Barcus, Dr. Christina

     I took my 12 year old pug to this vet for his annual shots and to check out some lumps he had recently developed around his neck.  This was my first visit here and I was not impressed.  I liked the facility and the lack of exam tables and the fact that the walls of each exam room were glass to help keep the patients more at ease.  The Dr. was nice enough and explained her philosophy on several areas before taking my dog to a back room for the exam.  I wasn't really a fan of that but it didn't bother me until I heard him make a loud yelp when they were finishing.  She didn't explain it other than to say he didn't like the exam.  Again, not a big deal at the time as that's not that out of the ordinary.  However, she diagnosed him with either lymphoma or an infection in one of his teeth.  She said she couldn't really examine his teeth very well but suggested we schedule a cleaning right away.  She prescribed an antibiotic and asked me to come back in a week to see if the antibiotic worked.  The shots were done and they tried to pressure me to get an additional one for kennel cough even though I explained he's never boarded.  That week my dog was not doing well and by January 10th I had to go to the emergency vet (Premier)  because he was obviously in pain.  They examined him for about a minute before saying that ALL his lymph nodes were enlarged not just the ones in the throat area which is a clear sign of lymphoma.  I opted for pain medicine rather than chemo and took him home.  By that Monday (the 12th) he didn't seem to be doing all that great so I called Dr. Barcus to see if there was a different medicine worth trying. She would only give me one if I brought him back in for an exam.  I pointed out that would be 3 exams in 10 days and suggested she reach out to the emergency vet to see what they saw in their exam as opposed to hers.  She said she already had the paperwork from the exam but it didn't seem clear (it was clear enough for me to read) and she made no offer to follow up with them.  I declined to bring him back to her and called the emergency vet back who suggested upping the dose.  She also offered to write a different prescription if that still didn't work.  Her suggestion helped and he lived out his last days in reasonable comfort before passing this past Sunday. 
     This leaves me with two possibilities.  Either this Dr. missed the fact all his lymph nodes were enlarged which is a problem as the emergency vet seemed surprised by that (and made no mention of a possible tooth infection).  Or this Dr. decided to get a $300 visit out of me before getting me back in a week for the lymphoma diagnosis leading to more money spent.  All the while giving my dog unneeded shots and letting him suffer for the week.  It's terrible to come to this conclusion but it's not surprising as some vets that I have dealt with in this area seem to be driven by profit and this one certainly seems to be no exception. 

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For the previous 4 years, Dr. Barcus had been our vet for an older shelter dog. She was always very helpful, explaining what needed to be done and why. Once, the dog tore a ligament when I was on vacation. I went to a vet near there, who told me it would require a very expensive operation. Dr. Barcus said that the tear wasn't really bad, the dog did not need an operation, she just needed short walks and no running off-leash in which her leg would be twisting (tight turns, for example). Although the dog was never able to go on long walks without pain, she was able to keep walking. She didn't need the operation, and I know that major bone/ligament operations are a huge stress to a dog and difficult for them to recover from, so I think not operating made my dog's last couple of years much higher quality. Dr. Barcus offers advice, and can be pretty blunt about your dog's need to diet or what you need to do in some emergency when you are panicking. But she cares about dogs, and the advice she offers is what you should do anyway. She really knows dogs. They are all she works with. She runs her own business and is there a lot, even though she has her own family and 4 dogs. She is admirable.

We used to use her services. She's the one who cared for both of our dogs before they passed away. We loved her. She was very approachable. Her practice is very spacious and clean. Her staff and herself are very friendly and compassionate. They really work with you and talk to you, so that you understand what's going on and you're making the best decision you can for you're animals. When you go to most of the offices, you have to pick your dog up and put him on the exam table but I was really impressed with the fact that they do not have an exam table. They just have mats laid out on the floor. So it's a lot less stressful for you're animals. When you know you're animals aren't stressed out, then you're not so stressed out. They don't even do the shots in front of you. They take them in the back and do it, and bring them right back out. They were just incredible with the final trip on either one of them. They were just incredible. They stood and cried with me. Dr Barcus was great. The price is hard to estimate because we had so many costs involved and I don't really know what the standard office visit would cost because nothing was ever typical for us. It was a while ago and I don't even know what the basic appointment is these days. She even gave us her phone number; so that even when the practice was closed I could call her at home. She told me what to do when my dog was crashing with diabetes. She was amazing. We will absolutely use her services again in the future.

Fantastic! She is patient, clear, concise, seeks options and has a wonderful demeanor. I had been going to another vet in the area who was VERY expensive. The woman there was very nice and the man a total jerk! My stomach sensitive guy has been vomiting off and on for years. The prior Vet tossed him a bunch of treats then said let's do x-rays. X-rays came back and were unclear becz of all the treats in his belly. At which point he said the only thing we could do is cut him open for exploratory surgery, est $3500. I took him to Dr. Barcus along with x-rays taken. She could see there didn't appear to be anything internally wrong, discussed his diet and said we're feeding him the wrong stuff and too much at one time. She took a long, patient time with us explaining labels and what we'd been feeding him. We left with samples and several more options to try if that doesn't work. She said no way would we operate at this point. My other dog was as expected, getting old and deaf. As a side note, I asked her prices for a muscle supplement that was ridiculously high at the other Vet. She took the time to review what he'd been getting and I discovered it hadn't been a supplement but a pain killer diagnosed at twice the rec'd amount for his size! And, the cost was double what she charges for the rx. So, I had been getting ripped off for 3 years but far worse, I'd been turning my dog into an overdosed pain killer junkie! I never left my prior Vet for less the $200 a visit, here $96. I am SO angry at the past 3 years and SO HAPPY at finding Dr. Barcus, I got education, great info, samples and peace of mind for $96. The Vet, office, staff, environment, experience was great!!

My dog recovered fully within a few months, about the same time as surgical recovery would take -- and with the added bonus that his limp from hip displasia is gone, too. Both of my dogs go to Dr. Barcus for their routine care, now. She's incredible -- patient, kind, and seems to have an intuitive understanding of dogs. She examines dogs on the floor, instead of on a cold metal table. Her rates are very reasonable for vets in this area.

I like the facility and I like Dr. Barcus. I think she has a really efficient operation. I have referred them to my friends and I like that they inform you very well of what they are doing and why. One thing that is really cute is they take a picture of your dog, so that they can have a picture I.D.

This is an excellent vet and office. Our dog competes in agility and when she pulled up lame in a class, another student suggested we go there. Not only has she helped our aging dog with arthritis but she saw on the first visit that our dog had signs of hypothyroidism. Since then she has seen our dog for regular visits and some illnesses. The care and caring could not be better.

I could not possibly be more impressed with Dr. Barcus, her staff, and her office. The open design of the exam rooms (No exam tables!) is great and puts my dogs at ease. The costs are low to middle-of-the-road for veterinarians in the area, and what you get for the cost is amazing. You never feel rushed, the office is never crowded, I leave with a goodie-bag of freebies each time and the dogs get photo ID cards w/their vaccination records imprinted on them. How nice! I urge anyone with a dog to scope out this hospital, it's great. Please note that this Vet only works on dogs.