Fairgrounds Animal Hospital

For the last 5 years of my dogs life I used Fairgrounds as my vet. To be completely honest I wasn't always totally satisfied with the way the office was run but I liked and trusted Dr'. Cox and Johnson. Cox is young and compassionate while Johnson is older and a bit gruff. The office itself is a bit rundown and has an old school feeling feeling about it, but having an elder dog that was only in need of an allergy shot once a month they did a decent job. What always made me uncomfortable was when I felt pressured to buy extra services that I knew were of no use. When my dog reached the age of 14 (2 years beyond his average life expectancy) they would push for blood work ups that were upwards of $300 or more. I understand that they should always offer but there was always this more than offer and more of 'sell' about it. After 5 years of spending over $100 a month at this vet my dog, now at the age of 16, appeared to have a stroke in the early hours of a weekday morning. Having had a dog that had a stroke before I saw the signs and was pretty sure that was what happened. I called as soon as they opened and was told there were no openings that day, but after being put on hold I was informed that Dr. Cox could see my dog at 1015am and there would be a surcharge of $60.00 because it was an emergency visit. We arrived at 1007am and called to let them know we were checking in and was told okay they would be out to get him. Mind you the entire time I have a dying dog in my backseat that I'm distraught about. Thirty minutes pass and no word from them so I call back only to be told that we didn't actually have an appointment but rather emergency visits are worked around scheduled appointments. I've made it clear to the receptionist the severity of the situation but this was the policy. After an hour and half of waiting they finally come get my dog. The worst fear comes true and the decision was made to put him down. Dr. Cox was kind enough to actually come outside and speak to us (myself and my partner) and explain the process. An employee followed with some papers for me to sign and collect my credit card. I asked the amount and was told the total was $197.00 including the basic euthanasia and communal ashes. Then I was told that only one person could be in the room due to Covid. That meant that my partner had to stay in the car while I went in and dealt with watching our dog of 16 years stop living. Okay, I get the Covid rules but I also know that a friend of mine just had their dog put down and he and his brother were allowed in the room at the same time. Their rules are their rules. A few days later I check my statement and I've been charged $89.00 for the 'emergency visit' and $197.00 for the procedure. I know there are stages of grief that one goes through and this set off my anger stage. After my being loyal to this vet for over 5 years and having spent literally thousands of dollars I felt like enough was enough. This place obviously cares much more about their bottom line than they do about customer service and loyalty. I called and spoke to Denise who is the office manager and expressed basically what I just stated. She said she would listen to the call that came in that morning and speak to the vet and call be back no later than two days. That was over a month ago and still no call. For me money is not the driving issue of this negative review it's the fact that the management of this clinic proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that their bottom line was worth much more than customer loyalty. I still have questions... like why was I given a time, 1015am, to be there when I actually didn't have an appointment at all? Why didn't I get the courtesy of getting a call back or even an e-mail? They send me e-mails all the time advertising that it's time for whatever it is that they want to sell so why can't I get an e-mail? Please, in honor of my guy, hurt this place in the only way they can be hurt and that is to not give them a dime of your money. It is all the management obviously cares about.

Everything went well. Stitches for dew claw removal come out next thursday.

Dr. Johnson is excellent. They have very reasonable prices. I have been using this vet for about 20 years now. I take all 4 of my dogs to him. My daughter and all of my friends now go to him and love him. He calls you himself if you have an ill pet, and he calls everyday to check in. He is a very honest vet. He even gives you his cell phone number, and makes house calls if he has to.