College Park Animal Hospital

Very good service.

Doctor and staff were excellent. Gave comprehensive info, did tests, made recommendations and dog is doing well. Really appreciated patience with answering all my questions

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I have always found the staff of College Park Animal Hospital to be extremely caring and helpful. Over the years, I have put four dogs in their care. The front desk staff have always been personable and have always made time for me when I needed to bring one of my dogs for emergency treatment. Dr. Thomas McMichael is the Chief Veterinarian there and you can tell how much he cares for each individual patient as well as their owner. I have found this to be true of all staff members at CPAH.

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I love Dr. Michaels. He's great.

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Rather than write up a review of the last service, I'd like to give a general review of CPAH.
Over the last 14 years, I have taken my three cats to CPAH. Because I've never used another animal hospital, I can't comment on whether they are expensive (although I have heard that there are cheaper animal hospitals) but I think the quality of service at CPAH is fantastic.
I've always been able to get a quick appointment when needed; my precious (and sometimes ill-behaved) cats are handled gently and with respect; and the docs listen carefully to my observations and consider them during the exam. When needed, they have referred me to excellent specialists and forwarded the relevant paperwork in advance. When the end of life arrived for two of my girls, all staff members were kind and compassionate.
If they treated humans, they'd be my doctors.

Per usual, the visit went very well. The appointments are almost always right on time (and sometimes early if you arrive early.) As my dog is known by the front office staff, he gets a warm hello as he enters and they have a chat because my dog is a chatty dog. I've used this vet for 10 years now and appreciate how they greet all their patients (pets and humans). I also want to note that this vet practice works with a few rescue organizations at reduced rates and it's through them that I became involved in rescue myself.
We saw our usual vet, Dr. Beck. She has become one of my favorite people in the animal world for her generosity, compassion, and her skill with the animals. My first encounter with her was many years ago when she was desperately trying to save the life of my Rottie when his internal tumor had ruptured. Unfortunately, it was just too much for him and he passed. I believe she took it almost as hard as I did and I'll never forget her efforts or how she genuinely cared for him. Since that day, I've seen her show the same devotion to so many other animals through my rescue work. She is gentle with the animals during their exams, thorough in her evaluations and in her approach to possible problems, and she is able to explain things clearly to the humans. She had to counsel me through some very tough decisions and her advice has made all the difference. She's an excellent find and my go-to doctor through those shared experiences. That said, Dr. McMichael is also very good and i don't hesitate to take my animals to see him if Dr. Beck is unavailable. There are two more vets in the practice that are relatively new but I haven't had any experiences with them yet. I hear good things though.
As for THIS visit... my dog is fit as a fiddle and his teeth are GREAT!

The treatment of the heart condition was delayed by three weeks, until I did some reading on the Internet and called the vet about a possibility of congestive heart failure. Because the treatment was delayed, I ended up taking Smokey to an ER, where he died after a shot of Ketamine was administered to him. The vet at College Park Animal Hospital received a formal letter of censure from the State Vet Board for "failing to identify" Smokey's heart condition. However, before I filed a complaint with the Board, I confronted the College Park Animal Hospital owner and medical director, Thomas McMichael, who became defensive and very unpleasant with me and my whole family. He banned four people from volunteering with sick rescue dogs boarded at the clinic by the rescue group we were all volunteering for at the time. Very sad.

In January 2008, my old cat, Smokey, became very ill. I took him to CPAH three times and twice to the ER. CPAH missed a serious and potentially life threatening heart condition in Smokey, even though it was obvious on the X-rays taken by one of its vets (recognized immediately by the emergency vet on the X-ray taken at CPAH). As a result, Smokey deteriorated quickly without any medication for over two weeks.
Alarmed by Smokey's symptoms, I began doing reading on the Internet, which lead me to believe that Smokey might have a serious heart disease and should be treated urgently. I called CPAH, and one of the vets there agreed to put Smokey on rescue medication and refer him to a cardiologist. The medication started helping Smokey right away, but it was still necessary to take him to the ER on January 29th, where he died after a sedative was administered to him. Had the rescue medication been given when the heart condition was first apparent on the X-ray, the fateful trip to the ER may not have been necessary.
One of the veterinarians treating Smokey at CPAH admitted missing the condition; to reward her honesty, I did not file a complaint with the State Board against her. The other veterinarian, however, and the owner of the hospital, Thomas McMichael, refused to acknowledge that mistakes were made. To add insult to injury, the owner became defensive and vindictive against me and my family. He has distorted facts, given me false medical explanations and when I confronted him, began stonewalling. As a result of my complaint, the Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners issued a letter of censure to one of the two staff vets in question and quot;concerning his failure to recognize cardiomegaly and increased pulmonary interstitial pattern on the thoracic radiographs taken of and quot;Smokeyand quot; on January 8, 2008.and quot; According to the letter I received from the Board, prior to accepting the censure this vet and quot;participated in classes offered at a regional conference as a means of improving his ability to read radiographs and ultrasounds.and quot; The letter from the State Board also stated that a letter of censure is a matter of public record.

More important than this single visit is the fact that our family has been taking our various pets (which list, over time, has included 4 dogs, a cat, and two birds) to CPAH for over 22 years. Certainly convenience is one factor (the house is within a 2-minute walk of the hospital), but we've always been very impressed with the doctors and staff, their obvious knowledge and concern for us and our and quot;critters,and quot; and the overall feel of the place. CPAH has been around for many years, and has developed a loyal clientele of pet owners. In addition, Dr. McMichael works with several area rescue groups, and the City and County animal control people - all of whose personnel speak very highly of the efforts College Park Animal Hospital put forth on behalf of such organizations.
I'm pleased to be able to review/rate CPAH and recommend them highly to anyone located in the general College Park/N. Prince George's County area.

The vets are really nice. They know their stuff. You can get an appointment quickly. They are very prompt, and professional. I will continue to use their services.

Obviously it's impossible to recall every visit to CPAH we've made in the last 20+ years, yet, in thinking about it, I've realized the only times I've had any negative experiences there involved clients' unwillingness to control their pets in the waiting room. But even in those couple of situations, the hospital staff quickly and firmly corrected things.

When it opened over 25 years ago, the hospital was on an almost-rural section of Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue) in College Park, just south of the Beltway interchange. The growth in that area has been breathtaking, so the CPAH building is now surrounded by lots of retail establishments, a shopping center, restaurants, and traffic. Their excellent reputation is well established, however, so clients readily seek out CPAH.

It will sound trite to say this, but our family, neighbors and local friends wouldn't dream of taking pets anywhere else for veterinary care.

I was not impressed. The exam was not thorough. The staff do not seem particularly interested in the pets. Overall, I am not impressed and will look for another veterinarian.

I have been using them for the past 40 years and they are very good. They also have reasonable prices. They know us and our animals seem to like going there. It is always very busy, so it is better to call ahead. Their location is so convenient and accessible.