Chase River Veterinary Hospital

The staff from admin to the Vets were professional and very personal and helpful. We felt comfortable and confident in getting care for our family pets from here. We will continue to use this facility. Read Less

I have had wonderful experience with most of the doctors here. Dr. Nichols was by far the best vet I have gone to with my dog and I will be sad to see her go. Dr. Halverson helped my cat when he got hit by a car and she had the most care and compassion. However, I do not like Dr. Sakai she offers very little information and just suggests we do a bunch of tests and surgery before offering less expensive options. I took my dog in because he was very itchy, after the appointment I had to ask if there was a shampoo to try because I didn't want to take blood tests and allergy tests first, the shampoo worked well. I would prefer to not see her again. Overall though I will stay at this location for all my animal needs Read Less

Capable, comfortable and caring. This team of veterinary professionals demonstrate intent. Intent to put the pet owner at ease and seamlessly take care of the health issue of the pet. The team approaches each case with compassion and significant capacity. If you have a sick animal, concerns about behavioural changes in your furry family member or just need routine care... Chase River Veterinary Hospital in South Nanaimo is a salient choice. Read Less

My wife took our little Gem in today she was having trouble breathing, recently diagnosed with cancer and still not sure of what to expect, we thought it was related. They took her in right away and within a few minutes she was fine. we have brought our little fur baby there foe a number on years and have always been very happy with how they have treated us and our family. we feel that they went way over the top today. Read Less

The staff here are amazing. This is a very busy place so I recommend adding yourself to the cancellation list if you need to get in sooner than later. I love how great the staff are and the prices are very reasonable! Read Less

We had our first visit over the weekend for a regular checkup and shots for one of our dogs. We were blown away by the vet's care, attention to detail and professionalism. We are happy to have finally found the right fit for our furry family! Read Less

The veterinary service here is appalling at best. From the lack of information provided, to the poor approach to pets overall healthcare, I certainly will not be returning. At our last visit we were repeatedly told there were no risks associated with anything we brought up. We felt insulted with the blatant disregard to simply answer anything we asked. We went and got a second opinion from another practice (which I highly recommend you do as well). There, we were treated with respect, all of our questions were answered, and our beloved dog was well looked after. To add insult to injury we were charged (on average) 30% more on the medications we had been purchasing. We don’t mind paying when it comes to the healthcare of our animals, but definitely do when the service and level of care is subpar. Read Less

They take great care of our loved ones and are very thorough, my cat was hurt could barely walk they took x rays and gave antibiotics and pain killers my cat was much better in the days to follow. Its nice to have someone who you can rely on when your pet has health issues. Thank you for taking care of the ones we Love. Read Less

The vet and staff are very friendly but they are very heavy handed at reception about having you sign on to Trupanion pet insurance. They only have signs for this company throughout the office. It certainly appears they are getting kickback from the insurance company on sales. If it doesn't stop we may need to change our vet. Update: We have been back a few times and nobody has mentioned Trupanion insurance. May have been an overzealous employee. Still love this place. Read Less

Great place from reception on. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. I trusted them thoroughly with my little dog who I may say is very nervous with those she doesn't know. They were kind and understanding. I have no hesitation whatsoever I recommending their services. Read Less

charged me 52 dollars for 2 dogs nail trimmed. didnt tell me price prior. beforehand I had shots and nail trimmings done , I was charged 24.50. I was under the assumption that was the price. to ream me out online afterwards because I misunderstood is pretty professional. Yea I get ppl trim their dogs nails themselves and if my dog would let me I would. thanks for ur low key attitude with the response. Read Less

I trust every one at Chase River 100% with my three fur babies. The vets, vet assistants and front desk girls are caring, compassionate, friendly and professional. I wouldn't go anywhere else. Thank you for all you do. Read Less

What amazing service from an amazing team!! Our chocolate lab was just spayed yesterday and the staff just called to check in and make sure Blaze was doing OK. They were very clear when we picked Blaze up if we were worried about ANYTHING to give them a call which was great, but they took it upon themselves to call first thing this morning to see how she was. Love this clinic! Read Less

AWESOME front desk staff very helpful and polite and Dr Guenther is a great vet .I have a 3 yr old over weight Balinese named Kahlua Dr G was a great help to all my questions.I would highly recommend this vet hospital to family and friends . Read Less

Amazing vets. Extremely friendly and take wonderful care of my pets. I feel very comfortable with my furry loved ones in their care. Not only do they keep very good contact while your pet is in there care they send photos of them too :). Very very pleased with the love and care they give to my fur babies. Read Less

Just after Christmas it became very evident that it was time for my dear Mercedes to leave us. It was my first visit to this office. They were so accomodating, gentle and kind. I've never been through this before and the doctor let me take my time, explained everything so well and had astonishing bed side manner. Thank you so much! They even sent a condolences card. Thank you! Read Less

I am not the kind to write negative reviews. I actually think this might be my first ever. I chose to take my senior cat with allergies to chase river vet because I had only heard good things about it. Months later, I am extremely disappointed. My roommate and I adopted our cat Spooky from the SPCA last October. He was 11 years old at the time and we were informed about his allergies. When he had his first allergic reaction, we went to chase river and they were very nice and we saw a wonderful vet who gave us all we needed to clear his skin and ear infection. Then he had a really bad reaction in August, so back to the vet we went. Now, up until the last two visits, they never scheduled us with the same vet twice. Each time we brought Spooky in, we saw someone who wasn't familiar with him, and one of the vets actually recommended us food that Spooky was allergic to! My poor cat has had a cone on for 3 months. He is still sick. He has now had two different rounds of steroids (neither of which worked. Even when we told the vet they didn't work the first time she said we should still do it), Three different rounds of antibiotics, and we switched his food to an extremely expensive food that they recommended, which had ingredients he is allergic to. My roommate and I are both full time students and do not have a lot of extra expendable income, but we will ALWAYS put our cat first and bring him to the vet whenever needed. Chase river however seemed insensitive to that fact. Finally they suggested a skin biopsy, and also a blood test to test for feline HIV and feline Leukemia. They quoted me at $610 for the biopsy, and $200 for the blood test. They also suggested that we go see a veterinary dermatologist where just the consultation was going to be $150. I knew that is something that we had to do so my roommate and I decided we should start saving up for the $800 worth of tests. Then after his last round of antibiotics left him with an extremely upset stomach and STILL didn't get rid of his infection and scabs, I decided to take him to Petroglyph. By this time, spooky had been puking almost every day for two weeks from the antibiotics. Petroglyph gave me more information and help in ONE vet visit then chase river did in almost a year. At our visit there, we did the biopsy. When I asked about the blood test, she said that it was unnecessary as the biopsy would also test for feline HIV and Leukimia. At the end of the visit, it was almost $400 less than Chase river quoted me. When I picked up Spooky, I cried because I was so so so relieved that something was FINALLY being done for my wonderful, kind, loving cat. If I had known it didn't have to be $800, then I would have gotten the biopsy done a month ago as I had the money then, and we would already have answers. The staff at chase river were very friendly, and two of the vets that we saw were kind, but I cannot forgive the agony that they let my cat be in over the past few months. How is it that the vet at Petroglyph gave me so many answers and solutions after one visit, and chase river seemed like they just guessed at every time, and always came up short? Why, for the exact same procedure did they quote me so much more money then Petroglyph? Why did they want to perform an apparently useless blood test with the biopsy? All to make money, or so it seems. We are all human and we all make mistakes, but how could they let my cat go so hurt for so long? There are a lot of rave reviews for this place and i'm very happy for all the animals and their owners that had a positive experience here. Maybe we were the one mistake that they made and they let us fall through the cracks. At the end of the day, they were supposed to help my amazing cat who can't speak for himself, and they didn't. I hope Chase River, that you can grow from this and not let any more people and their animals fall through the cracks. I'm sure Spooky will forgive you as he is the kindest cat I have ever had the pleasure to know, but i'm just not sure that I can. Read Less

First time visit with my Sophie, she is my baby girl and has been battling some tough anxiety. Dr. Rogers was phenomenal and took the time needed to help, even made some follow up calls the same day! Front staff is very knowledgeable and incredibly friendly.. I can't say enough, we will be back with our other bouvier next week for her routine check up! I must add that the prices are also very reasonable, you can tell care is definitely top of mind Read Less

I am so thankful for the good care Dr. Junko Sakai gave to my Siamese cat, Oliver. I brought him in the first time for a laceration on his leg. She did such a great job. He healed well. Then he re-injured himself in the same spot, 4 weeks later! She was so understanding and so helpful. Shout out to all the girls at the front desk and especially Ashley, Ollie's nurse!!! You guys are the BEST! Read Less

the compassion they showed when we found out our old dog had cancer was amazing, even coming to our house to put him to sleep. We also bring our very excitable 3year old 105lb female rottwieler in and the staff is so good with her we wouldn't consider going anywhere else Read Less

Wow, compassionate "Jung" is the best. Found out my dog had a heart Murmur another vet failed to notice. This place is exceptional. The front desk staff make you feel like you're at home, very welcoming. Thanks Chase River :) Read Less

I was blown away this morning and have felt so much more calm after speaking with Debra, an assistant at the Chase River Vet. I called being terrified because my little yorkie Gus seemed like he was about to have a seizure and I'm still not used to them. Debra was amazing. She spent a huge chunk of time on the phone with me, answered all my questions, even ones that were better suited to a therapist (Should I feel this guilty? Am I a bad mom?!) I cannot explain how much peace of mind I felt and how much more confident I feel in dealing with his seizures going forward. I am a brand new client as of two weeks ago and am so happy with Dr. Sakai (Also fantastic) and just really appreciated Debra talking to me today. Thank you! Sorry for the novel. Read Less

I've really appreciated having Chase River Veterinary nearby, especially with our small army of cats. The vets are compassionate, forthright and reasonable. So far no one has told me to start brushing the cats' teeth, which is always a telltale indicator of a vet that doesn't get it, in my opinion.What really makes the office shine is the front staff. Debbie and the team always return calls promptly and follow up on the pets after we have brought them in. We have to order all our food there too (and diabetic supplies) and it is never an issue to get things in on time. Sometimes I feel the staff are more on top of our situation than we are. Read Less

Incredibly friendly vet, excellent overall attitude where the pets come first, not the invoice. Brought my dog in on something of an emergency, was seen almost immediately by Dr Ian Lawrie. Extremely surprised to see him immediately sit down on the floor to handle the dog (beagle-ish) - no other vet I've been to ever did that and I've had dogs and cats for decades. He gave the impression he was connecting with her at her level as much as he was examining which, of course, he was doing. He also explained what he diagnosed (possible spine issue) in term I could understand.He didn't bat an eye as the dog was drooling on his pants. My previous vet would have been displeased to have her expensive clothes soiled.Expected a huge bill, as I had come to expect from my previous vet in Ontario. Nope. Certainly not free but shockingly reasonable. Although we are in this South Nanaimo area only temporarily, I see no reason to find a different vet when we move to a Central Nanaimo location. Read Less