I went to North Country to get a second opinion for my blind cat. The place came highly recommended, and I was looking forward to possibly making it my 3 cats' permanent vet. My regular vet insisted t... Read More
I went to North Country to get a second opinion for my blind cat. The place came highly recommended, and I was looking forward to possibly making it my 3 cats' permanent vet. My regular vet insisted that my blind cat needed to go to Cornell to be analyzed and examined for what could be the beginnings of a painful disease called glaucoma. He also indicated that going to Cornell was a time-sensitive matter that needed to be dealt with sooner than later. The good news: Dr. Odre at North Country didn't feel that the Cornell visit was necessary. She said it was optional but certainly not necessary and definitely not time-sensitive. She did a thorough examination during my first visit there, and she did a recheck a month later after we had adjusted my cat's medication. Turns out, thanks to Dr. Odre, I do not need to be giving my cat the medication twice a day and instead can give it once daily, which will be a huge savings in the long run, as it is very pricey stuff. Also, Dr. Odre took the time to research places where I can obtain coupons for the medication, which I thought was a very nice gesture on her part and a bonus for me. I really appreciated it, and I let her know that.The bad news: The reception experience I had at this vet's office was horrible. The first person I spoke with on the phone when I made my first appointment seemed scatterbrained, was abrupt when I asked questions, and lacked manners. The second person I dealt with was also abrupt and bordered on rude. Not only that, but there is a $15.00 medical record origination fee just to get the records set up in the system, which I was not informed of in advance. Also, despite the fact that Dr. Odre spent a good deal of time with my cat and put him through what I would like to assume were necessary tests/procedures, I was not given advance notice of the astronomical charge that those tests/procedures would cost. (My regular vet always gives advance notice when the charges are going to exceed a regular office visit.) When I questioned the receptionist about the charges, she got testy with me.More bad news: At my recheck visit, I was kept waiting over half an hour before I was finally ushered into an examination room and got to see Dr. Odre. (I believe it was something like 35 minutes from the time I arrived at my appointment, ON TIME, to the time Dr. Odre entered the examination room.) And then, when I went to pay for the very short recheck visit, I saw that the charge was $47.00--FOR A RECHECK. My current vet charges $25.00 for rechecks. I like Dr. Odre, but the negative issues I described above are the reasons I will not be returning to North Country. The 30-minute drive from Cicero wouldn't faze me in the least if things had turned out differently. I subtracted 3 stars from the rating for the 3 glaringly negative issues I experienced. Read Less