Last week we were traveling from NC To Canada and stayed one night in Bar Harbor. We travel with…read moreour 16-year old Chihuahua. That morning in Bar Harbor when I took her out, everything was normal. She went outside and did her walk and came back in. She was inside about 10 minutes when she started yelping in pain. She couldn't walk. Her back leg seemed useless and looked splayed out. She wouldn't let us get near her. It was like she was having a fit. I could tell she was in a panic. After a few minutes she calmed down and seemed OK. She could walk again. But we wanted a vet to look at her as we'd never seen her act this way. We looked on Yelp and saw the great reviews others had given Ellsworth Family Veterinary Clinic so we called. They were exceptionally nice and said they could see her. So we packed up and drove there. Everyone we met (the receptionist, the tech, the vet), was professional and caring. Dr. Jones examined our Chihuahua and couldn't find any indication she been bitten or had stepped on a thorn of some sort. Her diagnosis was that our dog had had a episode of luxating patella, when is farily common in Chihuahuas. I'd never heard of this and the dog had never had this happen before. We'll be on the look out if it happens again. We feel fortunate that this happened in a place with a veterinary clinic as good as this one. I'm especially grateful they agreed to see us. I highly recommend Ellsworth Family Veterinary Ciinic.

This couldn't have been a worse experience. The whole exam and the shot lasted four minutes. How…read moreshe did a "comprehensive" exam in under five minutes, I won't pretend to understand. The vet completely disregarded my concerns and ignored everything that I was saying, and blamed it on behavioral issues and possibly food. She also made an obnoxious comment that people need to do more breed research before buying a dog and suggested that maybe my family needed a dog that much more fit our lifestyle. Complete waste of $100. I'll be taking my dog and any future pets I own elsewhere, and I would suggest you do the same.

Dr Toothaker has taken care of our birds for many years. Few vets will even see birds, but he…read morehandles them well and has saved the life of several of ours. He gave us a whole extra year with my beloved white dove and took such good care of him . The office is very busy, but it is worth the wait to see Dr. Toothaker

Since 2016, Alan Toothaker was the veterinarian for our sweet, beautiful golden retriever Sophie…read moreduring the months each year that we have spent in Maine. In November 2024, he examined Sophie and drew labs. He told us, "she's fine," "just adjusting to her medications." Without much change in her symptoms until the last hours, she died 2 weeks later as we were finally taking her to an emergency room. On 2/26/26 the Maine Board of Veterinary Medicine disciplined Dr. Toothaker for poor record-keeping and violating practice standards in his care of Sophie, and separately regarding another complaint that alleged he mistreated animals and staff. See Ellsworth American 3/25/26 [https://bit.ly/EA260325_LocalVetDisciplined]. You can read the details of these two cases -- AND THE 4 PREVIOUS ACTIONS -- on the State of Maine web page for his license [https://bit.ly/ToothakerMaineLicensePage]. This includes for my case the specific consent agreement that Dr. Toothaker chose to sign to avoid going to court (administrative hearing). You will also see there that he was still on probation for previous infractions when he treated Sophie. Beyond these state actions, Dr. Toothaker also paid $145,360 to resolve complaints by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) about his mishandling of controlled substances in 2023 [https://bit.ly/DEA_ToothakerFine]. As a (human) doctor, after Sophie died, I requested from Dr. Toothaker's clinic, her complete medical record, and I was appalled. We had brought Sophie in because she had not been eating well, but the medical note said she was "eating and drinking well," the kind of text one has in a default note template that's supposed to be changed in the real note, but he didn't. The lab results had numerous red flags that Dr. Toothaker ignored. When I presented to another veterinarian (without giving away the subsequent events) the data that Dr. Toothaker had before him at Sophie's last visit, and asked whether going with "she's fine" seemed right, that vet said "I would not choose to ride for a few weeks on 'she's fine.' I think you would be better served to go see an internal medicine specialist." We would certainly have taken her to a specialist -- driven that night to Portland if needed -- in line with the extensive medical care we have gotten for her over her life. Unfortunately, Dr. Toothaker did not suggest taking her to a specialist, so we didn't do it, and now Sophie is dead, 3 days after her 9th birthday. She had a complicated medical history which Dr. Toothaker knew about but ignored. Equally worrisome in a different way, namely, his trustworthiness, after he received my complaint from the Board, he reported that he -- oops! -- had failed to include in the "complete medical record" that he had sent me, more complete medical ("SOAP") notes maintained "in a separate module" of his electronic medical record. This conveniently discovered note contains at least one statement that I know to be false, and many others that are highly implausible. My impression, though unproven, is that he fabricated these notes in response to my complaint. Dr. Toothaker still claims that he did not do anything wrong medically, but the veterinary board thinks he did, and so do I. I noted in my complaint that Dr. Toothaker is friendly and affable, but that does not make up for his being cavalier and irresponsible about the actual medical care of animals. Before letting Dr. Toothaker care for your pet, I highly recommend you read his disciplinary actions and look at the medical notes that he has previously written for your pet. Sophie died quietly on the floor of our vehicle. I didn't get to say goodbye to her.

My dog, Pico, and I are traveling in Maine from Wisconsin and Pico was in desperate need of having…read morehis anal glands squeezed (unfortunately while we are on vacation). We called Oceanside Animal Hospital and we were able to get in same day at 10:30AM. My first impression is the facility is very nice, clean, and organized and the landscaping on the outside is beautiful. Despite the staff shortage today, we were welcomed right away and seen right after we checked in. The process was smooth and the staff were friendly and knowledgeable! We are also having an issue where Pico has been on a hunger strike for a couple of days, and the staff recommended biome food for us to try. We are grateful to the staff at Oceanside and highly recommend them!

My dog and I received fantastic help and service. My dog needed a medication while we were…read morevacationing in Bar Harbor. I called two other local vets and they could not help me. When I called Oceanside, they were quick to respond, and in less than two hours my pup had her medication. I am very thankful for their kindness and efficiency. I wish more vets were like this.

Great customer service and care for our furballs. The techs are so very caring and helpful.read more

We chose this animal clinic as we heard good things about their staff and for it's close location…read moreto our home. We live in the Downeast area and it's reassuring to know that we have a quality animal clinic in close proximity. We've taken our two dogs there for an annual check up and multiple vaccines. Prices are reasonable and the staff is friendly and professional. Our dogs seem to enjoy the care they receive here so we will continue to use them for our pets as long as we live in this area. They have their own parking lot and are right by the main highway so it's easy to find the clinic and get parking. Just make sure to have your pets on leash since it's so close to the main road for their safety.

I took my new kitten here and it was my first time being at this vet office. the staff and…read moreveterinarian were absolutely wonderful and took very good care of my kitten. they were also very accommodating and sweet. I will definitely be going back

In November we bought a little baby Sphinx kitten from a breeder just outside of Boston ( message…read moreme and I will tell you the Sphinx breeder to avoid). At any case we took her here and she checked out as healthy at the time. A month later we were back because of poopy problems. We found out she had a disease that is common in unclean catteries. We received a prescription and the problems started clearing up. Then the real problems started. Our little girl was losing weight and was tired all the time. Because we travel so much we had to take her to an emergency vet in Connecticut. At that point she was diagnosed with FIP which is nearly 100% fatal. We made sure all records were sent to her doctor at the Veazie clinic and they did so much research and expressed such concern for our little Arista. They made appointments available at short notice which during these times is amazing. We drove from Rhode Island on more than one occasion because they were the only one that we could make a appointment with to do the blood tests we needed to monitor her progress. My wife and I sourced the drugs and administered the treatments because vets are not allowed to do it or even tell us about the possible treatment for this horrible disease but we needed a concerned vet that we could ask questions and monitor our treatment progress. Today our little girl is happy, healthy and full of energy. We have another month before we can say she is 100% cured and we are confident she will be. Thank you so much for the outstanding effort everyone at this clinic did for us and our little baby.

Not enough nice things to say about this place. Our golden-doodle Boomer was so matted, but she did…read morea great job and kept as much hair as she could with the grooming. He came out of there happy as a clam with a cute shaved puppy cut. Despite COVID, they were able to do an outside consultation and bring him to/ from the car with care. We will definitely be back!!

We just moved to the area and were thrill to find Something to Wag About! Our three boys are…read moreactive and the groomers did an amazing job with them. The pups were happy when we picked them up and we are happy with how handsome they are! I cannot recommend them enough!

We have had excellent experiences with all of the vets here. We have been summer residents fora…read morelong, long, time and inevitably we need to have at least one visit for one of our dogs each year. The doctors are knowledgeable and attentive, and very, very kind. We highly recommend Maine Coast Veterinary Hospital!

Staff is amazing and are thorough in advice and care. From initial consultation to exam and check…read moreout, absolutely no complaints.

In defense of this very busy practice: I see some negative reviews concerning not taking new…read moreclients, not having emergency apts. available and long waits for an apt. Dr. Richie has retired and they have been months trying to find a replacement vet to join the practice. They are booked up solid every day and there are only so many overtime hours a vet can work. Other vets are busy, too, and it is hard to find one still taking new clients. There is a shortage of vets in Maine and no one to take up the slack. I've been their client for over 15 years and I've always had the very best of care for my cats from all the vets and techs there. Personally, my phone conversations with the front desk have always been polite and helpful, even though appointments for under 2 weeks away are hard to get these days. If the people answering the phones are less than helpful, they do need to get their act together, however. While I sympathize with a situation where the phone is ringing all the time and people are irate over the lack of available time slots, their job is to remain professional & courteous and I'm sorry to hear not everyone is performing to this standard. My advice to new-to-the-area pet owners is to start calling vets today and set up a wellness check appointment as soon as you find one taking new clients. As an established client, the odds of getting fast emergency care will be better.

Dr Richie was awesome. Since he's left, this place has gone so downhill. My lab suffered with a…read moregrowth on her shoulder for two years because Dr. Olson said it was inoperable because it was wrapped around a muscle and also that anesthesia was too risky and that it would be like performing cosmetic surgery on an 80-year-old woman and she'd be in constant pain if we removed it. I went back a few months ago to see if they'd just remove it. She again refused, but never said that maybe another clinic would do it. She made it sound like it was something my dog had to live with and sent me home with the name of a vet who does in-home euthanasia. She said it would eventually rupture and that when it did, we'd have to have her euthanized. My poor girl was so miserable that I was going to make the dreaded call. Thankfully, my husband insisted we get a second opinion. We brought her to Veazie, and they got her right in. The vet said it was not wrapped around a muscle. He even gave up his lunch to get her into surgery ASAP. My dog is now energetic and happy, whereas before she was mopey and sleeping all of the time. I almost had her put down because I trusted someone who is obviously incompetent. The guilt I feel because my poor girl suffered with this mass unnecessarily for two years and the guilt that I almost had her put down is something I now have to live with. I'm including a photo of the mass and a photo of her postop. I should have known better. Dr. Olson was always making snide comments about how my dog was a basket case and was dramatic. I just thought Dr. Olson had a weird sense of humor. My dog would only get stressed at the vet, and I just chalked that up to the equivalent of how some people get stressed when going to the doctor's or a dentist appointment. I now believe my dog just sensed something was off and did not like Dr. Olson, because she didn't act like that at Veazie Vet. Anyway, I highly recommend Veazie Veterinary Clinic. They gave me my dog back!

My almost 8yr old boxer pit met his first porcupine today. The vet and techs were absolutely…read morewonderful. They got him comfortable and were really gentle with him. I'm so grateful he was able to get some help. I ABSOLUTELY recommend them if you ever need an emergency vet the kindness and compassion they showed me and my 123lb baby really helped put us both at ease.

We had to bring my mom's old old dog here to be euthanized as he was failing. We were treated as if…read morewe were ordering hamburgers, the woman who came in with a clipboard and started asking questions had zero compassion, my mom is old and was very very sad to be losing her dog. The lights in the room were BLAZING, I had to ask they be dimmed and the woman said "oh, no problem, they usually are dimmed". Again, no awareness of the situation. I'm glad this place exists, I know there is a lot of need for er vet services, but these folks need to get more training in compassionate care.