Cheat Lake Animal Hospital

I called around 10:30 last night because my cats bladder was blocked and I could not get in touch with my local vet. I was told to get at least 131.25 and bring the cat in because it was serious and they would help. It took me an hour to find someone to loan me 131.25 and then I drove a very stressful hour only to find the most cold heartless people ever. They informed me I spoke with a guy on the phone which I had not. They told me the guy explained to me the 131.25 only covered initial exam. They asked the living situation and how many other cats were in the home. I told them 2. She suggested (in front of my 14 year old son) that I should consider putting my almost 5 year old cat down because I have 2 other cats at home. I was in shock that she suggested that. I attempted the credit care crap they offered which did me no good. She again told me the best option was putting him down. I told her that wasnt an option I was willing to consider and asked what I needed to do to get him cathed. She then gave me an estimate for 3500 and said I needed half as a down payment at 3am. After getting upset they told me the lowest they would accept was 700 but she still suggested having him put down. I went out to my car and attwempted my local vet again who informed me to get my cat out of there immediately and to get him to her office at 8am. So I went in and told them I wanted to sign my cat out and take him to my local vet. She AGAIN informed me to take the "humane" way and put him down and she promised me that my cat would die before 8 am if I took him out of there. I was terrified that she wanted him put down so bad that she would poison him or something. I signed an AMA form and wrote my concerns on another page. I took my cat home and at 8 am at was at my local vet who was AMAZED at how well he looked. He said hes definitely blocked and needed cathed immediately but his color and alertness was good. He said my cat looked way better than he had imagined by reading the report. He thought I was bringing in a limp lifeless cat. He was slightly dehydrated but the Dr. said he was going to put him on fluid and cathe him and go from there. UPDATE on my cat that would not make it til 8am: The Dr. called and said Oscar is doing very well. He has the blockage out and the cath in place. Oscar is alert and comfortable. They checked his kidneys and although there was minor damage to his kidneys the Dr. said it is temporary. Once the urine gets flowing through properly again they should heal. Hes very hopeful that Oscar will be coming home to his family, his best friend (my 14 yr old son), soon where had I taken the advice of these awful, horrible, cold hearted, people I would have been taking a box home a little over 12 hours ago. If you go to this place please listen to your gut!!! Im so thankful I listened to my gut instead of these "experts" who thought because I had 2 other cats at home I would be ok with losing my cuddle buddy of 5 years, my play fighter, my kissy cat, my warmth on cold nights. The two girls who were there last night should be ashamed of themselves for making someone choose between their love for their family member and them not getting paid for 4 more days. Thats all I asked was to work with me for 4 days and Id have had the money. No just put him down because we dont do payments. Then as I was waiting for them to bring him to me this other customer says shes only putting so much down and will pay the rest in a few days. How ironic seeing how they dont allow that. Why wasnt she told to kill her friend? However this was a $131.25 lesson to NEVER use this place again. Just please be careful taking your pet here.

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They were fine; we had no problems. The price was fine; they are generally lower than the others. With regard to responsiveness, they are a little hard to reach sometimes. With regard to punctuality, they are pretty good. The paperwork is a little sloppy sometimes.

I am very thankful for this facility for two reasons. It's 24 hour emergency care and it's fantastic team of doctors. If I were rating this hospital on those two factors alone, I wouldn't have hesitated to give it straight A's. However, I must agree with a previous reviewer regarding the front desk staff. It has been my experience on most occasions that the FOH staff are indeed unfriendly and borderline rude. No one so much as cracks a smile when you walk through the door and I'm always left feeling that I have been an inconvenience to them in some way. I have literally waited at the desk for five minutes without even being acknowledged. Their services are apparently so much in demand that the and quot;customer experienceand quot; is not a priority.

On a more positive note, the quality of care my pet receives far outweighs this one negative aspect. I will continue to patronize this business because my pets health is worth more to me than my distaste for a poorly managed support staff.

They have a lot of Doctors available, they are open 24 hours for emergency visits and they seem very modern and they are willing do a lot to try and and help your pets.

They did very well. And, the vet is very professional, knowledgeable and caring.

I took my dog to Cheat Lake Animal Hospital to have her teeth cleaned and a check up. They were very professional and very nice to work with. After her appointment they called to check to see how she was doing. I am very pleased with the experience and will be taking her there in the future.

See above. The staff at both the boarding kennel and the vet hospital are outstanding - the best we have ever dealt with. We highly recommend them. When you leave, the only questions that remain unanswered are the ones you forgot to ask. They are that thorough. Any new dogs in our family will go here too.

I have used CLAH for the past 7 years for my cats and through a foster group. I used to love them, however since they shifted over to becoming an emergency hospital their people service has declined and I have questioned if they have even performed services charged for. This decline in quality and professinalism has been gradual. I know that they do a good job as an emergency vet and do save animal lives, however they are not nice to the people owners from what those who have had to use their emergency services have told me.
The front desk and vet techs are now rude and actually hostile towards me. They will tell you to and quot;be quieteand quot; -when asking questions and cut you off when voicing a concern about a pet. They do not relay calls and concerns about sick pets to the vets, and I have questioned if they have really performed tests that were charged for and reported as negative. Example: A kitten with bloody diarrhea - repeated stool studies were negative. First the vet did not know that these stool studies had even been performed. Second, the vet sent the stool to a university for speciality testing and the university finds the worms......testing for worms had not been ordered by my vet, but the amount of worms were so high that the university reported it.....they couldn't miss it.
Just a few weeks ago I was in with a question about a cat who was recently neutered and still had a lot of swelling after a 2 weeks, and the vet that I saw was the most rude and hostile provider that I have ever encountered. She spent a whopping 2 minutes with me and was insulting and belittling. She walked out on me while I was asking a question and left the door open. The tech involved in that incident was very nice and seemed shocked and uncomfortable. The vet who I will not name, is better suited for euthanasia than animal medicine and their owners. The office manager was giggling with her when I went to the waiting area. When I asked to speak with the manager, she did not even bother asking what happened or that she was sorry that I had a bad experience. To me, that confirmed that they do not want my business. Another vet clinic confirmed excessive swelling was the issue that I was questioning.
After having spent thousands of dollars there over the years on my 3 pets and their illnesses, I pulled them. Due to their disgust and hostility toward me, I will never go there again even if my pet is in an accident and dying. I do not think that there is a personal problem between me and the staff at Cheat Lake Animal Hospital, as I have heard similar stories from others. There have been a couple of occassions in the waiting room where I over heard some rudeness about people's finances when they have brought pets in for emergency care. Not something that I should've overheard and it was uncomfortable hearing.

They are professional. They know what they are talking about. Their rates are reasonable.

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We have been using Cheat Lake Animal Hospital for about one year. We really like them. They are very professional. Our last appointment there was for a check up. We have two pets that we take to them. The cost is normally about $100 per animal per visit.