South Side Animal Clinic — Local services in Rolla

I am leaving a review since my husband left one, but they didn't like that, since he wasn't present at the last appointment. Here are my positives about this place: I like the office staff, never had any issues with them. I like that the waiting room seems pretty peaceful with essential oils diffusing (that could be a negative to some, but it's much better than toxic air fresheners IMO). I could usually get an appointment in a reasonable amount of time. I like that there are some holistic treatments provided. Negatives: The last appointment I brought in my sick cat and they wanted to do a bunch of tests on him but were unable to complete any of them. The vet tech took him to another room. I asked about coming with and was told to wait where I was, that they were taking him to a more sterile room to do the blood draw. After quite awhile the vet tech comes back with the towel I had brought in the pet carrier over it and told me they were unable to complete any of the procedures because our cat was too aggressive. Oh yeah and in the process he hurt both of his back paws, peed and pooped all over himself from being so badly scared. So now I have not only a very sick cat who has not been eating, but one who is now also injured and prescribed 3 things. An antibiotic, a pain pill and pet-a-lyte. One of which says give with meals. I mentioned to the vet tech that he is not eating so how am I supposed to give this to him? Syringe food in him she says. We had enough of a rough time getting anything in him. That was for pain pills that he didn't need, he never acted in pain and I shouldn't have got those but was in a shock over all that happened and by myself. So there goes $40 for something we won't be using. Anyways over $150 later and a very stinky car ride home, we had to clean him up and find another vet that would actually help him. Who was able to give him an antibiotic shot and take a rectal temperature no problem. Another thing was the antibiotic Clavamox that was prescribed, when I went to give it to him I thought that's weird the bottle only looks half full. Glad I read the instructions on the box about diluting it! This was never mentioned to me and seems like something you would want to get right for sure for the safety of your pet. So I wasn't happy about that either. Plus the vet is always trying to sell you nexguard, implying that anything else you're using isn't good enough. This is the kind of place that is always recommending a lot of expensive tests and therapies. One of the questions on the very long intake form is sometime like: What is you budget for this visit? I'm never going to answer that. That basically to me is asking: How much money can we get out of you? For my fur babies I will have an unlimited budget for things that they truly need and will help them. It is hard to know which things on the treatment plan that they go over with you are truly needed and in your pets best interest or how many things they can try and sell you. I understand this is a place of business, but they seem to really be all about the money here. If you come here I hope you have more pros than cons. Edit for response: I have no control over what my husband wants to post, that is his opinion. Minor point- His towel was soiled after the vet tech bringing him back from the unsuccessful blood draw, I would not bring in a soiled one. Nobody told me about diluting that medication, like I said it's a good thing I read the box. And you flat out said the Frontline I am using is not as good as the Nexguard you kept trying to sell me. I understand vets have drug reps just like doctors.

Yes of course I understand it takes money to give your pets good care and I will spend as much as I NEED to to do so. As you can see by all the $$$ I spent at...

Great... well unfortunately I have to edit this review. The first time I visited I saw dr. Jessica and it was wonderful. She really does care and she's very knowledgeable. She got me doing the ozone therapy on my baby girl and it helped immensely. We also got her on some vitamins. However when I called in and ask for vitamins they said they had them I went to pick them up and they had sold them already to someone else. They said they needed to order more. Okay fine so I left. I came in for the next visit and one of the ladies there would not let me go and back with the dog. She also is very standoffish and never speaks. She's one of the doctors I guess, I'm not even sure her position there she's got long blond hair very thin. On the chart that got the dogs birthday wrong and her weight. Not a big deal there, however when I called to get permission to get tick medicine it took them two weeks to get the information to Pet Meds. They said I needed to sign a waiver will why didn't they tell me this 2 weeks ago when I paid for the tick medicine. So I ran down there I signed a waiver they finally fax it over to Pet Meds after the two weeks of me waiting. The girl at the front desk named Kirsten is very friendly but she is so confused about everything. Candy tries to help out but I think she still training Kirsten. I hate to leave here but I must. The final straw was when I called the other day to find out how much it cost to get her yearly shots. They had no idea they said they would have to ask them in the back and get back with me. 6 hours later I got a phone call with a price which was astronomical. It was twice the amount of another vet close by. I called the other bed they answered immediately gave me a price quote immediately and they also do emergency visits. That is the main thing I have to have an emergency vet because my dog is 10 years old. I cannot go from Rolla to Columbia or Springfield for an emergency. So take care doctor Jessica. you are a sweetheart and very knowledgeable, however your staff needs a little more training I believe, and maybe things will go more smoothly for you :-) I mean this all with...

Our Wire Fox Terrier began having multiple seizures in April of 2022 that were caused by a Meningioma tumor in her brain. After discussing the options with our Vet we decided to have surgery to remove the tumor and then follow that procedure with 20 sessions of radiation. Our hope was to give her and us a few more quality years together, however our expectations had to be tempered knowing that statistics showed that these procedures may only extend her life for short time......maybe 1 1/2 years to 2 years. The surgery and radiation were very hard on our little girl, but she did recover completely, and she was perfect for a year.......then out of nowhere another seizure in the middle of the night, that was August 2023. We already know what the problem was knew we were not going to put her through the same procedures again, so we looked for other treatment options for her condition. We began investigating taking a holistic approach to her treatment and that is how we met Dr. Jessica. Dr. Jessica was very thorough in her examination and in reviewing her medical history and then sat with us explaining some treatment options. The treatment plan included a change of diet, supplements to strengthen her immune system, detox her organs, cool her body and hopefully stop the tumor from growing further or possibly even to shrink it. Ozone treatment was also part of the plan. Fast forward to today and we are now 2 years post-surgery and nearly a year on the Dr. Jessica's treatment plan and Mila is acting like a 2-year-old. She has an incredible amount of energy and always asking to play, eating great, sleeping great and even more loving if that were even possible! One thing to also mention Mila was prone to gastrointestinal problems and we nearly lost her to pancreatitis a few months after her surgery/radiation. Since starting Dr. Jessica's treatment plan, I cannot remember her having mild diarrhea more than once or twice. We could not be more thankful to Dr. Jessica and her incredible team for the care they have given our baby....and Mila thanks us every morning when she wakes us up a...