Simard, Caroline, Dvm - Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic

I cannot give enough praise to Dr Gerson for his willingness to care for my feral cat with a horrible eye injury. It can be difficult to find a vet willing to work on a feral and Dr Gerson stepped up willing to operate on our Kramer...if it were not for Dr Gerson Kramer would not have made it. His eye was so severely injured it had to be removed. Kramer recouped in my garage for a week without any complications and upon being reunited with the others in his colony he did not miss a beat. Although Kramer is feral, I have taken care of him and his group (of now down to 4) for 13 years. Although they are not tame enough to live in a home we have given them everything we could down to their heated houses. We treat them like our indoor animals...they get the best of everything and that is what Dr Gerson gave to Kramer. I am so grateful to Dr Gerson for his expertise along with being so caring and compassionate to Kramer and our family during such a dire emergency...he truly is a life saver and I would not hesitate to recommend him and his wonderful staff...they are the best! more

After experiencing the care and treatment of the veterinarians at Point Breeze, I would never trust anyone else with my pets. Their level of committment to my pets is evident each time I take one of them in. They are very patient with my constant calling in need of advice or if one of my animals sneezes too many times in one day. They have become like family. I DO NOT make a move regarding my pets without running it past them first! You know the saying, if you have children be glad you have Childrens, referring to Children's Hospital? Well, if you have pets, be glad you have Point Breeze Vet Clinic. I've been to a lot of vet hospitals, none compare to that of Point Breeze. Try them, you will see what I mean.\r \r Just as an aside, through the years, I have had to have many pets (and rescues) treated, and a few have had to be euthanized. I do not know who cried harder, me or the staff (especially Dr. Mathias, who is the most caring/compassionate/empathetic vet I have ever run into besides Dr. Gerson.). I have been going to Point Breeze for 15 years. Trust me, in this age of service, if they were NOT the best, I WOULD NOT GO THERE. PERIOD!! If your pets are your love and your world, then, there is only one place to have them treated. Pros: Highly trained, highly knowledgeable group of professionals, prices are more than fair, very close to my home Cons: Parking can sometimes be a pain more

Don't take a chance at this vet if you love your pets!\r \r My partner and I brought our cat Spike into the vet for an appointment because he was drooling excessively. Dr. Mathias met with us for a very short amount of time. She was rushed, seemed distracted, and was abrupt with Spike. She very quickly said that it seemed like SCC, or oral cancer, and that there was no cure and the prognosis wasn't good. She left the room seconds after stating that, and only came back in to say that they would get blood work and schedule a biopsy. After she said she thought it was SCC, she didn't give us a chance to ask questions or respond. When she did come back, she had the door open and was half way in our room and half way out. \r \r I asked a few questions, not knowing where to start, which she hurriedly answered without attention, care or thoroughness. I've owned cats my entire life and have put many down and dealt with fatal diagnosis many times. I understand that there is no easy way to give a patient bad news.\r \r As clients, we deserve education regarding possibilities of the diagnosis. We deserve for her to spend a minute explaining our options and giving us a chance to ask questions and process the information.\r \r In addition, Dr. Mathias gave Spike a Convenia shot without educating us about possible adverse effects, or potential problems with the antibiotic. She did not warn us what to look for or say that he might be lethargic or display increased water intake and urination. She did not ask for our approval to give the shot and didn't offer any options. It was a whirlwind of neglect and sloppy care.\r \r Sadly, the technician who helped us with Spike that morning was also unprofessional, tired and disinterested. She didn't have any demeanor with our cat, nor with us as clients. She seemed tired, and overworked.\r \r All in all, it was the most negative vet experience I've ever had. Learning of your cat's condition is difficult enough, but what traumatized us was the care we received. Spike deserved to be handled with care, attention and love. I'm writing this so that other patients don't have to go through what we did that morning.\r \r We paid 155 dollars for blood work that was only half completed, and when I went in to discuss this with the office, we received only a 20 dollar refund. We paid 62 dollars for a consultation which lasted no more than 5 minutes. We paid 51.43 dollars for a shot which we didn't know anything about or approve. This is not about the money, as we\r would pay as much for proper care of our family pet as needed. This dispute is about respect, compassion, and professional medical care.\r \r DO NOT take your chances at this vet. Hearing bad news is hard enough, but hearing it in this environment is especially difficult. more

Superior veterinarians have cared for my dogs for many years at this clinic. The dogs have primarily been seen by Doctors Gerson, Berger, and Simard, who are all extremely competent and kind. They are consistently thorough and do not medicate excessively. In addition, the vet techs and front desk staff are excellent, and have always gone out of their way to be helpful and thoughtful. more

This is a great clinic. I've been bringing my cats here for years for a variety of reasons: routine checkups, vaccinations, mysterious illnesses, emergency surgeries. Whatever the situation, the people here have always been able to help. The technicians and vets I've met are all friendly and efficient, and really good with cats. Like other reviewers, I recommend Dr. Simard heartily - she is very, very good. But I've had appointments with other folks as well, and been happy with everyone. more

I have been going to PBVC for years, but no longer. Since their price increase 62 for an office visit and on average 30 per vaccine I have noticed a change. I have always found the reception staff to be very polite, helpful and knowledgable, except the office manager but that isn't unusual. I have found that the 5 or so techs have been with PBVC for years are wonderful and knowlledgable, the others are average or below at best. The wonderful female doctors have alway been my reason for loyalty, they are alway so professional and kind. My most resent experience has been with Dr. Berger she is very quick to make you feel like a poor pet owner. She is very quick to talk down and make you feel dumb, it is obvious that she isn't received well across the board. Both her and Dr. Gerson are pompous asses but I suspect they know that about themselves. At least with Dr. Gerson he knows that he's gruff and many people love him for it. If you choose to patron PBVC please save yourself the aggravation and see Drs. Mathias, Simard, Schroth. more

I have been taking my 3 animals there for many years. The staff is friendly and the doctors are very competent. They care about the animals and educate the client as well. I love their very informative biweekly(Saturdays) column in the Post Gazette. more

I moved to Pittsburgh 3 years ago and have been taking my dog and cat to the Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic ever since. The staff are incredibly friendly - on the whole - and I'm never asked to wait more than 15 minutes. I have had appointments with three different vets but the best, friendliest, and most knowledgeable seems to be Dr. Simard. She has a wonderful way with animals and seems to love them even though she must see them all day every day. She always explains what's she's doing to me and doesn't seem to make me pay for unnecessary tests when my animals are sick. In my 20 years of pet ownership I have never felt more comfortable or happy with a vet. I also saw Dr. Schroth and she too was great and friendly. I wouldn't recommend the younger female vet ( I can't remember her name, perhaps it's Melanie), however. She didn't really appear to know what she was doing and didn't really seem to want to go the extra mile with my animals. The staff don't seem to respond well to her either. more

When my twelve yr old dog collapsed suddenly at 9:30 one night, I called Dr. Gerson at home and he immediately came over, carried my dog to his car and bundled us both up to the emergency clinic. I was a basket case and don't know what I would have done without him. It turned out he needed emergency surgery for removal of his spleen and through that evening and the decisions about his care afterwards, Dr Gerson was there for both of us. From the moment you become a member of this practise ( and all my dogs love all of their doctors) to the end of my oldest's dog life, you can not be in better hands. THank you to all of the doctors and ancillary personnel at Pt. Breeze. more

We took our beloved dog to the Point Breeze vet clinic for 13 years, where she was primarily under the care of Dr. Gerson, but occasionally Drs. Mathias, Schroth and Berger when he wasn't available. For the first 12 years, wed give the clinic 4 stars. Despite long waits for scheduled appointments, they did well overall and the clinic is conveniently located to us. We feel the need to write this review because the clinic fell short in the final year of our pets life when she needed high quality care the most. At her last annual checkup in April 2011, her blood work showed elevated liver enzymes and a low thyroid level. Dr. Gerson told us that the elevated liver enzymes could possibly indicate Cushings disease, but could also merely be the result of aging. Our dog had always been quite healthy overall, so we made some follow-up calls to Dr. Gerson to clarify the findings and discuss them more, but the calls went unreturned. Shortly after her physical, our dogs health suddenly started to deteriorate. After 3 months of trying to figure out what was going on, we more carefully read the box of the new and expensive flea drops (Vectra 3D) that Dr. Gerson had prescribed. It said, Do Not give to aging and debilitated dogs. Our dog was 13 yrs old, had the blood issues mentioned, and also arthritis. We stopped applying the drops and her condition markedly improved, so it appears that these drops were harming her. We were also giving her pain meds for the arthritis, but received conflicting advice from Pt. Breeze vets regarding the amount and frequency of dosage. One of the vets got defensive when we questioned the discrepancy in views, which wasn't helpful at a time when we were trying to stabilize our dogs condition. In October 2011, Pt. Breeze clinic removed a large, benign growth that developed on our dogs neck. Prior to the surgery, the vet told us that she had to do a blood test and a total body X-ray to make sure she could withstand the operation. The surgery was successful, but in early December our dog had a weekend seizure and we took her to the emergency vet clinic. They used ultrasound and other techniques to diagnose a large, bleeding mass associated with the liver. Evidently it was this tumor that had been causing the blood test results we had been concerned about not age. They told us that her prognosis for surgery was poor. We wondered, how could it be that Pt. Breeze missed this large cavitated mass only a month earlier? Was the x-ray done properly? If an X-ray doesn't reliably show these masses, then why didn't they suggest getting ultrasound or other more revealing test(s)? They could at least have been presented as an option. Sadly, not wanting to put an old dog through more trauma, pain and surgery with a poor prognosis, we had her euthanized two days later in our home, surrounded by her family. In the end, we feel that Pt. Breeze vet clinic let us down this last year. Meds were prescribed that were contraindicated on the label, calls went unreturned, and a major health problem was evidently missed. It seems they may have too much of an ""Its an old dog, so you have to expect these problems"" attitude. more

I take all three of my cats to this clinic, and I've always had a good experience. The reception staff and the vet techs are always friendly and interested. In addition, one of the vets, Dr. Simard, is especially good! As far as I can tell, she's the Michael Jordan of veterinary science: she's just that good. She knows her stuff, always gets the job done, and has a great demeanor that keeps the cats (and the owners) calm. Going to Point Breeze Vet Clinic is a great choice, especially if you are lucky enough to have an appointment with Dr. Simard. more

Dr. Matthias is a great vet. She's looked after my dogs since 1998. I've trusted her judgement and compassion through bad times and good. Highly recommend the clinic and particularly Dr. Matthias. more

The veterinarians at Point Breeze Vet Clinic have been caring my greyhounds since 1995. In recent years, they have become an integral part of examining and caring for the retired racing greyhounds that enter the Steel City Greyhounds Inc. adoption program. The veterinarians are extremely experienced and knowledgeable about the sensitivity that greyhounds have to anesthesia and the overall wellness of the retired racers. The staff is wonderful, as well, and we appreciate their constant nurturing of the greyhounds. The greyhounds cannot thank them enough! Pros: Greyhound Experts! more

Due to a move, we recently transferred our dogs veterinary care to the Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic (Dr. Lawrence Gerson). We have been exteremly happy with the move.\r We have found Dr. Gerson to be extremely devoted, compassionate and competent in the care he gives to our dogs. It is so nice to find a veterinarian who is willing to take the time to discuss any issues or concern you may have with your pets. Thank you Dr.Gerson for all you do!!! We highly reccomand Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic! Pros: Exteremly Competent, Commited, Caring Veterinary Practice more

I had a major issue with my cat over the Christmas holidays in 2007 (urinary tract blockage). After spending $2500 at the animal hospital in Monroeville, I picked this vet clinic due to some decent reviews. I liked Dr. Gerson at first. When I brought my cat in, he treated him with medications because he didn't want to do invasive surgery. With it being right before New Year's, he said if my cat had any issues to call him at home. Cat developed a blockage and I didn't want to call him at home, yet I didn't want to spend another $1500 at the 24/7 animal hospital. Well, I called him at home I spoke with his wife and asked for him. She handed him the phone and I proceeded to explain who I was and the situation. He quickly cut me off and told me very rudely that there was nobody named Dr. Gerson, even though I specifically asked his wife for him. I even verified that I dialed the correct number. How rude after telling me to call him at home! What a pompous Richard Cranium. Well, thanks to him, I spent another $1500 at the animal hospital and then went to another vet to do surgery and that cost me an additional $800. Pros: Office Staff Friendly Cons: Pompous and rude vets. more

Initially, I took only my rescue dogs to Dr. Gerson because his reputation in the rescue community is superb. As a breeder, former trustee of our breed health foundation and national rescue organization, and a Ph.D-trained researcher, I liked what I saw in the way that Gerson cared for these tragic creatures -- a competent professional who is compassionate but direct, who keeps up to date with changes in veterinary medicine and regularly introduces improvements into his practice (e.g., minimally invasive surgery). As a result of seeing him care for my rescues, I eventually transferred the care of my own 7 Bernese Mountain Dogs to him (I drive in from Mars, PA to do this). The following experience best illustrates why my own dogs, in addition to those that I rescue, are now under his care. \r \r I rescued a very small and very ill Berner pup from a dog auction in Ohio. Gerson quickly diagnosed an intrahepatic liver shunt (thought at that time to be virtually non-existent in the breed - we now know that is not the case and Gerson was part of that discovery process). Because surgery was the puppy's only hope, he referred us to local surgical specialists who said that she would not survive traditional surgery. Gerson remembered a lecture he had heard by a faculty member at U Penn about an experimental surgery for shunts. He called Penn. The pup was accepted into the experimental program and her shunt was corrected successfully with the experimental surgery. Gerson's diagnosis brought national attention to IHPSS in Bernese Mountain Dogs, which stimulated an international (University of Utrecht) hunt for the gene causing the defect in the breed. \r \r Gerson is intellectually curious, careful, not afraid to ask for help, does not play games, and goes the extra mile. I trust him fully with the care of my show, breeding and performance dogs as well as my rescues. Pros: Quality of care, well trained staff/vets, use of minimally invasive surgical procedures Cons: The drive in from Mars, PA more

I've taken my animals to Dr. Gerson for the past 10 years. I've always had good experiences there and feel like the staff really cares about me and my pet. The doctors are very compassionate and knowledgeable. The staff has always been friendly and helpful. I would never go anywhere else! Pros: best doctors and service more

Some very good doctors -- namely Matthias and Simard. But Gerson, however, is a pompous blowhard who enjoys lacks the same depth of knowledge as his staff. I've also had to reject unnecessary procedures that appear only to inflate your bill. Gerson's personality defects pale in comparison to his rude and contemptuous staff. So if you can arrange to only deal with the competent doctors and can avoid the unpleasant staff, this is the place for you. Otherwise, try your luck elsewhere. more

I knew something was wrong with my dog ""Mamie,"" but I didn't realize how bad. The receptionist, Lexi, asked me some questions over the phone, and from that, she determined that I needed to bring Mamie in immediately. She made sure Mamie was seen by a doctor immediately, and I learned later that Lexi's actions saved my dog's life.\r \r The staff at Point Breeze is amazing. This girl isn't a vet, but she knew exactly what to do, and I will forever be grateful to Lexi for her efforts, which have given me more time with Mamie. Thank you, Lexi, and thank you, Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic! Pros: Lexi, the receptionist, is amazing! more

My family has been going to this clinic for the last 5 years because its close to where we live, and here's the deal. The vets do know how to treat animals medically. We never doubt that our pets are getting very good medical treatment. But it's true that the vets are not good at communicating with people. We have been willing to give up the later for the convenience of how close this clinic is to our home. But we have had animals for many, many years and know a great deal about them, so we rarely have any questions. Bottom line: probably a very good place for seasoned pet owners who know what they're doing already, but probably not the best place for newer pet owners who need more guidance. more