Dr. Jean Elmer at Starlight Vet Clinic has been a veterinarian for me over the years -- probably since 2006. She has cared for a WIDE variety of my animals--including horses, llamas, goats, miniature horses, a donkey, and dogs--and her knowledge and experience across species truly stands out. [[HIGHLIGHT]]What I appreciate most is her patience and genuine care and concern for both the animals -- and for me.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]No matter what the situation, she takes the time to explain things clearly and provides me with options of what can be done.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I know my animals are receiving great vet care! It's not easy to find a vet who is equally skilled with large animals and small pets, but Dr. Elmer handles all with professionalism and compassion. If you're looking for a vet who is dependable, experienced, -- and truly dedicated to animal health, I highly recommend Dr. Jean Elmer. read more

I am writing this with a heavy heart because I feel a responsibility to warn others about what is happening at Starlight Veterinary Clinic in Blue Mounds - specifically regarding Dr. Elmer herself. I used to trust this clinic, but my recent experience was a nightmare, and it is not the same place it was a few years ago. When I brought my cat in for an emergency recently, the clinic was in total disarray. Dr. Elmer told me all her employees had quit and spent the majority of the time complaining to me about it and trying to recruit me to help her hire staff--all while my cat was suffering right in front of us. There was zero paperwork, no explanation of procedures/options, no ask for signed consent, and no discussion of costs. Because she had no staff to assist her, she actually had me hold the anesthesia mask on my own cat's face. I didn't even realize what I was being asked to do until I could smell and taste the chemicals myself. This is a violation of state standards. After struggling and failing to place a catheter 3 times, all while I watched, she suggested extreme surgical options or told me she "wouldn't blame me if I wanted to take him somewhere else." [[HIGHLIGHT]]When my husband and I ultimately had to make the heartbreaking decision to put him down due to ongoing medical issues, she tried to guilt-trip us, asking if she could keep him for her own personal farm, as an outside cat. When we told her that we wanted to end his suffering she said "Oh so you won't let him live on the farm" and stormed out of the room.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Our cat was an indoor cat his whole life; he would have been terrified, and after the care we witnessed I had no faith he would be safe with her. [[HIGHLIGHT]]She offered no condolences after he passed, just wanted to have us pay for the visit and cremation - yet failing to provide us ANY information on cremation or a timeline.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]When I called for information on cremation the following Monday, the "receptionist" who answered explained she didn't even work there--she was a client from the previous week who had been asked to help with the phones. She had no access to files or information.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] When we found out our cat hadn't even been scheduled for cremation pickup yet, we had to go and take him to the crematorium ourselves just to ensure he was handled with dignity. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I have requested my cat's full medical records five times in the past two weeks and have been intentionally ignored.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I have officially reported this conduct to the Wisconsin State Board. If you have experienced similar unprofessionalism or unsafe conditions here, please file a report as well so there is accountability. I truly hope sharing this helps someone else avoid the trauma we went through. Please be careful. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Dr Elmer has taken care of my pets for the last several years.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I appreciate her direct and candid appraisal of my pet's condition and the best course of action. When I was faced with the difficult decision regarding euthanizing my beloved black lab/great Dane mix due to complex aging issues, I was the one to bring it up with Dr Jean and she used the opportunity to explain it thoroughly. She did not bring it up, I did. I still grieve for that my goofy pal, but I know how much pain I relieved him of and spared him from experiencing. Dr Jean was compassionate and caring throughout. I recommend her highly. read more

I've been going to Starlight for over 10 years now and would still 100% recommend this veterinary service. Our pets are our family and Dr Elmer has been caring for them since they were babies. When it was time for our elderly lab, she offered to come to our home instead of bringing him in. [[HIGHLIGHT]]They are just so kind and compassionate here.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

See all

We've been taking our cats & dogs to Starlight for several years. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Dr. Elmer has been amazing in all my encounters.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Today, when we had to say goodbye to one of our dogs, she went out of her way to make us comfortable and gave us unlimited time afterward. One of the many things I appreciate is the down to earth approach and treatment recommendations. We board one of our dogs there for a week every summer. She comes home filthy and exhausted---exactly what I'd expect from a kid who has been at camp for a week! read more

0 stars! I've had mixed emotions about posting this, but this needs to be shared and anyone near Mt. Horeb and Blue Mounds needs to be made aware of this due to the awful circumstances....and NEGLIGENCE! We kenneled our dog for 15 nights at Starlight Veterinary Clinic in and picked him up on Thursday at around 3 pm. We then ran errands and arrived home. Our dog was pretty slow moving but found his way up on the couch. As I started to pet him I noticed a very large gouge out of the side of him. The gouge appeared about 1/4-1/2 inch deep and was about 1 inch long. The wound was dry and crusted, it appeared like an old wound. I immediately called Starlight and left them a voicemail letting them know what occurred and I wanted to know why I was never notified. I also wanted to know if they provided any wound care. I got a return phone call from them the next morning basically just apologizing but no explanation of what happened or acknowledgement of them even seeing the wound. I was never notified of this attack! I did sign a waiver stating that they watch the dogs closely but that they aren't responsible for any injuries such as cuts, scratches and sprains. But, what upsets me most is that although they aren't responsible (I still believe they are since they never "closely watched" my dog), they NEVER called me to see how I wanted to proceed with his care/management of this wound. I understand that dogs play rough and that my dog may come home with some scratches/scabs. I've had enough large dogs and labs to know a dog's behavior. But, this was a very deep wound and our dog is one to yelp/vocalize if he's in pain and there should have been a substantial amount of blood in the snow for them to know something was amiss. Yet, they keep denying anyone saw anything! And believe me it's hard to miss, especially if you are giving him any amount of attention! So, we took our dog to our veterinary clinic. The doctor stated the wound looked about 2-3 days old and was infected. The wound had to be cleaned and debrided. Our dog is now on pain medication, antibiotics and an anti-septic spray. He probably should have received stitches but since the stages of healing we're trying to take action the wound could no longer be stitched. And the most HORRIBLE thing about this is that the vet told us that if the bite wound had been a touch deeper our dog would have had internal damage. Our vet emailed us everything she assessed, pictures and the treatments she completed. I sent this over to Starlight yesterday and now received an email this morning now saying they reviewed their camera footage and they now deny that the injury even occurred on their premises. These people are liars and clearly cannot provide adequate care for animals. In all of our dog's 3 years of dog daycare nothing like this has ever happened to him! These people have absolutely no accountability! It's frightening to know my dog could have been nearly killed under their "watch" and no one would have even noticed! But, apparently my dog came home with a 3 day old injury that didnt happen on their premises ‍ I guess a big invisible dog must have jumped in our car on the highway and bit him without us noticing and then the wound became extremely hard and crusted...let's not forget infected..on our 45 minute drive home! These people are the worst! read more

See all

If you want compassionate, understanding, informative and professional care, DO NOT go to this clinic. If I could post negative stars, I would. My 14-year-old dog was showing what we thought were signs that he was going down hill fast- having a hard time walking, falling frequently, couldn't get up stairs, aggressive behavior to other animals and people, frequently biting people and other animals, occasionally couldn't touch him without getting bit because he was in pain, and other ailments. We had been infrequently taking our animals to Starlight for a few years, so we called them because we thought it was cruel to prolong his pain and scheduled to have him examined and euthanized. They set up an appointment and explained costs to us. We had a conversation with all the kids to let them know that we were moving forward with this and prepared everyone so they could say goodbye. On the day of the appointment my wife, one of my daughters, my son and I brought him in and were all grieving. When we got there, they had messed up communication with the doctor about our appointment time, so we waited 45 minutes for her to get there. In the interim, an assistant came in and did a quick vitals exam and asked a couple questions. We explained our reasons for bringing him in. When the Doctor finally came, she was visibly hostile before saying a word to us. She asked, "So what's up with the dog?" while looking indignant and irritated. We were taken aback at the curtness of the question but explained why we were there. Without even taking any kind of look at him she dismissed us out of hand and harshly said, "He walked towards me. that means he's social. I won't do it. that's my philosophy," and walked out on us. No attempt to explain anything else or what we could expect for life expectancy or how we can manage any pain or what his quality of life would look like. It was THE rudest, most unprofessional response I have ever had with a so-called professional in my life. We picked up our jaws from off the floor, took the dog back to the car and promptly asked for our animals' records and told them we are never bringing our animals there again. As we were getting them, one of the other assistants (I may be using that word generously) piped in and very pretentiously said "well he is a healthy dog!" All I could say was, "That was not the point. We have never been treated so rudely and poorly by a DOCTOR in all my life." We will be telling everyone to stay as far away as possible from this poorly run, unprofessional business. read more

I am a licensed breeder been doing it 15 years. I contacted this vet clinic two weeks ago. Spoke extensively with their staff about possibly using their services going forward. this past Saturday I needed metronidazole to treat a litter of puppies with giardia symptoms, because my current vet was closed and an extra half hour drive. I was told it would not be a problem. They had to prepare it and I could pick it up Monday morning. when I called, the vet told me no I had to go all the way back to my other vet. this type of inconsistency and miscommunication cost my litter of puppies, another full day of being uncomfortable, and possibly making health issues worse .I spend $14,000 a year on veterinary care but unfortunately it won't be spent here.I can see why this clinic has such awful reviews. read more

Starlight Veterinary Clinic is one of the most caring vet clinics I have ever used. Doc Elmer is awesome, kind, and professional. The staff has always been right on top of things and met my needs and requests. Having had more than my share of emergency calls, I can say I have been more than satisfied with their response and attentiveness. I have been using this clinic for almost 5 years now and will not be changing vets as long as Starlight is here. read more

Jean Elmer killed my mom's dog by botching a surgery to remove a potential obstruction in the dog's upper small intestine. After the surgery, Elmer reported that she was unable to find anything, apologized, and released the dog back to my mom. By the following morning, all three of Elmer's surgery sites broke down and the dog died of sepsis within 16 hours post-surgery. An autopsy of the dog was performed by a prominent local area university vet clinic and the autopsy report supported that this was the cause of death for the dog. The story gets even worse regarding how poorly Elmer handled the situation, but I'm not going to go into it. There are a lot more reviews (34-36) including some very negative ones, if you search Starlight Veterinary Clinic on Google. There was a review about how Elmer killed someone's kitten during a declawing procedure - according to the review she gave the cat too much anesthesia. It seems that based on these reviews and my mom's horrible experience, Jean Elmer has a history of making mistakes that end up hurting animals and in doing so, hurting the people that love those animals. If you've had a bad experience with Jean Elmer or Starlight Vet Clinic, you can submit a complaint to the State of Wisconsin Veterinary Board; just search that online. I'm glad for the people who report that they've had a positive experience with Starlight, but people who are considering taking their animals there for care should know that a lot of people do not have a good experience. read more

Excellent reputation and great care given to all my friends who have used this clinic. As a a fellow veterinarian, I know of the quality of care and expertise this clinic has always maintained. I recommend them for any of my patients who move to their area, and we refer clients to them when we are too full. read more

Whoever the receptionist was working over this past weekend is the rudest person I have ever encountered. Seemed annoyed when asking for a simple request and refused to try and even look into getting it taken care of just flat out said no. read more

This is a good country vet right here! I assume they don't do any fluffy fufu haircuts or ribbons and bows! Vets are GREAT with animals but sometimes not so much with people! I have found them to be courteous, caring and very kind. There are mistakes made in all businesses. The good outweighs the bad here. Dr. Elmer is an excellent veterinarian! A COUNTRY vet! As long as my animals get great care, I care not about demeanors. Will continue to take my dog and 2 cats there. Prices are VERY reasonable! read more

Jean Elmer is a great veterinarian who is calm and compassionate. She takes the right amount of time with my dogs during our visits. When we had to put our older ill dog down recently during an emergency, Dr. Elmer offered to come to our home or meet at her office. She was a distance away and dropped what she was doing and met us quickly at her office. She gave us time to grieve at the clinic before we said goodbye for the last time to our companion. We will never forget her responsiveness and the care she gave us and our surviving dog. Thank you for making an unpleasant event comfortable and easy for us. read more

Wonderful, caring, compassionate staff led by Dr. Jean. We know that our animals (many) are in the best care here. We've been customers since the day Dr. Jean opened the clinic doors and will not go anywhere else. read more