I have been going here since I moved to Colorado, however, after this experience I will never step foot here again. The lack of empathy, compassion, and accountability was cruel.
I had to put my girl down 2 weeks ago. Very unexpected, very sudden. I got a call today from Theresa at 11:59 am that her ashes had been returned and I could pick her up “at any time”. So I immediately left work to go get her. I showed up at 12:37 to a sign on the window that said they were closed from 12-2 for a meeting. I knocked and called and got no answer. 10 more seconds on the phone with me to say “oh by the way, we’re closed from 12-2, but you can get her anytime after that” or simply calling me after 2 to let me know I could pick her up would have saved me from the pain of going to go get my little girl only to not have her.
The cruelty doesn’t stop there. I returned at 2:30 to get my baby and was greeted by Ginger who apologized to me by saying “I’m so sorry you didn’t know what time we were open.” Placing the blame on me for not knowing. Nothing was posted on their social media or anything to let people know that they were closed for 2 hours randomly on a Tuesday.
I cannot believe the unprofessionalism and inhumanity I was shown by The Animal Doctor today. Adding insult to injury and then rubbing salt in the wound isn’t a great business practice. I would highly recommend going to another vet in the area. Especially if you are looking for kindness.
I held off writing this review until we got our other pup established with a new vet. I wish we hadn't waited so long.
Firstly, Dr. Stuart is genuinely wonderful and if he ever left this practice, I would follow him. But something changed on the front end when Amy left, some sense of warmth and care that used to be there. We brought our dogs here for over 7 years, so this isn't a snap judgment.
Last September, our senior dog stopped eating and was clearly nearing the end. I called the office, scared and unsure what to do, on a Saturday as they were closing for the weekend. The front desk was audibly annoyed that I kept calling. I just needed someone to help me figure out what to do for him. We eventually talked with Dr. Stuart when they opened on Monday about letting him go peacefully. After that conversation, no one ever called to check on us/him, or on how it went. Seven years of bringing him in, and no one seemed to notice, or care, that he was gone.
Not long after we lost him, our other senior dog tore her CCL and needed TPLO surgery. Again, no follow-up after her procedure. She wasn't recovering well; her sedation wasn't working and I couldn't keep her off the leg like we'd been told to. I was frightened and kept calling for guidance and again met with visible annoyance from the front desk. A newer employee kept mixing up messages, so I had to call back again and again just to get basic answers.
The final straw came when she needed a cancer follow-up and to see a specialist for recurring UTIs and we couldn't get her records released in time to schedule those appointments. I had to go to the office manager directly just to get them sent. After that, we switched her to another vet mid-treatment for the UTIs. To this day, no one from Animal Doctor has called to ask how she's doing or whether the UTIs resolved (it's been months). Which demonstrates to me how much they care for the animals they are entrusted with.
Dr. Stuart is the reason this review isn't harsher than it is. But losing our senior dog without so much as a follow-up call, after 7 years of trusting them with him, is something I don't think I'll stop feeling sad about.
At the end of the day, their negligence killed my dog. Her name was Bonnie and she was almost 11 years old. She had a huge mass and the team was extremely confident they could remove it, told us not to worry. For some reason, no one thought it was a good idea to test for her ability to clot. A senior dog, having major surgery, wasn’t tested to see if she could survive it. Bonnie bled out during surgery and we miss her every day. They didn’t charge us as I’m sure they know this was malpractice, but it doesn’t make anything feel better. Do your own deep research before procedures, because it ultimately falls on you.
This practice is very caring and empathetic. I always feel that we are partners in caring for my pets.
I have a very energetic ADHD dog. Dr. Stewart and his Tech, Nikki were fabulous with him, even got blood with very little fuss. We have been to 3 other hospitals with him and he has never been so well taken care of a nd comfortable as he was at the Animal Dr.
We definately have found the best vet for him!! We will continue to return to Dr. Stewart!!
