Mercer Street Veterinary Hospital

Reviews 4

JA

Jason C

This is a very tough review to write as my best friend and I had a fantastic first experience at this hospital. Back in April, the vet assistant, Bella, and the doctor that was in for the day performed an exam and invited us to schedule an appointment to get couple recommended vaccines updated following week as my dog has some diarrhea from recent food change and might be better to wait until he was back to 100%. There was a feeling of being well-cared for and that there was real concern for the patients and customers. I got busy and put it off for a couple months and called to set an appointment for the vaccinations. I asked specifically cost and procedure when scheduling and was told that since we had our wellness exam (for free) on first visit, we would only need to pay for a tech visit and the vaccines. Unfortunately the doctor in for the day (Smith) decided to classify the first visit as a "clinical exam" not a "wellness exam" and so we would require to pay for an exam as well as the shots, which to my previous understanding is completely unnecessary. When expressing my frustrations with the doctor at the inconsistencies with what I was told previously by other doctor, vet assistant, and eventually receptionist when I scheduled, there was no effort to fully understand the issue or to rectify the situation. There was no diving deep into the issue to follow up with other doctor or come to a fair solution. Yes, the vaccines here on Tuesdays and Thursdays are half price, which is awesome, but the add-on bogus exam based on the technicality of how the doctor interpreted a previous exam performed by a separate doctor raises the expense to the same as any other day, maybe more. The glaring problem with this hospital is that the patient will see whichever doctor is in for the day without option to specify, and that doctor doesnt know the patient or know any patient history, and they very obviously dont review the history thoroughly in advanced of the appointment nor follow up with the other staff. Our second and very unfortunately last visit left me with a feeling of complete dread. Doctor Smith even suggested that this was not the correct hospital for us, and shed happily send our records wherever we wanted. But I think shes wrong. I think she made it the wrong hospital today. Maybe she had a bad day? For the record I believe the hospital is a good one, but made evident by my visits, unfortunately customer experience will vary day-to-day. I recommend if you do decide to be cared for here, try to schedule and specify who youre seeing if whichever receptionist on the desk is willing to work with you. *** to address the MSVH response that attempts to twist the story To help clarify, we only asked for non-core kennel cough and Lyme vaccines. Was not my intention to claim another "free exam" at all. Its more than reasonable to expect businesses to honor their word. I did mention I was told would only require tech fee. You did not and made no attempt to right the wrong. I took a day off work to see you--that had already cost me. Please dont drag out this bad experience for longer via the internet.....

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ME

Mellisa McQuarrie

I have been taking my 2 dogs and recently deceased cat there since they opened and have always had a good experience. My English Bulldog has had 2 dental procedures done there and a mass removed off his leg. My 14 yr old kitty got septic in May and they did everything they could to save him and console me during this process. I will forever be grateful for the times the other doctors did take good care of my babies. Fast forward to Saturday 8/26. I called to make an appt with a doctor that Winston had seen before and loved. I was told she moved to the other Capital Hill location. I didnt feel comfortable taking him to Amanda Smith as she had given both my dogs vaccines in June and we got a bad vibe from her at that time. I reluctantly made the appointment for Sunday. We arrive to the appt, Winston still in extreme pain from his ear infections and bad tooth. She walks in, arms crossed and leans up against the sink the WHOLE entire time. She never examined my dog or came near him, did not touch him except towards the end, she gave him a scratch on his back to say good bye. I asked her several times to look in his ears and his mouth. Her reply, "I will if you lift up his lips for me?" I was shocked at her response and my eyes immediately filled up with tears. We are there for her professional opinion on my best friend and she wont even touch him. By the way, he has never been aggressive to anyone or a vet and wasnt doing anything that would make her NOT feel comfortable touching my sick dog. I asked her to please look in his ears, she said she didnt feel she needed to because they were too swollen to see anything anyways! We ended up with a $262 bill for 45 minutes of nothing, just meds, but how do you know what medication to prescribe when you wont examine your patient? I find this infuriating that my dog was never touched or examined and she stood at the sink arms crossed the whole time. I will never go back to this location until she is gone. She has given us such a bad taste in our mouth, Im having a hard time because Ive always loved the doctors and staff there. My recommendation would be to go to any of the other docs, but do let your animals see Dr Smith. She has no compassion for pets or the owners. I started crying half way through and didnt stop until I was home. Unless Mercer St vet makes this experience right for me and my dog, I will be taking this a step further and writing to the owner as well. I am not one to write reviews online, but when it comes to my animals doctor and their well being, and everyone elses pets out there-I will do whatever it takes to make sure they are loved and not in pain.

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JO

Joya Marsh

I used to take my two cats here and thought they were good, very professional and compassionate. The doctors always followed up with questions and concerns, even after hours and remembered my cats and their needs. However, there was a recent turn over of staff and Ive had nothing but bad experiences since. Every time I go in I have a new doctor and new person at the reception, no one knows who I am. They dont keep files updated properly and they mess up on billing and other information, even if I repeat it multiple times. Most recently they charged me over $1,000 for dental and did not inform me of possible side effects an injection could have on my cat. They offered no reasonable solution, so now I will have to wait three whole days until the medicine wears off. I would not recommend you take your pets here!

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JA

Jacque Ben-Zekry

The staff is very professional and genuinely seem to care about my cats. They have a lot of flexibility with their schedule and office is always clean. When i had to put down one of my 22 year old cat because her kidneys were failing, they gave me lots of options, were very compassionate, and sent me a condolences card. Their sensitivity meant a lot to me. My only minor criticism is I wish they were more clear about what services they are recommending for my cats, and what services are actually necessary. I never feel pushed to buy things I dont need, but I also unsure what to say no to....I am not marking them down for this because thats probably as much my fault for not being more educated as it is their opportunity to help me.

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