Briargrove Animal Clinic

Reviews 6

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teddie esser

Our cat, Allie, began drooling last Saturday (9/16). My husband and I were concerned that she might have an oral infection. On Monday we scheduled an appointment for her at Briargrove for Tuesday, which was the earliest either of us could take her, given our work schedules. By Monday evening, her drooling had seemed to improve, although she still appeared to have oral discomfort. On Tuesday (9/19), Dr. Kurtz examined her and sent blood and urine samples for analysis. Test determined that Allie had the early stages of kidney disease. Dr. Kurtz attributed the drooling to nausea. Allie’s condition deteriorated on Wednesday, and she seemed to have trouble closing her mouth comfortably. I made another appointment for Thursday (9/21). I told them that they could x-ray her if visual examination showed no results. My husband spoke with the office Thursday morning to authorize mild anesthesia to facilitate examination, but no mention was made of x-rays. I suppose that my husband could have suggested it, although when I see a doctor myself I rarely feel the need to suggest specific diagnostic measures. Visual examination showed some gum irritation, but the drooling was still attributed to nausea from the kidney disease. Dr. Kurtz suggested to my husband that Allie had lost a tooth in the past day or two. This seemed to explain the oral discomfort that we had noticed. No x-rays were performed. When my husband picked Allie up, conversation with Dr. Kurtz revealed that the tooth that Allie had supposedly lost had in fact been extracted years ago. This information might have raised suspicion that the gum irritation was an infection, but it was apparently not noteworthy. Indeed infection was never suggested as a possibility. She was prescribed medication for nausea, but antibiotics seem never to have been considered. Neither I nor my husband was satisfied with simple nausea as the cause of Allie’s condition, and her condition continued to deteriorate on Friday and we began to notice swelling on the right side of her mouth. Saturday morning (9/23) he took her to another vet. Because of their Saturday hours, they were unable to sedate her and perform x-rays (another appointment is scheduled for Tuesday), but visual examination indicated the possibility of an abscess or cancer. She was prescribed antibiotics and some pain medication. By Sunday evening her condition had noticeably improved: the swelling was reduced, her discomfort had been relieved a bit, the drooling had subsided and she seems altogether more comfortable. Although we will not know until the x-rays whether she indeed has an abscess, we are quite confident that she at least has an infection that the antibiotics have begun to control. Her problem is certainly not simply nausea. I wish that we had not wasted a week allowing her symptoms to get worse before we even began antibiotics to treat what both my husband and I believed initially to be an infection.

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Michael Pileckas

UPDATE: First time at this vet. Upon checking in the receptionist immediately tried to sell me a vaccine package. $55 for the visit, industry standard, but they only checked his heart and abdomen; no eye check, no ear check, no temperature taken and they didnt weigh him, the vet lifted one cheek to look at his teeth for less than a second. The vet tech struggled to lift him into a cold metal slab and then almost dropped him when trying to put him down, he only weighs 55lbs. The doctor seemed uninterested when I declined certain vaccines and did not offer any natural or holistic alternatives to all the drugs she was trying to sell me. Ive move around quite often and have taken my dogs to about a dozen different vets, this was by far the worst one. This vet is only here to sell you medication and vaccines your dog doesnt need. No preventive care advice offered. The place looks like a prison, nothing welcoming about this vet office whatsoever. After writing this review, Dr. Kurtz gave me a call to inform me about the results of my dogs blood work and to also mention that she had read my Google review. Dr Kurtz apologized for my experience and offered an explanation as to why some vets dont check the patients ears or eyes at every visit. Dr Kurtz also informed me about some holistic vets in the area that she felt I may be interested in visiting. She was very cordial about the whole situation.

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Chris J

Brought my two cats here for the first time yesterday because one had a minor eye infection. The wait time was reasonable and the vet was good. She showed me the infection and she caught an issue a previous vet had mentioned a year ago that I had forgotten about. She didnt push me to get it treated, she just mentioned that I should have a test run and I could set it up through them, which I really appreciate. I thought the facilities and office were a bit older, and wasnt sure what to make of it at first... But Id rather have a good vet in an old building, than a debt-laden vet in a new/decorated building trying to pay it off. The buildings not treating my animal anyway =]. Also, the person at the reception desk (Sherly) e-mailed me 2 hours later answering a question I had asked offhand while talking to her about microchipping. I had mostly forgotten about it, and she helped me figure out a course of action through a couple of e-mails the next day. How awesome is that!? There was also a discount for bringing in two animals at once, which was really nice. I thought the prices were very reasonable. I think Ive found my new clinic!

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Stephen Johnson

We were there about six months ago. There were 2 old docs who did a great job for a reasonable price. Last time we went though, we took our 5 yr old male cat whose cheek was swollen. This time we had a new female vet. I assumed she was purchasing the practice, because the 2 old docs were getting a little long in the tooth. Anyway, when this new doc got thru with us the bill was $465 including lancing the abscess, a shot for anti-biotics, and a return visit to take out the drain. We drove in from Katy b/c we had previously liked the old guys. Well, I paid it, but kind of lost my trust for this clinic. I can get someone out here to clip me for $465 and save some drive time. We also asked about neutering another male cat and she told us it was going to be about $450 including vaccinations. We ended up taking him to BARC for about $60 including vaccinations. So Im a little disappointed in this clinic now.

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Annie Song Torres

Though small, this clinic is the best. Dr. Kurtz really cares about her pet patients and everyone in the clinic will work around your schedule/needs. Unfortunately I found this clinic after my dog got hit by a car, after going through a traumatic experience at a different clinic, I decided to try Briargrove instead and couldnt be more pleased. Over the course of weeks, I brought in my dog every single day and saw how attentive Dr Kurtz and her staff were and slowly saw improvement in my dog. I honestly believe my dog would not have recovered as fast if it werent for the people at Briargrove. My dog also seemed to bond with the people there and was always eager to run in the door! Its hard to find a veterinarian you can trust but I am glad I found mine.

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Susan Quigley

Feb 2017: we moved abroad for 3 years in 2013 and as soon as we moved back, we came back to Briargrove. Best vets in Houston. ********** I brought my lil pup charlie here after a very scary episode with low blood sugar. they treated him extremely well and they are now our regular vet! i feel very comfortable leaving him there and highly recommend them. UPDATE: The low blood sugar episode happened again. Turned out that low blood sugar episode was actually Addisons Disease. Dr. Kurtz was very diligent in helping us determine what caused his crashes and in my opinion, went above and beyond. As long as were in Houston, this will be our vet clinic. Were off to Thailand for a year or two, but well be back!! :) Thank you Briargrove Animal Clinic!

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