Northside Veterinary Hospital

unknown

Did not go well...at all. I agree with one of your reviewers. Are not responsive to cats at all. My cat had a growth on her leg. This turned into a very negative result of the test they did. I was emotionally drained and don't feel I got much sympathy from them. At the suggestion they remove the growth, they indicated they would prefer not to due to her health issues. They stood back from her carrier like she had typhoid. My cat was one of the sweetest you'd ever meet. The general feeling you are left with when you (I) bring in a cat, is they'd rather not examine one. The attitude coupled with the lack of emotional response was the death knell on this vet. On this particular visit, I literally left their office and drove directly to The Norman Cat Clinic. I was met with care, concern, and none of the stand-off attitude I received at Northside. They gave me the options on her health and were prepared to do whatever was necessary. When Northside first opened, they gave tours of their place. The girl that took me through the facility was complaining about the cats meowing and that she didn't like cats. This from some cats in a cage about 4 feet away from dogs. THAT should have been the first red flag before I went back. I was trying to save my cat the stress of a 30 mile trip. One other incident that floored me...I took my cat in for shots. Shouldn't have been a problem. I'm sitting in waiting room, covered her carrier with towel, so the dogs wouldn't freak her out. All of a sudden, a door bursts open, a large German Shepherd comes out in an extremely aggressive manner at another large dog. It was frightening. When that was over, I asked the girl at desk, if there was a separate area I could wait with my cat. She told me I could wait in the car and they could call me. If you are going to deal in small animals, and you building these complexes, why can you not do a small area for cats???

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unknown

We went in for a scheduled appointment for our puppies booster shots. Everything went great! Shaun is one of the nicest people at Northside and is very professional and courteous. Nothing to complain about and we will take our puppies back here again.

Northside was recommended to me specifically because my cat is extremely difficult to handle with regard to health care. The referrer encouraged me to use Northside because supposedly they were known for their patience and high quality care, and even kept a and quot;cat whispererand quot; on board. SInce prior to my move, my cat had been diagnosed with some potentially troubling health concerns, I was anxious to find a good vet that would be able to handle her effectively without taking her hatred of all things veterinary personally. I was very disappointed in Northside. When I arrived for my appointment, the technicians attempted to give my cat her annual shots while still in the waiting room in her carrier and send me home. I am still somewhat shocked that they would suggest this for an animal they have never seen, particularly when I specifically stated multiple times that this appointment was her annual checkup. I refused. I was kept waiting for some time, during which several patients were seen. The exam rooms are behind doors, but the top is open, allowing people in the waiting area to hear most of the conversation occurring. Several times, I heard arguing, including one client reduced to tears after being yelled at by the vet. Granted, from what I could glean and had seen, the animal in question had been pretty severely neglected. When I was finally shown to a room, I warned the techs that they would probably need towels as my cat would put up a fight. This is standard procedure for me, and I fully understand the need to use reasonable restraint/force to control my cat and prevent anyone from being injured. The techs seemed uncomfortable with this, and did not appear to know how to remove my animal from the carrier. They finally unscrewed it, and did wrap her in a towel. As expected, she put up a fight during her exam. She has always put up a fight. I have never had a vet who took this personally, and indeed, my last veterinarians were wonderful with her and worked hard to be as thorough as possible in spite of her unfortunate behavior. This veterinarian seemed very irritated that my animal was difficult. She complained the entire time she was doing the exam, and after only a few brief moments, threw up her hands and stated my cat was impossible and she could not do anything with her. She further suggested sedation, which none of my past vets have ever had to resort to for a simple physical. She then proceeded to attempt to blame the cat's behavior on me and on the care the cat had received in my parents' home for the past year. It was very clear she was annoyed by my animal, and perhaps by being asked to do the exam instead of just the shots. She was knowledgeable about my cat's condition and the health concerns I brought up. However, when I mentioned the cat has a very sensitive stomach and has vomited her entire life from the time she was weaned, the vet also attempted to blame this problem solely on me, stating that the cat had hairballs and this was my fault and I needed to get it under control. I've no doubt she does have hairballs, but based on other things I have tried in the past and her overall medical history, I am fairly sure that the problem is more complex than that. I also did not care for the repeated implication that all the cat's issues, both medical and behavioral, were because I am not a good pet owner. My animals are well cared for and, as much as possible, well trained. I was extremely disappointed in this vet's impatience and unprofessionalism. While I know the cat is crazy, she has certainly still had competent and caring vets in the past that were able to demonstrate professional handling of her and showed concern for her health and welfare. I will not be taking either of my animals back to Northside.

I made the appointment this morning and was able to come in the same day. I was running a little late, of course, so I called to let them know. It was no problem for them. Everyone was very nice. The assistant weighed the dogs and we (my dogs and I) were escorted to an examination room. Dr. Keith came in and performed all the examinations. She has no fear of big dogs and was very gentle. Every time she recommended a procedure or medication, she was considerate of the expense involved. It was the best experience I have had with a veterinary hospital in the state of Oklahoma. I am normally very critically, but I cannot find one thing to complain about their overall service. I had a coupon for an AKC complimentary exam for the rottweiler puppy; however, I was also given a and quot;good client discountand quot; for my other dog on my first visit.