Animal Emergency And Specialty Hospital Of Grand Rapids

If I could give this zero stars I would. I brought my dog here two years ago. He was undergoing heartworm treatment and suddenly became very lethargic. I suspected his body was reacting to the breakdown of the heart worms. When we arrived they assessed him and stated he was dehydrated and his BP was low. They then proceeded to do nothing for the next 5 hours until they were certain we had secured payment for his treatment. They should have started fluids and the typical heartworm reaction protocol which includes benadryl and steroids. They did nothing other than run some oxygen in the general direction of his face. Finally about 5 hours later, after running up hundreds of dollars in unnecessary testing ( they knew he was being treated for HW and he had all the classic signs of a reaction) they began more aggressive treatment. Against my better judgement we left him for the night. A couple of hours later we got the call that he passed away from, you guessed it, anaphylactic shock. Which is what we told them was going on when we brought him in. He was my baby and his loss was completely unnecessary. If I had brought him to Blue Pearl I feel that he would still be here. DO NOT bring your pets to Animal Emergency Hospital. Read Less

My new pug puppy couldn't open his eyes on a Sunday and was very uncomfortable as you can imagine so I brought him in to the animal hospital. From minute one I could tell that they cared. My baby got all the attention each patient deserves and fixed up in no time. Other than the added expense a hospital brings I would bring him back here daily just for the attention. Everyone was SO nice and accommodating! Read Less

I have an 8 week old puppy that had a heavy object fall on her back. Prior to this she was treated for kennel cough. They gave me more info on her prior condition then the issues she had from The falling object. They saw how distressed I was. And tried to take advantage. They told me to hospitalize her over night. which would be over a thousand dollars. Mind you, she was acting like a normal puppy, I was concerned about internal issues and bleeding. I was charged for the office call to get her in.. 93 Dollars. On top of exam fee 116. Pain meds 94. I was kept there for four hours. They didn't give me much information.. and You can't be with your pet while you wait for a room. I waited a very long time for a room. To Then be moved out of it. 30 Mins later. Because another person needed it who came in after me!!! I hate this place. They are costly. But it's more so not being able to diagnose problems And give answers and help. Read Less

If I could give these place 0 stars I would. Here’s my story, Took my cat there because he was sneezing constantly, and he wouldn’t eat. I was there for 3hrs they told me I had to pay $489.00 for some shots they supposedly said he needed to feel better. That didn’t help at all. THESE PEOPLE ONLY CARE ABOUT YOUR MONEY! IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR PET CONSIDER TAKING HIM ELSEWHERE. Read Less

I brought my cat here when he was straining to urinate. I'm glad I caught it in time, and was informed about what would have happened if I waited to bring him in. The whole staff was so informative and compassionate. The treatment plans they presented were fair and they always got my approval and went over diagnostics with me first before trying to do anything else. I truly appreciate them being there 24/7 and the value of everything they do. I hope I don't have to bring either of my cats in again, but if I do I would definitely bring them back to AEH. Read Less

Heartless clinic! My best friend had to have her dog put down and they wanted another $150 just to be in the room with their beloved dog of 13 years while being put to sleep. What an awful way to try and get more money out of people. This is heartless and absurd! It makes an awful situation even worse. Pets are like our family members. Would you leave your family member to die alone in a room with people they do not know?! This practice should be changed. Read Less

Can't believe how horrible the staff and the help was here. My dog that has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember started having a seizure and wasn't able to pull out of it. We took her here and they sat around talking about money and then after there was no hope they asked if we would like to be in the room with her while they put her down. Of course we did but first $150 had to be paid. FOR BEING IN THE ROOM WITH OUR DYING PET! Rediculous. It's a shame that this is the only option around for a 24 hour clinic. Absolutely a shame. Read Less

Took my Corgi there after injecting rat poison at a neighbors farm. Would not provide treatment until I was shown the "menu". 3 options, pick one, which I did. Was told I needed to give a deposit. I figured 2-3-4 hundred, but no, had to pony up $2000 before they would do anything. Was called 8 hours later to come back for a confrence. Might be the spleen and we can open her up and look with no guarantees for $2500 more. She was barely alive and in pain, had to have her put down, $600 more. How many words can I use to describe these "professionals"? Be prepared for a horrible experience if you go there. Read Less

We brought our very elderly cat into the hospital in the middle of the night, as he started to show signs of shutting down. we didnt want him to suffer , so drove to the hospital. He passed away during the trip. the staff at the hospital were so kind, took him and and checked him out. carefully wrapped and boxed him for burial. and then sent a card of sympathy. what kind and loving care! Read Less

Do not bring your pet here unless it is life or death within an hour (Lansing is an hour away - go there otherwise). I had an appt with my normal vet for a week from the day but decided that my pet couldn't make it that long (my vet didn't have any openings for a week). I called the emergency hospital ahead of time to ask for an estimate for this operation that needed to be done immediately (note: my dog has needed this operation previously from time to time). The person on the phone would not even give me a rough estimate. I ended up explaining to her each item that went into this operation at my regular vet thinking she might be able to give me an estimate with that information. The conversation ended with her being very rude saying, "Ugh I dunno I guess expect at least a few hundred." I thought OK that's reasonable this operation costs $80 at a regular vet so around $300 for an emergency vet is reasonable. I get there, sign in, sit for an hour in the room, and finally the vet comes back with a $1100 dollar "treatment plan". To which I said, "Uh this costs $80 at my vet; I can't do that". This threw her off and she said hold on a little bit let me see what I can do to cut this down. A few minutes later the vet tech came back and literally asked me, "How much can you do?" I told her I could do $200 now and give more in a couple of days, but not $1000. Note this was already ridiculous - you could tell they were just trying to see how much they could squeeze out of me. They had me wait for another half hour and then came in to tell me they couldn't do it and that they'd be right back with discharge papers. I waited for another half hour and they still charged me $114 in the end. 2 hour total visit to pay them $114... I ended up talking to my normal vet about the urgency of the situation and they squeezed me in the next day. I walked out of my normal vet for $79.80 that day. This place exploits pet owners' compassion for their pets for monetary gain at the expense of the pets' health and well-being. This is disgusting, and the business model needs to be changed. If they aren't willing to accept the negative reviews here as a way to improve then I can only hope they get shut down and a new, more compassionate animal emergency hospital arises in their place. Read Less

A little over two weeks ago, I brought my incredibly sick Australian Shepherd in to the Animal Emergency Hospital. I think the staff could tell I was a wreck and they treated my dog and me with kindness and professionalism. The vet on staff went over possibilities with me and came up with a treatment plan. She needed emergency surgery and ended up staying at the hospital for two days. When I came twice a day to visit her, I was met with the same great staff and veterinarians who took the time to go over the issues thoroughly with me while answering my many questions. Did it cost a lot? Sure. But it was worth every penny to get my awesome little dog back on her feet again! While I never want to be in that situation again, if I were, I wouldn't hesitate to bring my dog back! Read Less

A lot of the people here are leaving bad reviews due to money issues: but consider this. This is not a regular vet. This is, basically, a pet ER that is open 24/7 every single day of the year. It's the only one in a large radius too, making it even more elusive. This is for those late-night scares, those holiday pet crises. This is when your vet isn't available and it can very well be a matter of life or death within hours. It is going to be pricey. I am so thankful for the fact that this place was open on New Year's Eve. My cat was poisoned by flea medicine that said "FOR CATS" on the bottle despite having poison that will kill cats in it. It was pricey, sure, but my cat didn't' deserve to die because it was NYE and his regular vet wasn't open. Thank you, Animal Emergency Hospital. Thank you for taking care of my furry family member on a night where everyone else is out of work, partying and celebrating for the new year. Because of your vet specialists who are willing to check on people's pets overnight on holiday weekends, my cat is on the road to recovery from something he would have most likely died from if you weren't around. Read Less

I was there twice in one year with 2 different dogs. Each time spent a lot of money but neither time was I there very long. But pets without health insurance in an emergency can get expensive. No fault of the facility. They were very attentive from the call prior to arrival, during both visits, and after. They even called to check on each dog a few days after. Both times were right on with a diagnosis within minutes. The out comes we're different in the long run. Pork chop made a full recovery but Hank had to be put down. They took very good care of my pets while there and treated us very well. I appreciate the staff and will highly recommend for anyone in need/emergency anytime. Read Less

It is never easy to find yourself ending up at an emergency animal hospital but this place did an amazing job. My husband and I have had a traumatic experience with our other dog that ended up with us putting our beloved dog down. That was at a Blue Pearl clinic in Washington and I have to say that I would never go back to a blue pearl again. But this animal hospital took great care of our dog after he was attacked by another dog. The staff was all very kind and understanding. They saw our dog very quickly and comforted us through the entire process. Our dog is now home and recovering. I would take my dog here again in an emergency and know he would be in good hands. Read Less

I had a tragic incident where my ferrets spleen ruptured on a Sunday afternoon. We got in the car and called to let them know we were on our way. When we arrived they were standing by the doors with arms out ready to take him. I was a mess and crying uncontrollably. They did everything they could, they offered to do the surgery to help him but was honest about the cost and likely hood of him surviving. We decided to put him down. They let me hold him as he passed and they kindly wrapped him up and put him in a box for me. I'm so glad I came to this place! It was a horrible experience but without them it would have been 100x worse.I later received a hand written letter from doctor Brittany Denison.Thank you for being such a kind understanding emergency vet. Read Less

Receiving staff was very pleasant and courteous. Even when she needed an assistant to take my cats temperature, she asked if it was ok to take him out of the room for a quick sec. I was fine with it, but I can see where some people may be concerned about losing site of their animals. I appreciate her asking.The doctor offered a treatment plan that was simple and worked well. I'm happy with the care provided for my cat. The price was a little on the steep side, but it is emergency care, and that is to be expected. Read Less

Just don't do it. Drive to Blue Pearl. This has to be the most horrible veterinary clinic I've been to. Please find a hospital prior to an emergency so you know where to go. I'm appalled at the service we received. Absolutely NASTY. Less than 24 hours post surgery here (at this hospital) and this is how my puppy looked when we took her in for an emergency follow up. We paid $1300 for this?! Her stitches all (but one) popped open from pressure. They were poking her eyeball. This is/was not a cosmetic surgery. It's medical in nature.  So many details...but please do your research. Can't even begin to explain how many times they tried to get rid of us. They said, "sometimes there are complications."  Sending us home with eye drops and pain meds. After an immediate visit to Blue Pearl we discovered it was much more serious than they (the place being reviewed) were saying. And...the price difference was insane. Read Less

I've had the misfortune to need the emergency hospital's services twice. Quite a few years ago, my cat spent a couple of days there before he had to be euthanized. This past Christmas Eve our dog spent the night there after helping herself to a lot of chocolate while we were gone. It is not cheap, that's for sure. However, both of my experiences were positive ones. The staff was extremely gentle, kind, and caring. When my cat had to be put to sleep, they put us in a nice room and told us to spend as much time with him as we needed before calling them to give him the shot. With my dog, they told us we could call as often as we wanted to check on her. Read Less

so, my dog has all sorts of problems as a result of being so crazy he often hurts himself playing. we took him here after he impaled his mouth on a stick that stuck in the sand at the beach and he jumped on it. he's a large (80lb) boxer mix with pet anxieties. i told them this and they were really great about  getting me into an examination room quickly so he didnt have to wait in the waiting room; then even cleared everyone out before they took me back through after the exam. the staff was excellent and the doctor was very nice. he was not happy with her white coat. she noticed this and took it off, she offered her hand up to him and he stopped growling and did really well.they worked with my budget and were able to get him on enough antibiotics that he healed up just fine. my only complaint would be the price, but its an emergency room so you cant expect it to be super reasonable, so, i wont even complain about that. they are amazing, i wish they weren't just an emergency vet. Read Less

When you visit an Animal Emergency Hospital it is not a pleasant experience.  Sadly our 16 year old dog Bravo fell ill and we took him there at 8 p.m.  The staff and the vet were terrific not only dealing with out sick dog and but also our sadness and distress.  They gave Bravo several tests and explained everything in a clear manner.  They even did a few tests that we were not charged for.  In the end it was determined our beloved Bravo was not going to recover and the most humane thing to do was to euthanize him.  As difficult as that was we knew it was best for him.  Everyone there was very understanding and supportive which made this horrible night a little easier. Read Less

After a camping accident with the dog necessitated a quick trip to a veterinarian - with being a Saturday on a holiday weekend, all of the regular vets were already closed.   A trip to the pet ER was needed ... we drove all the way to GR from the Fremont, MI area.  We called beforehand to let them know we were coming and gave them the pet info that they requested (name, weight, years old).  The place was sadly busy with several people ahead of us, but they immediately took us in to get our dog's bloody foot taken care of with a temporary bandage.   We then had to wait, while the people ahead of us got treatment for their animals.  When we were called up - they told us in a straight -forward manner the work needed to be done and the approx. cost of each item.  We were quoted $600-700 and the actual total came out to be a bit less.  It took them an hour or so to do the minor surgery.   The staff there was very helpful, considerate and friendly.  The vet. explained everything that was done and the follow-up care that would be needed, as well as the schedule for administering the medicine.  One negative was that the E-collar was $50 - this place is not cheap, BUT you need to realize you are paying for ER service, this is not your typical neighborhood vet. I also wish there was another location closer like in Big Rapids.  I hope I never have to go back - but in an emergency situation like the one we were faced with, it's nice to know there is a professional vet. ER service available. Read Less