any good veterinary services?

[freyja.livejournal.com]

sorry for the crossposting, but after the horrible treatment both i and my cat have recently received at my previous vet office (main street animal hospital in salem, nh, for anyone who is interested in not getting screwed over and neglected), i'm looking for suggestions on where to take her from now on.

does anyone know of any really, really, good vet practices in the area? i'm specifically looking for affordability, good customer service, good recordkeeping, knowledgeable staff, and someone who can actually keep me informed when procedures are needed to be done or when my pet has a medical problem. in short, i need someone who actually gives a crap about veterinary service.

it doesn't seem like i'm asking a lot, but apparently according to this other place i am. any suggestions?

Comments

[jadelennox]

Porter Square Vet (in Davis Square, actually) is The Best Vet in Town. Not that cheap, but worth it. I'm partial to Dr. Leavey there, others love Dr. Bugalski, but they're all good vets.

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

I use Porter Square vet to. I also recomend Dr. Leavey. Both me and my cat recommend against Dr. Cohen. He has a demening way he talks to everyone, he understated the serverity of a side effect of a medication, and hurt my cat badly enough while taking a blood sample that my cat growled at him instantly at a later visit with Dr. Leavey when he came into the room. My cat had not made one hiss or growl at Dr. Leavey the entire time.

[freyja.livejournal.com]

so they would actually let me choose which vet? main st didn't let me do that either, i just got stuck with whoever was there :/ and their staff turnover was fast (wonder why) so i never got the opportunity to really like one doctor or another... how is the turnover at porter square vet?

[mifall-ing.livejournal.com]

someone on here recommended the porter square vet to me a couple of months ago when we adopted our kittens and we've never had a problem. dr. leavey is awesome. it takes our kittens like a minute to become adjusted to her. they always get us in fast if need be, and we call them all the time with every kind of question or worry we could possibly have and always get good advice.

it seems like this would be the type of place that lets you say who you want to go to the first time, and we always get booked with dr. leavey now.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

We love Porter Sq. vet, too. Dr. Schwaka is our pick, though...we love her.

[gingicat]

For nearby, Union Sq Vet Clinic in Somerville is good but not fabulous.

My friend ladysprite is an utterly awesome vet, and she's in Andover, at the Andover Veterinary Hospital.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Not be all bandwagony, but...
Porter Square Vet for me too...I went there because it's about 4 blocks from my home and I can walk my Siamese boys there, but I am very impressed with them. They remember who is Harri and who is Patrick and each of their problems (Harri has asthma and hates dogs, Patrick has bad teeth and eats too much), and they understand that even though one cat needs to be on a diet, it's not that easy to keep him on it when the other cat needs to eat.

No, they're not the least expensive, but...to my mind, this isn't a thing to scrimp on.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

CityCats, on Mass Ave. in Arlington Center is the best veterinary practice I've ever encountered. Dr. Charles Bradley has cut us major Deal$ with our threesome of cats, and his perseverance and kindness saved our one cat from surgery that proved, with Dr. B's patience, entirely unnecessary. He also does kitty dentistry, which most vets don't pay attention to, and which has made our one testy, unhappy, withdrawn cat into an incredibly playful kitten again (and probably kept her from dying). And during the dental surgery, he called me to tell me what the state of her mouth was and to ask exactly what he should do (especially in terms of money).

He's generous and knowledgeable, and I've never had a bad experience with the staff there either (the staff includes his wife and daughter, so it's a very friendly, family-y kind of practice).

I can't say enough good things about CityCats and Dr. Bradley, honestly. They're worth the trip to Arlington.