Oakland Veterinary Referral Services Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

My dog Leo has had two procedures at OVRS -- one with Dr. Henney and one with Dr. Pitt. Both experiences have been extremely positive. The level of thought and care that goes into OVRS' treatment of their patients is the best I have …

We had an emergency late at night and the local emergency animal hospital had no vet on staff to see our cat. I got ahold of Oakland Veterinary Referral Services, described our kitty's symptoms and they told us to come right in. From the first phone call to us arriving to the vet tech to the veterinarian everyone was compassionate and helpful. Unfortunately our cat had developed saddle thrombosis and we had to euthanize her but the staff made a horrible situation bearable. They were kind and caring, allowing us to go home and get our kids so they could say goodbye even though it was 1am. Dr. Jordan Berzsenyi was thorough in our options and her recommendations clear, she showed my family and our cat compassion and understanding.

I cannot thank OVRS enough. Every single person we spoke to was beyond kind, patient, and helpful. They took us in right away for our emergency and made sure we were constantly in the loop on the situation as it changed. We are extremely greatful.

Kari Helfer was very professional and helped me through a difficult time with my Dog. She even called to check on us on the way home. It was a long drive for us to OVRS but very much worth it. I would recommend this place to others with large, sometimes difficult dogs.

Dr. Retallack performed TPLO surgery on my Golden Retriever, Abby. Dr. Retallack and the Vet Tech made us feel comfortable during the consultation. They took good care of Abby overnight and called with updates. They also called the day after we brought Abby home and they sent a gift box of dog treats to the house as a get well package????❤️

My dog suffers from an autoimmune disease that attacks her skin. My vet referred me to Dr. Mattise at OVRS for treatment. Dr. Mattise has gone over and above what was expected to find treatments that will help my dog, including conferring with other veterinary specialists and even calling me every day over the 4th of July weekend to check on her. My dog is doing well and I have Dr. Mattise and the caring staff at OVRS to thank for it!

I was looking for an emergency vet and was told this was a good place, but I just read a review from last week how someone sat in a room almost 2 hours with their dog in pain waiting to have it put down in the office forgot that they were there and never informed the vet. It broke my heart to read that review and let me know right then and there this is not a place I would ever go for an emergency. How could the staff be so uncaring to let a dog suffer and a family suffer needlessly at such a trying time

Look at the review from VL a week ago. They forgot to tell the Vet they were in the room and waited and waited. Please read these negative reviews and find another emergency vet. This facility needs to do better immediately. …

I’m pretty heartbroken. I was told my dog needed to be put down. He was in severe pain. We showed up within 20 minutes so he wouldn’t have to suffer longer. They immediately got us in a room. The staff FORGOT to tell the vet we were there. We sat in the room waiting to euthanize our baby. Hearing him cry wherever they were keeping him. It was traumatizing. Every minute felt like an eternity. I went and told them they forgot about us after an hour and a half and it was an “oops” response. No one came in for almost another half hour. My dog, my baby, my entire world I’ve had half of my life had to suffer two hours longer than he should have. It isn’t forgivable. The vet was so nice and apologetic and it wasn’t her fault. But I had to cut my time short with him, a short goodbye because I couldn’t let him suffer any longer than they had. I don’t know how you forget to inform the vet. It was a heart wrenching experience. My baby boy deserved better and I’ll never forget his screams.

Let me first say that with the scarcity of veterinary care professionals in Michigan currently, combined with both the pandemic and a lack of places open for emergencies after hours, this business is a godsend. I had to drive an hour to get here, and while that was scary, once we arrived, we knew we were in good hands. The staff is competent and kind, and the professionals here are capable and attentive. My chihuahua survived an attack by another dog because of OVRS. Yes, it's expensive because of the specialty care they provide and the unparalleled availability. Thank you, all! Mini is doing great!

Costed the life of my dog, told me his bloating was fine, to die hours later.

I am beyond thankful to have brought my 12 year old furbaby/daughter Princess here. Words cannot describe how amazing this ER is. I have never had such an incredible experience. Every staff member goes above and beyond to treat your baby like it is there own and took such amazing care of her. They saved my Princess’s life when I thought it was my last day with her and so grateful for them and to be able to see another day with her. They are so knowledgeable and know what they are doing. I couldn’t recommend them enough a million times. I appreciate each and everyone of you on the team. Forever thankful. Thank you for all that you and your staff do. You are all so sweet. Couldn't have asked for a better team. Love, Bianca and Princess

Everyone at this office goes above and beyond expectations. Our puppy, Doug, unfortunately developed an abscess that needed surgery back in August. This went well, until it unfortunately reoccurred 2 months later. Dr. Retallack and her team were quick at getting him back in and taken care of. Throughout the entire process, everything was communicated so thoroughly. She is an amazing veterinarian and I would highly recommend her to anyone. Her team, specifically Dawn and Chelsea who I had spoken to a few times were always so kind and patient. Jim was exceptional as well. The front desk always welcomes everyone with a smile. You can truly tell that everyone at OVRS loves the job that they do, and all the animals.

This is a shout-out for Alexa (or Alexis I’m so sorry). I would give this place 100 stars if i could! I am completely new to dealing with babies for I have only rescued older animals. However I adopted a baby kitten recently and after her spay at a different vet she was acting horribly. making me a nervous wreck. Alexa was so patient, genuinely listened, and went above and beyond to help me all while over the phone. My kitten is now sleeping and I am not worried at all.

My 10 month old boxer had abdominal surgery with Dr Bula to remove retained testicles. This is my first experience at OVRS and I was very impressed! I was extremely anxious about anesthesia because of a terrible experience with a past boxer at a different hospital and this team eased my fears, kept me informed, and kept my boxer safe throughout the entire procedure. Everything went as planned and I felt like each person I spoke with truly took time to know my dog and knew exactly what I needed to hear. Dr Bula is knowledgeable, kind, compassionate and obviously very skilled at what she does. I am shocked at how well he has healed in such a short amount of time! Everyone was just wonderful. I will not hesitate to return here if we need specialty care or emergency care in the future. The cost is not cheap, but I felt every charge was justified and appropriate for the level of care and expertise.

They saved my dog's life because they prioritize lymphoma because it is so deadly and it will claim your pet's life very rapidly if left unattended. Dr Saurbray and Kelly are the best!! Thank you for giving our Zoey back to us even tho there is no cure, your fur baby may have a long remission! Zoey was literally days away from death when they saw her and after 2 treatments Zoey was in remission. And still fairing pretty well 7 months later! Very minimal side effects as K9's respond much better to treatment than humans do. She's like her old self again! We couldn't be more grateful to have our precious girl still with us. No suffering at all. She's happy, maintaining her weight, eating well, and playing with her sissie Nala, our other rescue. Quality of life is the key here. Since there is no cure, we're happy to have her here as long as God allows. We will not let her suffer...when that day comes down the road a long way I hope, we will give her back to God with broken hearts but we'll be forever grateful for the gift of having her longer than expected esp with this very aggressive cancer. Miracles do happen!! Faith and Hope is the Key! God bless you & yours esp those fur babies who love us so unconditionally. ???? ????

They messed up and caused a dog to die of an infection.... They aren't a great veterinarians they aren't good at responding to clients

Thank you Dr. Jennifer Zimmer and staffs for everything. Our dog is back to herself! She is doing great everyday.

We miss our precious girl every day. Lola was our love. She was truly a member of our family and she brought us so much joy! Thank you for being there, for listening; when no one else would. Our family appreciates what you do more than you know. We know your jobs are tremendously challenging and exhausting and we thank you for your dedication and professionalism. Your work does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. God bless all of you. ????????????

LOOK AT YOUR REPORTS! Request EVERY report. Naloxone=Narcan and Narcan’s only purpose is to reverse opiate overdoses. YOUR animal cannot overdose itself unless it gets into your medications, so if it’s on your reports at a vets office then someone else there is doing it. Narcan has a working time of up to 90 minutes and if you’re given more opiates within that time you can immediately start overdosing again when Narcan wears off. My dog had to be given narcan TWICE in 24 hours here, according to her reports. ALSO according to her reports she was given MORE opiates an HOUR after receiving Narcan. I was also never told she had to be given Narcan and found that out myself through her reports. I will be taking legal action as this is NOT the whole story. But the information in this review is taken STRAIGHT from her veterinary reports. Due to COVID everyone is beating around the bush about talking to me as I’ve tried numerous attempts even when the state was opening up. JIM: I’ve tried numerous times contacting you. Explaining that it is not feasible over the phone as I have a binder full of reports and paperwork. Even told you we could PLAN a sort of appointment as to not interfere with either of our schedules. This binder also includes paper written by a vet who also reviewed her reports and confirmed my suspicions so I have done all that you just explained in your response. I’ve been understanding, almost TOO understanding considering the circumstances. I will add, the pain “management” that was used is also a respiratory depressant. Your clinicians, techs, vets, etc. should know this, my dog was literally here to have part of her lung removed and was given a respiratory depressant as their pain management. I know what Narcan is used for, a lot of experience with it in emergency medical field. According to my dogs reports each dose was used almost twelve +/- hours apart from eachother so these were two separate instances that your team had to administer Narcan, it was not an isolated incident.

Dr. Griffin and the entire staff went out of there way to help our Golden. Excellent Doctor and Customer Care!

Wonderful staff & service. Our dog Jackie had surgery for a ruptured CCL (cranial cruciate ligament) and it could of not went any better. They are very thorough and precise on the diagnosis and the home care she needed. Dr. Retallack did an amazing job. A very caring place.

Called late on a Sun night for help r/t concerns regarding our dog's pre-med dose that night & the next day (for a dental procedure the next day at our vet). Alana was very helpful , kind, and understanding, & asked the vet on staff about our concerns, and reassured us the dose prescribed was correct. We felt much better about giving the medication after calling. Thank you!!

I want to thank everyone that we worked with on Monday that helped us with our sweet Bella. We had to make the hard choice to let our little pup go and the staff there was extremely supportive and sympathetic. Our little girl came home today and included was her clay paw print that OVRS provided. The print means so much to us and we are thankful for all that they were able to provide.

I am so grateful to EVERYONE at OVRS. When my service dog was viciously attacked by a untrained unleashed german shepherd, they literally saved her. They not only provided medical care, but were very compassionate, informative, personable, truly loving and just wonderful to me. They excellently communicated with me about my service animal until she was ready to come home. I wouldn't trust anyone else but OVRS with her life. Thank you again!!! Your my heroes!!!

I was very happy with Oakland Veterinary Referral Services!! My vet close to home refers us to them for emergencies. I used them for the first time tonight. My dog ingested something he shouldn't have. I called them and their ER tech walked me through everything. I am sure they saved me an obstruction surgery. Thank you!

Just visited this vet today and I couldn’t have been happier wit my experience. Visiting here can be scary for dogs and their owners alike, but they were very helpful and patient, making the experience a lot easier. My dog has extreme anxiety and they helped to make him comfortable. By the time we walked out, he was happy with any of the techs approaching them. Dr. Bula and the vet tech we saw were very knowledgeable, they asked very important questions before his procedure that no other vet has asked. It is a bit pricey, but all vets are for this type of specialty. They did not charge me for anything that wasn’t necessary. I was really impressed by them and could tell that they wanted the best for my pet. Definitely don’t hesitate to bring your pets here, they are in good hands.

I had a vet appointment scheduled for my cat, Bubba, but his condition worsened, and I ended up taking him to OVRS. Unfortunately, his kidneys were failing, and we ended up making the decision to let him go. I've been there for a lot of my pets as they crossed the rainbow bridge, but this was, by far, the best experience I've had putting a cat to sleep. They let us be in a room with a couple couches with him and have some time with him before we let him go. The vet let me hold him as he passed, and were very considerate throughout the whole process. Of course I'm sad that I had to let him go, but I am every appreciative of the level of care and consideration given by OVRS. They send a card, gave us a clay impression of his pawprints, and gave us several affordable options for cremation. Thank you, OVRS.

If I could give 10 stars, I would. I apologize for taking so long to write this review, life has been a little crazy. Back at the end of Feb., beginning of March 2021, we (husband and I) noticed our American Bulldog Louie's back leg was severely swollen. After an emergency vet visit and a regular vet visit, we found ourselves at Oakland Veterinary Referral Services because our boy had a mass cell tumor. We were nervous about Louie going in by himself as he was a rescue that was unsure of new people. From the moment we first pulled in and called, we were treated with respect and so was Louie. This place is run better than most human doctors offices I've been to. :) The girl that came to get Louie was all smiles, super sweet, and I think Louie knew he was okay because he didn't hesitate to go with her. We sat in the car for 9 hours that first day, scared and crying because we didn't know if we would get to take our boy home. The doctor called us and gave us a game plan of treatment for Louie, but it would be a long road we were told. We went back, if I can remember, 4 more times for treatment. Each time we went we were just amazed at the professionalism. Louie loved the girls and the treats. :) While some may complain of the price, we thought it was pretty reasonable given our circumstances. They NEVER just charged and said good day. We were always called with pricing, told what they were going to do, and why. I think the Why was absolute great. It helped us understand what was going on because, hey, I'm not an oncologist let alone a vet. Jessica Ottnod, DVM, I know you spoke to Jason on the phone, but I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you did for Louie. We knew when he was with you and your staff that he was in good hands. While our boy didn't make it the way we would have hoped, you and your staff were amazing. Thank you for all that you and your staff do. You are all so very kind and we couldn't have asked for a better team on our boys side. I'm sure Louie appreciated it too. Take care and thank you for loving him as much as we do.

Thank you for your wonderful staff. We had to bring our Bouvier, Simba, to emergency as he could not wait for an oncology appointment. The wait was long but I know how Covid has messed up the veterinarians. He had declined in just 2 weeks and they found that he had stomach cancer and more looking found it had spread to his liver and spleen. Cancer in the stomach shows no real symptoms until it is to late. The staff was so kind and sent us home with pain meds and an appetite enhancer. Unfortunately he did not respond and by the next morning his breathing was so labored we knew we had to let him go. Though this was not a success story for the staff (by no means their fault) they are amazing in their caring for your pet. I highly recommend them.