OVC Companion Animal Hosp

Saved my Brittany spaniel, amazing staff and treatment of both pets and owners. Responded with urgent triage when we called and let them know we were on our way when our little guy crashed. If you need real urgent care, this is the place to be.
8 years ago (09-05-2018)

Wonderful, friendly, caring staff. Undoubtedly a great place to bring your pet. Unfortunately the billing and invoicing is not very good. I settled my bill when I picked up my pet and there was a zero balance owing. Two days later I received an invoice for $300 in the mail. When I called to inquire they said there "may" be an additional $300 owing but I should wait to pay it and call back in a week as all invoices go through an internal audit. When I called back after a week they said there was a zero balance. Two days after that I received another invoice for $300 in the mail... massive confusion.
9 years ago (21-01-2018)

You may have heard wonderful things about OVC ICU small animal hospital in Guelph but I have different story to tell. Story that is hard to believe, story that does not happen at the state of the art facility used by referring veterinarians across the province for treatment and care not readily available in general veterinary practice. Well, it happened to me – the most horrific nightmare and experience imaginable happened to us at OVC small animal hospital and I feel that people need to hear me out in hopes they reconsider entrusting lives of their pets in to hands of OVC. I certainly would never trust them again. To sum up here and also reported for investigation to their regulatory body, here is our heartbreaking story; story which in human health would be considered malpractice in every sense of the word: - OVC veterinarian that took care of my little girl failed to follow mandated standards of care in respect to documentation of administered medications. During review of medical records after my little girl’s death it has come to my attention that it is not clear if IV Lasix was administered (drug that I requested in final attempt to save her since IM Lasix was ineffective). No time, no route, no frequency was recorded which reflects failure to follow standards of care. There was no possibility for misunderstanding of my request. Several people heard me. - Further, corrections were made to the chart (initially reported 2 doses of IM Lasix were corrected to 4 doses of IM Lasix) upon my request to review her medical records. Charts should not be corrected when family requests to see them! If there was discrepancy, this should have been caught by the end of the shift since we are not discussing here minimal things such as bad hair cut. It is life saving drugs that were not properly recorded yet I was told they were administered. We will never know as there is no proof of administration nor route or time of administration. - Repeatedly I had to keep asking for numbers and results of the tests they were doing as I am familiar with them. No one took me seriously as understanding this information my self and wanting to be informed. They failed to inform me accurately which resulted in euthanasia since I thought there was nothing more that could save her. - There was significant 3 week delay in providing me with medical records after initial request for records was made and error in number of IM doses noted. Since 3 weeks passed before I could obtain medical records and with failure to document IV Lasix, any reports now are speculations and in favor of what I want to hear. However, there is no proof that IV was administered as I had requested as last bit of hope in saving her life or at least stabilizing her. - To word it politely, the head of OVC ICU showed no interest in providing me with answers in timely manner after this error was discovered (which provided more time for things to be forgotten). - They further made a mistake in reporting she arrived with IV from referring veterinarian. This is not accurate as I have numerous times asked for IV to be started in Guelph. - It’s been 4 months and I still have no answers. I will never have the answers if the IV Lasix was truly administered – my wish to try everything possible to save her prior to opting for humane euthanasia was taken away due to negligence of veterinarian to document administered medications. - No apology for the grief of never knowing if she could have been saved with IV Lasix, no explanation as to why they failed to adhere to the standards of care has been received. I will take all the proper steps in ensuring this does not happen to your loving pet. Those that don't love what they do should not work in this profession. These little guys can not speak for them selves so it is our duty to ensure they get best care possible. I was in the position to provide this to my little girl and OVC failed her. Stay with your local vet and local emergency clinics (amazing care) without hoping to receive better care at OVC.
8 years ago (09-05-2018)

Came in Christmas night after a refferal from the animal hospital in Burlington. My 8 yr old miniature dachshund was in an incredible amount of pain and losing the ability to move. By noon the next day he was out of surgery and recovering. They diagnosed a depression on his spinal cord caused by a disk in his neck. I get calls each day in the morning and night with an update on his recovery. This weekend I came in for visits and saw first hand how much the doctors care and how professional they are. They fully explain everything they do in terms of the treatment, and recovery. As of writing this, my little man is still there. But he's in great hands, and will be returning home this week. Can't thank the doctors enough for everything they've done and continue doing.
9 years ago (01-01-2018)

I am so glad the Ontario Veterinary College exists, and it's such a great place, relatively close to home. Years ago I took one of my birds to a Toronto vet emergency clinic with a torn bleeding toenail because it got caught in one of his toys, and they wouldn't even touch him, didn't know what to do with a parrot. Had I known of OVC then, I would have taken him there. Thank God it wasn't a life and death emergency. Having taken my birds to a GTA exotic clinic, including specialising in birds, for almost 20 years, I took one of them to my regular clinic a number of times over 5 years for a recurrent infection. All they continued to do was give Baytril (seems this is ALL they EVER give for ANYTHING), and do nose flushes. Over the years it got worse until finally I was referred to OVC for a diagnostic CT scan. Finally! Competence and wonderful care. While expensive, OVC is worth it. Caring staff and amazing Dr. Kline. Dr. Kline, relatively a new vet, not only skillfully treating my bird's issue, also diagnosed another minor issue which should have presented obviously at her regular yearly visit with her regular vets, who are significantly more "experienced" with more years under their belt. Not so. Even I noticed something was wrong with the skin on her foot but attributed it to aging (in her 20s - middle age). I was thankful to Dr. Kline but angry with my own vet clinic for not diagnosing (not even noticing it) something SO basic during a PHYSICAL exam. Dr. Kline provides detailed and extensive followup emails, and phone calls as well. Time is not a factor, his care for your pet is. He is honest and does what is best for your pets. Wonderful doctor, wonderful clinic. I may just pack all my birds up at once and make the trip once a year to make OVC my regular vet clinic. VERY impressed.
8 years ago (27-03-2018)