Veterinary Hospital for their efforts to improve efficiency. There isnt a veterinary clinic/hospital out there that runs absolutely perfect 100% of the time, but Bloomington Veterinary Hospital certainly strives to be accommodating to the pet owner without sacrificing exceptional care for the animal.

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Delia Igo

Do not leave your pets at Bloomington Veterinary Hospital for boarding! We left our two cats there for a week. One of them was quite old and in failing health. We boarded him with the vet so he would get medical care, and we left specific instructions for them to give him IV fluids if he dehydrated. When we picked them up, they told us that there were no problems and that they did well in boarding. We got them home and took them out of their carriers. The younger cat was traumatized. The older cat was half dead. He had lost a lot of weight and was down to just 4.8 pounds. He was severely dehydrated and couldnt walk. None of this was noticed by Bloomington Veterinary Hospital. They claimed that he had been alert and ate and drank sufficiently. When we called them to discuss my cats condition they said that we could bring him in to discuss end of life options. Our cat declined throughout the night. He had no strength at all. In the morning we took him to College Mall Vet. They treated him with dignity. We had to put him to sleep. I dont blame Bloomington Veterinary for making my cat sick, but I do hold them responsible for withholding care from a sick animal. I feel that he was neglected and abused, and that he suffered unnecessarily in the end because he was denied medical treatment. I will never bring another pet to them for care.

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A Private User

Until last night, I would have given BVH top marks. Theyve been our vet for 15 years, and Ive liked Dr. Koch very well. However, I had the extremely unpleasant experience last night of coming home from vacation to a desperately ill dog, and discovering that BVH has stopped offering any emergency service whatsoever. They used to have a vet on call evenings and weekends. Then, for a while, Bloomington had a vet clinic specializing in emergency care, and they referred to them -- fine. But that clinic went under. I assumed that BVH would have gone back to doing their own emergency calls. Wrong. I called their number in a panic at 2:30 in the morning, with a dog in extreme respiratory distress, and having uncontrollable diarrhea. Their answering machine told me to call one of the emergency clinics in Indianapolis. I did, and drove the hour and fifteen minutes there. My dog is now stable, but Im horrified thinking what might have happened had he been bleeding, or having a severe allergic reaction. I have called around town, and will be switching to a clinic that offers a vet on call for emergencies. Im sad about this; Ive always found Dr. Koch very caring and competent. But now that "caring" doesnt extend to giving a damn if my animals die trying to reach emergency care, it rings hollow.

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A Private User

Ive interacted with BVH twice, once when my dog had worms and I bought medicine from them and recently when my dog was hit by a car and needed emergency attention. When I came in to buy the medicine the staff member was irritable and dismissive - this was my first dog, I had questions about the worms and he seemed completely bothered by me. Recently, when my dog was hit, I tried to contact them late at night for an emergency appointment. They dont have an emergency service (anymore...I guess they used to based on other reviews) but their after hours message was long, fuzzy, and it listed incorrect numbers to contact for further help. I called the next day to try and make an appointment and they told me that the doctors were taking some time off because it was Spring Break. Its disconcerting to me that a veterinary clinic would close early and allow all of their doctors off over Spring Break - we all know Bloomingtons economy is dependent on the university but not everyone leaves town. Decide for yourselves - do they really care about animals if they wont answer your questions, dont check the accuracy of their after hours message, and dont always have a doctor available during holidays? I recommend Combs or Town and Country (in Ellettsville) for personal and caring veterinary service.

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