RIVERBEND VETERINARY CLINIC

My newest rescue dog had a broken off fang when I adopted him and I consulted with Dr. Aimee Shields, the dental specialist at Riverbend. I decided to have the tooth extracted before it got infected and painful. We scheduled the surgery and I was given an estimate of the cost. The surgery went well and even came in under the estimate. The discharge instructions were very detailed and clear. My dog recovered very quickly without any complications. I have been taking my dogs to Riverbend ever since I moved to the Upper Valley about 25 years ago. The vets and vet techs are all very professional and knowledgeable, as well as compassionate and easy to work with. In recent years my dogs have been seen and/or treated by Drs. Klein, Johnson, Whybrow, and Shields and they are all great. In 2010 I had a 12 year old dog that had some significant medical problems and was seen Kate Whybrow. Kate was incredibly supportive of both me and the dog and even called me on the phone a couple of times to follow up. The dog recovered and lived another year. In 2011 I had a 17 year old beagle mix who was near the end of his life. He was very nervous riding in the car so one of the vets came to our home to put him to sleep. After 25 years I have nothing but positive experiences with all of the staff at Riverbend.

Fourteen years ago I was bringing my aging dog to Riverbend. Their receptionist staff and vets at the time were not very cordial (and never were really) and after a few visits I finally was hooked up with a very caring Vet, (who is no longer there). I made sure subsequent appointments were always with the one and only caring vet at Riverbend. After a year or so my aging dog of fourteen years collapsed on my living room floor one morning. I called Riverbend and to my horror they were too busy to see her, it was a Saturday and they referred me to a vet many, many miles away and a vet I had never visited. My dog was probably 45 or more pounds when she collapsed and I could not pick her up to get her in the car on my own. I finally found a neighbor to help me get her in the car and drive her to this vet that I did not know and did not know where he was located (except by calling and getting directions, a very frantic call). My dog died on the way to this unknown vet, her spleen had burst and she bled to death.



Riverbend never did call me or send me a card or inquire about her death. A couple of months later I acquired another dog (who has recently passed away) and I stupidly brought her to Riverbend when she got ill after a month or so after I got her and amazingly the vet that saw her, not the caring vet that was employed by Riverbend at one time, was so very rude and uncaring. I do not know why I brought my new pup to them after what they did or more importantly did not do to my dog that died in my car on the way to a vet that I did not know. After that visit with my new pup I realized that this place is not the place to go for caring, professional care. Being ignorant of vet care at the time I thought and assumed that all vets were correct and that if they were rude to you it was because they knew more than you knew and were more caring than you were and that I was obviously wrong in my feelings. That is not true. Question everything. I have learned this now. Most vets I have had to work with are mostly mediocre. There are good vets out there and I have finally found one but Riverbend did not employ any at the time, the owners especially. Maybe this has changed now but if it is the same owners this is doubtful. I urge you all to not only look at their degrees but assess their personality. Do they seem to empathize with you? Will they go all out for your pet? Will they be there for you in a crisis like I had when my dog collapsed on the floor 14 years ago? Will they abandon you? If I knew now what I knew then I would have steered so far away from Riverbend. Perhaps, your experience is different from mine and I hope and pray so but this has been eating away at me for many years now and wanted to let people know this.

They are excellent. They know what they're doing.

I have always appreciated their medical knowledge and their compassion. My animals always felt comfortable in their care. As my golden got older, the most important things to me were that he would not be in pain, and have a good quality of life for as long as possible. When my dog had an infected tooth we discussed at length the pros and cons of operating, since he was 13 at the time. They referred me to another vet for the procedure as they thought that would be best for my dog. The operation was successful and for the better part of a year, he was like a new dog. When he lost control of his hind legs in February 2009, just a few months shy of his 15th birthday, they recommended Rymadil. The vet was very clear about the trade-offs. The drug provided excellent pain relief but over the long term would likely lead to kidney failure. I elected to give him Rimadyl and for the next 6 month or so he was happy and pain free. He fell again in October and this time, it was clear that he was not going to bounce back. Anyone who has ever had to make the decision to say goodbye to an old friend knows how hard it is. The staff at Riverbend, through all of our conversation over the last years of his life knew that I wanted what was best for him, regardless of what was easiest for me. They helped me reach the decision I needed to make, and gave me as much time as I needed to say my last good byes. I could not ask for better care for my animals.