Ellicott Small Animal Hospital

Dr. Stevens is the most caring and compassionate vet i have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. Not to mention he is great with all animals and they all love him! I have taking my cat, dog, parents cat and brothers cat to him after trying other vets and I will never go anywhere else. He has been able to diagnose problems other vets couldn't, and he is extremly understanding of the emotions that go into dealing with a sick animal. He truly cares for all of his patients and does everything possible to help. I truly appreciate the great service he has given my faimly and I. Not only would i recomend Dr. Stevens to anyone who is looking for a vet, but I go out of my way to shout his name from the rooftops to anyone who owns a pet because that is how much I trust him. He trully is the BEST Dr. ever. more

I have had nothing but GREAT experiences at Ellicott Small Animal Hospital! I have two cats both a year old and they both have needed their fair share of ""extra care"" besides their routine exams, vaccines, etc. The receptionists always make sure to get my boys an appointment for whatever the reason may be as soon as they possibly can (which is usually that day). I have had experiences with all of the doctors and they all are very intelligent and they know what they are talking about. The technicians are all so enthusiastic about their job and always are there to comfort you if there is something bad wrong with your animal. The entire staff is GREAT! Always there to help. Especially happy with my emergency I had with my one cat on a Saturday. Once again they were right there to help. They will drop anything they are doing when an emergency arises. Very happy and I defiantly recommend this animal hospital! :) more

I've been a breeder of labrador retrievers for 15 years and I first met Dr Claudia Gray when she came to work for my vet. I was immediately impressed with her compassionate approach to her work, her dedication to providing the best possible care to the animals and her willingness to work with me in my breeding program. We ""clicked"" and, when she left that practice to work downtown at the Elicott Small Animal Hospital, I didn't think twice about following her there, even though its a considerable distance from my home in the northtowns. That was 6 years ago and I've since come to appreciate and depend upon her as a talented veterinarian who works hard to provide quality care, who stays on top of the latest developments in veterinarian medicine and who has never lost the compassion for her patients and their owners that first drew me to her. We have rejoiced together over small victories and she has cried with me over my trajedies. Last year I had a puppy born with a heart murmur that required surgical repair; Dr Gray performed the surgery on the 8 week old puppy & took her home on a heart monitor in order to care for her through the night. Today, that puppy is healthy & whole thanks to Dr Gray's skill as a surgeon. I trust her judgement completely. Any responsible breeder knows that this can't be done without a close working relationship with a good veterinarian and I don't have a good one--I have a great one. I don't hesitate to refer my new puppy buyers to her and consider her my ""partner"" in my work as a breeder. more

I met Dr. Claudia Gray, when she was the invited speaker at the Iroquois Labrador Retriever Club meeting in 2010. She gave an excellent talk on treatment options for ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments in Labs (called anterior cruciate ligament ruptures in humans). I was so impressed with how she presented the evidence for each options, I decided to make her our new vet. Ironically, I should have paid closer attention to the options she discussed because, on the last day of 2010, while running for his 11th agility title of the year, my beloved Lab, Argos ruptured his left CCL. So last Jan. 4th, nearly a year after that talk, I found myself in an exam room listening again to a discussion of our surgical options. Despite Argie's size (a very lean and muscular 86 lbs!), I chose the ""fish line"" repair because of its lower risk of very serious surgical complications. I was convinced Argie's career in the agility and obedience ring was over as well as his future as a competitive retriever and tracking dog. Fortunately, Argie did NOT agree. Unlike too many other owners of dogs that undergo CCL repair surgery, I listened to Dr. Gray's advice, that a program of rehabilitation therapy is just as important -- if not more -- than surgery alone. So we began our rehab visits a week after surgery. By the end of our visits -- just 8 weeks after his surgery, no one could tell there was anything wrong with his left leg -- except by the surgical scar. I made a video of his last visit at the rehab center. It's called ""Argos' 6th Birthday Pool Party"" because it was on his birthday, March 3, 2011, 8 weeks after the surgery. Take a look at it: it is awesome and inspiring for others who have to go through this horrible ordeal. (For a link to the video combine the following 2 strings -- since this site won't let you post a link -- www.youtube. + com/watch?v=hMPtN3P-dho&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL ) Argie returned to training 4 months after his CCL repair surgery. Six months after, he earned his WCI hunting title. The following month, he won his NADAC Weavers Novice agility title. And then -- the miracle of miracles -- Argie earned his AKC Utility Dog title in just 7 weeks with 3 STRAIGHT qualifications -- each of which required him to clear 22-inch jumps in the directed jump exercise. Another wonderful thing came out of this awful experience. When I was discussing Argie's surgical options with Dr. Gray, we started talking about working together to write about evidence-based veterinary medicine for the public. That led to our becoming contributing writers for American Kennel Club's Family Dog magazine. Needless to say, I am so grateful our Lab club invited Dr. Gray to give that talk. more

I'd gone here for years when my large 3yearold dog had surgery to repair an acl tear. I'm embarassed that I didn't get a second opinion, as it was the worst decision I've ever made. Dr. Gray did the surgery, one that it turns out is not adaquate for a dog his size. She basically just tripled the amount of material that should have been used to accomodate his size and ""overtightened the joint""...rather than have the integrity to refer me to a specialist for an appropriate surgery. After multiple visits and me explaining ""it is just not right"" and her insisting it was and would take a year to see 'how good a job it was', including a $500 bill for something they couldn't diagnose, but that I'll get into later, we went to a different vet. I should also mention that due to his complete inability to bear any weight on that leg, the other side tore within a few months. We opted for no surgery on this side obviously. I felt treated as a second class citizen after spending thousands of dollars there (the owner even had the nerve at one point to tell me ""I know money is an issue""....uh, what?) The long story short (as short as possible) is that not only was it a completely inappropriate surgery (a radiologist referred to it as a 'botched job' and 'epic failure'), and unnecessary given his good mobility before surgery, his body had been rejecting the device the entire time! What does this mean? Well, for one, as I trusted Dr. Gray, and waited a full year (I'm sick over this), the infection has caused EXTREME IRREVERSIBLE arthritic damage that is sooooo swollen, the new vet was nearly sure it was cancer (Dr. Gray insisted that no...it wasn't swollen...the reason it looked so large was that I was actually seeing the device she put in). It also means that occasionally, this infection will enter his blood stream and cause another area of the body to swell up out of nowhere, requiring medication, or steroids. I'm not talking run of the mill swelling....I'm talking the kind that is over the size of a grapefruit, and eventually pops and drains bloody fluid. This will happen for the rest of his life. This was what I was referring to earlier. The entire leg with the tear swelled up, and Dr. Steven insisted I have xrays done....it must not have dawned on any of them that 3 months after surgery, if that leg swells and bursts, they MIGHT BE RELATED. And the device should have been removed at that time. It's recommended it is now too late to remove the device, as there is new infection risk (apparently it's now just likely to latch on somewhere else in his body) and another long recovery time (4-6 mos). I'm not just taking the advice of a new vet, he's been to Cornell, had CAT scans, more xrays than I can count, joint taps....the works. We've started a holistic approach that is our last option to buy this 5 year old dog a little comfort, as he currently can't walk further than a half a block. So, I have now spent upwards of $7000 on this 'issue' to have a dog that will likely need to be put down within a year. I have literally cried myself to sleep, feeling that I could have avoided this, if I didn't just trust the vet I've been going to for so long. If I could steer anyone and EVERYONE away from this place, I would. I should also mention how nasty I was treated when I needed to pick up xrays and records, only to have Dr. Stevens call me himself and tell me he was sending everything personally, and what do you know? They never received a thing. In summary, if you feel like spending boatloads of money to be treated horribly, and would love to have your pet's quality of life completely diminished, go here! more

Drs. Reed Stevens and staff are the most caring knowledgeable vets I have ever encountered. As the owner of 3 dogs and 2 cats, I truly needed a place to take the ""kids"" that I trust, knowing that their health and my wallet were in good hands. The compassion and concern from the moment you walk in until is obvious. We especially had some serious health issues with our recently rescued Standard Poodle, Molly. Her surgery and post-op care was so beautifully handled, that Molly was in no hurry so say goodbye to her friends at Ellicott Small Animal Hospital. The vets there work as a team to come up with the correct answers to whatever issue your pets are going through, so you know you are getting the right advice, not being ""up-sold"" as I have encountered at our previous vet. more

I just got a kittne from the SPCA and the first visit is free! I did expect to pay some costs for booster shots and the rabies which she was due for sicne she was too small at the time of adoption. Well let me tell you I walked out of there with a free dose of Revolution, a rabies shot and a distemper shot all for free!! They only charged me a whooping $21 for the stool sample analysis. . . . . .So the shots and care we free and they charge me to look at the poop!! hahaha Go figure! Dr. Reed Stevens was VERY helpful and so informative not to mention very comfortable to be around in the office! And all thought I didn't get the womans name up frony at the desk she was sooooo kind as well!!! I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else!!! more

I trust Ellicott Small Animal to care for my beloved border collie Griffen. From the front office staff, to the techs everone is caring and professional. I cannot praise Dr. Bolden enough. Pros: Accesible, caring staff Cons: n/a more

Claudia is hands down the best vet in town. We brought Charlie our puppy to 2 different vets before settling on Claudia Gray. She performed a pretty serious orthopedic procedure on him, and 6 weeks later he is almost back to 100%. Trust Claudia with your vet needs, we are glad we did.\r \r Thanks. Pros: Very Caring more

They care, they really do. You don't come out with $400 worth of treatment you haven't asked for. Their prices are so reasonable, yet the treatment is wonderful. I popped in one day and Dr. Stevens took the time to give me a consult with no charge. He didn't rush me or get impatient. Pros: They don't gouge you more

Claudia Gray is by far the best vet in town. She is a caring, personnable and can explain things in ways only a pet lover can. She is heads (and tails) above the rest!!!! And i don't even own a pet...... more

I have been taking my pets to Ellicott Small Animal Hospital for years now and never realized I could publicly rate them! Anyone looking for a compassionate, warm and friendly vet should visit Ellicott Small Animal Hospital. The location of downtown Buffalo makes them so very easily accessible from anywhere and parking is free. Once inside you and your beloved pet are treated warmly and professionally. I have been working with Buffalo Greyhound Adoption for over 15 years and trust the staff completely with my greyhounds, as well the other pets I've been blessed to have over the years. I have laughed and cried with the staff and never once felt I was wasting their time. My pets and I have always been treated as if we were the most important guests to walk through the doors. On top of that the service fees are very reasonable, in fact, I beleive they are one of the least expensive vet clinics in the area. I highly recommend Ellicott Small Animal Hospital to anyone looking for a professionally warm, caring and friendly enviornment for your pets and yourself! Pros: Friendly, professional, reasonably priced more