The Animal Medical Center

This is the place to go in an emergency. My dog was minutes away from being lost, after infesting vitamins to the point of seizures that put him in a coma. These doctors reacted immediately upon his arrival, took the best care, and because of them I still have my pup, fully recovered.

Multiple visits with very ill 2 yr old dog, myasthenia gravis and megaesophagus. Received excellent care, top of the line expertise, complete explanation, review of scans/xrays, answers to all questions, written instructions, telephone calls returned for clarification, consistently, each and every time. Everyone who works there has been simply beyond our wildest dreams - from handlers to night duty nurses to doctors. If only human hospitals could be this effective, efficient, compassionate. We are eternally grateful.
I just read a review about cleanliness - are we talking about the same place?? In our experience the place is immaculate. Our dog has vomited etc. right in the middle of the waiting room because of poor muscle control and that instant the staff cleaned it up. No odors ever, and we have been there quite a bit, unfortunately. Cost is reasonable for what you get.

I never leave comments but this experience has change not only my life but my over all outlook on every single veterinarian hospital or clinic I will ever visit in the future.

Avoid at all cost Dr.Sara lefman she was the veterinarian who killed my dog!!!!!!

It is a teaching hospital so most likely the first person who will exam your pet will have no idea what is going on. They charge you 170.00 for just the visit with out them even examing your pet. If they need to clean anything with there hands like dirt or an injury they charge you 40.00 extra even if they only used water. The real doctor or veterinarian is extremely busy and does not have time to clearly explain anything that is going on unless you interrogate them with questions. They will only recommend you to undergo a large amount of uneccary test that has nothing to do with what is really going on. They brush you off and ignore your concerns or give you little to no effort in responding to your questions. The biggest thing you need to concern yourself with is the hiden fees. You need to constantly ask how much everything will cost and never asume that anything they do is free no matter how minor it is. They are quick to recommend you to schedule an appointment which cost 180.00 non refundable for a consitation. Which I found very questionable because in the consitation all they do is repeat exactly what was told to you already upond your first visit. There is no way around it if you wish to pursue any actions with them. While in the emergency department, the veterinarian who was taking care of my pet (M,14y, Maltese) proscribed me an extremely strong antibiotic even though i had explained to her previously more then 3 times how weak his immune system was and his history of side effects after taking antibiotics. She then established to me that it was one of the weakest dosage and would effect him different leaving him with little to no side effects and that i shouldnt be concerned. After two days his condition had worsen significantly so I instantly had stopped giving him the medication. I saught a second opinion at another veterinarian hospital on the second day. To my suprised i was informed that the medication proscribed to me was the strongest antibiotics out there and it had a high probability of negative side effects which of course was not explained to me by the previous vet examiner in the emergency clinic. The medication made my dog vomit and poop uncontrollably and caused him to become extremely ill to the point that he refused to eat or drink for up to 4 days. What makes this situation that much worse is the fact that not only did I urge my concerns about my dog recieve antibiotics due to his history and the current condition he was already in. But she gave me a false sense of reasurance and continuously encouraged me to take the medication proscribed by her without recommending me any pain killers or antinausea medications even though she was aware of how much pain my dog was in and how high the risk of side effects were. By the time I found out what was the real reason behind his illness it was already too late. The damages caused were too great and now I am being recommend to put him down since he will not be able to survive any other procedures due to his condition. With that being said I am not claiming the possiablily that this out come would have been avoidable but if I had not taken my dog to this clinic he would have had a n extremely better chance of survival. DO NOT TAKE YOUR PET TO THIS HOSPITAL!!!! No matter how friendly they appear or how much interest and concern they show it is all fake. All they care about is money!!!! This was the only clinic available at 12am in the morning and I was desperate to seek help and they took advantage of my situation. No other clinic charges this much for just a visit! PLEASE READ ALL THE REVIEWS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU END UP MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE AND LIVING YOUR LIFE WITH SO MUCH REGRET.

The vets are knowledgeable but I wouldn't say the same for the staff behind the desk. Called and asked a specific question regarding my dog's possible prognosis since my dog and I were there late last night, this person who answered the phone couldn't answer my question nor helped me in any way. The brain stops at I don't know. Not one supervisor on duty. I understand it's late night but have at least a manager on duty.

I saw some of the negative reviews here and felt like I should comment because I have been bringing my pets here since about 1996, either for overnight emergencies when our regular vet isn't available, or for specialist care. I have had good experiences with the ophthalmology, neurology and cardiac specialists, among others. Dr. Django Martel, in dentistry, has recently been very good and attentive when two of my dogs had to have a large number of teeth pulled.

As far as waiting, sometimes I have waited hours for a non-life-threatening emergency appointment. I'm prepared for that. I feel the staff is good about keeping me up to date about what's going on. There's a sign in the waiting room saying you can check in after 20 minutes, so I always do. In life-threatening emergencies, I've always been seen immediately. For instance, when my elderly Pekingese was laboring for breath in 2006, the person at reception stood up, looked at him in my arms and immediately called for emergency assistance. Medical staff came out and whisked Chubbs away and stabilized him that night and the next day. He had been very sick with a variety of problems for a long time, and I stayed up all night at home wondering if this was the end. When I spoke to a doctor the next day, she described his condition (slightly improved) and what she thought they could do and the limitations of that. When I said I had decided that this was the end, she said she agreed that was a good choice. I appreciated that she didn't push me towards euthanasia -- which was probably the obvious answer to her, as it was to pretty much anyone who saw this dog -- but let me decide on my own and then supported the decision.

It's true they can lose some things. My dog's collar did get lost during that final visit and I was a little shocked to get it in the mail without warning a few months later. I think it only ended up staying on him in the first place because everything happened so quickly. I've noticed on my other appointments that they're always very careful to leave collars, leashes and carriers with me if I'm leaving my pets for any period of time. I'd say that's like a human hospital, where you don't want your personal items to be floating around. You should assume anything not nailed down will be lost. Take everything with you!

Chubbs had had an operation on an ulcerated eye not long before his final illness, and I appreciated that the eye surgeon found out about Chubbs's death and left a condolence message for me.

My next Peke, Henry, had a birth defect that caused cystic tissue in his paw to abscess. Pam Schwartz took a chance and operated on the paw using techniques normally applied to the ears of Cocker Spaniels, and greatly improved Henry's condition for many years. He went from literally nonstop foot infections to a twice yearly flare-up.

The AMC is expensive, though sometimes less expensive than my regular vet. It depends on the service. Basically, when I bring my animals to the AMC it is because there are no other possibilities, so I just accept it for what it is. I feel pretty lucky that I can get help any time of the day or night, and that there are people to help with obscure health problems that might lead to euthanasia otherwise. If it is possible for you, I recommend using their Credit Card Express service, where they keep your credit card on file. That way, when your pet is ready to leave the hospital, you can go immediately instead of waiting to pay while struggling with a fussy animal or while feeling personally upset due to bad news. It doesn't help reduce the actual costs, obviously, but emotionally it is a better experience not to be talking about money right at a difficult moment. You approve costs for big procedures ahead of those procedures, so they don't come as a shock to you after.

Finally, thanks to the ER staffer who kept a straight face when I brought in mu new kitten because he looked bloated and I was worried he had worms. It turned out that he had just been eating like a little pig and had a fat belly.