Vestal Veterinary Hospital

There should be an option for MINUS stars, this establishment would take the cake. My sister's dog Falcon fell ill so she rushed her to this clinic on Saturday morning, $410 later for xrays and hydration she had to take the dog home because they asked for $1400 to keep her overnight for more testing. My sister did not have that kind of money. This morning she called them back on an emergency ba...sis, Falcon was worse. They turned my sister down, would not accept a borrowed credit card, would not ask the Dr. to return my sister's call and would not agree to send the Xrays that my sister paid for, to the next veterinary facility. My sister ended up driving over an hour away to Cornell University where Falcon went into emergency surgery for an obstruction in her intestines. Vestal Vet told my sister they did not see an obstruction. Please be very careful where you bring your beloved pet. The Media is going to have a field day with this story, stay tuned more

My first visit to Vestal Vet was a couple of years ago to do an Emergency C Section on my Persian cat. The Emergency Vet did not do the C section as she said she would that same night I took her in. The kittens were fine and alive when we arrived. Instead of doing the C Section, I have no clue what the hospital did. I only know they waited until late morning on the next day after the kittens were all dead inside of my cat. Almost $3000.00 paid to Vestal Vet, another $3,000.00 lost in kittens, and they sent me home with a cat with a high fever saying they couldn't get her fever down. I should have learned on that visit. A couple of years later I tried them one more time and let me tell you that I had a very sick kitty with a urinary blockage. The Emergency vet that night was good but admitted that she had never used a catheter on a female cat. She did remove some urine that didn't look horrible. The blockage was never found. That vet was kind and tried her best. From that night it was downhill. I was told to take the cat home on Sunday by both Emergency Vets and that I was to bring her back in on Monday so Dr. Jeff Shafer could do an ultrasound. I got to the vet Monday morning only to be called in to the ultrasound room and be told that Dr. Shafer would not do the ultrasound. I was told that my cat had to go to her own vet. I explained that my cats vet had retired just 4 months prior and she had not other vet. My only guess is that when the first problem arose with Dr. Jeff and I took him to court, he just didn't want me in his establishment. He refused treatment for my sick cat at this point and I was followed to the desk like I was being escorted by a prison guard although I never once spoke harsh or raised my voice. My voice wasn't raised then but now I will spread the word as Vestal Vet refused to treat a very sick cat. He got lots of money from me. I thought it was to treat the sick. Apparently the cats life wasn't considered in the matter not was it cared about from Vestal Vet. They do have some good vets there but the owner picks and chooses who he treats. Shameful. \r more

Vestal Vet Hospital's front office staff (With the exception of Laurie, she has ALWAYS treated me with respect and courtesy and always calls back when she said she will) have been very rude to me on occasion, ESPECIALLY THE OFFICE MANAGER, HOWEVER. Dr. Laura Shafer, is one of the best vets I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She is very low key, friendly and honestly has a concern for my pet. Dr. Laura, is worth whatever I have to take to make sure my baby has the best medical care possible, and trust me I am VERY particular when it comes to my animal. She is the ONLY REASON I would go back there. They do charge for every little thing even collection of urine and blood that's a bit over the top for me. However, my baby is worth every penny and so is Dr. Laura. more

Excellent care. We live 45 minutes away. We called the clinic at 9 at night and told them about our cat and they said to bring him right over. They diagnosed the problem and did surgery to relieve the obstruction in the urethra....same night. They called us regularly with updates and our cat received excellent care. I do not believe we would have received the same service at the small local vet we had been using. The old adage..you get what you pay for applies here.\r more

The staff at Vestal Veterinary Hospital saved my cats life. I took my cat to the emergency walk in on the weekend and since the moment we walked in the doors the staff was nothing but caring. After diagnosis the bill came back to be $1000, but they took the time to make a list of everything they were doing and optioons. We agreed to treatment. A little while later the emergency vet called us personally to explain that my cat need major surgery at a very high cost. Being a non patient I understood. We agreed to surgery. After staying for a week I am so impressed with this hospital. My cats vet was Dr. Jeff Shafer. He would call me everyday to keep me posted on my cat and did everything he could to keep the cost down. He took the time also to explain everything to me. The staff also allowed me to visit everyday for as long as I wanted. I officially transferred my cats care to them becasue I was so impressed. This is the best hospital I have ever seen. You cannot get better care and a more caring staff than here. more

Dogs have always received great care there. Helped one lose 1/2 his weight. Their emergency services are shared with other vets on a rotating basis during the week and staffed by their own vet on weekends where she's available for 24/7. Some vets are not included as they've chosen not to share in the cost of an emergency service. Those vets tell their clients to call Cornell if they have an afterhours problem.\r \r Its unfortunate that those clients don't appreciate the necessity of having someone closer than Ithaca if their animal becomes ill outside of regular buisness hours. Instead of being angry at Vestal Vet - they should place their anger toward their own vet who refuses to share in the cost of providing emergency services .\r \r This place is on the high end of prices but it's filet mignon not McDonalds' value menu when it comes to treatment. Ask your vet before you allow your animals to be treated what your options are if your animal gets sick or hurt outside of regular office hours. If they say Ithaca - then prepare to drive or consider choosing a place where your animal can be treated regardless of the time of day or night.\r \r Vestal Vet offers quality care and shares services with like minded veternarians so that animal care is not compromised by the time of day or night that service is needed.\r \r As for the bleeding paw - people know the initial cost upfront - if they come and take up a doctor's and staff time - there's no discount if the advice is then ignored. If a Vet there says my dog needs anesthesia then that's what my dog gets - I don't second guess that choice even though anesthesia is expensive whethier for a tooth cleanig or tumor removal. \r \r Use Vestal Vet Hospital only if you want access to 24/7 quality care - otherwise - go cheap and don't complain that you are on a snowy road on your way to Ithaca cause the cheap vet stays cheap by closing early and not sharing in the cost of comprehensive care! Pros: great doctors - fully staffed wekends Cons: don't treat humans more

unpleastant experience Pros: nothing more

Dog swallowed a fishing hook on a sunday night of a major holiday. Full staff on board and took care of the surgery. Amazing! more

My daughter called VVH for an emergency visit for her cat and was told because he had been seen by a particular local Vet that they would not treat him. She was referred to Cornell Animal Hospital. This is supposed to be an emergency animal hospital... but they will only treat animals that have been treated in the past by their ""hand picked"" Vets? Simply wrong, and very disturbing. Pros: None that I can see Cons: Will not accept pets from certain local Vets more

I am pretty passionate about my cat and would not trust her health to anyone I didn't believe had her best interests in mind. My personal experiences with Vestal Vet have been very positive. They have always given my cat quality care that gives me a great amount of peace of mind. The doctors who treated her spent as much time as it took to make sure all my questions were answered about her care and addressed any concerns I had with great compassion. I would suggest this vet to anyone who wanted exceellent care for their pet. Top notch. Pros: Great care, staff, and environment more

let?s put it this way , i have a 10 year old bulldog that had surgery several days before I needed serious help for my dog, my dog had his tail removed and one of the stitches had broke, my dog was bleeding really bad and me and my wife decided to call the vestal vets, ok fine we go over and first thing is 125.00 before anything, had to wait at least an hour and a half before talking to a so called doctor, mean while my dog is bleeding everywhere, still nothing is being done and this is supposed to be an EMERGENCY VISIT. well after all that time we are told to go into a room -which we wait another 45 minutes then the so called vet doctor comes in and we tell her what is happening, and this so called vet doctor tells us to put the dog up on the table if we want her to see what is going on. I am livid at this point but hold my cool. so called doctor vet wipes off the wound and looks and decides to tell us that he will need to be put under in order to re-stitch the wound. So called vet doc leaves and then another helper/worker comes in and tell us that this is going to cost at the minimum of 750.00 for this surgery! OMG I?m ready to loose it, we tell worker that the whole surgery for the tail to be removed and all that was involved to remove the tail cost 350.00 at the Endwell Vet hospital!Quote ( I don?t what to tell you but this is the price for surgery for a stitch to be re done - we told her we don?t have that kind of money on hand, mean while girl goes and talks to so called vet doctor and comes back (mean while my dog has lost a lot of bl00d) and tell us that we would have to pay 750.00 . WTF i told girl there is no way that we can pay that, so girl offers to put 2 gauze pad (2-inch x 2inc and tape over the wound) we said ok - I guess we will have to wait until the morning until the Endwell animal hospital opens. , girl put on the worthless dressing and before we even leave we had to pay 125.00 for two small pads and some tape. i would not recommend ever never. Pros: Nice Parking Lot Cons: all of them more

The doctors and the staff here are the best I have ever known. They are caring and pleasant to both the animals and the owners. Pros: Sensitive and caring. more

We recently had to put our wonderful cat of 19 years to sleep. The Vestal Vet was amazing. We had used them throughout our cats life and they were always the best. However, it wasn't until her death that I truly saw just how great they were. They were so gentle, kind, and compassionate. They treated our cat and her remains with so much respect. Yes, they may be a little more pricey than some of the other local vets. But, I believe you get what you pay for. They are so amazingly thorough and competent. Not only are they very knowledgeable but every employee has a fantastic bedside manner. more

This vet office is the best in Vestal. I have been to many vet offices in the local area and I would rate this as one of the best. The staff is kind and courteous and genuinely cares about your animal. The only con to this vet office is that there are cheaper offices in the area. more

We first went there because our friends recommended it to us. We've been very pleased with all services. The receptionists are very nice in person and over the phone. I feel comfortable in recommending this veterinary to anyone! more

We have used Vestal Vet for the 7 years that we have lived in the area. We went there on the recommendation of a friend and I can recommend this veterinary practice without any hesitation. The doctors are all wonderful. The front desk staff are all great and everyone treats you like a welcome friend. We have used their regular vet service, grooming service, emergency care, overnight surgical unit, and have always felt like we could trust the staff to be doing what needed to be done. I would trust them with any pet. PROS: The Best For Your Pet CONS: none more