Animal Emergency And Specialty Care Portland, Maine

Honestly as awful as our experience was to learn that our poor Bear was very sick and surgery wouldn't help, they were very accommodating with allowing us to go back to hold Bear and say our goodbyes as he passed. ???? They also imprinted his paw print on clay to attach to his urn free of charge.????????

We took our dog Dude in after he seemed depressed and stopped eating. He was seen within 45 minutes as a walk-in (which is fast) and they did thorough tests. They found a mass on his spleen the size of a grapefruit and saved his life by performing immediate emergency surgery. Whenever we called for updates the phone was promptly answered by a compassionate tech or nurse. And we called all night. The surgeon came to the phone to answer further questions as needed which was appreciated. I think others should realize the staff is busy saving lives of beloved family members/pets and does not seem to neglect any animal in their care or let the phone ring off the hook.

Had to take our son's dog there and unfortunately he had to be put to sleep. Dr and staff were outstanding and very supportive to our difficulty in making the decision. A blessing for pet owners!

We had to take our senior dog in for emergency at a busy time. The team was great with communication. We brought him in for a 2nd appointment the following week and the surgery team took amazing care of him!!! The Surgical Vet, Meghan Sullivan, is outstanding!!! She is a great listener, very responsive, and took time to walk me through everything. It was a huge comfort knowing that her and the team were taking great care of my big boy!

I had an appointment for my senior Labrador Retriever with Dr. Shoelson. He did blood work and an ultrasound and found a large mass on her liver. He referred me to surgeon Dr. Sullivan. We decided to do a liver lobectomy. I cannot thank them enough for the care, compassion and always there to answer questions and never feeling rushed. Thank you so much Dr. Shoelson and Dr. Sullivan! I would highly recommend the two of them.

My girlfriend had to have her dog out down. This place was great with comforting her and her parents. I am not sure how much it was but they were very polite and understanding. They let us stay in the room with her dog as long as we wanted, before and after the procedure.

So glad that Maine has a "top notch" animal emergency and specialty care hospital. The quick response to a request for a surgical consultation, the expertise and handling of our dog's medical situation, the staff's compassion and follow through, and of course the skills and knowledge of Dr. Agrodnia were way beyond our expectations. We really appreciate knowing that our pups have a wonderful resource if anything happens to them in the future. We have seen our share of animal hospitals and this one ranks up in the top tier.

Very thorough , efficient , informative. Quite impressed

We brought our dog here after he was hit by a car. They were absolutely amazing. They kept him for several days, made sure he got plenty of fluids and the meds that he needed. They cleaned him up and made sure he was stable before doing surgery. They operated on him, and did an amazing job. They called us frequently with updates and always asked permission before going ahead and doing something. They thoroughly explained everything and answered all of the questions we had. They made sure he was 100% healthy enough and ready to come home before releasing him. It was overall a great experience and we will definitely bring our pets back here if needed.

Meghan Sullivan, DVM, DACVS is an INCREDIBLE surgeon! She did an absolutely tremendous job on the bilateral TPLO my dog required last May (2020). He is doing exceptionally well, and I credit her with giving him a new lease on life! Cubby and I thank you for affording him the joy of many more walks in the woods:)

I travel about 3.5 hrs to come here, usually in the specialty care, but this time to the emergency vet. I have had some odd cases not only in my years of animal rescue but also with my own personal pets (most of whom came from my rescue). It is humbling to go here after many local vets have looked at an animal, case, aliment, sickness etc and have NO clue, then walk in and get answers. One case stands out in my mind. I loaded up my cat, dogs, and our stuff, headed for the hotel (La Quinta is pet friendly and nearby). Next morning I walk into my appointment, with this cat who by all accounts was presenting as paralyzed as a kitten. I sit in the room for 20 minutes, starting to get confused as to why the vet hadn't come in after the tech took my info and records from previous vets. The vet finally walks in, WITH A DIAGNOSIS. Mind you she has not seen the cat, only data from other vets and my statements. She diagnosed him with an INCREDIBLY rare genetic disorder called osteogenisis imperfecta (brittle bone disease). She had never seen it, nor had anyone she contacted in the time I was sitting in the room, however she had found a scientific paper on the ONLY other case of it in cats ever. She supplied me with a printout of the paper, as well as a description and brought it in. I was floored. It was like magic, after 4 months and many many visits I had an answer. She saved that cat's life that day because I was able to modify his care to ensure he didn't get repeated fractures that required surgeries and likely euthanasia. Garfunkel turned 3 this year. I have been in for many many other medical cases with other animals over the years and never been disappointed... but when a vet can do that... well, let's just say they have earned my praises for life. As far as anyone is aware that I have spoken to, (Tufts etc) he is the oldest and one of the only if not the only living example of the genetic disorder out there.

Very helpful and friendly people

Took my cat here last week because she was excreting blood. They don't allow anyone to go inside, and we called when we arrived at 8:30am. After filling out the form and letting them know it was completed, we waited over an hour for them to come out to take my cat inside. After another 45 minutes we finally got a call saying she looked normal and wanted to do a blood test. We were informed it would take about an hour so we didn't have to wait there. We came back an hour later and we're still waiting for a call on the results, another 30 minutes later I ended up calling them and was told the Dr was on another line so she didn't have an update and would call me when she did. I ended up going home and didn't get a call until 1:30pm. After deciding to do more testing we didn't get another call until 4:30 to go pick her up. I immediately went back and got there at 4:50 and called to tell them I arrived. It took them another 45 minutes to come out and give me my cat back. So it took over 9 hours for them to do blood work and an ultrasound (the second test that was talked about at 1:30). Needless to say, I'm upset about how long it took to go to an EMERGENCY vet for a cat who had blood coming out of her. Communication was extremely poor as well, if nobody can go in and if they are busy then that should be communicated to the people waiting. They could have suggested another clinic close by, or simply called to let me know how long it would be if they had a delay. I'm lucky it was my day off so I didn't miss any work because of them.

This hospital is the most awful place ever they would not treat my dog last night because I didn't get paid until today the refund to help me an my poor sick dog they was rude an set us away could not do his surgery an wait not even 10 hour to get there money for it so now my sweet sweet boy passed away due to there ignorance.. how as a doctor of any kind human or animal see something or someone in so much pain an they refuse to help I can't believe what this world has come to

Good service, just a bit slow...7 hour day

The staff was great and very supportive.

Amazing and kind workers who truly care for animals. My wife and I had a real emergency late at night and sadly we didn't make it here in time but the respect and empathy they showed us and our lost loved one made it somewhat easier and the beautifully wooden box with his name on a golden plate along with his little pawprints in plaster with a sweet heartwarming poem in a wonderful black leather booklet was so far beyond what I was expecting to get back. They are a great place with great people!!

Caring, compassionate and very knowledgeable staff.

I had to bring my cat Merlin in for an emergency and I couldn’t be happier with the whole experience. The staff here was caring, kind, and totally upfront about costs. I feel relief knowing that Portland Emergency is there if I need them in the future. Thank you so much for all that you do!

We had to drive to this hospital from Lewiston for a leg injury to our cat due to staffing shortages and closure of our local animal hospital. The staff here were completely bombarded and wait times were long, but it was 100% worth the drive and the wait. The staff and vets have been nothing but kind, caring, professional, and go out of their way to thoroughly explain their findings and what the best next steps are. I would highly recommend!

Was there at 1a.m. They were super kind and really good at accommodating my extremely high maintenance 2 pound chihuahua. She was healing from a broken jaw and suddenly came down with a pyometra (infected utes). They did all the assessments they needed to do and made really helpful recommendations. One of the nurses actually remembered Gemma from the single time we had been there before 3 years ago. (the buttons in the picture are part of her broken jaw healing process. ????????)

Our dog had an operation with PVESC that resulted in an infection in less than 72 hours. We called about a discharge coming from his sutures on Saturday morning and we were told to bring him in. After waiting five hours to get our dog back- we were given broad spectrum antibiotics to clear up the undiagnosed infection. To our surprise, we were charged for an emergency visit We expected to pay for the antibiotics themselves but not for a full emergency visit. The employee on the phone did not state this would be considered anything other than an expected post surgery type of visit. We paid for the emergency visit to get our dog back and were advised to call back about the charges on Monday when the weekday surgeons were in. We received a call at 8:10PM (extremely late, likely hoping we wouldn’t answer) last night telling us it was OUR decision to bring him in and that they wouldn’t do anything about the emergency charges when we’d already paid an EXORBITANT amount fr his surgery. Anyone on a fixed income should be forewarned of this shady/up-sell behavior. They’re concerned with money, not the individual.

Staff went above and beyond with their assistance treating our beloved dog!! We can't thank them enough. Kept in contact with us at every step. There were very fair and reasonable with the procedure that needed to be completed and kept the costs in line. Thank you, thank you and thank you for taking care of our ????.

They were polite, caring, and professional.

My friend's dog needed ear surgery to remove a growth in his inner ear. Post-op the surgery site became infected pretty severely, but as it was the weekend only emergency staff were available. When asked if the antibiotics would be covered because the infection was caused by surgery, the receptionist was rude and condescending. My friend called to follow up multiple times and never got a response, until a nasty manager called them at 8pm! Absolutely horrendous service, I will never bring my pets to this place. These people don't care about the animals and will let them suffer while charging you for services they botched.

Definitely have lost all compassion and become a job to the “ladies” that work their, 100% regret having no choice but to use this place

. Take them somewhere that understands the word EMERGENCY.

Very long wait outside, finally got in half hour after appointment time.

Great friends of mine brought in their Boston terrier for a scheduled surgery, they were horrible about handling the aftercare and were charged MORE MONEY for EXPECTED post surgical antibiotics. Will never take my pets here again

The two star rating is solely due to the fact that they are still not allowing pet parents into the facility. (As of September 2021.) They say it's to keep people safe, but if all of their staff are vaccinated and the pet parents are vaccinated and all are wearing masks, shouldn't that be adequate? It can make one feel that they prefer not to have pet parents see what's happening with their pets and the pandemic is an excuse to keep anxious pet parents out.