Pet Central Animal Hospital

Reviews 6

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A Private User

Our breeders vet appreciated a luxating patella on our puppy three days prior to us purchasing her. Five days after that examination, or two days after acquiring the dog, we brought her to Pet Central for an examination. Despite luxating patellas being common in our dogs breed/size, Dr. Ngo did not examine her patellas, at which point I showed documentation from the previous vet that indicated she had this condition. Dr. Ngo then examined the patellas and said it was not luxating and would never cause problems. Ultimately, six months later, the dog needed to have surgery to correct the luxating patella that was clearly always there and Dr. Ngo simply failed to appreciate - she was even given the diagnosis and failed to confirm it. Between the first visit and the last, the dog was spayed by Dr. Ngo, and was scheduled to also have her umbilical hernia repaired. Dr. Ngo improperly closed the hernia and it had to be repaired by Dr. Nelson. Dr. Nelson, upon examining the dog for the incomplete hernia "repair," found that five teeth needed to be extracted because the dog was unable to close her mouth fully due to her underbite and small upper jaw. This was two weeks after Dr. Ngo had already operated on the dog. TWO surgeries in TWO weeks (and nearly a thousand dollars later), we decided Dr. Ngo was a horrible diagnostician. I gave Pet Central one last chance, with the intention of only seeing Dr. Nelson - but when I brought the dog in with an OBVIOUSLY, ACTIVELY luxating patella he did a LOT of back-tracking. Where he had previously berated Dr. Ngo for her method of closing the hernia repair he now insisted that it was appropriate in most cases and he tried to assert that the luxation was on the opposite leg and continuously reminded me that this isnt a FATAL condition - a blatant "cover your A**" move considering his office blundered so miserably all along the way with my dog. Dr. Nelson was ready to operate on the dogs patella for a full thousand dollars less than the specialist we ultimately used for the operation. My research on the topic revealed that most responsible vets will refer these orthopedic procedures to a specialist due to the major impact the repair can have on the animals quality of life. You get what you pay for, I guess. In his estimate, Dr. Nelson planned on only using Rimadyl for pain control, which is inadequate after that type of surgery. If these DVMs were working with humans the care my dog received would have malpractice written all over it. As a last point, both Dr. Ngo and Dr. Nelson had TERRIBLE bedside manner with the dog - they did not respect the dogs comfort level or boundaries when approaching the dog at all. They both just loomed over her and picked her up even while she cowered away. Our new vet always extends her hand and lets the dog feel out the situation and person. As it should be.

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Lindsey Johnson

One of the most important things I look for in a vet is trust and the vet I saw at Pet Central was far from gaining it. My pug has had food allergies in the past which led me to switch to a grain free raw dehydrated food about a month ago. Unfortunately she lost some weight with the raw diet. While the vet and I were on the same page with giving my pug more calories she admitted a lack of knowledge with raw diets for dogs. She did however proceed to encourage me to find a bag of kibble in the vets store out front while emphasizing the point that if I buy 12 bags the 13th is free. I was then told my dogs left ear looked infected and I agreed for her to do a swab of the ear with lab tests which at the time I was quoted 20.00. Once the lab results indicated the need for medication the vet forgot which ear was infected. I was given medicine and told I would need to come back for a check up in 2 weeks. My bill in return was twice the price of the quote. The vet at Pet Central had poor knowledge of food, inconsiderate price quoting and pushiness toward purchasing the food in the lobby. I will not return.

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A

A Private User

I highly recommend Pet Central. Our German Shepard was very anxious at our first visit and the staff tried everything they could to calm and comfort him. The vet and the techs did not want to stress him out further and suggested we make an appointment for the following week when the dog would be calmer perhaps we could try again. Upon our next visit they were ready and prepared to deal with our dogs anxiousness and did so fabulously. I cannot stress how patient and kind they were to our dog even though he was quite difficult to deal with. Dr. John Dirksen and I did not catch the vet techs name but according to their wed site I think his name is German (he especially put our dog at ease...I was amazed at how calm he made our dog) were patient, caring, kind, and knowledgeable. I cannot thank them enough for taking the time and having the patience to deal with our challenging situation.

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Mozzezlee Spikeray

They seemed wonderful....... they played in to my concern for my pet........ a scratch on face turned into 2 abscesses, root canals, x-rays, possible more teen while under(150.00 each) and 1,000.00 bill! I declined the treatment and realized later it was a little scratch the size of a eyelash that got infected and turns out the antibiotic was all that was needed.... It was a 50.00 visit, 50.00 antibiotic, that turned in to 150.00 bill with a 1,000.00 extraction estimate. The office was unorganized and there was a dead orange cat lying on the table in the back room where they invited me and my 3 year old to look at my cat who was being examined on the table next to him. They seemed okay but Hindsight is 20/20 I have had my pets for 11,13 and 15 years and I have been seen at a lot of clinics. I would suggest Nokomis pet clinic in south Minneapolis, wonderful vet!

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Kendra Philion

The day before yesterday, our cat could not hold any food down. We brought him to Pet Central yesterday because a vet wouldnt be at our usual place and we ended up liking this place more. They were able to get us in to see the vet first thing in the morning with very little wait time, and Dr. Hilary did X-rays and showed them to us. She gave the cat barium to settle his stomach, the staff set us up with bland food for him to eat later, and they said to call or just come in the next day if he gets sick again. Since then, he has eaten the food, kept it down, and used his liter box. Pet Central was amazing; their prices are a lot lower than our regular place, and Dr. Hilary is a lot nicer than our regular vet. She explained everything and kept us calm when we were worried. I would definitely recommend this place and Dr. Hilary specifically.

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Anna Emerson

I was extremely disappointed with my experience with Pet Central Animal Hospital. I just moved to the NE neighborhood and was very excited to have a vet just blocks from my new home but on my first visit to Pet Central, they literally forgot me in the room for 20+ minutes before I had to hunt someone down and let them know I was still waiting for the vet tech to come in. They were super unprofessional and unorganized, I definitely would never recommend anyone to them or go there again. I will sadly have to find another vet in the NE area.

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