Meriden Animal Hospital — Local services in Meriden

I would like to preface this review by saying that this is my first time owning a pet, outside of being raised around family animals. I’m only writing this review in an attempt to share my experience with potential new clients that are on the fence about visiting this office because of other reviews, as there is nothing this office can do to improve my personal encounters. My 6 month old puppy has been vomiting blood and passing bloody liquid stools. I brought her in for an initial examination, obviously in a panic. An X-ray was done which just showed inflammation of her gut and I was told she was dehydrated. She was given an anti nausea medication and sent home with a different type of food. Well unexpected to me, the anti nausea medication wore off. It was not explained to me that the effects would wear off and there’s a chance that she might not have had any improvement or what to do next. It was a temporary bandaid solution, not treatment for a diagnosis as there wasn’t one, to my knowledge. From my own research I’m concerned that the anti nausea medication could be suppressing bacteria that her body is trying to expel, but I wouldn’t know whether or not shes infected with bacteria or a parasite as they didn’t run a fecal sample or do blood work at any of her visits. So because my dog wasn’t any better after her visit I was advised by Dr. James to bring her in, who initially came off as caring, only to be minimized by him and told that I worry too much, she’s fine. Subsequently, I called the office again expressing concern that she was not improving and asked what the next steps would be for diagnostics. The person who answered the phone did not greet me with her name nor her role, so naturally when she could not provide me with information I asked if she had vet experience or was she a receptionist. This was not in an attempt to be condescending, but I wanted to be speak with someone who could provide direct knowledgeable answers. Her tone of voice quickly became unprofessional and I was put on hold and transferred to speak with someone else, who was a bit more pleasant. After this encounter I took my dog to the emergency room because that was the only option. The following day, my fiancé called to make a follow up appointment  and when prompted to provide the name of the pet/owner, the receptionists attitude immediately became hostile while asking if we requested to have our records sent to a different practice and he was told there were not available appointments. After calling again this morning to ask for a fecal test, Dr. James himself answered after I had been put on hold and told me that I am no longer welcomed to bring my dog here for care because (in his own words) “you were rude to staff and I’m sure that’s not the first time you’ve heard you’re rude in your life”. I am disheartened with this entire experience and at the end of the day, no matter what “he said” or “she said”, my dog is still suffering and left undiagnosed. In these trying times, the last thing I can afford is to use time and money to keep bringing my dog in to be given the run around and no answers. If she’s dealing with something idiopathic that isn’t life threatening and we will have to wait it out and see, just say that. If her condition is beyond your scope of expertise and she needs a referral to a specialist, provide that. Don’t let your incompetence and pride stand in the way of my puppy getting the help that she needs. There are several reviews that I’m sure are missing a ton of details because they are short and get to the point that their pets did not survive being given the runaround. I am determined to find my baby the supportive and compassionate care she needs. Warning to all, you will not find that here.

Furthermore, instead of being accused of what happened with their receptionist via phone call it would have been nice if Dr. James inquired about the exchange instead of being accusatory...

For years, I always heard bad things about this place, however, I was recommended by a friend and also told to come here for “the Frenchie vet.” Well, in the beginning of June, my Frenchie ate something, and I took him to urgent care in Plainville, wanted to do his follow up with his actual vet, I was told they don’t usually do that, but I absolutely could follow up with my vet. I called my vet on the day. I was supposed to follow up, And I was told I could come in and have the x-rays done there. However, they didn’t call me back in the timeframe that they did say so. I called them back no answer, so then they called me back saying I could come in. Once I got into the office, my doctor, Dr James was not working that particular day, so I had to see the female The one and only the other doctor besides him, I do not recall her name. When I got into the room and the tech said that I had to have a physical., I said to her, I’m only here to do an x-ray following up to make sure that the obstruction was not still stuck in my dogs, As soon as I said that she actually copped an attitude told me to hold And went marching out of the room I can hear her open the door to the back room talking about We have a problem. When the doctor came into the room And I went over everything with her, she told me I had to have a physical I explained to her he was already a patient and you have A physical on file. She refused because I didn’t wanna have to pay for a physical, a physical is a once a year annual service. I told her I was not paying for that. I was upset. I asked to see where in the policy this was because That’s all she kept saying it was policy. So I told her I didn’t want to pay for a physical. I would only pay for the X-rays. So she refused to see me, she told me since it seemed like he passed the object He should be fine, long story short, my dog needed an emergency surgery three days later. Not once did Dr James get on the phone and call me and hear my side of the story, Nor after receiving the records that he had surgery, did he even once call and check in. I didn’t receive a discharge letter from this place until after the fact, after all of the urgent visits, his surgery, his recovery stays. The discharge letter basically said I was speaking disrespectful, no I was very clear and confirmed that I did not want to pay for a A physical, and had not slept in three days and had already spent over $2000. what’s disgusting is the assumption in this letter about solid communication, because if there was solid communication, the office manager would’ve called me, and my doctor should have called and followed up, and then after receiving the records, the dog almost died, he still didn’t call and follow up. Far from compassionate, nor solid communication skills. They also talk about in the letter that they have exceptional healthcare, exceptional healthcare would’ve been providing the dog with the x-ray, or when you see the paperwork, the dog almost died and had surgery after giving bad advice. Just go home he should be OK, I would’ve followed up as a healthcare professional. But the great part is the timeline, the receipts and everything that happened is all facts. The only miss treatment that happened here was the VET on that day and my VET, for making a bad assumption. Thankfully, North Haven Central animal Hospital saved...

My very first experience with Meriden Animal Hospital was a great one. We transferred our rescue, Roxi, to the practice in September of 2024. So, when we got our puppy, Rumble, we had him established as a patient with Dr. G. in January 2025. I had no issues with questions, information, appointments, ect. until Rumble got sick. Well, I called on 2/11/25 and the service was awful. Rumble, our 20-week-old Rottweiler had been vomiting from 7:15a on 2/11/25. On that day my husband and I called the office 3 different times throughout the day to request that a note be left for Dr. G or any vet to call us back. Instead of being placed on a call back list, among other things, we were given personal experience advise, misinformation based on the reception misinterpretation of what we were telling them. The first woman told me that he was vomiting because I was over feeding him. She misconstrued 3 cups of food/day as 3 cups of food/3x per day for a 20wk old puppy. The 2nd woman who I spoke to twice gave me very scripted replies as if she was reading from a document. She heard me say his stomach was bloated the night before but had since gone down after vomiting about 18x from 7a to 1p, and rushed me off the phone, strongly advising that we take Rumble to an animal ED. She said since his stomach was currently bloated and he was vomiting he needed to be seen immediately. I called 2x prior asking for this- or at the very least, a call back from a VET! Is this not an animal hospital?! That same woman told us it could be days before he was able to be seen at Meriden Animal Hospital. And would take the same amount of time to get a call back from a vet. It was frustrating and infuriating to say the least. However, we called back again the next day. After speaking to Helen at 8a on 2/12/25, she said she would consult with the dr. Helen promised to phone is right back and did! She phoned us back within minutes and scheduled us an appointment to be seen with Dr. G at noon. When we arrive in office, our experience with Dr. G and Sam was 5 stars. Roxi and Rumble have seen him in the past and we expected nothing less. He is an excellent vet with a calm and comforting affect. He is knowledgeable. Dr. G. provided us with a diagnosis, information on the different symptoms and what they could mean, he gave Rumble a thorough exam and we left with a plan of action and piece of mind that our puppy was going to be okay. We felt confident we were on the track to getting him healthy again. A hug thanks to Helen,...