Armitage Animal Clinic

If I could leave zero stars, I would. It has been six years since I brought my beautiful kitten, my baby, to Armitage, where I lost him. I still kick myself for not scooping him up and taking him to a Hospital where they might have saved him but the Vet and her staff made it evident that paying their bill was tantamount to their interests while I struggled to think why my poor baby was screaming in pain after spending the night hooked up to an IV without any staff in attendance. Since the Vet had no answer for me and suggested that he had rabies (even though I told her the day before that he had not been let outside at all in over two weeks, which negates that theory), I was forced to deal with a laundry list of charges and asked how I was going to pay and set out to obtain payment, including post dated cheques because the bill was more than I had at the time. I was under pressure and I all wanted to do was to ease my boy's pain and demanded at the very least that they give him a sedative. The Vet insisted that rabies was the probable reason and proceeded to call the Health Department for this reason. Knowing what they must do to confirm rabies (ending the life of the animal and removing its head), I was beside myself with anguish, confusion and desperation. In this fog, I relented to have my sweet young special cat eased of his pain for fear that he would be taken away by strangers who would do the same. The Vet was more than willing to do this without allowing me the time to think of my options. I held him and kissed him telling him I loved him while they did it and then, in my fresh grief, I was lead to reception where they took my debit card and gave me the amounts I needed to write the cheques for the remainder of their services from the day before. I stumbled out the door in a haze of tears and sat in my car for a few minutes and then realized, i wanted to take him home where I could bury him and remember the joy he brought to my life in his short time on this earth. When I ran back in, the Vet and her staff advised me that I had just missed the Health Department officer that had taken his little body far away where they would test him for rabies and there was nothing I could do about it. About a week later, I got a call from a staff member at Armitage, who advised me that they received the results of the test and my sweet kitten DID NOT have rabies. I asked if they could arrange to retrieve his body and head so I could bury them together at home, but they said that was not possible. To this day, I have never forgiven myself for not being strong enough to grab him and find help and deep sadness and regret bring me to tears. Not for myself but for the fact that his young soul trusted me to protect him and I let him down. A week later, they cashed my cheque. Read Less

I had raised a purebred Australian Shepherd with a plethora of problems for 16 yrs, (RIP Jack), so when I got my mixed breed puppy Salli I was assured that all would be routine so I chose an economical Vet in my area. That vet was kind and compassionate but my Salli seemed to be an anomaly having 2 heats before the age of 8 months, so I went on a mission to find the BEST Vet which had earned recognition as being in the top three of NEWMARKET......Dr Leslie Williams at Armitage Animal Hospital.    I discovered that Dr Williams and her staff are extremely organized, professional, empathetic, knowledgeable and quick to respond to problems that arose when Salli went in for spaying surgery and began to exhibit strange behaviour with Pseudo Pregnancy after...(Phantom Pregnancy).  Salli was reclusive and took all of her toys into her bed, treating them as her litter.  With the help of Dr Williams, I felt confident that she would pull out of it, and after 2 weeks she did.  Now she is back to being her old, rather "young" self and I can finally get a good night's sleep. Although It cost a good amount of $$$'s to sign up for a treatment plan (which was optional) in the beginning, it has already proven to be a great investment as it covers routine visits as well as many other advantages too numerous to inscribe here.  I am extremely thankful to have crossed paths with Dr Williams and her amazing staff and plan to stay with them for the rest of both Salli's and my life....whichever comes first. Read Less