Exceptional Care for Animals

Very well.

She and her staff were always kind and reassuring to my dog and me.

The entire staff at this Emergency Clinic is fantastic: The administration, the front desk people, the techs and the doctors. They are the most caring and compassionate folks. They treated me like family...family that they liked! My dog also was treated very very well. Dr. mark Koeppl and Dr. Jordy Waller are a real find. A clinic would be lucky to have just one of these fine docs, but this one had both of them.

I hope your dog never needs Emergency Care, but if he/she does, I wouldn't hesitate to take them to this clinic. You won't be sorry you did.

Our cat's appetite had been a bit off, and we had planned to contact his vet on Monday. However, he became worse on Saturday night, wanting only to curl up motionless, so we took him to the ECA. Eric, a former stray, became panicky at the clinic, but the staff took this in stride. They gave him a mild sedative to facilitate examination. When we picked Eric up, they gave us plenty of time to ask questions. Eric already seemed more comfortable when he returned home in the wee hours, and he improved steadily over the next few days. He has had no recurrences. The ECA phoned promptly with follow-up lab results, which tended to support what they hoped and suspected was true: This was a transitory episode. Given the intensive testing and treatment Eric received, we thought the bill was very reasonable. As always, the written summary of Eric's care we received was very useful.
We have taken a dog and several cats to the ECA over a period of 20 years, and we cannot save enough good about this emergency facility. The ECA is staffed by vets and assistants who are kind as well as competent. They are patient with anxious owners as well as with animals. They saved a beloved cat's life on one occasion, detecting a problem that a regular vet had missed. Like many, we have also had occasions when the pet was beyond help. At those sad times, it helps to feel that you are among professionals who care--and they do. We view the ECA as a Madison institution and recommend the clinic highly to owners seeking quality emergency treatment for their pets.

Here's one thing that this facility did that I will always remember; the dog was a beloved member of the family and his unexpected loss was very h****** all of us. The manager of the animal hospital called shortly after his death, not to express sympathy but for payment.

They were wonderful! We drove over wondering if the 17 yr old cat would need to be put to sleep. Apparently the cat has some bruising but had not seriously injured herself and was able to walk soon after we arrived at the vet hospital. They brought her out, were very gentle and reassuring. The vet, Dr. Mark K was extremely kind and helpful. They did what they could to make her comfortable and we took her home.

I had two horrible pet accidents in one year, and both times went to the Emergency Clinic for Animals. I'd known someone who worked as a tech there years ago and remembered how much she respected the main guy, Dr. Mark Koeppel (sp?). In the spring, our cat got into some sewing thread and swallowed a ton of it. By the time we realized what had happened, he was howling with pain. I took him in, and Mark realized right away what was happening--the thread was still wrapped under the cat's tongue. He showed us, explained all of our options (very nonjudgmental), explained the prognosis (might pass it on his own though it's unlikely, surgery could take care of it, or intestines might be perforated and it's 50/50 surgery will fix it), estimated the costs we were looking at (possibly as high as $3000, which turned out to be accurate). Again, very nonjudgmental--they realize their services are expensive and not everyone can afford it. At the same time they're very compassionate and caring. We opted for surgery and they immediately took him back to do whatever they could to save him. And they did. Mark is an amazing vet. Intestines were bound up in thread like an accordion--he got it all out without perferorating. He saved the clump of thread so we could see what he took out. During the cat's recovery he kept in touch with us, updating us on how he was doing and when we could take him home. Again, everything is the owner's prerogative--they even gave us the choice of how long to keep the cat hospitalized, let us know their recommendation and let us make the choice. I can't say enough about how comforting it was to entrust the cat to these caring, professional people. So, when my beloved, neurotic dog ran out into the street and was hit and pinned under a pickup truck six months later, I didn't hesitate to take her straight to the Emergency Clinic. Given the hour of the day, I could have taken her to my regular vet, whom I adore, but when I saw her crushed leg I knew she needed a surgeon and I carried her into the car and drove straight to ECA. I said "she's been hit by a car" and they asked no questions--took her back immediately and checked that she was in stable condition with no internal injuries that needed care before they came to talk to me. Such a relief to get her there--I knew she was safe. Her leg was a mess, but her organs were ok, no internal bleeding. Piecing her leg back together took emergency surgery--her tendons were shredded, so she needed new artificial ones, plus several screws to hold the bones together. She was in a cast for months, but she was practically good as new after the long recovery. Luckily, once I realized I was the sort of person who would drop thousands of dollars on vet care (after the cat's surgery) I'd gotten pet insurance, which ended up reimbursing me for more than half the almost $4000 cost of surgery and follow-up care. Filing claims takes a lot of documentation on the vet's part--describing in detail exactly what was done, even what type of screws they put in her bones--I really appreciated their efforts to help me get reimbursed. It's no skin off their nose, since I pay up front. Again, incredibly compassionate, professional, competent care from start to finish, from the vets to the techs. They're always there for you (24/7, which is why the prices are so high) and when I needed them, I was so grateful that they were.

Overall, this clinic does wonderful work. Their vets and vet techs were all very sensitive to our needs and took wonderful care of our cats. In april 2008 we did have to euthanize our cat Alex at this clinic, and they were very sensitive and kind to us about our experience. The clinic requires full payment at the time of services, which is understandable. However, this can be a serious burden on the families of the patients.

They've done an excellent job. The fee is higher than a regular vet; but the service is there when you need them. I'd rather pay a bit more and get my pet back to health than deal with a dead dog. I've been very grateful for this group!! Plus, this clinic takes care of wildlife as well and, I'm not sure, but this may be more of a charity thing. All in all, these people (from receptionist, techs, doctors) have done an excellent job. I'm very grateful we have such a place. For an emergency, they fit the ticket. They take care of business and treat the animals well. So, bite the bullet if you must when you get the bill (the price isn't that unreasonable!). Emergency rooms for people are more expensive too.

Prices are probably reasonable overall because emergency services are always expensive. The first vet at ECA missed some of the foreign object embedded in my dog during the initial surgery and about 6 weeks later, my dog developed a severe infection and again required surgery. Dr. Koeppl performed the 2nd surgery and saved my dog's life, but unfortunately, I had to pay for 2 surgeries.