Connecticut Veterinary Center

This Vet has a high turnover of employees and Veterinarians. The only employees who seem to stay there are the horrible managers of the West Hartford and Kensington offices. All these people care about is money. I personally know someone who had their dog run over by a car that took off and the dogs eye came out of the socket. The family put the dog in the car and drove around devastated and desperate for a vet to help their dog. This Vet, CVC, wouldnt touch the dog until they did a write up and wanted $900 immediately. Of course you dont expect this to happen so the family only had $400 to put down at that very moment and the place wouldnt help them. They let the family, kids and all, carry the dog out of there in pain and with an eye out of it's socket. To me, that is horrible and unacceptable. They need to re-evaluate why they are even in this business. Perhaps if they were more compassionate they wouldnt have such a high turnover AND they wouldnt be loosing clients. Although I have seen Dr. Hoppy there, in the past, and was happy with the service(although costly) I wouldnt dare give them the business now Cons: high prices, unknowledgable staff more

My Mom and I had a shizu/yorkshire terrier. Years ago, Mom took him to the CT Veterniary center for their pet grooming services. They said it was going to be a few hours. We she went back to get him, they couldn't find him. Obviously appalled, my Mom began to interrogate them. Apparently what happened is that they send the animals out to a contracted grooming facility where they will wash your pet, clip their nails, and cut their hair. As mentioned in other posts, the inattentive and underpaid staff at the hospital forgot they sent Augie (our dog) out for grooming. 6 hours later, they located Augie and was returned to Mom. Augie had red marks on his skin from where the animal grooming facility blew dry his hair but at great temperatures causing massive irritation. Augie was shaking when he was returned to Mom. She swore she would never bring him back there. I had my own dog, Lady, who was a mix between a collie/shepard/labrador who I did continue to take there. She was 17 years old when I had to put her down because she had no muscle tone, incontenence and severe arthritis. There were many times I had to hold her up so she could go to the bathroom. Last year, Mom had to put Augie to sleep. He had dimentia, blind, deaf, arthritis and open sores that would appear out of nowhere. She had begun taking him to another vet in West Hartford (PetCare). The staff there were EXTREMELY knowledgeable and compassionate, obviously concerned with any animal's well being. As with any pet owner, when it comes to having to put an animal to sleep, it hurts beyond words. But this staff was amazing. They didn't just euthanize Augie and kick us out, they allowed Mom to be in the room with him and stay there as long as she wanted to once he was gone. CT Veterniary kicked me out only minutes after I put Lady down. As far as the staff, it seems the criteria for employment is to have a pulse. That's it. Go to Dr. Lauren M. Mascola, DVM for the BEST care for your animal Cons: Extremely unprofressional and greedy more

It's really unfortunate because there are so few 24-hour vets in Connecticut, but the Connecticut Veterinary Center preys on the love of pet owners for their ill or injured pets. Their staff is *not* attentive to the needs of the animal or owner, and they apparently think nothing of writing up a worst case cost scenario and then exceeding it despite a best-case animal condition. I'd write out the whole experience here, but that'd take more space than allowed, so please feel free to read the blog entry on my site (which I had to put a couple spaces in here because the posting won't let it save otherwise): etravian. com/blog /2008/09/27/100 Pros: They are in fact open. Cons: The only game in town, price gouging, apparently unsafe conditions, performed services not needed more

While the actual doctors are very qualified at what they do, and they provide good medical care....I cannot, in good faith, provide a good review of this veterinary center. Over the years I have had to go here for a variety of different reasons.\r \r First time, I found a cat in the middle of the road who had been hit by a car. I brought the cat here, and they informed me it had to be put to sleep...AND I HAD TO PAY FOR IT! It wasn't even my cat, I was just trying to do a good deed. I also might add they made no attempt to actually call the cat's owner...who's phone number was on the cat's tag.\r \r Then there was time my own dog ate a lethal amount of dark chocolate (5 giant bars worth.) I brought my dog here (as they are emergency care) and upon seeing my dog who, was very close to cardiac arrest (puking, diarrhea, panting, barely able to stand etc etc.) tell me to take my dog outside and FOR ME to call poison control...which I might add costs money. Only then would they see him. Makes n more

DO NOT i repeat DO NOT go to this center. I suggest going to ANY other 24 Hour Veterinary Center besides this one. If your animal can with stand the extra drive I would suggest the animal hospital in Bolton, CT. The staff does not listen to any of the information you give them upon arrival about your animals history. They take your animal into the back room for "observation" come back out with a estimate in the high hundreds. They try to get you to sign off immediately and shoe you out the door with the promise that they will call you if any further things will be done. Not feeling one bit comfortable with the staff after hearing them say they had just "discovered" something we had clearly explained upon arrival I decided there was no way my animal was staying overnight with these people to be caged up and poked at. They don't care about you the owner or the pet. They will do anything to get you to agree to their outrageous prices and try to lead you to the backdoor immediately I know more

DO NOT i repeat DO NOT go to this center. I suggest going to ANY other 24 Hour Veterinary Center besides this one. If your animal can with stand the extra drive I would suggest the animal hospital in Bolton, CT. The staff does not listen to any of the information you give them upon arrival about your animals history. They take your animal into the back room for ""observation"" come back out with a estimate in the high hundreds. They try to get you to sign off immediately and shoe you out the door with the promise that they will call you if any further things will be done. Not feeling one bit comfortable with the staff after hearing them say they had just ""discovered"" something we had clearly explained upon arrival I decided there was no way my animal was staying overnight with these people to be caged up and poked at. They don't care about you the owner or the pet. They will do anything to get you to agree to their outrageous prices and try to lead you to the backdoor immediately I know it can be a stressful time but do ask questions and make sure that your animal is indeed getting the proper treatment. Don't make the same mistake I did in bringing your loved one to this joke of an institution. I hope this can help avoid any added stress to some other animals out there. Pros: They're Open? Cons: RUDE staff; Don't listen to what you say; give you an attitude if you question them. They could careless about your pet evident by the amount of time they spend ""calculating"" costs than with your pet. more

I purchased $50.00 certificate from Friends of Animals. They still charged extra $150 on top of that. Don't know if this is a ripoff. Anybody have any idea? more

In regards to the ICU....My feet were sticking to the floor as if someone had spilled something and never wiped it up! There was hair in dust stuck in this sticky mess. Then I realized dinner time wasn't a "good" time to visit. There was a huge buffet of chinese food all over an exam table that my dog was treated on the night before! Biohazard anyone? more

Did you get to see the deplorable conditions of their so called "icu"? I'd rather take the extra time and head over to Farmington Valley in Avon for emergencies! Or even bolton vet! The front end staff has no clue! The ICU staff completely disregarded me visitng while they went on and on talking about how stupid the doctor "on" was. That was enough for me, I will never go back more

I recently called the animal hospital in West Hartford on Oakwood Avenue to make an appointment for my Boston terrier's (Lola) spay. This is the ridiculous phone conversation I had.\r \r "Hi, my dog needs to be spayed."\r "Has your dog been here before?"\r "No, but I go to the branch in Glastonbury."\r "Ok, what is your phone number?"\r ---I give her my number and she finds Lola's records in the computer.\r "There is an opening for Friday morning."\r "I'll take that. What is this going to cost?"\r "Hold on a moment and I'll get that for you."\r "Ok, thanks!"\r \r ---I listen to muzak for 15 minutes? no exaggeration... didn't think it took 15 minutes to punch some numbers into a calculator? isn't this pretty standard information anyway?? I remain patient.\r ---A different woman's voice picks up the phone.\r \r "Hello, who are you holding for?"\r "Not sure?she didn't give me her name. I'm trying to find out how much it's going to cost to have my dog spayed."\r "Hm, ok. I'll help you."\r "Great, t more

I am surprised by the positive reviews, because I had terrible experiences as have many other people that I know. \r \r I brought my dog in for a simple spaying. When I picked her up, it was in the 90s and the air conditioning was off -- a tech said that they wouldn't turn it on ($). My dog was covered with feces when I got her, no attempt to clean her. \r \r When I brought her home, she screamed in pain every time she moved. When I brought her back, the vet dismissed my 6 month old puppy as being "a drama queen" (?) and said she was fine. When I insisted that he see her walk outside, he saw that she was injured and wanted to keep her for 6 weeks to recover! I refused, kept her quiet and she was ok in a few days. I would never leave her in that place. \r \r On a later visit (they are the only emergency vets around and it was a desperate situation), to their credit, they did diagnose her properly, however, and gave her medicine that may have saved her life. However, the xray quality wa more

Although they are open 24/7 which is helpful, this place is full of hateful vets and vet techs that make you feel bad if you can't spend the absolute most money possible on your pet! The care they provide is mediocre at best and the wait times (with a gaurenteed appointment) are about an hour. Unless you have an overnight emergency find somewhere else to take your precious pet.... Pros: Open 24/7 Cons: poor service. more

We take our dog to the Windsor Office to see Doctor Hoppy (aka Dr. Hopkinson, but no one calls him that). She has received great care here, and we love the entire staff. I love the fact that they remember my dog and her problems without looking at her chart first. I also think it's great that they will make calls well outside of normal hours to check in on you and your pet. The only negative comment I would have is that the location makes it difficult to get out of the driveway when it is a heavy traffic period. My solution is to schedule an appointment earlier than rush hour. more

I've taken my 3 year old dog to this place since she was a puppy and have always had a great experience with them. Her vet is very smart and able to diagnose the problem accurately right away. I also take her here for grooming and they do a great job!! more