Carolina Veterinary Specialists Winston Salem, North Carolina

Long story short… our 2 year old Pointer jumped out fence and was hit by a car 2 months ago. He was healing and doing better, then on Monday he started acting funny, not eating not drinking. By Wednesday morning he seemed better, eating and drinking, but he couldn’t move his back legs. We assumed it had something to do with the car accident. Took him to CVS Winston, they insisted on a test that we didn’t feel was necessary, they argued with us about it, in the end we refused to pay for a test that wouldn’t tell us what was wrong with his legs. He needed an X-ray. They still tried to overcharge us for the examinations that we agreed on. Finally got the X-rays done to be told that he “might” have a spinal fracture and he’d never walk again, which is no quality of life, so we should just put him down. They insisted several times they would do it for free, but we couldn’t be present. That was a definite no go. We asked for some pain meds to bring him home and we’d take care of him with our regular vet. Fast forward 4 days, he is trying to run and play. He is still limping on the leg that was hurt during the car accident, but he is up and moving around. This vet’s misdiagnosis almost cost us our beloved pet! I will never take another pet to this location! I would rather wait longer to be seen at the Greensboro location where we took him after he was hit by the car. I’ve had other pets at the Greensboro location for various reasons, they are compassionate, caring, and efficient. I never had to argue with them about something I didn’t want done. If I said I didn’t want a particular test, they immediately said ok and it was done. One tech even went out of her way to try and find a cheaper way of taking care of a problem for me, because we all know vet bills can add up very quickly. I recommend going to the CVS in Greensboro, do not take your pet to this location in Winston!

My dog was having difficult breathing so I took him here. They said they were not taking anymore patients and that I had to drive to Greensboro.

My mom's dog a dachshund broke its back. They operated and took such good care of him. Took him today for his 4wk appt and doing so well he is now released from Dr's.

Had to euthanize a pet at 1am- the staff explained what to expect when I called. Once there everyone was so kind and compassionate. For a tough circumstance, they helped make it less traumatic for me and my pet. And the cost was better than expected for after hours veterinary care. Every experience I have had with them exceeded expections.

Great and immediate Service, Waiting time was less than 10 minutes.

Amazing! The staff is super friendly & caring. Dr Susan Simmerson was awesome. She kept us informed and spent time explaining a complex multiple diagnosis & treatment plan so that we could fully understand what was going on. She also fully apprised us of the cost.

My dog passed her this morning and the staff were nothing but AMAZING! Thank you for caring for my baby girl during her last moments and helping us during this difficult time.

I suggest that if you do have a true emergency with your pet, do not take them to this clinic. We took our 13 year old boxer here last night. Our initial thoughts were that it was going to be an immediate quality of life appointment. However, when we initially arrived - our boxer seemed become more aware. It was, however, short lived and her condition quickly spiraled. After we arrived, our dog had bloody diarrhea, was vomiting consistently, and was very disoriented. I talked to the vet techs and front office many times to explain her condition and we still waited for over 3 hours for our poor dog to be seen. After she was examined, we ended up having to put her to sleep anyways. It was a truly traumatic experience. It appeared that we were the last patient to be seen, even though we were not the last patient to arrive. There were even other patients commenting on how long we were there, especially considering our dog's obvious emergency condition. We are extremely disappointed and hurt that this was how our dog spent the last few hours of her life. We asked many times if we should see if we could take her somewhere else that could maybe see her quicker & they continued to assure us "Just a few more minutes, just hang on." Which was actually a few hours. Our poor dog had to suffer much longer than what should've been necessary. If we wanted to immediately put our down to sleep, we probably would've been seen within an hour. But because we decided to have her examined to ensure that we were making the right decision, her suffering was prolonged.

They took excellent care of my dog Bojangles

I took my dog of 10 years who was in unmanageable pain to Carolina Vet Specialist to be euthanized. The staff was kind and patient and I'm very grateful for their help.

This place is great the only animal hospital near by open late. My only issue with it is the way you have to wait to be seen. You park in a numbered spot and call a number that's fine, the issue is with the number you call. It took us 5 calls before they actually answered so that we could be put on the waiting list. Luckily we did not have a major emergency with our pet but some sort of hold system would work much better than just hoping they answer when you call.

Can’t thank them enough for the amazing care they have given to my dog in our time of need. They got to her quickly, found out what was wrong, and done an amazing job. Thank you for saving my baby!

I am thankful they were able to help my dog. But I had to go to the ER after getting the bill.

Great staff to deal with during a stressful event. Kept informed the entire process so no unexpected surprises

We took our beloved cavalier, Snickers, in as an emergency visit on Sunday, November 21. She was having breathing issues. They admitted her and kept her overnight. I called twice Sunday night to check on her and was told she was doing well. I called Monday morning to check on her and to see if she had been seen by the doctor. She was not seen until mid-afternoon. The vet called me late afternoon to tell me that Snickers had “a mild case” of laryngeal paralysis. I asked about surgery. He told me that it was an option, but that the surgeon was not doing surgeries that week because of Thanksgiving. I was told to come pick her up and take her home. I asked if she was able to come home in her condition. Again, he assured me that her condition was “mild” and that she was stable enough to come home. By the time we got Snickers home (an hour drive from Winston Salem) she was really struggling to breathe. She was sucking in air and 1,000 times worse than when we took her to CVS on Sunday. We had to euthanize her that evening because she was struggling so badly and we could not watch her suffer. I called the office manager on Tuesday to discuss the situation and to request a refund on the $1500 we had to pay for them to make the situation worse and to lose our beloved girl the same night we were told that her condition was “mild” and she was stable. Not only did the office manager not return my phone call (two weeks later and she still has not returned my phone call), but she must have passed the information to the vet who left me a very insincere message with empty apologies on the loss of Snickers. I will never use this facility again and I will tell everyone I know not to use them either. I hope they all enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner as they rushed our girl out the door and to her death.

If you don't care about how long you wait or when your pet will be seen then feel free to try this place out.

My cat Lily got into a fight with a much larger cat and left her with puncture wounds on her face and on her left paw. The staff was very compassionate and caring and saw to Lily's wounds and she is healing nicely. I highly recommend this place for your pet.

My service dog got bloat and passed away. I'm glad they persuaded me this route so he wouldn't be in pain. However, up until I decided to euthanize him I was constantly berated about money. After I already responded I was getting and moving money around. They seemed to care more about the money than my service dog and that he wouldn't be treated until I paid. Like others, I called ahead and said my dog needs a cart I don't think he can move, yet no one came out. I then decided to carry him in, it wasn't until I fell in the second door with him and yelled to help him, it took that long for someone to help me with a 140lb dog. I didn't care about the cost I wanted him to live, and I told them I have insurance, yet throughout the process, until they were paid, I was hounded about money. They charged 1,000 to evaluate my pet and told me.it would be 5-8k for surgery which is ridiculous my local vet said it would cost around 2k max for the surgery. However, because it was black Friday and I didn't live in the area or have time to search for vets I relied on them. I ended up paying about 1,500 to have my dog euthanized and cremated. Once they were paid they let me take my time and say my goodbyes which was the only good part of the traumatizing experience. I didn't care about money or anything. I cared about my dog being taken care of. Which he was after I fell in the entrance carrying him inside. I feel like some things I paid for we're not required because they knew he wouldn't make it through surgery. Experience: once paid was okay however have thousands before you show up. Value: much more expensive than my emergency vet in eastern NC. Facility: Clean and professional appearing

Thank you to Susan and her associates for saving my puppies life!!

Ppl are nice and helpful. Next visit for TPlo alwau kind and gentle with my baby

A great for your pets

Great place. Saved my near-death young cat. Very good doctors here!

Drove from Lexington and when I arrived, they said that they were short staffed and only seeing dogs that were hit by cars or dying. No concern for my pet. I didn't drive to Winston-Salem at 230in the morning if I didn't think it was an emergency. Bad business.

We called on our way to the emergency vet because when I called our regular vet it transferred us to them. They said to call when we arrive to parking lot. We did that. They took our info what happened to our dog and said they’d be right with us. There were a few other cars in the parking lot. When they finally called back they asked the same questions as the front desk staff and then gave us a number to call (pet poison control) and said they’d call us back in a few minutes. We do that, which cost $65 to talk to someone, they told us to take her to the emergency vet (we told them we were already there, to which they replied good!)and gave us a case number. 30-45 mins later they called us back asked what poison control said and for the case number said they’d call Poison control back and tell the vet what they say. Saying they would be out to get our puppy and then the vet would take vitals and call us back. 15-20 mins later they do come and get her, ask the same questions AGAIN and take her in. The vet does FINALLY call and is very nice, concerned and informative. Recommending leaving our pup over night, x rays, fluids etc. Honestly, by the time they got out to get her she was feeling better and we weren’t even comfortable leaving her there overnight. We did allow Fluids and something for her nausea. Then said we would take her home. By this time about 3 hours had passed since we arrived at the vet parking lot. I asked for all the info as to what they gave her so I could give to our regular vet. The vet and vet techs seemed knowledgeable, caring and were comforting. The front desk staff seem to have no idea what was going on, most likely did not take notes to relay to techs or vet (so time is wasted on the same questions) and definitely were not friendly or seemed to care one bit about us or our pet. We brought her to the EMERGENCY VET because it was emergent! They need to change their front desk staff. I work in a hospital so I understand how emergencies work. However the front people need to be concerned and communicate with the fur parents at this vet office.

We’ve unfortunately been here twice, which is 2 more times than I’d have preferred, however both times we have received excellent care for our dog(s). We are so grateful to have such caring, thoughtful veterinary care available to us. The staff and doctor are attentive and efficient. Even when pets much sicker than our own were coming in we didn’t feel forgotten and knew someone was helping our pup. Thank you guys! We hope we won’t see you again soon!

I called at 1:03 pm today, 11/6 and was told that my kitten could not be seen and that they were not accepting patients because they were on a “service pause” and said “we’re slammed in here”. I just called again at 10:18 pm and was told there has been no service pause and my cat needs to be seen but there’s a 4-6 hour wait. This is completely unacceptable!!!

When no other vets were taking new clients, we had now choice but to come here. Glad we did. Very friendly and professional staff. Saved our fur friend.

Pricy even for for anemergency vet

Rude staff & over priced! Wouldnt take care of my dog unless I gave them $600-$700 up front.

Refered there by my regular vet after possible diagnosis of lymphoma in my not quite 3 year old cat. Extensive treatment and care was given for my cat and I was called multiple times with updates and information abt his condition. Was able to bring my cat home with meds and a treatment plan to get him on the way to recovery. Almost a week later he is doing great and not showing symptoms. Hopeful with treatment and meds he will have many years of life ahead. Thankful they were there.