Van Alstine’s Veterinary Clinic

I could not disagree more with the review from Meg M. Dr. Van Alstine, was born to heal animals. While he might come off as an eccentric hippies, he LOVES animals, and genuinely cares about them more than any vet I have ever seen. Sure, his building is not the flashiest, but much like the roadside dinner that you skip over because it is in disrepair, you never realize that you are missing the best meal you have ever had.
Dr. Van Alstine has always provided all of the treatment options. When it comes to treatment, he will always try the most commonsense approach first, before ordering expensive tests and lab work. When there are say 2 possibilities for a urinary tract infection, and both are treated by Amoxicillian, there is no point in doing expensive lab work to identify which of the 2 it is. I have had vets before that would do that, just to raise the bill. In fact, I spent well over $ 400 at another local vet on an issue for one of my 3 dogs. $ 400 later, the issue was still not treated, and was no better. I myself decided to treat for whipworm, and problem solved. This is the kind of thing Dr. Van Alstine would have treated for first, and if it was not effective, then move to more effective tests and treatment.
The prices here are also very affordable. Just like I choose my Doctor on their medical proficiency, and not their people skills, I choose my veterinarians the same way.
In closing, I recently brought one of my dogs to him with a mass for a second opinion on treatment options. He concurred that it needed to be removed, so we asked if he could do it for less than we were quoted. He was very straightforward to tell us that because of the size and location of the mass, that the surgery was somewhat risky, and that he felt the dog would have the best outcome in a hospital setting, using lasers for cauterization. My wife remarked on how expensive it was, and I think gave him the impression that we might not have the procedure done. We thanked him, and as we were leaving, he pleaded with us to please set the appointment to have it removed as soon as possible. He was genuinely concerned with the welfare of the dog, and not making money, and that to me told me all I needed to know about his character.

I think that some people are born to be vet’s mainly because of how they treated animals when they were younger or you knew they had the touch. Some, however just shouldn’t be allowed to either be around pet’s or people. While, i’m sure he’s had success in the past with people and their pet’s, i’m just not feeling it here. Sorry, it could be the dirty building that should have been cleaned, or razed years ago or it could be that he just doesn’t have very good people skills. I don’t know but i do know that it’s just not a place i will not be going back to for my little kittens.