Emergency Veterinary Svc

Dear Emergency Vet Services of Roanoke,\r We visited your office for the first time at 3:00 on Sunday October 13th. We had our beloved 15 year-old corgi “Tad” with us. Tad was in distress, had no color in his gums and was unable to coordinate moving his back half. We were met with a very professional and patient receptionist, who calmly explained the intake form to us and accepted it back the moment it was completed. She swiftly called for a vet tech and another very comforting experience was the kind young woman who swiftly & gently accepted Tad from us and took him back within minutes of our arrival. I come from a family of veterinarians and healthcare providers and this genuine, professional, empathetic way of dealing with total strangers to your practice spoke volumes about the caliber of your staff. You should be very proud of their performance that day.\r \r The most amazing part of our experience was Dr. Matt Ellis. When he came into the exam room after a short period and shared the terrible news that Tad had multiple cavities and what appeared to be tumors in his poor old spleen, it was clear and evident that he cared deeply that he convey this painful information clearly & empathetically. He carefully outlined the choices available and the likely prognosis of each option for Tad. He treated us and our sweet dog as though he had been Tad’s veterinarian for a decade. When we chose to let Tad pass that afternoon without the risky pain of major surgery or lingering organ failure, Dr. Ellis helped guide us through our decision process without rushing or abandoning us without support. We took some time to say goodbye and Dr. Ellis allowed me to hold Tad on my chest as he passed, which I never contemplated was possible. For the rest of my life I will treasure knowing Tad’s last moments were comfortable, warm and secure in his family’s arms. Dr. Ellis was very understanding and consoling before, during and after the procedure. We honestly were not prepared to let Tad go that day, but once we understood the truth of what he faced, I can’t imagine a much better way to say a loving good-bye to our best friend. Dr. Ellis and your staff helped make an awful, awful day better by sharing a warm, caring and safe place to say good-bye to Tad. Thank you for employing such amazing people and please share our deepest gratitude with each of them. more

Adequate initial services with very high price, they took X-rays and gave them to us on a disc, however, when our vet tried to view the X-rays, it was blank. They failed to provide follow up report and x-rays for to our vet, even after vet's office called them; it was only when I called them after our cat had been at our vet for 3 hours, when I threatened to go to the better business bureau, that they provided the necessary information to my vet, thus delaying necessary treatment for our cat. Very poor follow through on the emergency vet clinics part and poor triaging of services, waiting 2 hours to be seen. Wish there was another choice for vet emergency care. more

I had to take my dog in for a massively broken nail around 5pm on a Sunday. $140 and three bandages later, we left. The Dr was extremely rude the entire visit, complaining about it ""being a long day."" I asked if I could back with my dog and he said ""No, there's too much going on."" After she bled through her first two bandages they said they wanted to put her in a cage for an hour. We thought she would be calmer at home and decided to leave. As he carries her out of the back, he hits her head on the door and says ""good luck keeping her quiet.""\r Do not go there. \r more

PLEASE DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE WITH YOUR PRECIOUS ANIMALS!!!!! I took my dog of 10 years (who was like my first child) to this clinic because it was late at night when we had our emergency. While I was trying to spend quality time with my dog in her last minutes of life an assistant kept trying to get me to sign a paper to have her put down (which wasn't necessary as she was already passing away). Then after I told the dr that I wanted her privately cremated and returned to me the same assistant charged me for mass cremation which I didn't catch. I called them everyday after to see when she would be returned to me until 2 weeks later they inform me that they had made a ""mistake"" and ""mass cremated"" her with a bunch of other dogs whose ashes were unwanted. I WAS AND STILL AM DEVASTATED! Then when I asked if I could have the number of the person who cremated them so I could ask if I could just have my dog and all of the unwanted dogs I was told that they don't even know his name, number of location! This is unacceptable. As a nurse, I know that there are checks and balances to ensure that this does not happen to someone's family member, so why aren't the policies and procedures the same for pets? THERE ARE FAMILY TOO!!!! If this angers you, please make a phone call and let them know so that this doesn't happen to anyone else! more

Our dog had major surgery and our vet called to get pricing for a night at this emergency clinic. When we showed up and had already checked our dog in, the price doubled (from the $200-300 they told our vet to $350-650). When I asked why, the tech said because our vet hadn't mentioned intravenous pain meds, something our vet talked about directly to us and would not have failed to mention to them. The next day the details changed from one call to the next and then they wanted to keep our dog another night, to ""keep an eye on her"" and check on here ""every 15 minutes"". Well, we asked for the records when we checked her out (after the initial 24 hours) and they only checked on her every hour, or two to three, for the day they had her. Don't get me wrong, these folks know their stuff and are well equipped, but from the multiple signs about billing in the reception area to their transparent focus (and previous reviews here) their focus is money first - your pet is second. more

Several years ago, our then 1 year old doxie was bitten by a copperhead. Were it not for the care she received at this facility she would have died. Yes it was expensive and it took a few years to pay off the credit card debt. But the type of care provided in emergency situations is usually not cheap. The people who run this clinic are caring and professional, but they have overhead they have to consider. We drove over an hour to get to this clinic. Not every community has an ER for our animals. I'm glad that they are as close as they are. more

I understand that a business is a business and they can't do it for free, but there should be some leniency here. When your pet has an emergency in the middle of the night, this was very obviously unexpected. Most people would be willing to sell everything they have to save their pet, but what can you do in the middle of the night? There should be a policy that requires full payment from those that don't pay their bills, but give people a chance. Care for the animals, keep them alive, and release them when the person pays for it. Anything except turning your backs and letting an animal die. I don't know how you sleep at night. I would say never go here but unfortunately it is the only emergency vet in roanoke. How about one of the caring vets out there open up a new emergency vet, we would all be lined up!! more

I took my dog to the emergency vet services of roanoke. He was very sick. They refused to treat my dog because I only had $200.00 of the $320.00 down payment that they asked for. It was a Sunday afternoon. I told them I would bring them some money the next day if they would treat my dog. They refused. I asked them to sell me the medicine that would save his life but they said they wouldn't. NOT COULDN'T. Wouldn't. My baby passed away because of it. And all because they were greedy and selfish. You people should be ashamed of yourselves for treating people and animals this way. They have this note on the recepits that they print when a payment is made to them that reads. ""YOUR PETS ARE FAMILY"" So let me ask this question of the people in charge of this hell hole! If your mother was sick would you let her die if she couldn't pay the bill all at once!!!! YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK. AND YOU ALL KNOW WHERE YOU CAN GO. Cons: EVERYTHING more

My wife and I brought our 14 year old dog in for emergency care. We had no idea she was not to return home to us. Now she is in Heaven waiting for us. The personnel in this clinic should be commended for the care they took on our baby (Hazel). Even though they could not do anything for her, they kept her comfortable until the time came for her to leave us. The Doctor was a true professional to say the least, she provided us a detail description on her findings and our options as owners. I highly recommend this clinic to anyone with urgent care & general care needs. Thank You EVS !! more

This is a blanket review from visits over the past 2 years.I have taken my sister with cat problems on a number of occasions and every visit has been a good one in my opinion.On one occasion she had to have a cat put down and everyone was very caring and compassionet.I personally have had one Choco Lab there twice with nothing but care and concern along with in depth explanation of the situation and treatment.I have also have had my Black Lab there on one occasion and again I had immediate care that was very professional and the staff was very helpful and courtious.I will not hesitate to take my pets there in an emergency situation.Also on all occasions they followed up with sending the info to my regular Vet and also called to check on my pet on more than one occasion.Thanks guys for being there when we needed you. Pros: Very good pet care with with people who care about your pet. more

My Corgi was running down the hall of a hotel at 9pm and out of no where he starts limping severely. I looked around on google for an emergency vet and these guys are the only late night trauma clinic around. They took the dog right away and soon after, the trauma vet told us that he had torn his ACL. The doctor was very friendly, very knowledgeable, very reassuring, had excellent advice, and provided great care for my pet. We couldn't have asked for more, not to mention we're not from here and had concerns about the quality of an unknown vet, but now we know where to go in an emergency while in roanoke. This clinic specializes in late night visits, whatever the reason, they close at 8am while the other clinics are open and provide a special and very important service to the area. I recommend this veterinary emergency room very highly and if your animal needs care in the middle of the night don't think twice about using this clinic. Pros: Knowledgeable, Friendly, Great Hours of Service, Excellent Care Cons: Not a vet for continued regular treatment more

TOOK OUR DOG IN , VET DID NOT WANT TO TREAT ASSUMED DOG WAS BAD DUE TO BREED AND WRONG INFO....TOLD OUR DOG GOES TO LOCAL VET AND GROOMERS WITH NO PROBLEM AND HAS NEVER BIT ANYONE ALSO IS GOOD WITH OTHER PETS AND CHILDREN....VET MADE US FEEL AS IF ALL AFRO-AMERICAN PEOPLE RAISE THEIR PETS TO BE MEAN...WHICH OF COURSE IS UNTRUE..WE ARE FAMILY PEOPLE AND JUST WANT PROPER TREATMENT FOR OUR FAMILY PET WE LOVE!!! Cons: MISTREATMENT, UNFAIR, UNCARING more