Hiawassee Veterinary Clinic — Local services in Ocoee

If you are a person who values introductions and thorough communication, I would not highly recommend this veterinary clinic. I am not one of those individuals that partake in bashing anyone or their company, but I am shocked this place has a five star review with many people rating it as great service (thats actually one of the reasons I chose to come here). I need to be honest in the hopes of a prevention for poor experience for anyone who truly values certain morals. Yesterday was our second time taking our fur baby to this location and on a good note it was an emergency and they were able to squeeze us in first thing that morning; however, both times we have come to this clinic, we find some form of unprofessionalism amongst the doctors themselves and we find the marketing mechanism of being indirect. Both times neither Doctor formally presented themselves, were both brief and not thorough at all with the course of action/what is being done and in this particular case today, the Doctor never returned to communicate anything. At this clinic its sad to say, but if it werent for the awesome Techs like David, menial simple things wouldn’t even be communicated. For example we came in because our kitten had leakage/discharge (we came in for a specific concern) it would be apparent for the doctor himself to come in and address/communicate the issue that is present and its findings, but the Veterinarian never came back in, they said they were going to take her to the back to do another fecal exam and then took her. The Tech later returned giving my fiancé a paper stating the estimated costs and then later returned with our kitten and said they gave her a shot (which they didn’t even bother to let us know or communicate) and that he was going to go get the medicine and when he came back I asked everything. The doctor never even came back in to address the issues she had, like what came up in the fecal exam, what shot they gave her and what it was for, what medicine this was and why they were giving it to her, I had to ask everything to the Tech (Who was awesome, amazing, and extremely Knowledgeable) but that is aside from the point, because the point is, is that no person, no patient, should have to ask all the questions that they came in and paid for the service of someone answering them. Handing someone a piece of paper and not even having the audacity to verbally communicate that they think the best course of action is an anti inflammatory injection for their fur baby, is complete unprofessionalism and should be communicated prior to being done and outcomes and results should be communicated to the patient because that is what they came in for. Just the amount of unprofessionalism we have encountered here is appalling. Apart from that they were going to send her home with flea medication that they already gave her last month (which had two doses) and were going to charge us for it until I mentioned she already had it (Which you would hope that your pets doctor actually looked into their records prior to giving them any meds). While cost is never an issue as our fur baby and her health is top priority, the level of service coming from the Doctors themselves and the way every person at this clinic is very indirect with information leads me to be skeptical that they really try to sell you stuff that you don’t need. Not to mention that my first time calling this clinic I was told that my kitten would be receiving shots her first visit and I was quoted a completely different price that was way less than what we payed for in her first visit, which did not include the shots because I was then told by the Veterinarian that it was best for her to receive those on her next visit due to her age (which is understandable). This clinic honestly just lacks so much communication and as stated previously makes me skeptic to believe their goal Is care and not sales, at least that is how we felt coming to this place and have decided that after giving it a second shot, the service is extremely poor and is definitely not...

If you are needing an emergency vet, do not come to Hiawassee Veterinary Clinic. I went to Hiawassee frantically after observing my cat show signs of distress refusing to eat, etc. I called over 25 vets trying to get her seen as my vet who normally saw her was out sick that day. Hiawassee was able to see her that day. At first, I was impressed at how clean the facility is and the friendliness of the front desk receptionist. And the Office Manager. However, when the vet came in, he picked up my cat, told me she needed surgery and that she was going to die. The very first thing. My nerves were already shot and for the vet to go from 0- 120 in less than 2 seconds only made matters worse. Come to find out, what the vet thought the diagnosis was, was not. The vet sedated my cat to have a ultrasound and IV fluids in. But did not provide any additional help. He left the room to attend to other pets while my cat died. Literally. He showed no compassion but only seemed to care about the bottom line. And, I never saw him again. To make matters worse, after my beloved fur baby passed away, we started to discuss the next steps as far cremation versus burial, etc. I opted for cremation and to have her ashes spread over a garden, which the Vet Office assured me would happen. Furthermore, I asked for a paw print and for my beloved cat's name to be on the paw print. However, when I received the paw print, it is super tiny and my cat's name is not on the paw print. Instead, the pet angel memorial center carved the ID they gave her on the back of the paw print. How insensitive, ruthless and inconsiderate! Based off of the paw print, It looks like Pet Angel was rough with my baby. It makes me feel so sad. I called Pet Angel to ensure that my cat's remains were spread over the garden, as I was informed from the Vet's office only to find out that the Pet Angel does NOT have a garden!!!!!!! I am so heartbroken at How I and my fur baby was treated. I think the Vet is smart; however, his bed side manners are horrific and has no business seeing emergency appointments if he can't keep his composure to ensure that the animal welfare comes first and to keep the pet parents calm until there is a definite diagnosis. I'm heartbroken by the whole situation and the fact that I can't get my cat's remains back. Had I known she would be treated so poorly, I would have asked her remains to be sent back to me. Losing a family member, which a pet certainly is, is hard enough, but to add everything else onto it, only magnifies the situation. While the office manager showed great compassion, I will never have any future fur babies seen at Hiawassee Vet Clinic. I have lost all trust and confidence in...

Dr. Palm has been amazing the past five years and I highly recommend him. But Jackie at the front desk is intolerable. I told them i was setting an appt for a new puppy and explained that I had his annual done at another vet but he just needed his booster. Jackie called me while I was working in a panic and told me that she needed my paperwork "at my earliest, earliest, earliest convenience, really by the end of the day" or my appointment would be cancelled. The appt was 10 days away and she told me "it takes that long to get a file together" I had to call my husband to deal with it bc I was at work and he explained to the vet connected to the pound that he needed all his paperwork in his file sent over. She was also rude bc i didnt check my voicemail before i retuned her call. I asked her in a prior appt if I could bring his paperwork with me and she told me no. They ended up doing another full annual without telling us and said the paperwork we had sent over only included being treated for diarrhea. Well, I told you in person that his annual was done and all he needed was one booster...why wouldn't you ask us where the rest of the paperwork was if you didnt receive it? This whole situation was disorganized and wouldn't have happened if I could have provided the copy of my paperwork. I'm grateful they adjusted the price but unfortunately we will be changing vets. Jackie has always been snarky and demanding over the phone and dont appreciate it, especially how rude she was about me not being able to stop immediately while I was working to provide her with paperwork 10 days ahead of time. When my husband was shocked at the price (285) she bitchily started listing off everything they did that day instead of patiently explaining the charges. Even the tech spoke up and said the computer said he only needed one booster. Another time I asked her if I needed to wait in my car with my dog that day before entering bc my ac in my car just went out and she was completely rude about about it and said I can wait in my car or cancel the appt. I waited 30 min in my car with no ac in the...