Care First Animal Hospital at Oberlin

Reviews 4

AL

Alyssa Holland

Id like to start this review by saying this place is fantastic- they follow up on the pet and MOST of the staff are very friendly and helpful. However, only a couple of the actual Vets at the office know what they are doing. My poor cat- an old rescue- was neglected because of them. I took him in for what I believed was an upper respiratory, because I saw my cat exhibit known symptoms of the infection. However, the man who helped us immediately dismissed what I was saying and declared his own diagnosis- allergies- which we already knew the cat to have. Now, a month later, the self-diagnosed infection is spreading. Had we not called again regarding concerns for his "seasonal allergies," as the vet called it, he would have continued to suffer and the infection could have turned into a life-threatening, incurable disease. All because the man tossed aside what I believe- or knew- to be wrong with my cat. And this wasnt the first time. My cat went in for a routine checkup the week that I got him. Two weeks later I took him back- he was lethargic and not eating. Turns out the lump in his belly- which the first vet noted, dismissed as unimportant- was constipation that caused him to not eat or drink and lose almost a pound of weight (10% of his body weight) in under two weeks. For an average human female adult, that would be like losing 14lb in two weeks, which we all know is UNHEALTHY. My poor cat had been misdiagnosed TWICE by these people. The only good thing to come out of it? They make a lot of money. Their misdiagnosis causes my cat to keep suffering, meaning he has to keep visiting them, and I need to keep paying for treatments. Yes, I could have been more adamant against the vets diagnosis, and I could have pushed harder for the tests I believed should be conducted, but there people are TRAINED PROFFESIONALS and I am just a measly architecture student. However, I see now that when it comes to my cat, I am clearly more knowledgable about his health and well being than most of the staff over there. The vet techs and Dr. DeAngelo are the reason I keep returning to this veterinary office. I refuse, however, to let my cat see either of the two vets that he saw before.

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Courtney Maguire

Ive been to several of the Carefirst locations, but the care my dog receives at Oberlin is just outstanding. My dog has a congenital defect and they always handle it with ease while Im usually freaking out! He has been through training, camp, grooming, physicals, and all of his surgeries/vaccines here. I work in RTP so the convienence of drop off appointments is amazing for boosters and physicals. I trust the doctors so much that I dont even feel the need to be present during these types of appointments. Added bonus is that for working professionals they can just add on a half day of camp. Barbara always grooms him to perfection, my dog literally shakes with excitment when he sees Lamont for his camp counselor, and all of the techs and front staff are pleasant and so accommodating. Dr. Wages has probably saved my poor little guys life on several occasions due to one misdiagnosis and his birth defect. With the misdiagnosis? I cant even begin to describe how considerate Dr. Gordon was with the bill and follow ups my dog received. While it was scary at the time, I look back and am so thankful it was Carefirst that was there to step up and make the effort to not only accommodate my companion but also give me as the owner the consideration they did. It is truely outstanding how caring they are to not just the pets, but compassionate and understanding to the owners as well. I will never take my dog anywhere else as long as I am living in Raleigh and would highly recommend any of the locations for anyone looking for a new practice or new to the area. They simply are the best! Thank you Carefirst for everything the entire staff does for both my best furry friend and I.

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A Private User

I had a similar experience to the other reviewers. I took my dog to be boarded for three days. The reason I chose Care First was because he was already under the care of the vets there and on medication after they had run a whole slew of expensive tests only to find nothing wrong. But that was not the real problem with this hospital. When I arrived to pick up my dog after boarding, it took a very long time to have him brought down. When they did bring him down, he was soaking wet. The tech explained that he had a "loose" stool and that he had stepped in it. I looked at her very surprised because my dog has never in his life stepped in his own stool. Anyway, I could tell he was stressed and all I wanted to do was get him home so we left. After getting him home I noticed he was constantly licking his paws. I took him out for a walk and he could barely walk and seemed to be in pain. My dog is not a complainer so this was very unusual. I looked at his paws when we got back to the house. They were all swollen and blistered! I was furious. Either they took him out on hot pavement and he burned his paws or, more likley based on his presentation when I picked him up, they left him in a crate the entire time filled with his own urine and feces. This is the level of care you can expect for an expensive boarding charge and I even asked and paid for additional time in doggy day care each day just to give him a break out of the crate. I will never take my dog back here for boarding or vet services.

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Emmy Wood

Very caring staff and good medical services... BUT extremely high prices.. 67$ for the doctor simply looking at them, then more for medicine etc. etc. They fill up time slots very quickly so make sure you call ahead and if it is an emergency, expect to pay an emergency fee. If this rating was for the training I would give this one star... I had my puppy enrolled in the day training sessions so I could do things around the house and have her learning and stimulated during the 8 hours. It is very enticing because it is only 37$ for the whole day and if the puppies are under 6 months, another play time with puppies is included. I have a 4 month old Australian Cattle dog/Lab mix and she is a bundle of energy.. which is why I thought this would be perfect! I could give her over to someone else, she can learn, and I get some work done. She has been to 4 training sessions and all I have asked are for her to be leash trained and she hasnt improved (yes I know she is just a puppy). But whats worse is that she isnt even tired at the end of the day. Maybe I am ignorant, but I thought they would be out and about for most of the day, unfortunately thats not the case. There are 2-3 training sessions a day that last about 30 min each.. other than a few potty breaks, they are in their crates for the entire day. I have cancelled my future training sessions and am looking for a new day school.

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