Central Hospital For Veterinary Medicine Guilford, Connecticut

Presented our senior dog with 2 issues on the phone one issue was addressed and the other issue was mentioned. No clear verdict as to what to do or what to continue for meds. Papers were not emailed until next day. Dog had to be “lightly …

After a long holiday weekend, we found out our vet, and others, were unable to see us anytime soon. We took our dog here fully understanding it was a higher cost as it's after hours, professionals on-staff, and we could be seen immediately. Our phone call with the doctor was highly technical, and in a spur of the moment I had no previous knowledge of the topic. I did feel, however, it was designed to have us agree to an ultrasound and overnight hospitalization. One word mentioned a few times was cancer. We opted to take our dog home and have her seen by a wonderful vet a bit far away the next day. After almost an hour consultation, hearing about her weekend of trauma, and reviewing the same information Central did, he concluded she is a dog, and ate something on one of our walks that horribly disagreed with her. This is much closer to what I had in mind based on the dog's behavior. I'm not saying Central's conclusion was wrong, as it was technically possible. And I'm not saying the cost was beyond reason. I'm just saying my doctor consultation experience was technical, my wife was in tears, and they recommended a treatment based on doubt and fear. I've seen x-rays when a tumor is involved, and this was not even close. I left Central and threw the ball around for my dog in the yard thinking it was the last time. But every time she brought it back, I was like "Come on, she has a severe stomach bug." If you are still reading, and I know Central is, Central did not ask for a medical history, which I had readily available. Central's doctor did not ask what her weekend was like. She did not question why this suddenly came on overnight before jumping to cancer. Yes, the dog had elevated White blood cells, ALT or whatever, but we really felt boxes were checked, and her diagnosis was the worst case scenario.

After going the extra mile to try and save my 8 month old kitten, we had to put Luna down. The professionalism, compassion and caring we experienced for our kitten and our family from the staff made a difficult time a little easier. I highly recommend this group for any emergency.

I am so grateful for the staff at Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine at Guilford. Our dog suffered from severe diarrhea and we couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. The day after his diarrhea started, I called his vet and was told to give him a bland diet for 3-5 days. That same evening, our dog's diarrhea got so severe we started seeing blood in his stool. We did a search on google maps and found one an hour away. This was around 1 AM. They suggested Central Hospital because it was closer (35 minutes away). We called them right away, and rushed out of the house. We were helped as soon as we got there. They took our dog in and the doctor gave us a call asking more questions about what was wrong with him. She gave us an update on his well-being, and gave suggestions on the type of tests that would be needed to properly diagnose him. Dr. Krein was very kind, helpful and informative. We were given the price of the tests by a technician, and they asked us if we were okay with the price. We agreed, and they did what we asked. After the results came out, the doctor gave us a call again and gave her recommendations as well as medicine that would help our dog. We were home by 4 AM. It has been 2 days since we came back from the vet, and our dog is doing much much better. I love that they were open and available at the time. I would highly recommend them for pet emergencies.

I liked the tone and demeanor of the vet with whom I spoke, and ended up having to put my cat down. However, it was never explained to me that they would keep the cat alive until they secured payment for the euthenisation. If they had told me from the beginning in a tactful way, I wouldn't have finished my workday under the impression that what needed to be done would be done. It felt cruel. It put me in a position of incredible guilt when I found that out which was a lot later in the day than it needed to be. They also provided me with a page FULL of paw prints done with ink, and the visual of how they managed to get that, made me sick to my stomach. Either a cat that was medicated because of how much pain she was in, that they kept alive until they got paid, or it was a cat that had been put down, that they were finger-painting with. I'm not happy, both with the outcome (which is a reality in this world) but moreso, the communication leading up to it, about the inevitable money and securing payment.

I work in people Healthcare. And I know I was the most annoying patient representative ever last night for my baby Kaylya. Everyone from reception to nursing right to the provider were exceptional. Extremely communicative, informative, knowledgeable, kind, and helpful. I cannot imagine how stressful their profession is and how truly awful it can be sometimes in not just the patients they deal with, but also their owners. But they are clearly right where they are supposed to be and handled my anxiety with dignity and understanding. Thank you for giving me peace of mind and making sure this schnoodle has a healthy and happy Christmas. Thank you Amy and Dr. Conroy and Christine for all of your genuine compassion and patience with not only Kaylya but also myself! No offense but I hope I never have to see you again but if I do I have no doubt Kaylya would be in the most capable hands! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and yours!!! And I'm sure you don't hear this enough but you are all doing such an amazing job with such difficult circumstances. Truly heroes!

Everyone here was so kind and wonderful taking care of my dog, Teddy, after he suffered an attack from another dog. From the nursing staff to all of the doctors, (big shout out to Dr. Landsdowne!) they made me feel totally comfortable knowing my dog was in such great hands. I highly recommend this ER for urgent care.

On 11/12/21 around 4am, after my horrible experience with the overnight operator, my fiancé and I stood outside the hospital and was told someone would be right there. Two women came rushing to the door, picked up my 80lb boy like it was nothing, and rushed to the back. I know this might sound corny lol but as soon as I saw these two women, I automatically knew he was in good hands. They didnt walk to the door, they ran...and they didnt stand there and ask a bunch of questions...they grabbed him, said 2 words, and rushed to the back. Unlike the operator, they were told it was an emergency, and treated it as an emergency. Whether you care for animals or ppl, creating a positive and trusting environment is everything. We received a phonecall, and within minutes my baby was as good as new. These women literally bear hugged a fully awake TERRIFIED 80lb Pit, reached in his mouth, and grabbed a stick that was no less than 6 inchs long & an inch thick! When she came out with my dog I had to hold back tears. I immediately said sorry cuz it was so fast that I assumed it something small. So after I thanked her a million times and held back tears...when I asked for the bill, she said dont worry about it. Jenna, little did you know that we just spent all our dog savings on removing a mass from our boxer...so we were literally prepared to drain our savings and use our due mortgage payment. There is NOTHING me and my fiancé can say that would even come close to expressing how grateful we are...its impossible. I dont know her job title, or her last name...but Jenna is the real deal.

This place is ridculous..... the staff are ignorant.... have watched too much walking dead. Only thing they can say is we're in The middle of a pandemic..... while your animal is going through trauma........ what's the point of being vaccinated.

This is the second time we have had to visit Guilford's Central Hospital in the last 2 months for emergency care, for our 20 year old dog who is likely developing seizures from a brain tumor. From the front desk staff to the vet techs to the DVMs, every single person was immensely compassionate, kind, and understanding (even though we showed up barefoot and crying incoherently both times). By far, the most outstanding character of this office is the amount of time the vets and techs spent on the phone with us answering questions and offering suggestions on how to proceed in such a delicate situation, including the up front estimates of how much care would cost in each scenario, and how this would affect the quality of life for our super-senior. We had two different DVMs, Dr. Krein and Dr. Gargamelli, both of which called us multiple times themselves (versus a tech or secretary to relay information) and I realized upon hanging up that we were sometimes on the phone for over 30 minutes. This is a big deal right now when vet offices are so understaffed and overbooked.  We believe these people saved our dog's life twice now and we are extremely grateful for their professional and compassionate assistance going forward. Edit: I see the majority of low reviews are by people complaining about costs. For us, they were incredibly transparent with pricing, even giving us estimates in different scenarios that were unlikely to play out. Every single thing they did to our pet was approved with us beforehand. We are by no means wealthy but I can't imagine complaining about the cost of CPR resuscitation or toxin analysis or required blood tests for my pet (all of which are ordered by the DVM and discussed with you prior). You go to an ER to get the emergency care your pet requires, usually to survive, and these people do exactly what they believe is needed to do so. They don't work on commission, they (like all vets today) are way too overbooked to recommend unnecessary surgery/tests, and they aren't in the field for the tips.

I brought my little girl for endoscopy....cost quite a bit but they said need to find out what is wrong.she had procedure but lab threw away the biopsies. Risked her life for what? And not even refunded.do not reccomend!!!!!!!!!

While I was thankful for prompt care for my kittens, I was very disappointed with the way the Dr. spoke to me. Her communication was condescending and accusative. At a very difficult and upsetting time I felt that I was being frightened and yelled at about care and costs! I guess you call that very poor “bedside” manners. Sadly I did not have a good experience here.

Yeah this place is just bad. I came here with my dog for fear that she had eaten something toxic and needed her to get hydrogen peroxide to throw up. But the vets here brought my dog back outside and told us to wait and said they’d call when they were ready. Spoilers they never called back so I could’ve been waiting there for hours with no answer. Thankfully I didn’t waste any time and went to get the hydrogen peroxide myself.

0/5 I’m pregnant, traveled 45minutes and waited 45 more in the car for my cat Lucy to get looked at for possible infection that could be linked to an improper spay. Lucy was in for a brief moment when the doctor called and told me that she’d need a full ultrasound (the only option for this case for definitive answers). To my absolute dismay, the doctor went on to say that they are not offering the service until mid-August because they don’t have their specific doctor/tech until then and I’d have to go elsewhere (as in pay them for not doing anything to actually help and then pay someone else for a repeated process of emergency room check in + tests as well). They tried to argue that it was not their job to tell me what services they do and do not offer at the time, that have to do with Lucy’s symptoms, and was further shocked when they went on to say that it wasn’t the receptionists job to know that information and indicated there’s actually no communication between whose taking your call and the doctor. (So basically, don’t come to an “emergency room” and expect to be helped). I went to collect my cat and was greeted by a woman who demanded I settle my bill -the hostility was baffling: they were essentially keeping my cat hostage. It’s been 2.5hours on this expedition at this point and I burst into tears,gave her my credit card because i had no energy left in me, saying “just give me my cat back.” Worst of it is, the vet referred me to them because it could be a life threatening situation and the “hospital”s advice/conclusion was that I should make an appointment with a vet. No professionalism. No common decency. You should be embarrassed to call yourself an emergency vet hospital. And all staff should be ashamed to claim they care for every animal yet allow experiences like my own to happen regularly. God forbid an animal you neglected to care for, doesn’t survive before being able to be seen elsewhere. All the money you’ve been scamming from people will return to the people someday. Absolutely pathetic, generally your reviews are positive because the only thing you seem to be good at is laying our pets to rest.

I’m vacationing here from out of state and my dog developed a limp that worsened over the course of the day. I called and the woman I spoke to was very kind and professional and told me step by step what the procedure was for getting my dog seen. Said that they were not busy at the moment although being an emergency clinic that could change at any given moment. I brought my boy in and called as directed when I got there. The nurse/tech that I spoke with was also kind and professional and explained that it would take about an hour or two depending on the findings but that the doc would call me as soon as possible. While sitting in the parking lot I noticed a woman rushing in and pulled up right to the door. In a bit I noticed her walking back to the car visibly shaken. A bit after that a similar event happened with a couple. About a half hour later they called me and apologized profusely for the wait but they had had two critically ill animals come in and they were trying to stabilize them. Explained that it might be an hour or so more if not longer till my boy could be seen and gave me the option to do a “short admit” and I could go home and wait for their call. I opted to wait a bit. An hour later she called back with an update that they were still working on the other pets and I opted to do the short admit(which would not add a charge, it was just a way to get him in the system and the deposit would go towards his care at the end of it all.). I went home and several hours later the doctor called and gave me a very detailed explanation of her findings and her recommendations for treatment. From start to finish I felt it was all handled very well by every person that I came into contact with. Sure I got “pushed to the back” but my goodness, if it had been my boy who was in need of real emergent care you bet I’d want them to push a dog with a limp(which turned out to be likely a ccl tear) back In order to possibly save my let’s life. Also I liked that they went with conservative treatment rather than rushing in and saying that he might as well get surgery for it. I was anticipating a huge bill-it’s an emergency clinic after all- but that was not the case. I come up here from Texas every year with Jesse and while I hope I don’t have to avail myself of their services again, I will feel comfortable and confident of the care here if the need arises. I would highly recommend them. Thank you all for taking such good care of my boy and for helping out those poor folks with their critical needs animals.

This place is truly amazing. One of our dogs was whining and wincing in pain, our vet was closed and there was no emergency vets open or not at full capacity or that had a multiple hour wait and we called Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine and they took our info and said to call once we arrived. They took him in and called us about 30 minutes later to let us know the diagnosis and that all the vet techs loved him and they’d be out soon with him and some medication. What was a very stressful few hours quickly changed from how great and quick they were. I can’t thank them enough for how well they handled everything and how fast they were able to take him in especially for us never going there before! 10000% recommend this place!

I recently had to make the decision no pet owners want to make. I was a complete wreck trying to find the right veterinarian to help me since mine was to busy that day. After calling around I was referred here. I’m so glad I was. Everyone was so professional and we could tell they really cared about our fur family member. They made sure we had plenty of time to say our goodbyes and assured us we were making the right decision for her. The care and consideration that was taken by ALL the staff was heartfelt and my family is grateful to you all. We picked up her ashes yesterday and we were blown away by all the extra gifts that were included and the beautiful sympathy card. Thank you, The Spaulding Family

I’d like to thank the dr’s and staff at Central Hospital - Guilford for their treatment/care of my dog. He had swallowed several large bone fragments along with some prescription medication. Though it was a scary situation, the staff at CVH made me feel at ease, and were able to start caring for him quickly and with a clear and sensical treatment plan, which was successful. And all along the way, continuously providing updates on his status/treatment. I couldn't put a price tag on my dog's health/life, but I do feel that cost of his treatment was reasonable considering the procedures, his stay, and the quality of care at CVH - Guilford. I am very grateful to the staff that helped treat my best friend and ensure his health. In short, wanted to voice my appreciation and thanks — and I’m sure Bogart (“Bo”) is grateful as well! Based on my experience I'd strongly recommend CVH for any pet emergencies. EDIT - +2 MONTHS: So, my dog got into the ornamental grass and ate so much that he caused an obstruction. He was back at CVH Guilford and their North Haven facility for abdominal surgery. Then, back in two days after he came home, luckily probably just pancreatitis. Even though it was a very scary experience, having the peace of mind that he was in the best place he could be and being monitored and cared for 24/7 was truly a comfort. As with the first experience, both my pet and our family was treated with compassion, and he's recovered very well, getting his stitches out tomorrow. I hope we don't have another emergency, but if there is any situation where he needs immediate attention, I'll be skipping any visits to the vet and taking him straight here. Thank you CVH.

expert care taken of a newborn puppy. Very happy . First time ever Memorial weekend. 5 stars for this team. Highly recommend

Doctor and entire staff were so helpful and wonderful today. My dog and I had a great experience and can not be more appreciative!

I was at the other location and felt WAY better having my Bowie here. Doctors are responsive-Dr. Gross calls in the morning and in the evening with updates. Front desk staff seem sweet and professional. They're more conservative and pragmatic in their approach to treatment-I feel like they use their judgment a little more than the other location. At North Haven, I was afraid he was going to die. When I came here, the Dr. was super reassuring about what was and wasn't normal. I had to drop him back off last night and he seemed oddly excited to see the staff for a dog at a hospital, so he must have really liked who he met. Grateful for this location for taking good care of him and having such good bedside manner with pet parents.

I think Dr. Gross is wonderful, and she really did help my baby, but the staff there is another story. They seem polite, but I feel a little tricked and I'll tell you why. I took my dog there for blood in her stools, it was urgent and they were both available, and quick to act. Discussing tests and such at the door, I approved heartworm and tick born disease testing which requires a blood sample. They told me about the chem test that runs $280 and I'd said no to that one initially. Fast forward a little while and they call me, this time a totally different lady than the one I met at the door, and she said very generically that the Dr has some blood tests she'd like to run, and that they would be a little while longer. Naturally, without her specifying that the was asking approval to run the chem test and what that would cost, I thought she was referring to the heartworm and tick test, and enthusiastically told her "yup! Whatever we have to do to get Freya healthy" Never did she mention she was asking me to run the chem test, so they ran it, and I was given a $636 bill with no billing options unless I wanted to finance thru Wells Fargo. The extent of their apology after explaining what I've written here was "I guess that was a bit of a miscommunication" Yes, a $300 miscommunication, thanks. I honestly feel like that miscommunication was intentional so I'd agree to that test regardless of how necessary it was. Kinda like a used car salesman, every time they speak to you, you need to ask them to clarify and specify how that will effect the cost of your visit. Bring a grand and just let them do whatever they need to, because the Dr really is amazing, but they have a terrible way of communicating, and you're going to speak to 3 different people in your time there. I did not need that level of blood work done, and essentially spent $280 on a test that had nothing to do with the diagnosis I was given, since she made the diagnosis using a stool sample and a microscope. Spare yourself the frustration and just have money ready.

This place was a godsend. They saved my dogs life. Dr Lansdowne did an amazing job on a dificult surgery. ????????????????????❤ thank u! Thank you! THANK YOU!

I came here with my cat to be put down after waiting at piper in middletown for 3hrs with no call to come in yet. They took the cat right in but waiting for the exam to be done was a little long but they were faster than piper and nice about everything.

We had to rush our 5.5 month old charcoal lab to the hospital February 13 for emergency surgery from a spay surgery that went terribly wrong. I can not say enough about the Dr. Lansdownes team of medical professionals and staff. We were greeted with compassion and genuine concern. Our girl was in the hospital for a week! We were contacted daily on her status. I would highly recommend them if you ever have an emergency. I am happy to say our girl is home and is in great shape playing as a puppy should.

Very rude staff. I brought my 1 year old french bulldog 2 days ago, they didn’t help any of his issues, told me to buy him a cream over the counter and rushed him out. Don’t go to this place

After my dog ran directly into a tree branch, they got her in and stitched up quickly. The staff was very communicative about the procedure, timeline, and price. Hopefully my pets stay healthy and I will never have to go back, but if in the unfortunate case that I do, Central Hospital will be my choice.

Sadie, my beloved companion of over 14 years, went into heart failure, so I took her to Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine in Guilford. The staff were helpful and kept us updated about her situation. Dr. Treseder in particular was wonderful to work with and I know she did everything possible to save my sweet angel. Unfortunately, despite the world-class medical care she received, it was Sadie's time to pass. This would have been a 5-star review, but this clinic has gone COVID-19 crazy. When we decided to euthanize Sadie and asked to spend a few minutes alone with her, the staff actually insisted that we wear masks! I told them that Sadie had never seen us in masks and that it was very important to us – when we see her for the first time since she entered the ICU and the last time before she leaves this Earth – that she be able to see our faces and that we be able to kiss her and make her feel as loved as possible. THAT DIDN'T MATTER AT ALL TO THEM AND THEY TOLD US THAT WE MUST WEAR MASKS WHILE ALONE WITH OUR DYING DOG. There is no justification whatsoever for this monstrous treatment. What has the world come to when a virus that poses almost no risk to the vast majority of people is used as a pretense to destroy our most precious moments? Shame on Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine in Guilford for perpetuating this anti-scientific nonsense to the detriment of their patients and clients. Please, stop this insanity. Update (in response to the reply below): At no point has the CDC recommended that people wear masks while alone. I'm lowering my rating by another star due to your refusal to take responsibility for your policy and your audacity in referring to forcing me to wear a mask while alone with my dying pet as merely "awkward."

Awful customer service, disorganized operation, rude doctors. Really bad.

Great compliments to veterinarian Dr. Rosa and assistant Zachary who were wonderful caretakes for my old and ailing dog who I brought in at 4am. They could not have been more caring and considerate and compassionate toward both my dog and …