Newtown Veterinary Hospital, LLC

Reviews 3

AN

Anonymous Anonymous

It has been a number of years since I have visited Newtown Veterinary Hospital, but I feel compelled to write a review at this time. I wish I had provided this feedback at the time, but was not comfortable doing so. I used this vet for many years and some of the experiences were very positive, while others were quite negative. I was a first-time dog owner when I started going to Newtown Vet. I truly loved and wanted to do the best for my pet but had a lot to learn. Unfortunately, some of the vets (who may not even be employed there any longer) were quite nasty, critical and judgmental of my abilities as a pet owner. Additionally, based on information received from a different vet who treated my pet, I believe a medical condition may not have been properly diagnosed in many years at Newtown, and while the medication prescribed was effective and correct, the dosage was possibly too high. I cannot say if the possible misdiagnosis and incorrect dosage really had a significant impact on the well being of my pet, but it was disappointing that I may not have been given the correction information despite regular visits. The primary vet we saw was Angela Summers. Years later, my experiences with Dr. Summers still stick in mind. It almost seems that she was more concerned with passing judgment on my abilities as a pet owner and less on medical decision-making. I also saw Jamie Logan a few times, and she was extremely nasty on one particular visit. On the flip side, Dr. Graham and Dr. Palm, whom I did not see as often, stand out in my mind as excellent vets who were helpful and encouraging in their advice, as opposed to condescending and accusatory as with Dr. Summers and Dr. Logan. I have been to 2 different vet practices since Newtown, and have had much more positive overall experiences with vets who educate in a manner that doesnt make you feel terrible. Perhaps it would be better for the vets to first focus on medical care, and when there is a need for education, do so in a supportive and compassionate manner. I was very attentive to my pets needs and tried my best. Sure, there was room for improvement, and I had a lot to learn, but the pervasive accusatory tone from some of the staff that I was a lousy pet owner still sits with me years later. Hopefully, in the years since, these vets have changed their approach and give the pet owners the benefit of the doubt. Incidentally, this pet lived to a ripe old age and had a pretty good life. I guess I did something right.

CA

Cathie Cush

Ive been a client at Newtown Veterinary Hospital since 2010, when I adopted my dog, Grace. Since then, we have always had positive experiences. Im a first-time dog owner, and Grace is an older dog with a number of health issues, so we have had a lot of interactions with NVH over the last several years. Graces primary vet is Dr. Jaaron Graham, who is awesome -- absolutely the best! He is gentle with my shy little dog, patient with my endless questions and an excellent diagnostician. Whether we are talking about vaccinations vs. titers, managing the arthritis in Graces neck or trying to get to the root of her chronic cough, he always explains all our options and the pros and cons of each, including relative costs. I feel that he always gives me the facts I need to make an informed decision on my dogs behalf. I have never, ever come away with the feeling that he is trying to reach into my wallet. Just the opposite. He seems very committed to offering cost-effective solutions. For example, he recommended sending a chest X-ray to a specialist for review before we ordered additional diagnostic tests that would have been expensive and not necessarily useful. He is very methodical and thorough. I also know that if I leave him a question via voicemail, he will always get back to me, even if it is long after his workday is supposed to be "done." Grace also sees Dr. Debra Collazo for physical therapy and rehabilitation for arthritis in her neck. Dr. Collazo clearly loves working with animals and finding creative ways to help guide them back to health. Grace loves playing PT games with her and loves the laser therapy. (Acupuncture, not so much, so Dr. Collazo doesnt force it on her.) She has helped me with ideas for ongoing PT exercises for Grace at home, and she is very responsive via email anytime I have a question — even if its not about physical therapy. And I know she thinks about her patients outside the office. She has come back from vet conferences and sent links to information that she thinks might benefit Grace. The practice has always been able to fit us in if we need a same-day appointment, so we have seen several other vets on staff. They have always been very knowledgeable and compassionate. Dr. Palm, in particular, followed up to see how Grace was doing when we were there for an emergency, even though Grace isnt one of her regular patients. We have been very happy with the practice.

A

A Private User

Markup over Pet Health....Its a business, I understand that. But it should also have a degree of pet compassion that i dont know if it is present or not in the right proportion. Yes, they are pricey. However, i must say that Dr Grahm is fantastic, his care is second to none and i trust and respect his opinion and care. I had an issue where i thought it was the end of the line for my old pet, and i was compassionately handled and my pet was diagnosed and treated promptly and professionally, and she recovered!!! So it is undisputeable that they do a good job. However, if you dont want to pay 3x the price of prescription that you can purchase online at a fraction of the cost, you need to pull teeth to get a script out of them. I ordered online on a friday, the online Pharm contacted them almost immediately and were told the vet doesnt deal with online Pharms.....??? NVH could had called me, but they didnt, so i called MondayAM to see what the problem was. I was told they dont deal with online Pharms, so i asked for the script via email. I was told it would be sent. Tues eve i called, now somewhat angry that i and my pet had been ignored for 5 days. I was told that they again dont deal with online pharms and that they can not email a script. All this even though you can click on thier own online Pharm from thier own website and buy the script at a fraction of the cost of what i had to pay to pick up pills in person. Yes, I agree, it doesnt make sense. They did allow me to come in and retrieve a script for the dog but i was left with the impression that the 50.00 profit was more important than the care of my animal. And although the staff is professional, in my humble opinion, there is a person who has never given me a warm fuzzy and i dread having to deal with that one staff member. Furthermore, if i didnt know the script could be had for 1/3 of the cost, i guess i would still be a customer, but this and other issues, many regarding price, have me looking for a new vet. Too bad, Dr. Grahm really is the best ive seen.