Northern Hope Veterinary Care — Local services in Pillager

Thought we'd found a closer Vet to home, so tried Northern Hope. Two and a half years later, our family is still traumatized and grieving by the lackadaisical, chaotic attitude and 'fake care' that our animals experienced. Both of our Dogs died within weeks of each other under this Vet's care. Maisy had tumours removed. I asked the Vet if she biopsied them. She said "No, I know cancer when I see it, this wasn't cancer." Maisy got worse, and we took her for a second opinion; It was cancer, and she died within weeks. Our other Dog, our beloved Bull Terrier, Angel, she died of liver and kidney failure. Northern Hope Vet gave us false hope by pushing a bunch of chinese herbs and acupuncture because she (Vet) didn't believe in using too much "Western Medicine unless it was completely necessary". Our Angel died within a week. Northern Hope Vet said she'd come to our home, so Angel could pass away in her own surroundings, but reneged the last day. So here we are, on the lawn outside Northern Hope holding our beloved Angel in our arms, and here comes one of the desk staff, to shove a card machine in our face to pay for the bill WHILE WE ARE SAYING OUR LAST GOODBYE!!! You couldn't even give us that much? To say goodbye uninterrupted? Both bills for both dogs including all the fake B.S. herbal crap came to over an accumulation of well over $4000 within a month. (we always pay our bills after the visit, so Maisy's bill had already been paid) If that wasn't the worst thing, Northern Hope LOST ANGEL'S BODY AND REFUSED TO TELL US WHAT HAPPENED!! SIX WEEKS LATER, they call to say they have her ashes. Are they really Angel's? When I called Northern Hope over and over, begging and crying as to the whereabouts of Angel's body, all I got was "We can't discuss it." That is why I question; how would we ever know this was really Angel?? This Vet made sure she got EVERY CENT she could get out of us, knowing both of our Dogs would die. What makes it so hard is that Angel may have had a chance if given the correct medicine. By the time we realized she was in it for whatever money she could get, it was too late. We lost our family. Her records were so poorly written and she covered her tracks by omitting all of her B.S. 'diagnosis', that even our regular Vet could not decipher any of them, so her so-called 'record's were worthless. Yes, we are still heartbroken and traumatized to this very day, and mad at ourselves for being taken in by this person. I really cannot believe she is still in business. I'm not alone here. I have spoken to people from Baxter to Verndale who share the same opinion. Pet Lovers beware. It's all smoke...

They are very polite and kind people but they put the fear of God in me that my dog would be ailed and in a lot of pain without major dental surgery- it didn’t sit right with me as he seemed normal. I didn’t want my dog in pain or to go through a major surgery which would include taking two 3 rooted teeth, or the anesthesia recovery, or the 6 weeks recovery. So I got two other opinions over time and I was told by both other vets that surgery is not necessary at all. Keep in mind Northern Hope advised me to schedule the surgery within 10 days or he’d likely be in a lot of pain. This was over two months ago. He was seen again last week at a new vet for an opinion on this specific issue because he’s been normal but in the back of my mind I’ve been aware I’ve been told he needs surgery and I was afraid I was being neglectful. He’s fine. This isn’t the first unnecessary surgery they’ve quoted me for, either. Last year it was a stye that they quoted me like 1000$ surgery for…. The next time I went in they popped it like a zit and told me it’s something that will keep coming back like a zit but isn’t a big deal. *Edited for length and reply. I appreciate the reply from northern hope, again, they’re really nice and I appreciated the kind vibe of the office. I stand by my review of my experiences of care. I didn’t feel forced by any means but I felt like they were trying to advise a few unnecessary and expensive procedures. Idk why they did that, but it was emphasized my pup would be in pain. Enough so that I scheduled the surgery, made the soft dog food supply for 6 weeks and only cancelled it due to my own health reasons and during that time I waited it out I noticed he was completely fine but got other opinions to be sure. Im sorry, I don’t think it’s appropriate to make people feel it’s necessary by any measure to make their dog undergo major surgery when it’s not completely necessary. And I don’t think that heart counts when considering what (an unnecessary) major surgery and 6 weeks recovery would do to my 8 year old 125lb dog… I think it’s fair to let people know my experience. I gave another star because again, you guys were very nice and reliable to get ahold of. Thank you for replying, it’s not personal it’s just...

I am so happy with the care here. I'm no expert, but I read so much about the breed of my dogs before I got them. At my previous vet in Brainerd, everything the vets did went against the research. I began to doubt myself. When I stopped into Northern Hope at the recommendation of a friend, I asked a few questions and got responses that lined up with all the reputable information online. Plus, my then 8 month old dog was still struggling (a lot) with potty training. At my former vet, I was blamed. I was told I must not be consistent. I told them that I set alarms on my phone to be certain I was consistent, and they shrugged. One visit at Northern Hope, and Sarah could tell my dog's bladder was tilted. She suggested some exercises to strengthen my dog's bladder. Within a few days, the potty training issue- that we had struggle with for months- was gone. Also, let your dog show you... my dogs have always been nervous wrecks at the vet; at Northern Hope, once they're in a room, they lay...