BEST animal doctor PERIOD! I am 68 have had animals all my life thus lots of different vets, I live in Hawaii, I keep bugging him to move here! when my mom was still living & I would visit her, he was my vet for a few yrs till my mom died...I miss him very much! why? BECAUSE he is very COMPASSIONATE, extremely knowledgeable, and treated MY DOG w/so much CARE/RESPECT! God Bless Him! if you live anywhere near him (I used to drive 45 min) GO! ALOHA! read more

My 4 year old Airedale Terrier, Clementine died bc they ignored her symptoms and didnt know how to diagnose or treat her. details as follows: I rushed my precious 4 yr old Airedale in to see Dr, Mathes after she vomited at 4 am & acted very unwell afterward.This was her 3 bout of vomiting in 2 months.She was on strong medicines for autoimmune disease.Dr. Mathes seemed rushed.He said he thought she hurt her back.He gave her a Chiro adjustment.Within minutes she vomited all over their floor in 3 huge puddles.I told him there was no reason to think it was her back bc she had not hurt herself.He said he has pulled a muscle while sleeping before.I said: "enough to make you vomit?"He gave her a pain injection & sub Q fluids & sent us away.1 hr later I called & said I wanted to bring her back in for U/S & X-ray bc I thought it was internal.I was told I needed to trust Dr. Mathes because he knows what he is doing. By that night she was worsening.I called Dr M's emergency #.His wife, Dr Homig, also a vet, answered.She they would call in sulcolofate slurry. 7 am I called Dr. M's emergency # again.I told him I thought this was very serious.I asked him if I brought her in would they be able to do an ultrasound, an X-ray, give her IV fluids& antibiotics, which she should have received the day before or should I take her to Buffalo.He said they could do all those things.He said he was in Canada with his wife, (which explained his rush on Friday).He said Dr. Rogers was very good at ultrasounds & they would take care of us.We rushed her in at 8am.They put her on IV, gave her pain injection & baytril injection.They set her up in the back & let me sit with her there.When Dr. Rogers came in around 9 to get the U/S going, they discovered that their U/S had never been charged.They said it took 20 minutes.But it was not 20 minutes.3 hours went by before they had the U/S charged sufficiently.Finally Dr. R did the U/S.In under a minute she said she saw fluid in the abdomen and warned us it was probably her spleen or liver having ruptured.We said we are going to take her to someone for surgery & she said she thought we should euthanize her.She convinced us to use a needle in the abdomen to sample the fluid so she could send it to Buffalo where the E.R is.We reluctantly agreed.But after sticking the needle into my now moaning dog's stomach, she could not get a sample bc the needle was too short.We pulled our dog out of there in anger after having been put through the ringer the day before & then having this critical time wasted with an U/S machine that wasnt charged.On the way to Buffalo, I called Dr. M's cell & his wife answered.She wouldn't put him on the phone.When I told her we wasted 3 critical hours bc the machine wasnt charged, she said they stood on their head for us(?) (I guess answering the phone is difficult for them) and she hung up on me. I called ahead to each of the ERs in the region:VSES in Rochester, Orchard Park in Buffalo &Cornell in Ithaca but none of them had a surgeon on over the weekend & if she needed surgery, they would not be able to schedule it til Mon.Orchard Park suggested Green Acres in Tonowanda.She was admitted to the ICU at Green Acres &a battery of tests was done. By the next morning, it was determined that she had a perforated intestine &surgery was scheduled immediately.The 2 hour surgery went well.He had closed her up & was preparing to come to let us know, when he was informed her heart had stopped. After 30 minutes of CPR, she was pronounced dead. Afterward Dr. Howard told me that all of her organs looked to be healthy & in tact but that the stomach acid that had been leaking slowly into her gut since 4 am two days prior did do some damage. He felt if she had been diagnosed correctly sooner, she may have survived. A perforated intestine is not a fatal condition if it is attended to quickly by a good dr. If Dr M was not equipped or skilled enough to take care of it, he should have manned up and said so. Now, my once in a life time, one in a million precious gift from God is dead. She is irreplaceable. When I was told she had died, I screamed and cried for well over 30 minutes. Dr. Howard never left my side. A far cry from being told they had stood on their heads for me and hanging up on me like Dr. Homig did. I called Pumpkin Hill Vet today to let them know she had died. But after 3 attempts they did not pick up the phone when seeing my number. They are probably ashamed. And they should be. With all that being said, the technicians there are very sweet, loving, compassionate girls. I hope they find a better place to work. You ladies should check out Green Acres. They do real medicine there and they love the people and their pets. read more

Pumpkin Hill Veterinary Clinic - My beautiful baby is gone. - Veterinarians Near Me - Byron, New York

SCAM!!!! PLEASE! If you want your kitties to live DO NOT take them to Pumpkin Hill veterinary Clinic. Was told she had a blockage and a high fever. Fluids were brought in but oh sorry someone else needed them. Never given. Then she needed X-rays. oh Sorry! We have an emergency. You will have to wait! By then it was closing time so we were told she would have to stay the night. We assumed someone would be caring for her. NO! She was left alone all night! In the morning I was told she perked up so I put all my faith in them that she was being taken care of! When I got there at 4PM to pick her up they took her crate. Had her in it with her urine soaked blanket in a garbage bag. I was handed a laxative for her CONSTIPATION and told to give it to her when I get home and if she didn't poop by morning bring her back. Vet didn't even talk to us about what was going on but I knew this was much more serious than constipation. When I got her home she could not hold her head up or stand and hadn't eaten or drank in days but I was supposed to put a laxative in her wet food and wait for her to poop?!?!?! She had 2 enemas with no results and no antibiotics for the fever?!?! And lots of pain medicine that we didn't know about that made her unable to function!!!!!! SO VERY DISAPPOINTED!! THE WORST PART OF THIS ENTIRE SITUATION IS SHE DID NOT HAVE A BLOCKAGE AND SHE WAS NOT CONSTIPATED!!!!! DIAGNOSIS SO FAR OFF!!!! So much neglect and torture in 24 hours. They should be ashamed of themselves!!!!! Vet left town and blamed all of this on new staff not being trained!!!! We did find a much more educated and compassionate doctor but she had been through so much it was too late. I'm so sorry Emma! Rest in Peace baby girl! read more

tried to get my dog in because he was at the end stage of life. The day i needed to go....they were closed for training. okay i understand. they referred me to Perry Vet Clinic. was probably the best thing that they did! i got in right away. He was givin medication which helped him a great deal! Over the weekend my little guy took a turn for the worse. I called back , and was told because I haven brought him in since 2021.....they dont have time for him!!!! I called Perry Vet an they got him in right away! My fur baby crossed the rainbowbridge this morning. Thank you to Perry Vet for your kindness an understanding! Pumpkin Hill Vet......IM NOT IMPRESSED! By the way i didnt bring him back since the last time because HE WASNT SICK!!!! I am done venting.... read more

Pumpkin Hill Veterinary Clinic - Tiny....my 15 year old puppy....crossed over the rainbow Bridge today - Veterinarians Near Me - Byron, New York

I called them because my dog hurt his paw and was limping. Why would the girl that answered the phone think that I would be ok with my dog suffering in pain every time she walked for 1.5 months or so? Give me a break! read more

Dr. Mathes and Co. really know how to take care of your animals. I have a special needs dog and he was always treated like a bother instead of a family member at other vets. Dr. Mathes is extremely patient and will treat you and your animals like family. He was able to get Ciro on the right regiment of medicine and he is like a different dog. I highly recommend him. He also does holistic medicine which is rare in this area... I won't go anywhere else. I'm family here and that's important to me! read more

See all

I can't say enough good things about this practice! Our older dog had developed a growth on her leg last year, and we were seeking some holistic care. Even though we waited a bit for an initial appointment, Dr. Matthes spent a long time on a phone consult with me, giving me nutritional advice and they sent me some literature. He was so good with our old girl, (who was a rescue with issues and didn't like men - she loved him!). We now take all our animals here, even though it's a bit of a drive. Very caring group of people! read more

We drive 45 minutes to see Dr Mathis, he is very caring and provides high quality holistic and conventional care. He never pushes unneeded treatments or vaccines. He is a class act guy and his staff couldn't be a better group of gals! read more

thanks Doc Mathis and to all the staff excellent service, very caring

Couldn't ask for a better place to take your beloved animals. I totally trust Dr. Mathes and think he is not only knowledgeable but compassionate with my animals. The staff is also great! I highly recommend and am so thankful to be able to take my furbabies here. read more

My brother recommended this clinic after I moved here from out of state. His dog is very fearful and this is the only clinic that can successfully treat him. I have had excellent service from the staff and doctors. When my Frenchie developed cancer, the doctors recommended holistic and traditional services - rarity in most practices. They have been great at follow up and have worked with me to provide affordable, compassionate care. Not something that I can always say about the medical professionals who have treated me in this region. I recommend this clinic to others who love their pets. read more

We called Pumpkin Hill at 10am this Saturday morning distraught as our 11 yr. old Weimaraner had been suffering from diarrhea & vomiting for 2 days. He was becoming weak & we could tell we needed to see a vet. We are staying at the RV park in Byron......traveling from Phoenix, AZ. This office told us to come on in & treated us & our ailing dog like family. I know it was inconvenient & they had to squeeze us in, but they never made us feel that way. Dr. Merkel was amazing as was the staff who handled our old guy. We are so grateful that they went out of their way to take care of us. Dr. Merkel was extremely knowledgeable & communicated beautifully what was going on. We were able to bring him back to our RV with meds & are hopeful he'll be fully recovered in a couple of days. Thank you so much! I would wholeheartedly recommend this practice. read more

Our beloved four-year-old cat has an anxious temperament which makes him feel on edge and defensive in unfamiliar situations. We've had a vet in the past that greeted this with annoyance; and we knew it was time for a change. Pumpkin Hill exceeded our expectations. Dr. Markel, the vet techs, and the front staff have been so kind and understanding towards our little guy. They've helped us find the best ways to support him and help his life be more calm. We appreciate their kindness, knowledge, and acceptance more than they'll ever know. read more

Price was okay, had to wait quite a long time on a couple of the visits. Vet techs were sweet and very helpful. However, the vet himself was very gloomy, and not friendly at all. He ended the initial visit with a terse response to "Very nice to meet you Doctor." Still don't quite understand that, we concluded maybe it was a bad day. After a couple more visits, decided that was his natural demeanor. Didn't hardly say hello, never smiled and impatient just to get the appointment finished. It seemed difficult to even ask about concerns regarding treatment our animal received. Not going back, too bad since there are no other homeopathic / conventional vets in the immediate Rochester we can find. read more

We have been going exclusively to Pumpkin Hill since Dr. Mathis and his wife started the practice in a garage at their home (prox 20 years ago!). What began as an attempt to find non-conventional pet care has ended up being our ONLY choice in vet care. Vaccines & medications are only promoted when they are necessary, surgeries and tests are performed when needed and, most important, you the pet-owner are part of the decision-making process (rather than 'the doctor only knows best" scenario of other vets). In addition to excellent 'normal' care, Pumpkin Hill has assisted us with feral cats (read 'wild', angry, capable animal in a trap) and they have been available by cell phone for various "emergency" events. I would highly recommend them to anyone. :) read more

I love this clinic. You get the best of both worlds - holistic and conventional. My dogs have seen both Dr. Markel - a wonderful, perceptive and very compassionate conventional vet and Dr. Mathes - an intuitive, gentle homeopathic vet. If you see Dr. Markel, she will get to the root of the problem and if she feels that Dr. Mathes can further help with herbs, chiropractic, acupuncture, etc., she will let you know and the girls will always kindly help you set up an appointment with him. Both my dogs have their own set of problems, and both the vets and the staff have always taken care of us and have always treated us like family. I would never go anywhere else or trust anyone else as I do Pumpkin Hill. read more