VCA Columbia Animal Hospital at Hickory Ridge

Reviews 6

ME

Meredith Haring

I am so pleased with this vet! My dog has had multiple bad experiences with previous vets so when I scheduled my appointment I made sure they knew he was a nervous vet goer. When we arrived the desk clerk was super friendly and there was a basket with bandanas pre sprayed with doggie relaxer. Of course, since Im already nervous, my dog is nervous so I opted to use one of these bandanas. We waited about 5 mins and were greeted by the most friendly and wonderful vet tech. She clearly loved her job and the animals, and humans, she services. She called us back to the room and took the time to get to know the dogs and us. She then made sure we were aware of everything they suggested for our dogs and what the cost would be and how we could save. During this time she made sure to start a relationship with the dogs and discussing their habits with us. Enter the vet, and my dog started to get nervous and growl...what was amazing was that she didnt change her demeanor at all and continued to greet us and the dogs. She took her time, answered all of our questions and let the dogs get to know her. He growled a few more times out of nerves but not once did they consider muzzling him nor sedating him with drugs. Long story short, this is the first vet my dog has allowed to do anything to him and they were amazingly patient with us and the dogs. My dog came back with a big goofy grin loving all the attention and treats! Bottom Line! I highly recommend this vet! I dont care their prices are a little high (get the care club! It saves you tons!) They have new life time customers!

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Brian DiMarco

I would classify them as a luxury vet for people with expendable income, as many of us in this area are. This is not a discount vet for the budget conscious but if you regularly drop $300 on a purse or dinners, you should be willing to spend at least that to make sure the animals at your mercy are cared for to the best of your ability. ... Yes, This is a very expensive vet, but I think the quality is as high as it gets and I also think they realize their costs are higher and are somewhat trying to improve. They have these "packages" (e.g. "first year") now that you can get that lower the cost of the individual services/products, but I do think you end up buying more with the packages but they do at least on paper seem to save you money. They used to do a "multi-pet at the same time discount" which was nice, but that got taken away when VCA came into the picture. I really believe VCA really holds them to the iron about profits. They are always pushing dental cleanings and whatnot. You can usually just say "no, I dont have the money for that right now" and they will usually back down. We keep coming back though because the care is outstanding. The doctors are very knowledgeable and seem to sincerely care about you and your pet. They go above and beyond (sometimes to the dismay of your wallet) to make sure your family member is well cared for. Its about trust and you do get what you pay for here. They know you and they know your pet and they worry about the little things that other vets do not. I would highly recommend them if you have the means!

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A Private User

I have to disagree with the other reviews regarding Columbia Animal Hospital. We have been taking our cats to Dr. Tayman for 13 years and always receive top notch, empathetic service. We have abyssinians which, while beautiful, are often susceptible to unique health problems. One of our abys suffered from renal failure over the holidays - Christmas eve to be exact. Dr. Tayman was unbelievably thorough in his diagnosis and gave me options regarding care. It was our decision ultimately to give her the best care we could afford. Agreed - the care was expensive, but she is still with us and seems to be getting better. Dr Tayman was even willing to talk to another veternarian I had met who had expertise with abys. He was willing to consult and learn from another vet - which many vets. arent. He also discouraged us from other less successful and expensive treatments such as kidney transplants, etc... I do not believe his goal is purely profit. This was expensive and he acknowledged that there is a financial limit to treatment and worked with us with that in mind. BTW, Rocky Gorge - horrible. The place was overrun with patients, smelled and you never knew what kind of servince you would get.

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A Private User

I have taken three different cats to this hospital for various reasons and while I agree that this place runs on the expensive side, the level of care and attention that they pay to you/your pet is undeniably excellent. I have been to vets before where they spend 30 seconds with you and your pet before rushing out of the room. Not here! My cats saw Dr. Tayman and another vet (a woman but I cant remember her name) and they were both extremely caring. Most recently we took one of our cats in for an emergency visit because she had stopped breathing and she was diagnosed with asthma... a diagnosis that had been missed by two previous veterinary establishments even though we had expressed our concerns to them. What I appreciate most is that, although they are expensive, the doctor came out and checked with us before running any expensive tests and was upfront about the costs. He didnt pressure us to leave her overnight (which would have been expensive) and explained what to look for and where to take her if she should take a turn for the worse overnight. The fact that they put the needs of their clients above profit is the most impressive aspect of this place and what will keep us coming back...

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Claude Strayer

Exactly as other reviewers have said, this company is far more interested in ways to take your money than they are the well being of your pets. I have found them to be pushy with new services that I wasnt interested in, and also not transparent on charges for their services. For example, they say "oh this vaccine is worth getting, its only 45 dollars...almost all our customers get it". What they dont say is that the first one is $45, the booster is another $45, and theyll tack on an exam fee to cover their time to administer the shot when you come back a few weeks later for the booster. I was shocked that they would try and pull another exam fee considering it had only been 3 weeks since I was last in for a full exam. Not my idea of professional service or transparency. This location is extremely high priced, which I just cant justify anymore given the experience I have had.

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Dog Squirrel

Ive brought 3 different dogs here over the course of 13 years. Some of the more inexperienced vets here insist on a ridiculous amount of tests which turns into price gouging. My one dog was nauseous so I brought him in. It was required that have over $1100 worth of tests, fecal, blood test, xrays, special pancreatic test. The medicine I was prescribed was anti-nausea medicine which you could guess might be the thing to prescribe without any tests at all. The relatively inexpensive fecal test showed a parasite that was killed by an inexpensive antibiotic. This could have been a $200-300 visit but was jacked up because one of the vets doesnt know what shes doing and so orders every possible test she can think of. Ive stopped going here. There are other vets in the area that graduated from Ivy League Vet Schools that dont charge as much.

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