Animal Clinic of Northwest Hills

I took a neighborhood stray cat in to get it neutered. When I went to pick up the cat, I was shocked with a $ 300 bill. I’ve never paid that much to cut the testicles off a cat before. That was outrages. Apparently there was some unnecessary testing done. I tried to do a favor for the community and I feel like I was fined. May Austin’s ferals multiply. I won’t do it again.

I have mixed feelings about this place. On the one hand, I’ve been taking my dog there for 10 years, so obviously I trust the vets there. And most of them are knowledgeable and friendly. I never seem to get the same vet, though, so I can’t tell you whom I prefer.
However, one bad experience makes it difficult for me to recommend this place. Years ago, I’d dropped my dog off for a bath and nail clipping. I’d had her nails clipped there before when I took her for her shots, and while she absolutely hated it – as many dogs do – it got done. This time, however, a tech called me at work and asked my permission to put her under for her nail clipping! She said she was entirely too aggressive and they couldn’t do it any other way, not even with a muzzle. I said, «No way” – too many dangers with anesthesia, especially unnecessary anesthesia – and went to pick her up. At that point, the male vet there literally followed me out into the parking lot, lecturing me on how dangerous my dog was and how they thought she was going to bite someone and how I needed to take her to an obedience class.
If you met my dog, you’d laugh at this. She’s the sweetest, most affectionate pup in the world. She has a mean bark, and she does not like her nails to be clipped. But she is not aggressive or dangerous! These people work with animals for a living – shouldn’t they be able to tell when a dog is just freaked out?
I considered changing vets after that incident, but the next time her shots came due, I was too lazy and just went back. They’ve been fine since then – in fact, she gets her nails clipped there regularly without incident. But if she disobeys my command to live forever and I get another dog someday, I’ll probably find a new vet.

Ahhhhhhh, we meet again. I must first state the disclaimer that this happened years ago, however, it happened, and I have never forgotten it.
I brought one of my cats here to be spayed — in part because they worked with volunteer organizations to provide low cost spay and neuters. When I arrived with my cat, they asked me to sign paperwork that stated my cat would be bathed. I asked «for what»? And they said, for fleas. I stated my cat did not have fleas — they stated every cat has fleas. I told them I was not signing the paperwork as I have lived with my cat for years and would know better than them if she had fleas. One of the techs came from the back at this point and started running a flea comb through her and came up with 0 — nothing. So they then stated they would do the procedure without me signing the form but if they happened to find any fleas later, they would bathe her.
When I picked her up, guess what was on my bill??? And, even worse, since I was not the original owner of the cat, I did not know she had already been spayed and I was very upset that the vet went through with the procedure (cutting her open) as it is my understanding you can clearly see the previous scar once you shave the animal’s belly.
Every time I drive by this place, I am disgusted.

This clinic was running a scam when we went. A sign by the front desk advised that animals with fleas would be treated with no notice and at the owner’s expense. Our cat regularly took preventative pills and lived inside with no other pets. Guess what? When we arrived, we were hit with a huge bill for flea treatment — in addition to the other charges. At that point, we were helpless — we had no proof and no cat. So we paid their blackmail.

I have a 16-​year-​old dog who has been a patient here for many, many years. Over the years, I’ve had mostly great experiences here, although there have been a few exceptions. One of the vets I encountered here once was kind of abrupt and had a terrible bedside manner, repeatedly referring to my dog as «obese» (he’s fluffy, man!) and treating me like I was some kind of dog abuser for feeding him too much (he gets ¼ cup of food twice a day).
Fortunately, experiences like those truly are the exception here. My favorite vet of the ones I’ve seen is Dr. Buel. She is super sharp and I just completely trust her opinion when there are tough decisions to be made and tough questions to answer. She obviously cares about the pets and it shows.
I like that they have drop-​in service, so you don’t have to be organized to come here, and it’s easy to get in if a problem crops up suddenly. The exception to this rule is on Saturday — you do have to make appointments on Saturdays.
Also, one of the vets told my husband recently that they would price match on pet meds. I haven’t done this yet, but I think that’s pretty cool of them, since it’s so much easier to grab your pet’s meds while you’re at the vet rather than hassling with getting a prescription and ordering them online from a potentially-​shady distributor.

I love this place. the vets and staff seem to genuinely care about you and your pet. and theres always alot of customers which is a good sign. One time I brought my dog in b/​c I thought she was sick. they checked her out and said nothing was wrong with her. she was just about to go into heat so she was acting weird thats all. no charge! Other vets I’ve been to seem to always nickel and dime me to death so it was nice of them to let me have a freebie like that!

Great service and hours. Its drop-​in service so you don’t have to schedule an appointment for most vet services. I take all three of my dogs here. They are open pretty early in the mornings and have saturday service which is great for my schedule. Staff and vets here are very nice. Prices are about average and they also offer boarding services as well.