Ottawa Animal Hospital West

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

3/2/2011 Update: Dr. Wilson has since left this facility. It is now owned by the Ottawa Animal Hospital which has another location (which they call their East location) on Butternut Dr. Since my last review my kitten has needed several more visits to the vet as her inner ear infections have continued but I am sad to report that I am disappointed with the care I have recieved since Dr. Wilson has gone. The new vet I see is Dr. Heitman. He is friendly and seems personable and took good care of my kitten and even caught a heart problem she had and sent us up to Michigan Veterinary Specialists in Grand Rapids to see a Cardiologist. The problem with this new vet is that the "East" facility is very dirty, cramped, old and it smells. It made both me and my kitten uncomfortable. It was nothing like the nice, beautiful Ark facilty. Also, the new office staff is not as friendly and often speaks rudely both on the phone and in person making it difficult to trust the new atmosphere. There are still some old Ark office staff members around which have their usual nice personality but they are not able to be as personable thanks to the new staff floating around. Also, since the merger many of my kittens (and other two cats) records have been "lost" or not input correctly even for services just performed leading to annoying emails asking me for the 5th time if I want my cat to have its rabies shot even though I did it 2 months ago and they were the ones to do it. There are a couple other problems Im having with this vet clinic that just seem to go on and on and I wont mention them here. Overall, I guess you could say Im sad that Dr. Wilson left. I had high hopes that I had finally found a good vet for once and now Im back at square one... searching for a decent vet and stuck with a vet that doesnt quite measure up while I look for one. 11/2/2010 Review: Dr. Wilson literally saved my kittens life. Ive only been in the Holland area for about 2 weeks now, but my kitten has been suffering from an ear infection for almost 5 months. None of the vets in Kalamazoo could figure out what was causing it or could cure it. I saw Dr. Wilson the first week I arrived in Holland and he started her on a totally different course of treatment. Unfortunately two days later her ear infection spread to her inner ear causing her to become dizzy and fall constantly. She couldnt move or stand on her own. I called him on a Saturday afternoon when the office was closed and he came in to see her and treated her quickly and with the nicest demeanor Ive ever seen. He gave tons of emergency numbers and places to take her if he couldnt get to us in time, but we didnt end up needing them because his treatment worked! My kitten pulled through and I will be going to Dr. Wilson from now on. I highly recommend him to anyone who wants a kind and caring vet who really knows his stuff.

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Courtney Allison

We used to take our dog to Mapleview Animal Hospital. After they became visibly annoyed with us, and lacked in adequately caring for our dog (to the point that he developed sepsis), we decided to switch to Ottawa Animal Hospital on 120th. They only saw our dog for one night (as he became too sick and we had to put him down), but treated us like we were family and always had been. The difference in the staff and the building itself were apparent from the second we walked in the door. We were greeted with smiles, and the smell alone was a world of difference. Instead of smelling pee, we smelled antiseptic and cleanliness. In addition, Dr. Swift went above and beyond the duties of any caring veterinarian to check in on our Porter. She called my husband on her day off to discuss Porters options, and called the Emergency Clinic at 6:30 in the morning to check on Porter. When we made the decision to euthanize Porter (as he could not be saved), Dr. Swift looked us right in the eye and told us that we had made the best possible decision for him. She told us we were fantastic owners and that there was nothing we could have done differently. It seemed she too was visibly upset over the loss of Porter. She offered to keep in contact with us for ANY question or concern we may have in the future, and sent a personal card of sympathy to our house after. We felt valued, loved, and cared for even though shed only known us for a day. I cant even begin to tell you how much that meant to us in those final moments with our Porter. If we get another dog, which Im honestly not sure Ill ever be ready to do, we will definitely be taking him or her to Ottawa Animal Hospital. Words cannot begin to express how much every gesture and action they took in helping our Porter was appreciated. If youre even considering another vet, DONT!

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JR

JR Lewis

In two words: Hydroxyzine Pamoate. Thats what they keep prescribing my dog, no matter what the dog is sick with. Im frustrated by this vet (and partially because my dog keeps getting sick) because trips are pretty expensive. Here are the pros and cons: Pros + Friendly staff. + If you want to get your pet loaded down with medications its a great place. + Effective treatments (for the most part). Cons - The price! Very expensive. - Repetitive medications that appear to do nothing. Maybe they are effective? I was pretty mad when I went to the medicine cabinet and dug out three bottles of the same medication I just bought that were pretty much full. Overall well probably stick with them, mainly due to the very nice staff and the fact that they take good care of our dogs when they are sick. However I hope that they would ask whether or not a medication has been used successfully in the past and check to see if we have some at home. This would allow us to not feel as ripped off when we buy yet another bottle of Hydroxyzine Pamoate. Just grateful they didnt try to sell us more fish oil pills again...

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Mel Reitzel

Went to this vets approx 2 years ago and left in tears. My 6 month old 70lb American bulldog/pitt mix ran through his gate & was hit by a car, I rushed him to our normal vet & they stabilIzed him but didnt have the equipment to fully treat him so I came here. My dog had a broken jaw and a lame front leg, they wanted $800 JUST for xrays! I asked if they took payments and replied no, I didnt have that money right then and I asked them what can I do, hoping they could help with a different vet or something.. they told me to go home, keep giving him his pain meds & save up my money! I was crushed! Luckily I found a vet who took him right in with out question, after xrays & surgery I still paid less then what they wanted for just the xrays. He is doing great now, jaw perfect and most the movement back to his front leg. I understand money makes the world go round but I thought this was inhumane & cruel to just send home a dog who had his jaw bone sticking through his skin! Not also to mention I feel like this this pricing is horrible & backs desperate owners into a corner.

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