Port City Veterinary Referral Hospital

That's funny. I posted a negative review on YELP and it disappeared, too.\r There is no compassion in this Animal EMER Hospital. My experience was that they rushed into a surgery which was needless and only hurt my pet. Then, there was no one after the surgery who cared enough to help. $6,000 for 2 days! They have offered me $500 because I have complained. It’s all about the $$. Go to Angell in Boston. Best care in the country. \r 1 star for cleanliness.\r more

I think Port City is absolutely first-rate. I would like to respond to some of the criticism I have read about this hospital. First of all, people, when dealing with their pets, sometimes become so involved that they can misinterpret their experiences with any veterinary hospital. Second, people are much more likely to write angry reviews when they are disappointed (fairly or unfairly) whereas people who have had a great experience tend not to write reviews. \r \r Port City is a REFERRAL hospital. This means that animals, who have gone to see their regular vets, are REFERRED to this kind of hospital because an animal is critically ill or needs special care. A referral hospital has access to specialists, state of the art equipment and tests which a small veterinary clinic cannot hope to have. This means that when a pet is rushed to Port City, the staff is able immediately to stabilize the animal, begin tests or ultrasound to find out what exactly is wrong with the animal. In Port City's case, the doctor communicated to us what steps were being taken and suggested what the next steps might be to help the pet. Each test they took was explained to us and why the tests were given. We were always apprised of what any cost was going to be and given a sheet itemizing what was being done on a daily basis.\r \r Is such a hospital expensive? Yes. But anyone who thinks the fees are outrageous is OUT OF TOUCH with what any first-class veterinarian hospital costs. Your bill, will of necessity, reflect the cost of having all the very best equipment and services available. \r \r As for our experience of Port City, we felt they gave our dog, Sam, the best shot possible to live. When I took Sam to my veterinarian because the dog was suddenly very ill, I was informed by our veterinarian that Sam was in critical condition and must be taken to a referral hospital IMMEDIATELY. I raced her up to Port City and for several days our doctor and the staff worked with Sam and brought her back to some health. Sam was, however, old. It took several tests to discover what was wrong with her: she had several fatal medical complications and could not be saved.\r \r Sam got incredibly good care. She was handled lovingly by every support member of the professional staff. The doctor, Dr. Alice Benedict, was thorough, insightful, intelligent, and she knew her stuff. She communicated with us extremely well. She was upbeat when Sam began to improve, yet she was able to gently prepare us for Sam's death in a delicate, kind, manner that made it possible for us to face the sadness of the end. \r \r Want an example of the staff's caring attitude? Sam stopped wanting to eat. In the middle of a cold night, one of the staff members went out to a local 24 hour deli and brought back sliced turkey and got Sam to eat a little of that.\r \r Communication? We received 3 calls a day with updates on Sam's progress. I called several times and was put straight through to Dr. Benedict.\r \r As for us, Sam's family, the staff couldn't have been kinder. When Sam was put to sleep, I sobbed in the lobby and one of the front desk staff, Dave, came over to me and held me while I cried.\r \r Look, this is a great hospital, and we are lucky to have it in the area. more

Interesting that I posted a review on Yelp and it never appeared so I did it again. It was there for 30 secs then disappeared. They probably paid them to do that. Anyway, don't go here if you value your pet and your wallet. They will rack up a bill with one test after another and you come out with nothing. This is after repeating every test my vet had just done - xrays and all. There is nothing professional about this place. And not an ounce of compassion towards my dog. more

If you love your pet, go somewhere else. My dog had surgery there and I am so angry! He is still lame and they are telling me that it is not the surgery and they fixed the problem. They want to charge me another $250 for an evaluation! My vet says that it most definitely needs to be redone and he has to send me somewhere else because he cannot get anywhere with them. Money, money, money. That is all they are about. more

My dog, Belle had been hit by a car. She needed to see an expert or specialist in the area of her wound care. DR. HILLMAN, and his TEAM was the BEST and I will say it again, THE BEST VETERINARIANS and TECH I have ever interacted with!!!!!! Dr. Hillman specializes in the area of orthopedics. HE was so kind, and when I say kind, I mean, so ""REAL"". He listened to everything I had to say, looked through pictures of Belle as a puppy and answered all of my questions with complete CONFIDENCE in what was going on with Belle's wound, what would be next in her recovery as well as the end result!!!!!! NEVER ONCE did I feel rushed,unsure of what would be happening with Belle or if I could trust He and his team with MY BABY BELLE!!! When it comes to Belle, you could say, I'm ""OVERPROTECTIVE"" and have a need to KNOW EVERYTHING....EVERYTHING about her. I must have called them 1000 times"") well ,lets just say I knew everyones voice with a face, as did they when I called for info or anything, without saying my name;)!!!!!! They are GREAT!!!!!! Everytime, Belle and i went for her appointments, she was so so happy to see everyone, as the whole staff greeted both of us by FIRST NAME!!!! Belle and I LOVE THEM ALL!!! Most of all...I TRUST THEM ALL!!!!! Elysha and Belle more

I love Port City Vet! My 110lb. senior dog needed surgery on his knee and I was very stressed out about it but Dr.Hillman-(awesome) and the staff at Port City were so nice and very informative.They kept in touch with me every step of the way which was great. The place is very clean, I left feeling like my dog was in the best hands that he could be. I would recommend anybody and everybody to Port City Vet! LOVIN AT YA PORT CITY!!! OXOXOX more

Very nice people, very thorough in their explainations. Unfortunately, my dog has a genetic disorder that precludes any treatment, but they saved me $3900 in treatment. I would say that billing was a bit slow, but its not a Walmart. Good people and would definately go back.\r \r John M. Messinger, Holderness, NH more

The visit went fine until they took my dog in the back for blood work. They left us sitiing in the waiting room for over 90 minutes waiting on them to enter the bill into the computer. There were only 2 other customers however they could not spare the time to finish with us. When I politely asked for the bill so we could go home because it was 11 pm they rudely told me to deal with it and wait. I will never go back. more

What can I say but money, money, money, money, money, money! That's all it is with these folks. AND they want all your money up front before they'll even speak to you. I have never experienced such a horrid place in my life. My wife and I will not only never go back and never recommend them, but we are going to give our own vet a piece of our mind for even suggesting this place! Ask to go anywhere but here if you are wise. more