[Do not go to Central Toronto Veterinary Referral Clinic (CTVRC)]…read more To fellow pet parents: Do not be misled by some positive rating. My experience reveals that this hospital selectively solicits feedback only during "smooth" visits while ignoring cases fraught with issues. I urge you to scroll through their other negative reviews; you will notice a recurring pattern in management's responses: a defensive, gaslighting tone that blames the owner to deflect from their own clinical and communication failures. I am sharing my senior cat's (12.5 years old) journey to warn you. While their surgical skills may be adequate, their post-operative "care" is a transactional nightmare. 1. Management's "Gaslighting" & Refusal of Accountability When my cat suffered a preventable post-op infection due to their vague and insufficient wound-care instructions, the response was not professional concern, but aggressive defensiveness. The manager's response (see attached screenshot) is a masterclass in "victim-blaming." Instead of addressing the lack of guidance, they attempted to weaponize my "attitude" as a concerned owner against me. It took immense pressure to receive even a reluctant apology. They would rather argue for an hour than admit a flaw in their protocol. 2. Aggressive Upselling & Disregard for Quality of Life Despite Milou's advanced age, the specialists pushed for extreme, high-revenue options like full-limb amputation and chemotherapy. They hide behind the "we must list all options" excuse, but the narrative was clearly steered toward the most expensive and aggressive procedures. It felt less like a medical consultation and more like a sales pitch that prioritized their bottom line over a senior animal's peace of mind. 3. The "Emergency" Illusion vs. Reality They claim to have constant emergency availability, but my observations in the waiting room suggest otherwise: Feb 12th: I watched the parents of a shaking dog wait for over three hours--having to eat lunch in the waiting room--only to be told to go home because the facility "lacked availability." Feb 26th: In the room closest to the lobby, I heard a male doctor loudly exclaim "Everything looks bad!" before even closing the door. This performative alarmism seems designed to instill fear and pressure parents into high-cost decisions. 4. Transactional Professionalism Their recurring response during crises was: "This is all we can do." While technically a statement, the dismissive delivery earned this 1-star review. Compared to my local vet (Juno), CTVRC's communication is heartless. They offer "free rechecks" as a funnel to pressure you into unnecessary, billable tests. To the CTVRC Management: I anticipate your canned response: "You could have brought him in for an emergency check, but you chose not to." Let me be clear: seeing how you treated that shaking dog and how you spoke to that dog parent, I knew returning would only feed your revenue stream without benefiting my cat. God and Karma see the truth. Regardless of the polished PR responses you post here, the universe knows whether you truly care for animals or just the transactions they represent. If your intentions are not as you claim, karma will eventually do the work. Summary: Save your money and your pet's dignity. My experience was purely transactional and lacked basic empathy for a senior animal. Read their responses to other 1-star reviews--the blaming the victim style tells you everything you need to know about their ethics.

They ask for the full estimate on invoice to be paid upfront at once after their basic assessment…read moreand will not accept insurance. Similar alarming ER/critical care experiences documented on Google and Yelp reviews. Lack of informed consent - there is not enough medical information provided to explain diagnosis/treatment. No matter how many times you probe, they will not provide results of blood work. Breed, gender, age and list of current medications are all important in ER assessment - they are deficient in capturing the proper history which can contribute to the failure in diagnosis.. My invoice was $4300 including 6 hours of critical care but vet then wrote in health records "recommend referral to a hospital with ICU capabilities" . If you hesitate in paying or state that you want to leave, euthanasia in their clinic becomes central to conversations. By the early morning of this nightmare, a tech (while handing back my dog depleted and hanging from her arms) , stated that my dog was now hypoglycaemic. Please save your animal's dignity and call a hospital capable of providing informed consent and the urgent ER care your animal needs.

I completely forgot to ask for the name of the lady that handled my cat- but she has light brown…read morehair and glasses and worked with my cat Ella twice. The first time she met Ella, Ella was probably less than one year old. This veterinarian was so gentle and affectionate with Ella while handling her. She verbally walked us through everything that she was checking for and how she checked for it. She ended up nailing the first diagnosis which was an allergy to poultry. Ella is now 2 years old and had some behavioural issues so I brought her in on October 20th. I am so grateful I got the same vet to take care of Ella. She ran all of the necessary tests that she could, she let me confide in her when test results were scary, she didn't judge me when I was a snotty mess lol She continued to handle Ella with such love and care. She's extremely empathetic, gentle, knowledgeable and generous. She spent around an hour or so making calls to emergency hospitals for me to send Ella to for her anemia. Because of her, I made it to an animal hospital in Guelph before Ella's condition got worse. Now Ella has been there for two nights, she has received a blood transfusion and they're currently determining the root diagnosis. I am so regretful for not getting the veterinarian's name! Anyways, I highly recommend this place and if she ever reads this- thank you so much. Still hoping for Ella's diagnosis to be something manageable

If I could rate zero stars, I would. It's really unfortunate. I had previously good experiences in…read morethe past but I chose to move my Frenchie here after another clinic failed in continuity of care. When I met with Dr Roque the first appointment, I made it clear continuity of care was my number 1 priority. My Frenchie is a complex case and I need everyone to understand her, even if they aren't her primary vet, so I'm not constantly repeating myself. I thought we were on the same page. Spring forward to March 2026. My dog broke a tooth and needed to have a dental. Fine. We explored the options and enter Dr Rachel Atkinson. She presented as a well versed vet, and it went down hill. My dog went for the dental as planned, and the clinic just fell on all communications. God forbid you have an emergency, they don't answer the phone, ever. It was expected my dog would go first on the surgery, as she didn't do well in cages, which was agreed on. Well 2 pm rolled around (original agreed pick up) and I had not heard from the clinic. I found out after numerous calls she didn't go in until 3! Then they called to let me know her surgery was going to be longer because there was a complication and to pick her up at 8 pm, after closing and she would still be very sleepy. I voiced my displeasure for the lack of communication and was met with all kinds of excuses from tech Sabrina. Thus the staff attitude snow balls. I am disgusted by the attitude the staff (specifically Molly, Mallory, Sarah and Sabrina) have. An owner that has expectations and advocates for their pet is not a burden. If you are burnt out or being mistreated by your company, that is not something a client should ever feel. I was told after my dogs surgery to monitor her tough extraction spot and it should heal. Well 5 months, and it didn't heal. I went for 6 follow ups. Each time was told 'oh, it's nothing. Not concerning. Just continue to monitor and call if there's a problem' which I did, and the attitudes for worse each time. I eventually paid $700. To another vet for a second opinion. This vet was actually very concerned about the spot in my dogs mouth that was 5 months later, still open and bleeding. I was instructed to go back, and get it looked at and possibly would.require a second dental. Flash forward, September 2026. I couldn't get an appointment to save my life. I had to tell them I got a second opinion and I was very upset. Suddenly there was an appointment to see Dr. Roque. Well, long story short, we met Dr Corben. The only vet I would say at this clinic that has any kind of brain or bedside manners. He got stuck holding the bag. We went in for a second surgery, and ended up biopsying the spot as it was suspected to be an aggressive tumour. Guess what, it is and now our life expectancy is 6 mths. All.of these while being treated by the techs, and reception staff like I'm a problem for advocating for my pet. In fact, Mallory went out of her way to tell me that the clinic has hundreds of patients, I wasn't special, and they were very busy. How the staff at this clinic sleep at night is beyond me. Their complete disregard, for acting like I was questioning their medical expertise is disgusting. I would exercise caution when going here. They might present as affordable, at the expense of your pets life.

We've been taking our senior golden retriever (13) to Queen West Animal Hospital for years, and…read morethey've always been wonderful. Recently, we brought him in after he suddenly started peeing in the house and wasn't mobile (normally he's very active, so this was alarming). We got an appointment the next day, and the staff even gave us helpful advice over the phone in the meantime. The vet was direct but kind and empathetic, walking us through the tests and possible outcomes in a clear, thoughtful way. Everything came back clear, and with some medication our pup is back to himself. The front desk team is also so lovely--despite how emotional that visit was, they made the whole experience easier. You know it's a great vet when your dog actually gets excited to visit. We've tried a few other clinics downtown and had awful experiences, but Queen West is the perfect mix of knowledge, empathy, and kindness. Highly recommend!

I would'nt go there. I had my beloved buddy surgery booked at another clinic for an emergency acute…read morepainfull tooth extraction which took 4 weeks. Can you imagine extreme pain from an abscessed tooth ? I took him to see if they could do it sooner, but they refused. My feeling is that they didn't want to for political reasons of taking from another clinic, so my liitle cat had to suffer , so is that caring ?? Could they not refer me somewhere ? Animals are like humans, they shoudnt have to suffer.

DO NOT let this vet perform any major surgeries in your pet…read more We made a huge mistake of allowing vet Israel Arteaga to perform major surgery in our cat, on 30 January, 2025. After 4 days from the surgery, our cat started to suffer from immobility without peeing/ pooping/ and the cat refused to eat/drink during these times. We brought the cat for the second time to identify the possible reasons for her suffering. He advised us to make a blood check and X Rays which he didn't give us any reason why she suffers. 2 Days Later than this, we had to bring our cat for another check as her condition was declining over time. And during our vet visit, one employee advised us to apply for funding which we were approved for. Over the weekend, Israel Arteaga rushed to the hospital to take 10 X-rays which our cat didn't need just to use funding from the Farley foundation. Instead of covering our outstanding bill, he used an amount of 1500 for extra activities which our CAT didn't need at all. He didn't advise any of these amounts of xray and he didn't approve any of this with us. Reported to Farley Foundation for misuse of funding. I never met any MONEY OBSESSED person before like this vet. We took our cat on Monday and he said he doesn't know what is the reason for her suffering, as he always assumed the possible reasons rather than fact... He advised us to visit another VET which we did. When we shared our X ray pictures with another VET, she identified that WRONG Implementation of Catheter could possibly put her internal organs in trauma.. After that we understood why he decided not to cure our cat, because his wrong treatments and assumptions made our cat suffer. I am in so much pain, as we had to let our beloved cat go. I REPORTED HIM TO ALL AUTHORITIES FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION

I adopted a 5 year old French Bulldog who's kidneys shut down from a kidney infection that had gone…read moreuntreated. I had just got the dog, he was not on the Pet insurance long enough to cover his treatment and they considered it a pre-existing condition. I must say that at Bridletowne Warden Animal Hospital, your pets come first. They made it possible for me to afford the treatment which saved Butler's life. Dr. Israel Arteaga explained what the blood tests were for and broke down the costs so that I felt like I was in control of the situation. Butler was a very sick doggy and he only had 50-60 percent chance of survival. Butler will always have advanced Kidney disease, but I'm happy to report that he is now over 10 years old and still stable thanks to the on going care and support of this clinic.

I'm leaving my second review here because this clinic truly deserves it. The doctors and staff are…read morewonderful, and I'm so grateful for them. I had been coming here for years with my boy, my angel Sheya. He eventually passed away from end-stage kidney disease, and we had to say goodbye to him here. The doctors were so respectful and gave us all the time we needed. They even sent us a heartfelt card afterwards, which meant so much. At first, I thought they had only given us a simple paper box for his ashes. About a month later, when I opened it after ordering an urn, I discovered that there was already a beautiful wooden urn inside. That was such a kind and touching gesture, and I want to thank them for it. Sheya was such a sweet cat, and while it was heartbreaking to let him go, I'm truly grateful that it was at this clinic, surrounded by such compassionate care.

I adopted a cat 17 years ago (she was actually a foster fail), and they have provided care and…read moreassistance that I could never really have imagined. In that time there have been emergencies, chronic illnesses, and sibling drama between pets. They helped with it all. They are a wonderful team, and all three doctors provide exceptional care. The vet techs need to be mentioned too, though. They are thoughtful, caring, supportive and the most trustworthy group of people I can imagine caring for my non-human charges. If you are looking for a compassionate and caring team to assist your fur babies, this is the team.

My 13 year old Cornish Rex, Jerry who had always been quite healthy experienced a balance issue at…read morethe end of April 2026. My regular vet advised me to go to TEVH immediately where my cat was diagnosed with Vestibular disease, an inner ear issue. I was reassured that he should improve in a couple of weeks. He was prescribed ear drops to clear up some ear bacteria and yeast. Once home he seemed to improved marginally but then stopped eating, had nasal discharge and was lethargic. After several return visits he was admitted on Saturday May 9, it was recommended that a CT scan of the head, thorax and abdomen be done. Results indicated that he had an inner ear blockage and infection that needed surgery. He was to remain in hospital on a nasal feeding tube until surgery for a Bulla Osteotomy - Ventral could occur. I visited him every day. He was very quiet but alert on the days I saw him prior to surgery. On May 13 surgery went well, lots of material (gunk) had been removed from his ear. I was told a steroid for inflammation had been given and he should be feeling better soon. During surgery an esophageal feeding tube was placed so that he could receive medication and food while recovering until he began eating on his own. Cornish Rex cats do not have a lot of body fat and are very sensitive to anesthesia. This is common knowledge regarding the breed and I have been told about this by previous vets and by breeders. Rexs need to be kept warm. Thursday morning I expected to hear about discharge details. Instead I heard that he was still a little slow to come around from surgery and they would like to keep him for another day. Lots of reassurance he was doing well and that I could come and visit him until his discharge on Friday. At Thursdays visit he appeared heavily sedated and not very responsive. The tech said they had him on a warning blanket and he looked like he shivered at one point. I noticed that his face was quite dirty and he had matter around his mouth and dried urine on his back legs that I tried to clean off. During the visit he coughed twice, a very deep phlegmy wet cough that was not reassuring at all. Thursday evening I asked the vet if he was getting pneumonia because he coughed twice and sounded really awful. I heard no that this was from the anaesthetic and he was actually sounding better. I was told his lungs were X-rayed and there was no sign of pneumonia. I called later that evening after 9 p.m. to get an update and heard that Jerry was doing great, they were weaning him off supplemental oxygen and he had peed twice. Friday morning when I saw TVEH number come up as a call at 10:30 a.m. I thought.... good, I can go and pick him up. Instead the vet calling identified himself as a critical care vet. He said that Jerry had double pneumonia and sepsis and that I should come right away. He was in septic shock when I arrived and I was told his body temperature and heart rate were low. He was under a heating blanket and non responsive. Later that day instead of bringing him home as planned I had to euthanized him. After asking I learned that his inner ear infection was positive for E. coli bacteria. I am aware that E-coli bacteria can be resistant to standard and generally prescribed antibiotics and can require different and more aggressive antibiotics. How does a cat go from nothing but positive reports to pneumonia and sepsis in such a short period of time? Even after having asked about the possibility of pneumonia the night before. I don't believe that he was being monitored as closely as he should have been. I am left with a feeling that those entrusted with his care were not paying attention. Throughout the entire process I was also left feeling like TVEH was more concerned that the escalating bill for his care was paid up and current, which it was. In future I would have to think long and hard about returning to TEVH. There are alternatives and other available emergency hospitals in the GTA. Surgery always comes with risks. Those risks were mitigated by receiving reassuring and positive reports at every contact and then the worst possible thing occurs, it doesn't make sense and doesn't fit. My advice to anyone reading this review is if time allows seek an alternative opinion. Check out other emergency care hospitals because they exist. Ask that less intrusive options be tried first. I trusted my cat's care to TEVH and I am left feeling that they let us both down. He paid for it with his life.

Gosh it turns out that a lot of veterinarians are closed in the afternoons on Saturday and Sundays…read more Not a great time for my dog to be feeling ill. This was the closest emergency hospital to us. I rang to make sure that they would be able to take my pet. It was really hard to get a hold of them on the phone, presumably because it was so busy. They did a very quick intake on who to expect - breed of dog, name, my name, etc. Since it's during Covid, when I showed up they told me to call. When they were ready for me I brought my dog into the lobby for a quick check from the vet tech. After that she was brought into the back to wait for a doctor to see her. We were asked to wait in the car while this happened. All of the remaining consultations would be done via phone except for pick up/drop off of dog. We were probably in the car for around 2 hours without much news. Afterwards we were told that they did some sort of scan and they were able to identify some sort of mass on her. Unfortunately we found out that an ultrasound wouldn't be possible until Monday which is when their radiologist comes in. They offered to keep her overnight for observation but we really just wanted her home with us. This visit of the scan, consultation, drugs administered, and take home drugs came out to around $600. This really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My dog's annual checkup is a little less than this and since this is an emergency visit, not the worst. We did come back for an ultrasound and it was kind of the same in terms of wait. Super long wait! Probably felt extra long because we were anxious to find out how the pup was. The results of the ultrasound were pretty conclusive. We consulted with our own family vet and their recommendations were the same as the emergency vet that we spoke to as well. The emergency vet that we talked to was very patient on the phone and spoke about my dog like she was a family member of mine. It was pretty reassuring in a very frightening situation. I honestly think that they did a good job with the treatment of my dog. They did their due diligence and weren't pushy with any procedures or recommendations.

This is the best clinic I have been to in the last 25 years. My current dog has been a patient for…read morethe last 3-4 years. Through really detailed care and diagnostics, her conditions were identified and she finally got the right medications. She's also had extensive dental work which have exponentially increased her quality of life. It is evident that everyone is genuine about pet care from the moment you walk in the door. Well worth the 1+ hour commute to get to the clinic!

I started bring my dogs there about 15 years ago. When I moved out to Scarborough, I decided to…read morestay with them because I trust them to give me the information that I need. They are very helpful, always follow up and are honest and transparent in their billing practices. i don't know if I'd feel comfortable leaving the care of my dogs to anyone else.

Eglinton Veterinary is home to some of the most caring, compassionate and dedicated vets I've…read moreexperienced. They don't charge huge fees and always recommend what is in the best interest of the animal. My last cat had problems with pancreatitis. Dr. Jen Hodges was quickly able to diagnose the problem and recommend a simple solution: change in diet and feline defuser - when he was acute sometimes he also needed medicine and fluids. Dr. Beverly Bateman suggested a tool called the furminator to remove excess hair and reduce hairballs. This holistic approach kept him in great shape for years, although he eventually had to be put down. After four years, I have a new, older adoptee. When I brought my senior cat to Dr. Bateman, she was a sickly cat. She had serious eye problems and an acute flare-up of feline herpes. Dr. Bateman helped to quickly resolve it and within a few short weeks she was looking like a healthy cat! Dr. Bob Watson also efficiently helped resolve a wound she had on her ear. Your pets are their passion - they will return every phone call and email, and take such good care of them. They partner with you to take care of your pets at every stage of life, and I honestly wouldn't trust my pets to anyone else.

I used to feel they were good but since I had my pet euthanized there I have a different opinion…read more Dr B attended this awful day for me and my pet last year and I am still suffering the fallout from her disgusting behavior. After my pet had passed she stayed with us for a bit then I asked her to give us some time til I was ready. When she came back in and i was leaving she actually picked up my pet to take them to the group cremation room which was grossly upsetting and i was absolutely in shock.in front of me, the bereaved parent??? The clinic also ripped us off greatly by not emphasizing how advanced my pets dental condition was a year prior and i ended up over a barrel paying a hideous cost. My pet was under anasthesia when they called me to say how extensive the work needed was and couldn't not have it done after they'd already started. This was I feel a hideous scam that hurt my pet. I would definitely recommend going somewhere else, I found out after the fact that this office is corporate owned and there have been issues. They are owned by VCA, see link https://www.cbc.ca/news/marketplace/marketplace-vet-corporate-ownership-1.7438239 I will never get over seeing her picking up my dead pet in front of me and i couldn't even post this I was so upset at the time. Find another option if you can no pet owner deserves this.