Hawthorne Animal Health Care

As a new Salem resident, I called the Hawthorne animal care looking to make an urgent appoinment for my very sick cat. The woman who at the time answered the phone, told me that they were taking urgent care appointments I told her that I was on my way. When I arrived, completely desperate and looking for some sort of help, the front desk woman was careless, rude and unprofessional. She kept on having a non work related nonetheless urgent conversation with another woman, while I was standing right infront of her, waiting with my poor cat. She completely ignored me and neglected to at least acknowledged me when I entered. When I finally was able to get her attention, she told me that she couldnt help me, because there was no one there that could take a look at my cat, and that I needed to go somewhere else. Since I was new to the city of Salem, I asked her if she knew of any other vet office or hospital that was in Salem or near by. She limited her self to say : NO. I was surprised and sadly disappointed. I thought that this practice calling itself "Holistic" was going to have more of a compassionate and helpful staff working to help our little family members. I will never go back there againg. At the end, I was happy to find The New England Veterinary Clinic in Salem, and was able to get not only excelent care, but also a group of compassionate people that moved everything in order to help me and my cat. Read Less

I have been bringing my dogs to Hawthorne Animal Health Care for over 17 years. Prior to this, my dogs were being seen by Dr. Diane Thomas, for over ten years in Medford. She is also our vet at Hawthorne Animal Health Care. The care my dogs have received at HAHC is outstanding! Every exam, every surgery, every treatment has been performed with the utmost of care, and my husband and I are very satisfied with all the vets and the staff at Hawthorne. Over the past few years..., my Brittany, Henry, has had to have several very large Lipoma removed by Dr. Freedman. Henry is an older dog, and we were worried. Dr. Freedman treated my boy with excellent care, removed the Lipoma that were making it hard for him to move around comfortably, and was always available to assist with his healing. he even came in on a day when they were not open, to assist me with Henry's drainage. I can't say enough about Dr. Diane Thomas, who has known all my dogs. Having the same vet for at least 25 years, has made such a difference for us, as well as for our dogs. When it came time to put a dog down, the staff at Hawthorne were so helpful and respectful of the process of grief. Dr. Freedman will not hesitate to tell you if you are doing something incorrect, but I trust him completely, and I know he truly cares about the animals he treats. We will be getting a new dog soon, and will continue to use HAHC. Thank you to all the staff and all the Vets! The Malatesta family. See More Read Less

If I could give it negative stars I would. The WORST staff I've ever experienced. Treated me with such a disgusting attitude...maybe because I'm "young"? Everyone is miserable, I'll take my business elsewhere! Read Less

I have worked with Dr. Freedman with all my dogs since Hawthorne Animal first opened. He is a genuine and compassionate medical provider who's first priority is the health & well being of the animals. His staff has been just a genuine & compassionate and a great pleasure to do business with.DCK/Marblehead Read Less

Dr. Freedman & Staff, Thank You so much for the sympathy card you sent me. And the heart warming gift of my Troubles paw print inside the card made me cry & made me smile. Dr. Freedman, I'd like to send you a very special Thank You for helping me out & not turning me away & also for your kindness to my Spooky, Cuco, Trouble & myself. Warm hugs to you & your staff. <3 Read Less

Dr. Freedman and the staff have been amazing to my best buddy, Max the cat, and to me over the past 7 years. Always there to answer my many questions when Max's health began to decline, always patient. Truly partners with me in caring for Max right up to the end. 5 Stars, all the way. Read Less

Waisted money, the owner was giving me the run around, was exhausted and didn't make any sense! Took my cat to another local vet, they demanded I had her mass removed, it was cancerous come to find out. Thank god I went elsewhere! I never write negative reviews....ever! This almost cost my pets life, don't go!!! All Creatures Hospital in Salem.....they will take care of you and your loved animalRead Less

We just moved back to the boston area in march. We started bringing our dog, Buddy there when he had a hematoma on his ear. The doctor (I forget his name) was very kind and laid on the floor with Bud and was just awesome. They gave him some medicine and some laser treatment and he was good as new. Well recently, we thought he was having hip problems and brought him in only to find out he had cancer all throughout his body and treatments would have only prolonged the inevitable and just weakened his immune system. As a family we decided not to put him or our family through that and decided to put him to rest. All of the staff were very kind and sympathetic. We had our three small children in the room, my husband and myself, and our very close family friend for support. They let us spend as much time as we needed both before and after he was laid to rest. They also gave us a pamphlet to a crematorium that offered us a discount for being patients at Hawthorne. Well just yesterday I came home to find a sweet handwritten card from the vet tech(Diane Thomas) that put Buddy to rest. She had included a paw print of his inside the card. I will be taking any and all future pets to Hawthorne. They have been absolutely fantastic. Read Less

Dr Friedman and staff have always been very kind to both my animals and me. I trust their counsel and have been through the serious illnesses of three of my pets with them. I especially appreciate the blend of traditional and alternative vet care. I had the experience of being treated quite badly by a large Marblehead practice during the terminal illness of my first dog. It has meant the world to me to find a trustworthy, respectful vet. Read Less

Love this place! We saw mostly Dr. Thomas and sometimes Dr. Freedman for our Corgi dog, Jack from 2005-2015. He was a rescue, so we had limited history on his first 5 years without us. When he was struck lame less than 2 months after we got him, Dr. Thomas was quick to diagnose Lyme disease and he was back to health in 48 hours. Instead of pushing annual vaccines, they were happy to do titres to check immunity levels and do boosters when necessary. When Jack ate part of a peace lily plant that was poisonous, instead of prescribing expensive meds to circumvent the body's natural process of eliminating the toxin, our vets suggested natural herbs to soothe his belly and help him heal. These are herbs I can get at Whole Foods for $10 and can use for myself as well. It worked brilliantly!At 14 years old, Jack developed degenerative myelopathy which is genetic in Corgis, otherwise known as the canine version of ALS. Dr. Freedman knew the diagnosis without having to run a bazillion tests to rule out everything else. I appreciate that. Jack also had bad cataracts and at no point did anyone suggest crazy expensive surgery to remove them - other vets would have pushed it for the revenue it generates. As Jack's condition progresses and his paralysis worsened acupuncture was suggested but never pushed. Finally when it was time to put Jack down, Dr. Thomas was compassionate, mindful and extremely gentle with all of us. My husband and I were a sobbing mess and the entire office was completely wonderful with us. They gave us as much time, space and hugs we needed at a really awful time. There was no sell on urns or ashes or cemetery stuff. They just gave us the literature to take home and asked us to call them by a certain date if we wanted any further services. I whole-heartedly recommend their vet services to anyone locally who is looking for a gentle, hands-off approach to their pet care. We have recently adopted a bunny and I was so bummed to find out that they don't service rabbits. Yet, when we got the bunny (found in our driveway and not wild), they were the first ones I called. Despite the fact that they don't work with bunnies, they let me come in to check if he was microchipped free of charge, same day. The front office is professional and courteous and has always been great with us. If we ever get another dog we'll back! Read Less

I brought my dog Bella in today for her first acupuncture visit with Dr.  Rotner.  Bella had a serious back injury six months ago and she has arthritis in her back and elbow.  Dr Rotner was incredibly informative and you can tell she enjoys what she is doing.  I'm excited to see how Bella's next few visit help her mobility.  The ladies at the front desk were also very nice and friendly.  Thanks again! Read Less

I'm honestly surprised at all the bad reviews here. I've been taking my cats to see Dr. Freedman for over 20 years and frequently recommend him to others. The staff have never been anything other than courteous and friendly to me. Dr. Freedman has taken excellent care of all my companions over the years which is evidenced by how long lived most of them have been (my oldest currently is 20). I have never been pushed into buying any special or unnecessary food. And Dr. Freedman has done a good job of combining holistic and traditional therapies for each of my cats based on their various conditions over the years. He has helped me more times than I can count and has been very good at communication; calling me quickly with lab results, providing me reading material when a cat has been diagnosed with an illness or condition, and always calling me back swiftly if I have questions about a medication or treatment. His love of animals is always evident in the way he treats his patients. I honestly dread the day he decides to retire.So anyway, if you live in the area and you are looking for a good general practitioner for your dog or cat I do highly recommend this clinic and Dr. Freedman. Read Less

We have found Dr. Freedman to be kind, helpful and thoughtful when assisting us in making decisions for the dogs in our care at Healthy Hounds Doggie Daycare. It's the thoughtfulness that really stands out. Sometimes the doctor will take his time to thoroughly consider and research our questions. We have a very high success rate in keeping our dogs safe & healthy, in part due to Dr. Freedman, He is accessible and knowledgeable. Most importantly, like us, he has the best interest of animals at heart.Read Less

I've read some of these reviews, and I also do not think Yelp a very good place for an honest opinion, if you do not pay to be on their services I happen to know they delete positive reviews. But none the less I need to set the record straight as a client/patient of Hawthorne for years now. All of my pets over the years were and are treated here, and I have never been given poor service. As a matter of fact quite the opposite. I've been treated very well and my pets exceptionally. Dr. Freeman is a unique character, but in my opinion in a positive way. I've never met an extremely intelligent person who did not have "quirks", it's a signature of intelligence. Regardless his knowledge and car of animals is selfless and overly concerned, which is exactly what you should look for in a Vet if you truly care for them, leaving no stone unturned. I've never once in all my years of going had them try and "sell" me anything!! That's just complete nonsense, they offered maybe if I inquired, but never pushed what so ever.  The staff is personal, caring and very nice. A very important thing to remember is a staff member is also a person! All to often I see people on the client side mistreating people, with an attitude like they are some sort of royalty, then have the nerve to wonder why they may have been spoken to in a cold way! Have some respect, smile, treat other how you want to be treated! Doing just that I have always been given exceptional, friendly, genuine caring attitudes in return. Pet owners can be some of the hardest "customers" to deal with, especially when their pets are sick. From what I read on those negative reviews, those reviewers sounded disrespectful and rude! One of them simply called, was never even a patient!? Why should she even allowed to leave a review at all!?I normally do not write reviews, but when I saw what was written I had to. Hawthorne is an excellent place, hands down, and by no means even remotely deserved the few bad comments and I can honestly say this as a client who has been going there now for many, many years!! Read Less

I can understand why some people have bad reviews on this place. Dr. Friedman can be very pushy on what he believes is the right way to care for your animal. There have been times that he made me feel a little guilty for feeding my dog purina, or taking him for a walk in the woods. However, I do understand that he wants whats best for your pet and he does mean well, even if sometimes he can come off as a bit judgy. Dr. Friedman is soo great with my dog. You can really tell he has a true love for animals. He always does his best to make my dog feels comfortable, and comforted while up on the exam table.The office is very clean, and the staff has always been very helpful and friendly. The prices are also very affordable compared to other vets I have been to. Read Less

Dr. Freedman of Hawthorne Animal Hospital has been my Vet. This week I had to take my dog to the emergency Veterinary Hospital in Woburn at 2 AM. The next morning at 9:15 I received a call from Dr. Freedman's office checking to see how my dog was feeling...that's what I call outstanding service and concern. Dr. Freedman and his staff are really care! Read Less

This place is an absolute disgrace. I had a few hours to spare today and my dog needed his rabies shot. I simply called and asked them what time they were open till today and if they had availability to do a rabies shot on my Pomeranian. The woman on the phone was SO RUDE. "Why do you need to know what time were open till? What's the urgency? Why do you need it today?" I was simply inquiring, the lady could've kindly said no we can't do it today but instead she sounded irritated with me and asked all these condescending questions.  This place should probably work on their customer service and phone etiquette. Never calling them again and I will tell all my friends not to as well. Read Less

I took my dog to Hawthorne Animal Hospital a while ago.  Dr. Rotner was our vet at the time. My puppy had allergies and he was going in for visits on a regular basis while doing a "food elimination" test to see what he was allergic too.  While Dr. Rotner was very sweet, her staff was completely the opposite.  This staff is so rude and disrespectful, and when I went to talk to the Vet about it, she took their side saying that I was wrong.  They told me to find another vet.  They are the rudest practice... also Dr. Friedman is a strange person, and not very friendly at all... if you want a good vet got Marblehead Animal Hospital. Read Less

I have used 4 different vets over the years and this place is by far the best.  The Dr.'s are knowledgeable and take the time with you and your pet to answer questions.  I trust their recommendations.  Their prices are also better than the other local vets.  The place is clean and the front office staff is very friendly and organized. Read Less

Originally, I began bringing my animals to Hawthorne due to its close proximity to my apartment ( it was two streets away). I was never impressed with Dr. Friedman, but I continued going there nonetheless. Even after moving, I stayed due to the fact that one of my cats has a heart problem, and I was worried about switching vets and having someone new and unfamiliar with his condition.I finally switched vets. My husband and I could no longer tolerate Dr. Friedman's condescending and judgemental attitude.  He pushes expensive organic foods that he wants you to order through his office, and treats you like you're abusing your animal of you don't buy them. He is the vet equivalent of a used car salesman, trying to sell you every bell and whistle. All he seems to focus on is what can go wrong with your pet, repeatedly telling us about how our dog's breed has a history of heart problems, which we were well aware of, and told him we would handle if it happened (coincidentally , the SAME heart problem my cat has, so we are overly familiar with it.) He also seemed to have no clue which patient he was treating, repeatedly referring to our animals by the wrong gender, despite their very gender specific names. Dr. Friedman also seemed to have issues remembering what he was talking about. My cat has blood tests done multiple times a year, yet the good Dr could never seem to remember what tests he needed (they were always the same!) and what the test specifications were. If a test has to be done a specific number of hours after the pet takes his meds, you would think they would make a point of bringing this fact up BEFORE you arrive at the appointment! Luckily, I remembered.On our most recent, and final visit, the Dr had a lot of difficulty drawing blood from my cat, something he has never mentioned before. He then claims they need more blood, since they are doing more tests than usual, something which is not true since he always has the same tests done. The Dr refused my offers to come in the back and calm my cat. When they were unable to obtain enough blood for both tests, he could not figure out which test he should do, despite a very obvious answer (checking for medication levels that would affect the prescription which we were there for a refill of.) He THEN claims that my cat has given them trouble before, something that he has never said despite my inquiries on each visit. All these excuses make me question if he knows what he is talking about, and makes me feel uncomfortable.On top of all this, Dr. Friedman is rude.  When my husband brought in our puppy, the Dr was not happy that my husband declined the Lyme vaccine, and asked that he bring "the wife" on his next visit, as if my husband needs a chaperone. My husband found this rather insulting. Also, when we told the vet we were switching vets, he demanded payment over the phone for the tests we had done that day (the only reason we hadn't paid was because the good Dr couldn't figure out which blood test he wanted to do). I was given the impression that he would not rewrite the prescription we needed if we did not pay immediately. We have NEVER had ANY issues paying his gouged prices, and have spent hundreds of dollars on tests for my sick cat without batting am eyelash. To have him insinuate that we would stiff him was EXTREMELY insulting and only reassured us that switching vets was a good move. To top things off, the prescription he gave us, has NO refills (it usually has a few.) Very nice Doctor, yo get the last laugh.Do not go to this vet if you want good customer service. Read Less

Dr. Diane Thomas is excellent with all my pets. She is very professional, pleasant, and helpful as well. She does not try to SELL any products or treatment and is easy to communicate with and very informative. Its TOO BAD she works in same place as a doctor (male) who is the exact opposite and is very bad for business. I make sure to see Dr. Diane Thomas. If shes not available i go somewhere else for emergency. Read Less

My 6 month old kitten wasn't being himself, so this was the first place I turned to. I did not know what was wrong with him, but he looked violently ill. They took us in immediately and started right into giving him care. Eventually we discovered that he had gotten into some rat poison, so we expedited our options. I signed a form for him to be euthanized, but the doctor insisted that we let him do an overnight at no extra charge. The kitten's condition didn't change, so the next day the doctor told me it would be best to put him down. I thought otherwise, and the doctor let me have him stay one more night, but on my dime. To my surprise it wasn't that costly in comparison to what I expected, and my kitten ended up surviving and they have been calling me daily to check on his progress. There's no doubt that this will be the vet I continue to take my kitten to. Read Less

I have been going to this practice for years.  I switched from a vet that was very into using as many drugs as possible.  Hawthorne treats more holistically and when possible, uses natural remedies.  For instance, one of my dogs had IBD, which most vets would treat with steroids.  We treated it with a special diet instead.  The same dog later was diagnosed with Lymphoma, necessitating 6 mos of chemo.  She was treated with both traditional and alternative medicine.  She lived for almost 2 years after diagnosis, beating the average of 8-14 mos for other dogs in her situation.  I like this practice a lot.  My one quibble is that I think they're a little expensive but I have been well satisfied with the care my animals have received and the respect that has been shown to me, Read Less

We have been taking our dogs to Hawthorne for years and are confident in the care they receive.  Dr. Freedman can be a little gruff with us humans, but he truly cares about our animals and does his best by them.  I trust him 100% with my dogs and that's why I continue to go there.  As for their holistic approach, I've seen that reflected in their restraint when it comes to vaccines - they take care to choose what vaccines are suitable for our dogs and vaccinate accordingly.  Also, one of my dogs has severe generalized anxiety and a behaviorist recommended he be treated with Prozac, but Dr. Freedman wanted to explore holistic treatment first.  If there's an issue that can be treated successfully through holistic medicine, that's their first choice, but if conventional methods are better, they'll go that route. Read Less

20+ years of caring for our pets.  Wheather an emergency or scheduled check-up's, Hawthorne has been there as an extended family for our dogs.  A successful holistic intervention proved to be an alternative to risky surgery.... they love our pets... sometimes suggest changes in our style of pet care that always favors the pet's health and wellness. Read Less

I don't know what it is about this place...I stopped bringing my kitties there a while back.  The Doctor just gives me a bad vibe for some reason.  They are quite costly, and I feel like the holistic approach is a cop-out on actually giving them full care.  That's just me though.  Try them out and see what you think, I would not recommend to a friend for whatever that is worth.  The space is clean and nice, they have a little shop inside that sells food and such. Read Less

I'm so sorry for the others bad experiences. But in fairness I thought I would offer my 2 cents. I brought my cat Misha in to Dr Thomas for acupuncture and she did a really great job with her. Very caring. As well, she diagnosed my other cat Smyla with Hyperthyroidism and had her on medication within 2 days. I called the day after medication arrived as there was a question about dosage. Dr. Rotner immediately called back within seconds. I'm bringing Misha in for surgery next week for a mast cell tumor removal by Dr. Friedman. I will report how that goes but expect no problem.... Read Less

I started using Hawthorne Animal Health Care after moving to Salem in 2007 and hearing positive reviews from animal-loving friends who tend to research their pets' health issues in depth (rather than just listening to the Doc).  I found the prices to be comparable, and they offer a nice discount on dental cleaning if you use this service within one month of your pet's annual physical.  They recommended I first try an herbal remedy over a pharmaceutical for one condition.  And most importantly, when I informed them that my dog was very shy and cautious of strangers, they immediately approached her in a manner that put her at ease. Read Less

I started bringing my pet here because I prefer a more holistic approach to veterinary medicine. I have to say, they do not push extra shots/vaccines and they do "offer" flower remedies and other holistic treatments. However, the care my pet has received there has been, I'm sorry to say, just ordinary veterinary care with no special emphasis on holistic wellness. In fact, when I wanted to make my dog homemade pet food instead of the canned crap and tried to get some guidance it was like hitting a brick wall. It was clear they wanted me to purchase the "special diet" in a can that they happen to sell there.Also, they are not open for emergency care -- they send you out to Woburn for that. We had to go to a separate place for ultrasound and other diagnostics too. To boot, they aren't inexpensive by any means. Read Less