Feather and Fur Animal Hospital

Dr. Newman took care of my boxer/pit and I thought she did a great job with him through the years. She had great bed side manners and was there with us when we had to put him down. However her care for my newest puppy is why this is 2 stars. When I got a new puppy from the shelter I took him to her because he immediately showed some GI issues. I asked for a full physical and wanted to make sure there was nothing serious like Parvo (which he had been cured of at shelter) or distemper. All tests were fine, and my puppy was good. Or so we thought. A few days later he developed a cough. We brought the puppy back to Dr.Newman and again addressed concerns that this is maybe distemper or something serious. "He has no eye discharge, this is just a virus like kennel cough". ok. And then a week later, he started shaking. I rushed him to see Dr. Newman. I was in tears, saying I think he has distemper. She calmed me down and said essentially that I'm just being sensitive cause my dog had died a month ago, but that my new puppy was fine, and vitals were good, and no distemper, cause he has no signs of it. Puppies shake sometimes. Later that night my dog started to have violent tremors. I took back to the vet that morning at 7am. Dr. Newman was not scheduled to be in that day, but to her credit she came. I appreciated that. She still did not believe my dog had distemper. I researched and saw all the signs, she apparently saw none of the classic signs. Finally later that day we were told to see neurologist that she referred us to who confirmed it was distemper. We are fighting like hell with Austin Pets Alive to keep our puppy alive. There is no cure for distemper, however if caught early, they do have a better chance at survival I'm told. I don't want to be angry at her, but frankly I am. I hope that from now on, something as easy as a mouth swab test will be done when a dog exhibits any of these classic signs of distemper. Something, anything to try and make sure its not the worst virus a dog could get. And it is. And I'm sorry doctor, gunk in the eyes is not the only classic sign of distemper, as I've read over and over and over the literature on distemper and its signs. I know she loves animals, and I honestly truly don't believe this was done with malice, but if I was able to see the signs, and the other specialists and vets could easily see the signs on the exact same day she still couldn't see any sign, then there is a problem. Perhaps private practice does not see as many cases of distemper to be familiar but that is not an excuse. GI issues, followed by cough or respiratory infection followed by shakes or neurological systems is CLASSIC distemper. Im sorry Dr. Newman , you tried, and you were there for my first dog, but you failed me this time. Read Less

Feather and Fur was just a random choice for me when I moved to this area; but it turned out that it was an excellent choice. Dr. Newman has been so helpful in caring for my aging cat Stewert. I also must say that the Vet Tecs are friendly and great with the pets too. Stew is not afraid in the hospital and when boarded he is just fine and they keep his medications working while he is there. I am thankful and appreciative of Feather and Fur. Thank you one and all! Suzanne Read Less

Really liked Dr. Newman and how she explained my pet's problem. I definitely felt like she was going me fix the skin issues long term instead of prescribing my dog meds that would just need to be filled every month. We've been to 3 other vets with the same issue and came away from this visit feeling like it was finally fixed. It was reasonably priced and the vet techs were all very friendly too... Read Less

These doctors are very caring. They have seen me and my family through three different fur babies. We have been clients for 15 years and have never had a complaint. They take time with you and answers all of your questions. Their assistants are the bomb - very professional and helpful.Read Less

We love Dr. Julie Newman. We have taken our dogs to Feather and Fur for years. We have also take a couple foster dogs and rescues to see her while they were in our care. We like Dr. Newman's bedside manner, she gets down to business but is still very warm and personable. She is very down to earth and practical and at the same time understands the strong emotional bond we have with our animals. Dr. Newman is clearly an experienced and educated professional that stays current. She always explains things thoroughly, gives us all the options, as well as given us her personal recommendations, so we can make informed decisions about our animals health and welfare. All the staff are super sweet and nice to all the animals. They all seem like true animal lovers who take care of their patients as their own. DENTAL BONUS: Also, we found them to be a great value regarding teeth cleaning for our dogs, while it's never cheap, it was considerably less here than at other clinics we had used in the past. Read Less

I took my 10 year old, 65lb dog in here on a Saturday in May 2011, I was in the middle of trying to find a new vet....I had y been seeing a vet up in Pville, very far from my house. My dog had a swollen abdomen. We saw Dr. Blatt, he treated her for stomach upset, and didnt want to do an xray, when I requested it...he said, well I can make this cost a whole lot if you want, but protocol says to treat this for a stomach upset. My dog had not been eating for the last 3 days, was noticeable thin, except her abdomen was swollen. $275, some metronidazole and cerenia....My pup didn't do well on the metro...she seemed to get dizzy, I called an emergency vet on Sunday they said to stop the metro and go back to the vet on Monday. When I called feather and fur on Monday morning right when they opened, they didnt seem to think it sounded serious and told me they didnt have appts, and after I pushed them...they ""found"" a 2:00 apt for me. UGH I realized I couldn't trust their care and called another vet who told me that sounded like an emergency and referred me to the VCA clinic at Manchaca and Slaughter, who took me right away. Xrays showed my babies abdomen was filled with fluid....her liver wasn't functioning properly and the metro had been making it worse...plus the dose they gave her was DOUBLE what 2 vets later told me should be prescribed to a dog that size. My baby had Lymphoma, and I lost her about 2 mos later....Feather and Fur, Dr. BLATT, never called again to check on her. I am writing this as my TRUE experience at this clinic, and I encourage people to QUESTION a vets decision...and double check them. Just because they have a fancy clinic, with fancy automatic scales and such...doesn't make them a good dr. With lymphoma, my baby couldn't have been saved, but she didn't have to experience the metro overdose because of this clinic and carelessness. What I think happened is Dr. Blatt didn't want to waste time with taking xrays, maybe because I wasn't an established client....maybe because he needed to be somewhere, and didnt not want to run over time....he made it about saving me money.....I didn't want him to save me money, I wanted him to save my best friend. Read Less

Sadly learned of Dr. Blatt's history in Hawaii TOO LATE.Took my dog in for dental, 4 days later he DIED. I brought him back in 4 days after dental due to wheezing. Dr. Blatt said he had pneumonia from dental surgery and a fever. It was a Saturday and Dr. Blatt acted like he was in a hurry. He should never have sent him home; he needed to be hospitalized that day. He died at home, gasping for breath just hrs later. Was a healthy dog just 4 days before. I'll never get over guilt or heartbreak. His death could have been prevented. I've read reports from Univ.Hwi, and Animal Rights Hwi. Lesson learned. They never offered to refund the 500 dollars for the deadly dental and followup emergency. It wouldn't have brought my dog back but I don't know how Blatt could sleep at night having kept that money. It just kills me when I think of how my dog trusted me as he sat on my lap while I drove him to that dental appointment; he was a healthy beautiful sweet soul and didn't deserve what happened to him. Read Less

I want to express my full confidence in Dr. Blatt and Dr. Newman and the staff at Feather's and Fur. I have been taking my two dogs there since 2006 when my family moved to Austin. The care is excellent and the pricing fair. At one time, for one procedure I had moved to another( also excellent) vet since it was closer to my home and recommended by a neighbor; but this other vet was much more costly for what I believe to be similar care. So I returned to Feather's and Fur. The doctors work with me to help me afford the best care. They offer the generic heart worm medicine, Iverheart, that other local vets don't offer and this saves a lot over the year. The staff is friendly too. I see the comments about having to wait for service: if I come at a busy time, I have to wait. I also have to wait at the hair salon or the mechanic, I know I'm not at the express isle at HEB. When my turn comes, my pets and I are well cared for. The vets and staff always take time to help educate me (in a way I can fully understand- and make a good decision) about the needs of my pets. Check out their Website. Read Less

A vet doesn't get better than Feather and Fur! I moved to South Austin 5 years ago and started to take my black lab there because it was close to the house. The first time Feather and Fur won me over was when my black lab became ill with liver disease. While Dr. Newman was preforming a biopsy my beloved lab passed away. He was just too old. Dr. Newman cried with me and took a lot of time out of her day to allow myself and my brother to view Marley. Dr. Newman went ahead and sent of the sample of Marley's liver at no cost to me so we could know what was going on. This was the first time F&F won me over. The 2nd time was an incident with my dog Gunther. I received a phone call at work that he had gotten out and had been recovered by someone and they were getting a phone number for me. The other line started to ring and it was my vet, F&F, the apartment complex that my dog had snuck into to go swimming had called them too. Feather & Fur walked over to the apartment complex and oicked him up for me and kept him until I could leave work. If that isn't going above and beyond I don't know what is! Besides the excellent customer service they provide Dr. Blatt is very cost conscious and is always giving me and honest option of what needs to be done and what could wait or isn't really needed. The whole staff is pleased to take their time with you and recognize me and my dog every time we come in. Gunther and I Love Feather and Fur!!! Read Less

I recently took two of my pets here for vaccinations. Dropped them off at the beginning of the day to be picked up late afternoon. The few times I have been to this vet this seems to be what they prefer... given the stressful, overworked, disorganized vet and staff, I left with real doubts as to whether my pets received adequate physical exams and full care in my absence. I waited 40 minutes to pick up my pets, found numerous errors on the bill, they didn't give my pet the pain medicine that I agreed to pay extra for and my pet was crying from pain and they never did the test that was the reason I brought them in. The visit for the two was over $500.00. We left that day never having seen or spoken to the vet. Appalling. Some of there techs seem like nice people who do care, albeit so overworked and stressed, but Blatt, who runs this place is cold and clearly prioritizes $$$ over the care of the animals. I'd pay twice what I paid for good care, but for the level of service I feel ripped off. There are lots of great vets in Austin, this is not one. No wonder the reviews on here are so bad. Read Less

when i took my cats on both occasions there was one particular staff member that was rude made rude remarks to me and comments to other staff. i love the doctors there but would find another vet if it was a non emergency Read Less

My Son brought home a puppy a couple days ago. We have 4 cats and have not had a dog for several years. This Puppy had been abused and is very timid. I asked a friend to give me the name of her Vet because she alwys went on and on how great they are. I called on a Saturday. Explained the situation and they got us in within a couple hours. I have never had such a great experience as this with a Veternarian. They were so loving and caring. They were gentle with her and explained things in detail about her health. I would recommend this Vet (Dr. Newman) to anyone without the least bit of hesitation. Hope (Dr. Newmans assistant) went above and beyond with her care and concern. She was wonderful and very knowledgable too. Thanks!! Our new rescued Puppy has a great new start. Jen Duffy Read Less

We started using this vet when we moved south. It has been just OK. We use Dr. Newman and she is gentle and conscientious with our dog, but unlike our old vet up north, the vet techs do most of the work here -- if you want basic services performed by the vet, you have to pay a lot more. Most of the vet techs are very sweet, but there is one tech whose customer service leaves much to be desired (she always gives me a hard time when I want to accompany my dog to the back and stay with him during his services -- which I think is a reasonable request). My chief complaint is that they always seem rushed and overbooked. Every time I call, they immediately put me on hold for several minutes. They consistently run behind schedule and every appointment I have had with them, I have had to wait 10-20 minutes in the waiting area -- even when I make an 8am appointment. It's frustrating. As much as I like Dr. Newman, I wish we got more personal attention from the vet herself and I wish the customer service was better. Read Less

I took my puppy here for his first visit since I adopted him, and the staff was great. The vet's assistants and receptionists were very friendly to us and our pup, and the vet herself was thorough and took her time answering our questions. Also, after I had my puppy neutered at a city-sponsored clinic, I was concerned about his incision and called Feather and Fur. They did not do the procedure themselves, but I was impressed that one of the vets answered the phone and explained in-depth what was going on. This was just before a holiday when the office was about to close! There are animal hospitals a bit closer to our home, but since the service and knowledge are exceptional, we will be back to Feather and Fur. Read Less

If you like your ferrets and don't want to risk harm to them, don't take them to this office. I've been raising ferrets for 11 years and this was the worst experience I could imagine for my ferrets. The staff is unfamiliar with how to handle ferrets, the don't have the correct tools for these small animals (they used cat instruments), and the vet knows NOTHING about ferrets - thinks they are just like a dog or cat. I wound up in an argument with the vet when I questioned him and he told me to take my animals somewhere else. Very unprofessional. Read Less

We took our 8 year old pug to this clinic because she was drinking high quantities of water. Dr. Newman immediately ordered tests upon our approval to see what the cause was. Within three weeks our beloved pug had suffered kidney failure. The staff and doctors of Feather and Fur tried in vain to save our dog but it was too late. They offered to perform a necropsy free of charge because they too wanted to find out why she died so quickly. The results from Texas A & M came back within the week. She died of advanced renal failure. There was nothing either we nor the doctor could have treated unless it had been found earlier. We are most grateful for the care they gave Melody. Please take your pets there. They will be in the best of hands. Read Less