Western Veterinary Clinic South Bend, Michigan

The whole staff knows how to listen actively. They are serious about understanding both the patients & owners concern! They have more than adequate bussiness hours for everyone & clean, friendly environment.

My dog always receives excellent care at Western. We've been going there for over 14 years.

Can't say enough about the staff @ Western. They are so friendly and really great with the animals. That's saying a lot, as my dog doesn't like anybody and yet he gets excited to come to the vet!

Great experience! Took in my pet pig and Dr Payton was wonderful and answered all my many questions! Everyone was super friendly and professional.

My 2 Dobies Trust, TheTruth Love this place #nomoreboarding????

I have brought my animals here for the past 10 years and would not take them anywhere else. Over the last 10 years, I have had to put 3 of my animals down and the compassion and care they give you is beyond words.

Highly recommend Dr. Payton for all of your equine partner needs. His knowledge and expertise made me feel 100% on my horses needs. My horse needed a full physical and thats what he got and then some! Thank you and your staff for being so kind and helpful in the process and making my horse much more comfortable and happy!

People were very friendly and helpful. Was able to make my delivery and get back on the road quickly.

This place has A LOT of good and some of bad. They were the only vet willing to help me in an emergency situation and saved an abandoned kitten's life. Every interaction I've had with with the staff here has been great. They seem knowledgeable and affable. The problem is actually GETTING to the interaction. The past two years I've had to call multiple times over several days just to get a callback. Right now I'm waiting for a callback from a message I left three days ago. That and you really have to PAY for the quality care they have here. It's a mixed bag, but I'm willing to stay if only for expertise.

Won't let me go in with dog for appointment. Half hour on phone every time I call.

They were the only vet clinic that was there for us during a very serious and hard situation. They were able to see my cat immediately, and also went above and beyond to help me feel better. The receptionist was so kind and patient with me on the phone as I struggled to talk. Everyone there was so very caring and compassionate. I will be FOREVER thankful to Western Vet Clinic!

I hate to leave such a negative review, there are serious problems that should be remedied. The reception is hit or miss. The techs and nurses are awesome and I enjoyed every (stressful) interaction with them. I only saw Dr. Erin Champion, but we did meet three times. After I got my first dog, I made an appointment. It was about three weeks out. The first appointment didn't go very well for my dog. The staff couldn't or wouldn't get him restrained or muzzled. We made an appointment to come back, and I started preparing for it. However, I had asked for his tag/rabies vaccine record. While there, I also asked the reception to correct my misspelled name in the records. For whatever reason, both of those simple tasks took three visits to accomplish. Before our next appointment, I got a text message about someone else's grooming appointment. I phoned to ask about it and confirm my actual appointment. They said they marked me down as confirmed. The next day or later that day, I got a terse call from reception to confirm my appointment again. My emergency contact also got a confirmation text message. I understand technical difficulties happen, but this was a new level. The second appointment didn't go great either. If they 'can't' restrain your pet, they'll just sedate them. Which is fine, but because I was not in the room with the vet while she worked on my dog, she only briefly explained things. She came in to confirm that I was unsure if he had an ear infection, he needed some vaccines, and I wanted him microchipped. That was the extent of the communication with the vet about my pet. She didn't tell me what she did. No one told me what was on his ear. I was constantly talked to like I was six. Your dog is getting "sleepy" or there's "medicine" on his ear. I need to know exactly what was done and what the home and follow up treatment was. If we didn't have an appointment for the booster vaccine, I wouldn't have known he needed his ear checked again. So the third visit was terrible, unprofessional, and almost unbelievable. It started with reception not charging my card on the date they said they would, and just waiting until I asked them about it in person. It went very much downhill from there. When we saw the vet, my dog was less stressed than normal, fully muzzled, and ready for his booster shot and a quick escape. However, instead of one person holding a thirty pound dog, it took two people squeezing him for a quick jab. Erin looked nervous the whole time. She then told me she need to check his ear, and while surprised, I agreed. She swabbed both his ears with a cotton swab. There was still an infection, and so she went to clean it. She got a cotton ball and approached my fully-restrained dog. He barked loudly at her, and she jumped a bit, and after a moment, THREW the cotton ball at him and said "looks like we won't clean it today". He was loud and trying his hardest to be scary. If she had dropped it out of surprise, that would be one thing, but she CHOSE to throw it at my dog. And then managed to squirt a whole tube of ear infection meds, so she was clearly capable of touching his ear. We talked about other sedative methods and she couldn't answer basic questions about it. When I begged her for info, my very sedated, very squeezed dog had pooped. I went to clean it, and one of the techs grabbed a paper towel and threw it in the trash. I went back to reception to check out. And it was a mess. The card reader wasn't working. It took the very nice receptionist three tries to get the rabies vaccine information for registration correct. It doesn't include his other vaccines, but I was so happy to just get out of there. When I got home I looked at the itemized bill. It was the final straw. It wasn't exorbitant overall, but the cotton swabs were $34. The medicine was only about $25. They also charged me $5 for throwing away his poo. I won't be back. Edit Responding to the reply: You called me the day after I wrote this & I tried to return the call twice that day to the actual number. You can't even get your phone # right?

Dr. Payton is an excellent horse vet.

The staff at Western got me in when I was struggling to find an appointment for my little bird. I called many other clinics, and they were the only ones who took the time to find out what was going on and then offer me an emergency work in appointment. We took it, and they did a great job working us in. The staff was all very friendly and compassionate. Dr. Zeiger was fantastic with her communication and recommendations. I can't say enough about how much I appreciate them getting me in and also the wonderful experience they gave me.

I've been taking my pets to Western Veterinarian Clinic since 2014. They are a fantastic, caring staff of veterinarians, vet techs, and reception staff. I've seen most of the vets here and they all go above and beyond. Dr. Persing is my favorite vet I've ever worked with. He really goes the extra mile to care for my pets and make me feel comfortable and informed. All the staff is caring and considerate when handling my pets. They've also been very good consulting me via email and phone. Last year one of their staff called and talked to me for nearly half an hour after hours to explain some medical results. I wouldn't go anywhere else.

It's just *** THE BEST***. EXCELLENT CARE, NICE AND CARING STAFF. YOU CAN'T FIND A BETTER PLACE.

We love all the doctors and staff at Western Vet Clinic! Thank you for making our furry loved ones happy and healthy!

I have been with this practice for over 15 years and 2 family pets. There was one time when I was unhappy and it was a selfish reaction on my part for being impatient. I applaud the staff and doctors as they work with one animal after another day in and day out. When my best friend was so sick with cancer they were kind, patient, and empathetic. Recently the practice took on a new vet, Allison. She was so kind as our dog who is up in years injured himself. I know they care because my dog had NEVER reacted the way he did with any vet before. It's not about money when a loved one is sick. It means much more to know that those who are taking care of them really care about and love what they do. If they can support my ailing friend at this time in his long life and keep him comfortable that's all I ask and they're helping me to do just that. Thank You

Probably the worst vet I have experienced, Almost impossible to get an appointment, they don't seem to really care about your animal, and they would rather pawn you off on an emergency hospital. They finally said they could "squeeze" us in for an extra $400 after hounding them for a week of no improvement of our pet, this was also one week after we had already taken our pet to emergency care with no real results. I called another vet, they got me in same day, and the total bill was only $200 more than Western's base emergency up charge of $400. Also, the total bill from the other vet included anesthesia, procedures, scans, blood work, urine tests, physical exam, and overnight stay. Do yourself a favor and take your pet to a place that cares.

Awful at communicating with their clients about their pets needs.

Traveling thru town with a University Veterinary Medical center prescription for Royal Canin dog food. Was told unless we were a client they would not sell it to us. Never heard of a vet clinic doing that. Tom E. Idaho

Jerry the Guinea pigs family wants to thank you for your compassion and swiftness. You have the most amazing staff. You allowed our family time to say goodbye. I have never seen such compassion and well trained staff. You comforted our family pet as he transitioned. Thank you again.

When it was time to put our leelo down they treated us with dignity and respect. It was a hard time for us. The price was reasonable compared to all the other clinics

They were so caring and supportive when I had to make the tough decision of putting my Beloved cat down.

They have been caring for my pets for over 14 years. I have total confidence in the doctors and entire staff. Their professionalism is outstanding and the loving, compassionate, concern shown toward my babies is truly from the heart.

They tend to not tell you what they are doing and why. All staff do not listen to you about your own dog, including the vets. I could go on and on.

They diagnosis my dog as not in bad shape, but said she needed to stay over night though. Two days later got my dog back and they gave meds for her and said she was doing way better. She couldn't even stand. When I went in she was walking. That next mourning I took her to intense care and she died hours later. I called the vet cause the intense care said she needed intense supervision the whole time. This vet left her alone 8 at night till in mourning unsupervised. Nor did they tell me anything about what was going on or the seriousness. Also said she was doing better. Please save your dog and go elsewhere.

The staff and docs are friendly and nice, my problem is that they are not competent. I chose their puppy care plan and part of the deal was a one month free supply of flea and tick med. They failed to tell me it was only good against the dog tick. I ended up finding an engorged tick on my dog after we had one of those warm ups. He hadn't had his Lyme disease vaccine yet and I had no way of knowing if he was bit by a deer tick or not. They can't check for Lyme until 6 months after the bite. Unreal. So upset about this. It's such a serious disease and very prevalent in our area. I highly recommend you read your flea and tick medications/collars and check to see which ticks they are effective against. Also, they failed to diagnose tapeworm egg sacks in the stool sample I gave them. The egg sacks were visible, clear as day on the outside of the stool. Tech stated they suspend the stool and the egg sacks sink to the bottom.... they only sample the top fluid... if you know that happens than visibly check the stool before you suspend it OR check the bottom sediment Or ask the client what they saw. After describing what I saw to the tech, she dx it as tapeworm and they're putting him on a de-wormer. Very disappointed.

We raise golden retrievers and could not ask for a better clinic. They are absolutely amazing in terms of customer service and expertise. We visited other clinics when we moved to the area five years ago and are so happy that we selected this one. They are the best!

Doc Langhofer has worked with us very closely the past few months to save my horse. I couldn't thank him enough for all the attention and research he has put into him. He truly saved my horse. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about the clinic