South Lamar Animal Hospital

07/02/08

Have never had a single negative visit

by LRenae at Citysearch

My family has trusted our pets to SLAH for about six years now and we wouldn't take them anywhere else. I live in north Austin and choose to make the drive south instead of switching to a closer clinic, just so that my pets can be in the most comfortable vet environment possible. The staff is knowledgeable and kind and throughout the years they've treated every one of my pets as though they were the most important animal in their facility, and it's that level of care and commitment that our previous vets were lacking. Dr. VanTrease is amiable, understanding, and compassionate, and when he delivered the news that my fourteen-year-old cat may not make it, it was done gently enough that it took some of the sting out of hearing the one thing no pet owner ever wants to hear. Even then, I was still given other options of treatment, just in case there was a way to save/help her outside of euthanasia, though that was the eventual, unavoidable outcome. (As I'm unfamiliar with technical jargon, the explanation was given to me in layman's terms to avoid any misunderstanding and it was very much appreciated.) Katy/Katie was excellent with my cat and treated her as though she cared for her as much as I did and that's such an important quality in any vet technician, considering how stressful those offices can be (especially for cats!). Dr. VanTrease understood my financial situation and did whatever he could to ease the burden by doing as much as possible for as little money as possible. I have never had the impression at any point that any employee of SLAH was in it for the money: They're there because they love what they do. Every single one of them love their patients and respect the patients' owners and oftentimes go out of their way to make the visit as easy and as pleasant as possible. For as long as SLAH remains in business, I will continue to take my cats in for any and every form of treatment, no matter which part of Austin I live in.

• Pros: Staff, treatment, honesty
• Cons: Occasionally difficult to schedule immediate appointments, though they do have a drop-off system

09/02/09

Great Staff Surprisingly

by happy racoon at Citysearch

Overall I have always had very positive experiences at South Lamar Animal Hospital. The Vets I have seen have been knowledgeable and understanding and the front desk staff is always friendly and engaging. That said, after what I witnessed today, I am not at all surprised that I see new faces working there every time I come in. We seemed to have walked into a war today, there was a woman yelling and swearing at one of the front desk girls and then she threw a handful of papers at her . It was as if we weren't even there. The girl who was helping us was noticeably shaken up (understandably so) and needed a minute to compose herself after the assault. After reading some of the other reviews on this site I would assume that this woman was the office manager. I am giving the hospital as a whole a good review because this is the only bad experience I have had, but I must say I am thinking twice about the care my pets may be receiving if someone this unprofessional is running the hospital.

• Pros: Great Vets, Great Front Desk Staff, Reasonable Prices
• Cons: High Turnover, One Extremely Unprofessional Employee

10/21/08

Rare qualities in Austin vets: competent and not greedy.

by goggles78702 at Citysearch

We came to use SLAH after having just obscenely bad luck with vets all over Austin, as the proud guardians of four dogs. Our gripes went from the trivial--one called our female dog "him" on a consistent basis--to the irritating--another was too afraid of our dog to look in his ears. There were worse problems. One vet refused to do anything about a fast-growing 6" long wart on our young dog's face but didn't refuse to perform a $800 emergency operation when puppy scratched it, and it became infected, and, we were then told, it might be cancer. We got used to being treated with indifference, even negligence, and feeling railroaded into expensive procedures with fear. Things came to a head when our aging terrier went into ketoacidosis (a consequence of extreme diabetes). Our vet did a bunch of tests which obviously showed problems all over the place -- liver dysfunction, ketones in the urine, glucose about as high as a dog has ever survived--basically a dying dog. The message we got was that we needed to approve about $2500 in advance or they would recommend euthanasia.

Dr. Van Trease agreed over the phone to give a second opinion. We had called all over town. We brought her in. I was prepared for the worst. On examination of the labs he correctly hypothesized that the various systemic problems all were most likely products of the ketosis and offered to treat the acute condition and get her started on insulin. In the end the hospitalization and follow-up visits amounted to maybe $500 (plus the insulin itself, which is relatively cheap). It's been almost a year and she's fine. In this case, since we don't have a lot of extra money, this is a year of her precious life that the other vet would have taken from her just to have a chance of milking us for a little $$. Thank you, Buck.

At the end of the day, he's got excellent clinical insights and plays fair. Here in Austin, those qualities are like gold.

10/19/08

Vet Hero

by ReinaBee at Citysearch

DDr. Van Trease has been treating my cats for 12 years. He has been unfailingly committed, thorough, honest, skillful, knowledgeable, reliable, and far beyond competent.

After my cat Pia spent a whole night in an emergency hospital without a diagnosis, it took Dr. Van Trease 20 seconds to notice Pia's broken and bloody claws, probably caused by her digging her nails in and trying to hold on during the impact of a car, and that her other symptoms were probably due to swelling of the brain and liver (which they were). Dr. Van Trease showed me and my step daughter how to read a normal MRI, and how to read Pia's.

Dr. Van Trease's office closes at 6 pm. Two nights in a row, he stayed after hours with me till almost 7 pm, so I could keep Pia comfortable until the emergency night hospital opened.

Once, I was an hour late, and Dr. Van Trease had waited an hour after closing time just to keep our appointment?even though I was the one who was late.

He ordered medication from Arizona because it would be less expensive. He occasionally does things for free, like giving a pain medication for a cat staying overnight.

He always answers all my questions, no matter how long it takes, and he's great about returning calls. He is driven to keep learning, updating technologies, knowledge, and practices.

He approaches each challenging case like a devoted detective would, carrying it with, trying to fit the pieces together.

Dr. Van Trease is a vet hero.

• Pros: Amazingly competent, trustworthy, intelligent care by Dr. Van Trease.
• Cons: None.

05/21/08

Overall a good vet clinic

by LauraCreepy at Citysearch

This clinic has a lot of good things going for it. The staff does care about animals. The female vet is very good overall with quality, care and running tests. They have slightly dismayed me by forgetting to give me my cats meds or running an extra test when it wasn't needed but they made up for it by apologizing and taking the charge off the bill. Katy the Vet tech is always very kind to my cat and calls her beautiful even tho my cat is old now and does not bath her tail anymore and has black, gland residue. Overall it is a good place-you just have to have in your mind what followup your there for and the meds you need to pick up and keep them on track. Oh and the one female at the front desk with the eyeglasses is a really nice, fun person and makes you feel comfortable arriving and paying. I read the other comments and yes one girl at the front seemed to have some issues with being bitchy but hopefully she'll quit or see the light.

• Pros: Katy-the vet tech, female vet
• Cons: absentmindedness with running an extra test or forgetting to refill the meds

05/09/08

Horrible Clinic

by citymouse2 at Citysearch

This is one of the worst vet clinics I have ever seen. Dr. Buck is horrible and frankly "off his rocker." I wouldn't let him near my animal ever again. He appears to have raging mood swings with his staff hence why most of them leave and why there is such a high turnaround. I saw him yell at a tech for undercharging me (when he thought the door was shut to the room I was in.)

The vile woman named Judy who apparently is a new office manager is just as bad if you ever have the displeasure to have to deal with her. I was sitting in the waiting room while she came to the front and yelled at whoever one of the poor front desk girls was in front of a whole room of clients to "answer the phone". The poor receptionist was up there by herself answering the phone and trying to help patients for three different doctors all by herself. I guess answering the phone is not in the "office manger" job description? The front desk girl was clearly upset by it. Then this Judy woman tells me that I have a unpaid balance on my account that needs to be settled before they will treat my dog. (that unpaid balance was $6.25 by the way) I think I could afford to have them add that to the bill for that day..

The front desk staff was great to me but I still wouldn't take my pet there as there is also wide knowledge among people I have spoken to that several staff members at this clinic have substance abuse issues. (do you really want someone working on your pet who is hung-over or under the influence of something?) They don't even test their employees because they know half of them would get fired. One time I saw a tech smoking a joint in the parking lot..as I was leaving with my dog!

This place is one of the worst clinics I have ever seen. Yes, their prices are reasonable but ever wonder why? Steer clear of this clinic if you value your pet..

• Pros: great front desk staff, cost
• Cons: horrible vets, quality of care poor, untrustworthy clinic

04/30/08

dr.buck been great to us and our dogs

by dobeeacitysearcher at Citysearch

been going to slah for 7 years. dr buck has been as kind and compassionate and caring as dr. taylor was in the past. dr buck is great about explaining everything in easy to understand language.

dr. buck helped us through the most difficult event with a beloved pet. he was gentle and loving with our dog and with us. we are grateful.

and yes there has been turnover at this vet office entire time we have gone there including before dr buck ever arrived. i agree with previous review...these are college kids mostly working there. expect turnover. i will say those working the front desk have always been friendly and informative. all vet assistants have been great with us too. every vet office i ever been to lightens my wallet just as m.d. does.

we say "yeah for dr. buck" as does our little blue heeler who loves him.

04/18/08

Puzzled by the negativity

by PHANTOMTOMBOY at Citysearch

My experience here was extremely positive (with Dr. Buck?). A homeless cat was run down by a car and I couldn't watch him suffer. I took him there (because my regular vet was closed). Buck was so impressed that I cared so much for a cat that wasn't mine that he performed surgery on him for next to nothing. The cat healed beautifully and is now happily living with my friends!! I'm perplexed by the negativity but my friend can't stand Dr. Buck for his treatment either. Very puzzled. I will go back and do. I recommend this clinic.

04/08/08

Bad Visit

by Glassmouse at Citysearch

We started taking our dog there when we got him, about a year ago. I had never had a pet so I didn't know what to expect when going to the Vet. For a long time it was a enjoyable experience. Dr. Van Trease and his staff were very friendly and seemed to have a thorough knowledge about our pet and a general love for animals. I liked how he explained everything: What they were going to do to our dog on that visit, why it was going to be done, and even advice on how to care for his specific personality. Our dog liked him too he?d always wag his tail whenever he came into the room. That was the case until last week when we met with the other Vet, I forget Her name. Our dog had gotten attacked by this huge dog, he wasn?t badly injured but he did get a bite. Right from the beginning both She and the Tech seemed to think it was our fault. Then, they took our dog in the back for about 10 minutes (They didn?t even tell us what they were going to do to him!). When our dog came back he hid under the bench. He has never done that before! They spent less than 2 minutes talking with us then left. The bill was astounding and I?m still not sure what they did exactly. Now my dog is freaked out about going to the Vet. I?m never going to let Her see my dog again!

• Pros: Dr. Van Trease
• Cons: The Woman

03/24/08

Still Great for Over Twenty Years.....

by caninegirl at Citysearch

There will never be another Dr. Taylor. But I have found Dr.'s Van Trease and Lundenberg to be great vets as well. I've taken my own pets to SLAH for over 20 years and have never been disappointed. I've also been active in the Austin rescue community for ten years, so I have plenty of vets to compare them to. Dr. Van Trease is always thorough. And, in respect for the number of pets we have (7 dogs/6 cats - rescue can come at a large price! ) and the fact that we are in the process of purchasing a new home, he worked very hard recently to shave down a large vet bill for me. So anyone accusing him of being money-hungry will have to debate me - and never argue with a woman with an 80-lb German Shepherd! :)

Yes, the help at SLAH changes regularly - it has done so for the past twenty years! These are young kids, people! And they continue to treat my pets with love and respect just as others did twenty years ago. And I suspect that many who dislike Dr. Van Trease, dislike his opinions, of which I'm sure he has plenty. But then, they are welcome to take their pets elsewhere.

• Pros: Great, thorough Veterinarians