My family has been using Apple Lake Animal Hospital since we moved to Minnesota in 1995. We have always had at least 3 or more pets at one time, and over the last 22 years we have lost many, but Dr. Petran and the staff there always have been professional and have given the utmost care to our four legged family members. We have had animals that have had infections, a brain tumor, cancer, have been hit by a car, had kidney stones; or that lived a happy healthy life and were humanely put down because it was just the right time to do so, and they have been with us every step of the way. They are caring and compassionate and I would not trust the care of my fur babies to anyone else! Read Less

We moved recently from St Paul, and one of our dogs, Gilly, developed severe diarrhea soon after the move before we had time to research a new vet. I called the closest vet, Apple Lake Animal Hospital, and they were able to get us in right away. They took great care of my dog for a reasonable price, and even called the next day to see how he was doing. A choice of convenience ended up being a great find! A couple of months later, Gilly caught some sort of respiratory illness at a boarding facility. Dr. Robinson gave me all the options for diagnostics and recommended the ones she thought were important to do right away, and which could wait and see. She checked his lungs for fluid and there was none, gave us some medicine and we went home. I ended up having to bring him back within half an hour of bringing him home because his condition progressed quickly and he became unable to breathe; the staff got us right back in and decided to keep him at the hospital for the day to keep an eye on him. Since Dr. Robinson suspected dog flu, they had to make him a special little area away from other animals. Again, they took great care of him and he made a full recovery. I'm so happy to have found this great vet! Read Less

I was living in Minnesota for 13 months as part of the corporate team building their new NFL stadium. I didn't really know many people and had to find new healthcare for myself as well as for my beloved dog. During that time, my sweet Chocolate Lab needed a veterinarian and this hospital was located only a few miles from my townhouse in Apple Valley. Let me tell you: we still miss them! My sweet boy LOVED going there, even when one visit resulted in the cone of shame. :) When the time came to move back home to Florida, I had to vacate my townhouse several days before I could actually leave town and my dog was unable to stay with me at a friend's house. I called Apple Lake and they not only were able to accommodate him but he LOVED being there. I felt so much better. And even after I returned to Florida and needed records they were so very helpful and accommodating. From the staff to the veterinarian I was able to rest assured my happy boy was well cared for. HIGHLY recommend! Read Less

There is genuinely no way I could praise these guys any more highly. They're attentive, knowledgeable, professional and they work with us through all of our dogs' health concerns. They're seriously so personal with their service that you feel like a VIP every time you go in. Seriously, do yourself a favor and check them out! Read Less

I have been a satisfied client of Apple Lake Animal hospital for well over a decade! They are unbelievably good. The team is warm and friendly. The doctor is great. He knows pets so well he has always been right on with his diagnoses leading to less tests. The costs are very reasonable. I'm not rich and am comfortable saying to them look this is what's in my budget is looking like for tests and vaccines. They have no problem helping figure out what is essential and what can wait till next payday. They have never made me feel guilty about my budget either. So if you are looking for the GREATEST team around they are it. Read Less

Bear with me, this is a long story. We have an 11.5 year old pug (average life expectancy is 12.8 years) who had an abscessed tooth in June 2016. Diagnosed and treated by a very friendly female veterinarian at Apple Lake. Then in September 2016 our pug, who is already basically deaf, lost his vision abruptly over the course of a few days. We brought him to Apple Lake and saw Dr. Petran who advised lab work. Said lab work showed grossly elevated liver function but otherwise generally normal limits. He recommended further evaluation of the liver by x ray. We proceeded. X-ray came back WNL, he said, "well, there's a bit of liver that we can't see on the x-ray, we should do an ultrasound. The tests up to this point totalled nearly $500, the ultrasound would be an additional $300. My pup had no symptoms of liver cancer or failure ( vomiting, diarrhea, blood in urine or stool, weightloss.) So my husband and I made the decision to forego the US unless further symptoms surfaced. Dr. Petran was clearly perturbed by our decision. When I went in to ask him further questions he was completely hostile and arrogant. His advice regarding the vision loss, the original complaint we presented for? We could see a veterinary opthalmologist... so no answers regarding our concern. (We found out later that his vision loss was genetic and at least one puppy from the same litter also lost its vision) Fast forward 5 months and we have watched our poor pug lose all interest in life, constantly bump into walks, fall around outside, etc. But we hoped this will pass and he will become more accustomed to his blindness and deafness. Unfortunately, Friday we noticed our pug didn't want his dinner (clearly a big deal if you know pu ). He didn't sleep well that night, kept startling awake and then frantically walking around as if searching for something. Saturday his condition worsened. Refused his food again and would not rest. By Sunday he was just constantly walking around and crashing into something every few seconds. He is whining, whimpering. We have been forcing him water through a syringe and helping him to lap up a tablespoon of peanut butter half heartedly. We tried kenneling him to avoid him injuring himself but he just became more frantic. To us, watching an animal endure this amount of pain is inhumane. But we also love our pug immensely. We brought him to Dr. Petran this morning to ask if he would consider trying a round of antibiotics in case this is all a result of an abscessed tooth again. His reply outlined below: "I can't confirm it's his tooth unless I put him under anesthesia. I can't put him under anesthesia without running labs." When we expressed that as his labs and age likely wouldn't allow anesthesia anyway we think we should try antibiotics before making a decision regarding the life of our pet. His response, "So you're just going to let your pet die then?" We again explained our perspective, his response: "Well, I have a mortgage and a car payment, she's got a mortgage and a car payment (pointing at assistant), in fact everyone in my office has mortgages and car payments. We can't work for free." Mind you it is $50 just to have this exam. Mind you we never asked you to do labs or any other service for free. Did you think that we would just walk in, pay and $50 exam fee, $150 lab fee, $500+ for exam under anesthesia?? For you to come out and tell us he needs a $1000+ procedure? For a dog clearly in an immense amount of distress and near the end of his life expectancy? No one wants to have to make a choice to lose a part of their family. We have lost much sleep and shed many tears watching his condition and happiness deteriorate. How dare you see dollar signs in our misery. Read Less

Our fisrt visit was wonderful very helpful staff helped our little westiepoo feel better. Our next visit was a disaster. My wife brought our little guy back in because his rectum is all swollen. Dr Petran treated my wife very rudely and would not listen to her concerns simply diagnosed it as a food allergy and told my wife to completely change his diet... well his diet hasnt changed in months so I don't see how this could be a food allergy. We will be looking for a new vet tomorrow sorry to say. Read Less

I have been going to this vet for a few years now and I really like the Veterinarians.They are knowledgeable, reasonably priced, friendly, and super helpful. They are able to explain things in detail without being confusing and you can tell they really care about the animals. The entire staff has been very helpful and they remember you and your pets. Read Less

I recently moved to Apple Valley and was not excited about having to find a new vet. I had bought a new purebred ragdoll kitten and needed her spayed and declawed. I researched for days calling at least 15 different vets in the area. This place was very decently priced, I liked that they kept her for 2 whole days, and provided an array of pain management medications that other clinics did not offer. They said the surgury went fine, I brought her home. in the next day or two I noticed her stomach incision was buldging out. I called and they said to bring her in right away. I was at work,  so my mom had to drive down and bring her. The vet said she was 1 in a 1,000 cases where he body was acting on overload to try and dissolve the internal stitches and he hadn't seen a reaction like that in years. He didn't charge me for the visit and we picked some meds that would help her. He also looked at her declaw and noticed one of the incisions wasn't healing right and if we noticed it getting worse he said he would redo the surgery on that opening for free if we needed it. She is doing fine now and I very much appreciated all this clinics help and the nurses putting up with my multiple calls from a worried mommy. I will continue to use this clinic in the future for both my cats. Read Less

I have been here with my pet a few times. It has been nothing short of spectacular each time. They have gotten me in on very short notice with nearly no wait. This past visit was a medical emergency and I was in as soon as I walked in the door. I have found them to be honest, direct, and thorough. Our very old cat, who we thought was at the end of his life, is now running around the house like a kitten. I would highly recommend taking your pet to Apple Lake. Read Less