Dr. Crowley and Dr. Ragoschke are wonderful vets. They're thorough, kind, patient and genuinely care about the animals they treat. Four months ago, when our dog Willow became sick with diarrhea and vomiting, Dr. Ragoschke was kind enough to explain her test results and answer my many questions. I felt good about my experience with her and believed that my husband and I had found a great clinic in Milwaukee.
But the supporting staff leaves a lot to be desired. When the antibiotic Willow was prescribed resulted in constipation, I called to find out how to proceed. The tech I spoke to told me that constipation for several days is normal BUT that we should stop the antibiotic. Since the doctor hadn't warned us that constipation was a possible side effect that would warrant our stopping the antibiotic, I asked some additional questions. The tech struggled to answer them, growing exasperated. I then asked if she meant we should temporarily stop the antibiotic or if this would be a permanent cessation of the med. She condescendingly said, "Use your judgment" as though anyone with half a brain would know what to do.
I explained that my husband and I pay hundreds of dollars for the professional advice of trained veterinarians because we love our dog and don't want to "guess" what to do. The tech repeated that we should stop the antibiotic and use our discretion on whether to continue it later. "When is 'later'?" I asked. She sighed, making it painfully clear that she didn't want to discuss it. She apparently didn't know the answer and didn't care enough to find out what it was. I told her I would be more comfortable speaking directly to the doctor. She insisted she had told me all I needed to know. I repeated that I would like to speak with the vet. She then snapped that someone would call us Monday and HUNG UP ON ME! My brother was sitting next to me and heard this entire exchange, including the click of her phone. We looked at each other with our mouths agape, shocked that someone in the position of protecting the health and welfare of people's pets could be so dismissive and rude.
Monday came and went without a call. Since it was getting late, my husband called Community Vet (CV) himself, putting his phone on speaker so that I could hear as well. When he mentioned that we'd been waiting for their call, a defensive woman said they had called us earlier that day. (Our phone histories and the lack of a voicemail said otherwise.) This woman was just as rude, condescending and dismissive as the woman I had spoken to on Friday, ranting about how we had refused medication the vet had prescribed and how I had refused the advice of the tech. My husband repeatedly tried asking one question but she kept talking over him, so I finally interrupted and said, "We never 'refused medication'; we explained at checkout that we already had the probiotic at home. And I didn't 'refuse' the advice of the tech; I was trying to get clarification on HOW to proceed and she couldn't tell me. We're now again trying to get an answer to one question but you're not letting us speak." She snapped, "I'm speaking to your husband, not you!" I replied, "You're speaking AT my husband, not TO him, and he's standing here rolling his eyes because you won't let him get a word in!" She, too, hung up on us. My husband and I looked at each other. "Can you believe this?" I asked. He just kept shaking his head and saying, "Wow."
I should've written this review then but because of the wonderful vets, we decided to stay with the clinic, hoping to avoid the rude staff members.
Fast-forward to a couple of days ago when we took Willow to urgent care where she was treated for roundworm. Since she needs to be seen in 4 weeks by our regular vet to make sure she's ok, I called CV yesterday to make the appointment. A staff member named Alex answered the phone and--after pulling our account--explained that CV can no longer see us.
"Huh?"
"There's a note on your account."
"What?"
"Yeah, it's been there for months."
"What? Why weren't we told? There's never been a phone call, letter, email, nothing!"
Alex apologized but he couldn't change it.
Community Vet's logo is: "We consider your pet's health our first concern."
Really? CV staff decided that we're no longer welcome but didn't have the decency to tell us so that we could find a new vet for our sweet little rescue dog. Instead they waited until she became sick and in need of care to let us know. It's gross. After many calls, the earliest we can get in with a new vet is in two months. Clearly, our pet's health is of no concern to CV. It seems the staff is more concerned with spite, no matter the cost to our little dog.
The negative reviews here almost entirely point to CV's supporting staff, a pattern. CV may have great vets but all it takes is a couple of rude, spiteful employees to endanger the life of your beloved pet. If you care about your pet's health, avoid Community Vet. read more