amazing experience with the lovely staff and great advice on food to support my elder cat. The staff recommended Hydrocare fTom Purina and my cat has never been more spry! the staff are obviously very caring and went out of their way to support us. highly recommend Halifax vet. read more

I will NEVER be going back here! I am Visually impaired (Legally Blind) I have a working dog. I took her in to get some Vax's and shots for her. The Dr informed me that she needs to come back for her follow up shots and was told it was very busy in the clinic and they will call me with the appointment. I called back in the spring to follow up when i can expect my appointment and they told me i missed it. They never called or emailed and i now have to start the regiment of shots all over costing me alot of money. THEIR lack of organization and communication failures resulted in this. I tried to forgive and move on and was willing to pay again for more shots, At the first Appointment my vet realizing i had special needs responded to my question about cutting her nails (Because i am legally blind) She said "You do not need to make an appointment, just bring her in" Well i called yesterday and was told they were busy and preferred i come in another day which i did today and the gentlemen at the front told me there was a Vet Conference going on and all the vets and techs were gone, i just spent $21 on a cab there and $21 on a cab back, $42 to get there and home and still my dogs nails are long. I am frustrated and now crying because of this whole situation. I cannot afford all this abuse and mistakes they are making as i am on disability. I informed the gentlemen at the front to cancel my account. I am now going to file a complaint with the Ombudsman's office nova scotia as well as The disability coalition of Nova Scotia. This is uncalled for. This vet hospital now owes me just over $200 for the mistakes they have made and i IMPLORE YOU never to go here if you have a disability. They are not equipped to handle people with special needs. read more

When I read Timothy Findley's novel, "Not wanted on the Voyage," over 4 years ago, I felt compelled to own a cat of my own. The story has a feline narrator and this was enough for me to hit Kijiji in hopes of finding a four-legged pal. And then Tobias graced my screen: a 12 year old, overweight Maine Coon with a then, real surly attitude. His story of depression plucked at my heart strings and in no time, he was living with me, peeing all over my belongings. When Tobias was sick last year, much to my chagrin I took him to the vet. Just to see someone cost like $80. The vet suggested around $750 in tests, plus gave him a couple of shots which landed me a $200 bill right off the bat. My vet wasn't very sympathetic to my poverty, and didn't offer many answers. My partner and I opted to skip the insanely costly tests, and took the old beast home to potentially kick the bucket. Within a day, he was as good as gold again, back to his old loyal, loving and jerky self. I felt frustrated after my visit to the Halifax Veterinary Hospital: few answers, hasty service, lots of tests and tons of money: overall equaling a "meh" and "blah" experience. read more

Halifax Veterinary Hospital - Veterinarians Near Me - Halifax, Nova Scotia

I probably should have bought shares in this business 13 years ago when I got a Labrador Retriever, but hindsight is 20/20. Still, regardless of how much money I've dropped there over the years, I'm ever grateful to the Halifax Vet Hospital for the fantastic care they've always given my dog when she's in need (and that is painfully often.) Dr. McInnis, herself a Lab owner, knows her stuff, and has been at this location for long enough to know my dog's long history of ear infections and various intestinal upsets caused by eating all the weird crap that Labs like to eat. It's kind of comforting to have a doc who can relate to that kind of behaviour. The clinic also sells dog and cat food, toys, treats and pill-pockets (the world's greatest invention). Nice front-end staff and techs there, too. read more

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The vet tech was delightful. The vet... little in the way patience, refusal to slowly introduce herself to my shy dog, and lots of backhanded comments followed by a hard up-sell. There are are definitely better people to care for your pets. read more

i really love this clinic! they were so knowledgeable and friendly while making the process as easy as possible on my cat. i felt really taken care of and the Vet and Tech answered all my questions. they provided really good suggestions about maintaining my cats weight without being judgemental. they also didnt try to upsell me products or services, which i experienced at a different clinic in ontario. Definitely recommend this animal hospita. read more

A friend had a very horrible experience with this "vet" and I'd like to share the story. Just a heads up: DO NOT TAKE REPTILES HERE. OR ANYTHING FOR THAT MATTER. My friend brought his bearded dragon in to get some retained shed off. This is what they did (warning, very graphic pictures of DEAD animal): http://imgur.com/wUuBX76,wJDhOJc,uPuB1Gn,cZ1jVEm They peeled his skin off. They skinned an innocent person's animal alive and claimed that it just looked odd because of a spray they used. The baby lizard was dead six hours later. This place charged him $200 to kill his brand new pet. Please, whatever you do, DO NOT take your animal here. This is horrible malpractice, and no animal or owner deserves to go through such pain. read more

Pretty standard visit for me! I was just popping in after a mad chase around the city for the one bag of Medi-Cal dog kibble that my delicate flower of a dachshund is able to eat and was happy to find it fully stocked on the shelves. They seemed to have a pretty decent selection of the vet-brand foods rather than just exclusively offering one the way other clinics would. The place itself felt a little run-down but that could just be my first impression of the space considering I wasn't in the door for more than five minutes. Whereas my own vet feels more like a bright, welcoming space, this one definitely just came across as what you'd expect of a vet office. Staff behind the counter were friendly enough! read more

Just left the Halifax Veterinary hospital with my 4 year old rescue Theodore. I (and Theo!) have lived in over 20 cities within Canada and The United States and I must say this is some of the best Vet care he has recieved. The prices were very reasonable, the Veterinary Assistant was was incredibly personable and the Veterinarian extremely knowledgeable. Theo has had some negative Vet experiences in the past, so I cannot say enough how much I appreciate such a positive experience. Highly recommended ! read more

We have been bringing my dog to this location for years. A few months prior to switching locations, he had a tooth fall out and we brought him in to Halifax to check it out. The veterinarian explained to us that it was just the one rotten tooth and his other teeth were healthy. Today, my dog was in to have dental surgery at his current vet in which they removed 16 teeth. I was shocked to find that out considering a few months prior he was a "healthy" boy. Not impressed with the service provided at this location at all. read more

After a very unpleasant first visit to another vet in town with our new puppy, Bailey, we were kind of turned off of vets all together. Very early on in our little puppy's life Bailey had a sore develop on the stitches from her spay. It was late Saturday evening when I first noticed and I was a bit frantic because it looked pretty nasty. I called around and HVH was the only place that was a) close and b) open. I took her in immediately. They gave her a once-over AT NO COST. This obviously stuck in my mind, so when the the province made it mandatory to have a yearly check up in order to obtain her monthly summer dose of Revolution we decided to give HVH a whirl as our full time dog doctor. First visit was with Dr. Olafson for my dog's rabies vax, Dr. O suggested other vaccines that she felt would be beneficial, but when I expressed my concerns about over vax'ing she respectfully relented, and together we came up with an alternative approach. The rest of the office staff are very friendly, the space is clean and bright, and well stocked. We're moving in the Spring and will definitely miss HVH! read more

I was traveling and my dog had an ear infection. They fit my dog in their schedule, treated her and were super nice! My labradoodle was healed in 2 weeks w/ the anti biotics.. they sent the diagnosis to my vet in the States. It was a good experience and recommend them. read more

Be ready for the big bill. She has to sell you lots of expensive pet food. If you don't buy those your pet is not going to get better. So you have no choice other than paying for it. read more

Upsell upsell upsell. . . . I've never left a vet with such a bad taste in my mouth. From the moment you walk in the door you seem to be getting sold on something or other. If it isn't shots (some of which are optional but presented as necessary), tests (I said "no thanks" but was given the poop-taker and it showed up on my bill anyway), insurance "trials" (I said NO and was literally harassed until I said "fine") or food, this place is designed to lure in the pet loving yuppies (a set in which I seem to fit squarely...) and to soak them dry. I struggled to get out of there with a bill under 250$ for a first round of shots. Honestly, I felt like they did not give a s$#T about my dog or me. In comparison to the cat hospital on the other end of Quinpool (a place that is the definition of good service and value) this place is a 1/5 stars easily. I've heard the same sentiment from a handful of folks in my neighborhood. read more

My dog was brought in because of new arthritis in his hips after many years of excellent health. Very quickly, the vet agreed it was only arthritis and that it should be treated chronically with an anti-inflammatory. However, they then pushed a full panel of expensive bloodwork and urine tests to look for a host of other problems, even though there was no reason to suggest there was something wrong other than arthritis. After I refused the bloodwork, I was pressured to change my mind and still do the bloodwork or else I would not get any refills of the anti-inflammatory for my dog. When I got home, I found that the same drug can be purchased at an online pet pharmacy for a quarter of the cost. Staff at this clinic have a clear conflict of interest by making money from charging for needless investigations and also filling their own prescriptions in house. It's a closed loop that they monopolize. I am going to try to look for a new veterinarian who will only investigate problems if there is good reason, and who will write a prescription that can be filled at a different location so they are not conflicted by making money from the drugs they prescribe. My dog will clearly need refills to control his pain and inflammation, but the veterinarian at this location seemed more preoccupied with securing a new source of income instead of offering help. read more

When we moved to Halifax we had left our cat behind to take a wonderful flight over so he could miss out on the 6 day drive. When he arrived we noticed he had sores on his mouth. We assumed it was from biting the kennel or from stress. We called the vet after about a week to get an idea whether it was warranted to bring him in. She was very friendly on the phone and said we should probably make an appointment just in case there was infection. When we arrived they were very nice. The vet had a look and sure enough he was having an allergic reaction and it was getting infected!! The bill for the first visit and 2 shots was only $122 which was WAY lower then expected. She was so nice and was really nice to our cat, who was understandably not a happy camper. She made me feel comfortable with everything we were doing and said that there would should be no issue afterwords and if there was just pop back in! More then helpful. They also didn't pressure us to buy food or treats or anything. (we are already feeding him science diet) The prices on food aren't any different then Petcetera in Dartmouth. The staff at the front were nice enough! read more

I took my beloved duck toller in for a check up and his needles. Dr. Croft was great, Taz didn't want to get up on the table so she examined him on the floor~! All in all she was very kind and gentle. Not too much upselling. I paid $175 tax in for the check up all his vaccines (including rabies) a revolution flea treatment, a cream for his nose and to have him registered with HRM. All in all I would say the staff made me feel comfortable and they were great with my dog. The value for what I received was great! read more

How much would you pay to get an enema? Now how much would you pay to get your cat an enema? Especially when the vet tells you ahead of time the cat doesn't really seem to need it, but goes ahead and does it anyway without asking you if this was okay or not. How much would you then pay for a "high fiber" food for a cat, one that actually has 6% less fiber than the one you have him on? How much would you pay for cat laxatives? Oh and.... another medication which they actually never told us what it is so I'm literally just following instructions right now not know what it's for. Oh did I mention we actually just brought our cat in to the vet because one cat has worms so we were wanted medication for the other one as well because they share a litter box but the vet refused us medication until we put him through a 70 dollar examination and a whole lot of everything else. The 25 dollar medication we needed came to a total of 160 dollars after everything they charged us. They've been really pushy with trying to upsell us on everything each time we've been in there. From tests for unnecessarily things to expensive food. On top of that, when they give us medication for the cats they never explain anything about it or how to use it. Our other cat had an eye infection, and they never explain exactly how to give her the drops, but called back a week after giving us the medication to "see how she was doing" only to tell us that we were doing it wrong and needed to get more medication. Every time after that I've asked how to give the medication to our cats and they just say "directions are on the medication" but the directions never state if it's okay to put it into food or if it should be given directly or what. No one takes any time to explain anything, they obviously don't care about anything except for getting the most money out of you as possible, and don't care if you don't have very much money. I've heard of much better vets in Halifax, and unless there is a serious emergency with out cats we will be taking them elsewhere, even though this vet is just down the block. I would never recommend this place to anyone, especially not to students. In fact, I strongly recommend that you take your pets pretty much anywhere but here. read more

I absolutely love this clinic. My cat has been a patient for 6 years and he has always received amazing care. When he was two years old he was very sick due to a urinary blockage and chronic urinary problems. It took a while to figure him out but he has been healthy ever since. We have never be "up sold" on anything like some of the reviews here mention. In fact, they have always gone over every possible situation and treatment with me and have told me that certain tests that I have asked about would not be necessary. My cat has also had dental work done at this clinic and been treated for pneumonia. I have always felt like his health and comfort have been the main concern of his vets. Another great thing about this clinic is that they have taken a no declaw stance! The front desk staff are always friendly and helpful. They even send my cat a holiday card and call to check up on him after visits. I would and do recommend this clinic to anyone who wants amazing care for their cats. read more

This clinic (and Dr.Thompson specifically) went LIGHT YEARS above and beyond when my cat was sick. When I brought my cat in to them, she was on death's door, to be sure, and I can say without hyperbole, that 100% of the credit for her return to perfect health is directly because of Doctor Thompson and her attention to detail, her huge heart and her near-arcane detective skills. It was a 7 week rehabilitation process and along the way I was kept informed and was given new ideas and encouragement by routine emails and phone calls from the clinic. Prior to this, never in my life had a vet taken the time out of their day to engage me in a conversation about my cat. For me, there is no other clinic in town. read more

I love this Vet, and when I say Vet, I mean every employee at this place. Everyone is so sweet and kind and understanding (my dog hates going to the Vet) and it makes me feel bad that he throws a fit to even have his temperature taken. They let me take it, which I thought was really nice. He still hated it, but he let me do it. I understand dealing with animals is their specialty, but it still feels like genuine interactions with you. I went in to get updated shots for travel and while they still upsold me on other things (blood work and extra shots) they were all things he should have. The assistant who suggested getting the blood work sold it as, it checks for kidney issues, which are very serious in older dogs. He also told me about how he is dealing with a dog at home that is currently going through kidney disease. Which made the interaction more personal and not -pushy sales-y you don't love your dog if you don't do this - kinda interaction. I love my dog, he's my baby, my seven year old child so you can bet I'm easily talked into anything that benefits him. The point is everyone here is lovely, the place is bright and clean, the vet I had was very sweet, they take very good care of my dog every time we have to go and I recommend taking your pet here for any issues you might have. read more

We have used Halifax Veterinary Hospital for our animals for about 13 years. There was about a 5 year gap in using their services between us losing our last geriatric cat and adopting our current dog. As soon as we adopted our dog 2 years ago, we knew Halifax Vet would be his vet. For 2 years, we had no problems, and were happy with the level of treatment they provided him. On January 4, 2019, our dog was attacked by another dog and severely hurt. I called Halifax Vet around 6:30pm, shortly after the attack, to let them know we were on our way to them with an emergency and explained what happened and was happening with our dog...by this time he was bleeding a lot and having difficulty breathing. The person who answered the phone replied that they were "busy" and to "take him somewhere else." No suggestions where to take him, no understanding or compassion...nothing! We told them this was an emergency, but was told again they were "too busy". We were shocked! We had to find somewhere else to take him. We had heard of an emergency clinic from neighbours and headed there. We ended up going to another clinic, not the emergency clinic, that went out of their way to help us and performed emergency surgery on our dog. They went above and beyond in his care and treatment! We walked in off the street, never been there before, and this new clinic helped us! Took us in and saved our dog. Halifax Veterinary Hospital didn't even care our dog was hurt! and after being patients there for 2 years with our current dog, and almost 11 years before with our other animals. I called Halifax Vet the next day to speak with the Manger to complain. I was told she was out until Monday and would call me then. After I left the message, I found out Halifax Vet started calling the emergency clinics and other late night clinics that could have treated my dog the night before in an attempt to get an update on what had actually happened to him, and his status. To me, that was their way of covering their tracks once they knew how bad our dog had been hurt and how upset we were by their treatment. I have since found out Halifax Vet is no longer family owned, but is owned by some big company that owns a number of clinics. Shame really, they used to be great, now I have to say they are horrible! read more

The vets and staff are great but the hours are absolute rubbish if you work 6 days a week. I've attempted to pick up my cats food 3 times in the past week and they are *always* closed. I'm on foot and do not live near the quinpool area. My fault for assuming a shop would be open past 2pm on a Saturday. If you're going to be closed that early on a Saturday then you should at least be open on Sunday's for those of us who work Monday through Saturday. Pretty upset right now b/c I can only get my cat food here (or even further away from where I live) and my kitty needs his diet to be consistent for his weight loss. read more

Overall, I was disappointed (frustrated?) with the care we received at the Halifax Veterinary Hospital. I am new to Halifax, so only chose HVH because it was close to my home. My 13 yr old Cat (male, neutered, Canadian shorthair) was 15 lbs the beginning of April, then got a bad cold mid-April, and lost his appetite. By the end of April, he ceased being snotty and sneezy, and seemed to be cold-free. However, My Cat' appetite has never gone back to normal, and after a bit of worry, I took him to the vet In early June. My Cat's symptoms were: (a) Apetite Loss, (b) dehydration, and (c) some listlessness - not the same spring-in-his-step as in February, (d) he is not really pooping - which I think is a bi-product of not eating, and (e) went from 15 lbs in Feb to 8 lbs on the day of the vet visit - again, I felt this water related to appetite loss. He was only eating about a tblsp per day of wet food; and drinking and urinating normally. The vet did a Feline Leukemia Test and full blood chemistry. After 300Dollars and 30 mins, the vet discussed the results with me, saying everything is essentially in the normal range. He was negative for Feline Leukeima and kidney disfunction, and just in the low range for Blood protein, and from his physical exam, apparently dehydrated. At this stage, I was told an ultrasound of his abdomen would be another test - at 192Dollars - that could be diagnostic, but at his age, there is really only two results from an ultrasound - Cancer or "Inconclusive results" - neither of which are treatable. I was then told My Cat was in an end-of-life scenario, that it is better for the animal if we move him to the next stage, as much as we love them, we need to let go, and the vet was happy to schedule a euthanasia for the same day for another 200Dollars! By this time, I am bawling, thought it was the end, said I wasnt ready to say goodbye, paid my 300Doller bill and left - with My Cat intact. By mid-afternoon the same day, I became frustrated (angry actually) when I calmed down. I went into the HVH for Apetite Loss and Dehydration - and the vet was happy to let me leave 500Dollars lighter with My Cat in a box. I had no options or discussion of possibly a IV-drip to rehydrate or any discussion on possibilities to get his appetite back. I felt like there was so little empathy during the whole experience. Can we say I felt like a walking-wallet holding a steak? Surely these basic options are worth discussion at least over killing the animal? I know for humans an IV drip costs less than 10 dollars for supplies. Maybe the cat does have cancer and He is nearing the end of the road, but I keep thinking that he is really only 13 and this just started with a nasty cold - which any cat can get at anytime from anywhere. On the other hand, I know this is my first experience with an elderly cat, but figure that euthanasia should not be the first solution explored! Espiecially considering the only thing his bloodwork showed was he is low in protein! UhmmmDuh - he's not eating... Needless to say, I am seeking a second opinion - hopefully to find someone with compassion if indeed I do have to journey with my buddy through his great sleep, after 13 perfect years. read more