ALPINE ANIMAL HOSPITAL

They’re a little bit higher priced than some of the other vets that I’ve had, but they’re excellent service. We have one doctor there that we know and knows our animals, so we are willing to pay that.

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It went really well. They are a 24 hour emergency hospital, which is one of the reasons I switched to them.

Very professional and nice to deal with. The vets we've worked with did a great job and worked well with our dogs. We've had to wait a long time sometimes, but this is when we've had to come in on an emergency and there happened to be a lot of other emergency situations at the same time. When we had an appointment for a regular checkup waiting wasn't a problem. The office is large and comfortable, lots of parking and easy to get to.

We live about 14 miles away, so we don't go to Alpine regularly. Usually go if we have an after hours dog emergency.

I brought my cat in to the emergency room on a Sunday evening when his breathing appeared fast and labored. He had recently been diagnosed with intestinal lymphoma by my regular vet (whose office was closed) and had started on chemotherapy. My cat was taken back to triage right away while the receptionist had me complete some paperwork. About fifteen minutes later, I met with the vet, Dr. Tara Grafwallner. She explained to me clearly what she thought was happening with my cat and her recommendations about what should be done. She answered my questions about why she was making certain recommendations and not others. (I have a medical background, and she handled all my questions in a very professional manner.) I was given a written, itemized estimate of the cost of the recommendations, with both a high and low range. My cat was hospitalized overnight. Dr. Grafwallner called me as promised a couple of hours after I left Alpine with the results of the tests (blood tests, chest x-ray and removal of fluid from his chest) as well as her prognosis. I called to check in on him the following morning and spoke directly with Dr. Jen Parker, the vet who had come on service and assumed care of my cat. She was also very professional. She suggested that I wait until the afternoon to pick him up to make sure he had stabilized. (It was no additional charge, since they charge by the half day, and he had already been there past half a day, so I was already paying for a full day there.) When I did come to pick him up, she met with me and my husband, and spoke kindly but very frankly about the seriousness of his condition and likelihood that he is rapidly deteriorating. We talked about quality of life issues, and pros and cons of different interventions with likelihood of success. In the end, we decided to have one more minor procedure done to make him more comfortable so he could go home and hopefully spend a few more good quality days with us. Ultimately, I had to take him in to our regular vet to be euthanized soon after discharge from Alpine. However, I felt that the vets and staff at Alpine had done a very good job of keeping me informed about treatment, made very sound judgements regarding recommendations, and provided very good care of my beloved cat. They were extremely kind, and even though I had not used them before, felt comfortable working with them in a and quot;crisisand quot; situation. They clearly recognized how difficult this situation was for me and my family and I think helped considerably in beginning the grieving process.
They are expensive, but I believe not really outside the typical range for these services. Health care, even for pets, is expensive. They were very clear with the explanation of charges, and there were no surprises or anything that I believed were unnecessary charges.
Although this was a very stressful, emotional and ultimately sad experience, I am very appreciative of the vets and staff at Alpine, first for being available for emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and for doing their job in a kind, caring and professional manner.

I like them because the doctors there are very knowledgeable and friendly. They are always willing to talk to me and explain the possible treatments. I don't think they have boarding facilities any more. They charge $40 for a standard office visit.