Small Animal Hospital LLC

Reviews 3

VI

Victoria Hopkins

Yesterday I took my 19 year old cat in knowing that the most likely outcome would be that it was time to put her down. I was correct and she was put down. Of her 19 years, she was with me for 18 and I don’t have to tell any pet owner how hard this was. Despite this just happening yesterday, I really feel like I need to write this review while it is still fresh in my head. From the moment I walked in and gave the receptionist my name, every staff member I encountered even if it was just in passing understood why I was there and was so compassionate and understanding. The vet (Dr. Marheine) discussed everything with me and gave me all of my options. In no way did she make me feel pressured into any decision which was wonderful and something I was a little bit nervous about beforehand. But what stands out in my head even more than that was that she also made me feel supported and comfortable in my knowledge that it was time to let her go. She was so kind to me and they put me and my cat in a comfortable, private room with a couch and let me take as much time as I needed with her before and after. I felt like Dr. Marheine and the entire staff really understood what I was going through. I don’t know quite how to explain it, but even just walking in and out of the reception area I could tell that this was not just business as usual for them and everyone truly understood what was happening and what it meant to me. I will always be grateful to them for that. Besides my experience yesterday, I should have written a review for Small Animal Hospital a long time ago. I’ve taking my dog and my cat there for about 5 years. Basically since I moved to area and after going once to another place that I was not very happy with. I should also note that during this period I also tried another vet once based on a recommendation – and even with all the bells and whistles of the other place, I was still not nearly as comfortable and went right back to Small Animal Hospital. When I first got my dog as a very small puppy I took her to a different vet in Shorewood who gave her every shot they could think of without any discussion. My puppy also had a little bit of mange which this other vet gave her a shot for that hurt her so bad she actually yelped non-stop for at least a full minute after the shot was done. They also gave me a cream to apply and the mange went away. The mange came back a few months later and this time I took her to Small Animal Hospital who gave me a different cream and sent me home (NO painful shot) and the mange went away and five years later it’s never come back. Then when it was time for my puppy’s next round of shots I took her to Small Animal Hospital and they discussed every shot with me and what it was for and whether or not it was recommended for my dog based on her lifestyle (it turns out that my mostly indoor city dog did not actually need every single shot available). I usually see Dr. Marheine who is always wonderful, but I’ve also seen other vets there a couple of times due to availability and they were also great. Like many people, my pets are part of my family and it is a comfort to have found a place that I really believe has my animals’ best interests at heart.

J

J Patterson

This place came on the recommendation of a friend of mine who brought her bulldog in for the couple years she lived in Milwaukee. We just got a similar bully breed puppy, so I felt comfortable with making an appointment. When we got in, the staff seemed really low energy and they were running about 20 minutes behind schedule. This was fine though because we understand that when youre dealing with animals, you cant always be on time. When we were called in, the vet tech continually referred to our boy puppy as a "her" even though he looked over the chart with us as he was standing in the room. As a any pet owner would feel, we were a little annoyed by this. When the vet came in, she seemed a bit flustered but she immediately fawned over our puppy and gave him a lot of nice attention. The exam was average. He had come home from the breeder with a stomach bacteria, so we needed to test if he was over that or not yet. He also still had runny poop, so we were worried about that. As the exam was going on, the vet mentioned that a puppy had just died in the clinic (why would you tell new puppy parents that??) and then proceeded to tell us that with the bulldog breed comes many different health issues so wed have to be careful (again, even though we knew this, telling us that a puppy just died and that our dog was prone to health issues did not put us at ease during our first visit). She prescribed us Science Diet adult dog food (for our puppy) and didnt really give us a reason why other than, our current food brand might be too rich (but why give a puppy adult dog food?). As 530pm neared, the vet seemed to abruptly wrap up and push us out the door. We still had a lot of questions, but felt like we werent really getting any answers because she was trying to wrap things up. The vet was nice and definitely had a love for animals, but she was far too disorganized and all over the place to answer any questions. We ended up leaving with about a $300 bill, "prescription" dog food (upsell) and a lot of anxiety. From some of the negative reviews Ive read, Id have to agree that this place will definitely try to get the most amount of money they can from you. Lots of upsells, lots of "well, if I were you, I would do this..." types of things that make you feel pressured to spend the extra dollars on things you know you dont need. Maybe it was a fluke day for everyone there, but maybe not. Were not sticking with them to find out though.

A

A Private User

Worst, most unethical business I have ever patronized. My dog recently broke his leg and they were unable to help us because they were booked for the day so we went to the Animal ER on Silver Spring instead. Dr. Keefe called me after my dog had been attended to and was home. She told me that I could come in at any point if we needed assistance in our dog’s recovery. For the first 7 day checkup my husband suggested we go back to small animal because it was closer. So I called ahead of time to set up the appointment and verify that they would be able to recast our dog. The lady was SO rude to me over the phone, telling me that she has worked there for five years and has never seen a dog have a cast put on there and that I had no idea what I was talking about. I asked to her to speak to Dr. Keefe directly to verify. Once she came back onto the phone she proceed to insult me more by stating I told you so, we dont cast here. I hung up and called my husband to relay the information. He explained to me that we may be incorrect with type of bandage that was on our dog and called back and scheduled the appointment, with the front desk lady, assuring us it was a splint and they can fix it there. The following day I bring my dog in for his appointment, they take his temperature and weigh him and tell me the dr. will be right in. She takes one look at the cast and says "Nope we dont have the tools to remove the cast, let alone put a new one on, we only do splints here"........ So I pick my dog up and walk out. The front desk lady stops me and says "Excuse me; you need to pay your bill". Im say for what!? I told her Im never coming back and she snaps back "isnt that what you said last time?" GRRR I was livid. I then took my dog back to the ER where they fixed him up and were very fair with their prices. To me, it is extremely unethical to lie, be rude, condescending and completely insensitive. I had recently taken him there to be neutered and was an honest paying customer. I would NEVER EVER go back there. Do yourself a favor, never patronize this horrible place.