Four Paws Animal Hospital

Very good service and no wait time past appointment. Front and back office service was great and friendly. Also love the fact you can get Saturday and SUNDAY appointments.

Up until recently we took all three of our cats to this clinic and have been happy enough with the care of Dr. Jessen. However, after our latest experience, we will be finding a new veterinarian. We took two of our cats in for their distemper boosters and yearly wellness exams. All was well until later than evening when our girl starting throwing up.



The next morning she was looking even more under the weather, so I took her back in just to make sure she wasn't having a reaction to the vaccine. We saw a different vet, Dr. Bedard, because she was the only person with availability to be seen on short notice. She wasn't sure if the cat was having a reaction, but since she was running a fever and was still vomiting, she administered a benadryl shot, a steroid shot, a pain-reliever shot, and an anti-nausea shot. The cat seemed uncomfortable when her abdomen was palpated, and the vet's "guess" was that the cat was developing a urinary tract infection and "checked her bladder and lower abdomen." The word ultrasound was used, so I assumed they had been thorough. They also administered subcutaneous fluids and sent the cat home, hoping she would be less stressed out than at the office.



We were prescribed pain medicine to be sent home, which neither I nor the receptionist received.



The following day, our cat was still doing poorly, not eating or drinking, and seemed to still be running a fever-- so I took her back in again. This time, the same vet wanted to keep over overnight to give her fluids and do a urinalysis. The following evening, I received a call that our cat was ready to be discharged, as she'd been diagnosed with a mild UTI. She was sent home with antibiotic tablets and directions to monitor her for the next few days.



With considerable effort, we managed to get our cat to take the pills, but she still wasn't eating or drinking. We gave her water via medicine syringe. For about a day it seemed as though she was going to recover, but by Sunday she was throwing up again. Unfortunately, this was over Labour Day weekend, so we were unable to contact the office until this morning (Tuesday). When we went back in, they ordered several blood tests, a test for pancreatitis, and fluids-- because by this point, our cat had lost over a pound. I was also informed that they would "snap some x-rays" to make sure it wasn't "anything else."



As it turns out, our cat had swallowed a small piece of string, likely when she came home from getting her shot, (probably in an effort to make herself throw up).The x-ray that was given a WEEK later finally revealed the blockage and she was sent in for immediate surgery. Due to the length of time the obstruction remained, part of her small intestine became irritated and may or may not heal properly. If it does not, the tissue will have to be removed.



I am appalled that this general check was not done sooner-- especially when I was led to believe they had checked more thoroughly when she was brought in the day after she'd began throwing up. Instead, she was given several medications and treatments that only served to rack up the price of her visits. If this obstruction had been caught sooner and not misdiagnosed as a UTI, her chances of complete recovery without having to remove a piece of her intestine would be much higher. Knowing our cat suffered needlessly for a week is devastating and we will not be taking our animals back to this facility.



I can't speak as to the practices of the other vets at the clinic, but beware of seeing Dr. Bedard.

I've taken evey pet I've had, since moving to the area, to this clinic. And I can't say enough about this place. The receptionists have always been super friendly as well as the veterinarians themselves. They've taken excellent and professional care of my dogs, even my poor epileptic pomeranian, Bobo. My dogs actually enjoy going to their check-ups because of the staff being so awesome. The clinic is very clean and well maintained making this one of the nicer vet clinics I've ever been to.

We're a Military family with four Bloodhound family members. We've been stationed all around the world and Dr. Bollmeier is the BEST vet we've ever had. He saved my AKC Champion female who was very poorly and would have died had Dr. Bollmeier not preformed emergency surgery. He's one in a Million and the people of St. Clair county are truly lucky to him! The staff are super friendly, the office is spotless and the prices are excellent value for the caring treatment our kids always receive.