Animal Care Associates Charleston, West Virginia

Dr Patton is phenomenal with my exotic bird! He is gentle, talks to Solomon to calm him as much as possible and thorough with exams. Solomon does not hate me so much for taking him to the vet anymore!

I grew up owning a variety of horses and dogs. They were all well-loved, properly trained, and healthy animals. As you can imagine, I have a lot of experience in going to vet offices. I have never had a bad vet visit until I went to Animal Care Associates. We moved to this area recently, and I selected this place because of all of the good reviews. Perhaps there are some workers at this place who actually do a good job, but I did not encounter any of them. I was treated with hostility and condescension, and faced with incompetence. I seriously feared for my dog’s safety at this place. First of all, in the process of giving my dog a vaccination, the doctor jabbed my dog so terribly that the needle went straight through the skin that she had pinched, out the other side of his skin, and the liquid from the needle landed on the table. She didn’t even realize it until the assistant notified her. The doctor had to give my dog another shot to compensate for this mistake. I felt so terrible for my dog. This doctor also told me that my dog had issues with his eyes and that his vision was hazy. I bought my dog from a reputable and caring seller. He comes from wonderful bloodlines. He is AKC registered, for what that’s worth, and in all of his medical evaluations, he was never diagnosed with eye issues. He has never demonstrated any issues either. I took him to another vet after this, and they found nothing wrong with his eyes! In addition to these terrible things, I have to say, the vet assistant was extremely snobby. I tried to cater to her, pretending as if she had some wisdom to pass on to me, so that drama would be avoided. However, when I asked her to please avoid bending my dog’s ears, as she petted him, she disregarded me. My dog’s ears stand up nice and straight, but he’s young, and she was literally bending them in the middle, something that could be damaging. She was not inspecting them, or anything that would deem this even remotely necessary. The doctor arrived and dismissed me as well, stating that it’s fine for the assistant to do what she was doing. I wanted to say something, but I bit my tongue. After I left, however, I was extra furious, and I should not have kept quiet. I should have stood my ground. That was my dog. I’m the owner, and if I tell you to stop doing something, you should listen! I’m paying you to do a job for the dog that I own. I’m sorry for the novel-length review, but please avoid this vet office. UPDATE: I see that someone from the company has responded to my review. Here is my response - If you strive for the best possible care, please provide more training and education for your employees. I have nothing to gain from lying about my experience with your office. Everything that I said truly happened, and I wanted to share my experience to help others make a more informed decision. We are all human, and we all make mistakes, but some things are a bit worse than others and need to be criticized in the hope that monitoring and adjusting will be done for the betterment of all. As a company, you should focus on facts, not your feelings. I do not need to transfer anything from you. The receipt that I had received from your office had the information that I needed for my new vet.

Dropped of an injured hawk I found on my property during a non business day. Great reception and friendly people. Place look and smells great. The work they are doing for him is free

The staff were very friendly and they all loved Polo

I found an injured Wood Thrush at our door this morning, having lost its tail in an apparent struggle with a cat. After wrapping it in a soft cloth, storing in a cat carrier with seed and water and covering the carrier with a towel, I took the bird to Animal Care Associates. They were very prompt, kind and courteous. There is no charge to take in an injured animal, but they do rightly ask for donations if you can. Ironically, I got nowhere with my local DNR office, but another State agency I called in error gave me the phone number of a wildlife rescue in Eastern WV. It was only through them did I find the local liaison, Animal Care Associates in Charleston, WV. I received a free cat comb from their lovely office, filled with animal artwork of all types and a beautiful aquarium. I applaud them heartily.

They won't call me back about my ferret & I left 2 messages.

Way to expensive for someone struggling

We've been to this vet practice for several years for routine vet services and they have been satisfactory. Our dog had a 'hot spot' recently that we treated at home quite successfully. I called them at that time asking the veterinarian for information on medicine to prevent another one and they never got back to me. Yesterday I found another one beginning. I tried to get an appointment today and was told the earliest available is in nearly 2 weeks! By then she'll either be self-cured or dead. I called another vet's office that is further away that we have used in the past and is much less convenient and was told she could be seen by them in one day!

This is the only place around my area that trust my green cheek conure with. I highly recommend this place especially if you have any exotic animals.

Had an appointment for 445 on Thursday, I called when I got there, they didn't even know my dogs name when I told them, had to wait in the car for 30 minutes to be taken in. Will be finding care elsewhere for my puppy Faith. Very unprofessional. Going to find a VCA vet even if it means I have to go out of state to get her care. I moved here from Colorado 4 years ago, and I have to say Colorado has some of the Best vets.

DONT BOARD HERE! We sent our shot info over for our cat and they still gave him shots AND charged us $300 for giving them! To add insult to injury, he became ill after the stay with vomiting and lethargy. This did not happen when he had his vaccines the first time. Not happening again.

They have an excellent staff and great prices. Treated my guinea pig very well!

We recently began going here for one of our chickens. I cannot say enough good things about the entire staff and doctors. They worked very hard to figure out what was going on and even called of the late evening to check on her and made follow-up calls after visits. The staff is very professional and they actually care about the animals. I will be bringing all of my pets here (and I have quite a few LOL). They're not the cheapest vet in town, but you get what you pay for in my experience. I would highly recommend Animal Care Associates!

Do not board your pets here! This establishment can’t be bothered to pay attention to pertinent medical information. I boarded my dog from a Friday morning to a Monday morning. I told their representatives when I called to schedule boarding, as well as when I dropped my dog off that he has an allergy to chicken and beef. It was noted on his file and on the carbon copy sent back with him. I supplied food and treats at drop-off and asked that my dog not be fed anything other than what I supplied. I also informed them that he doesn’t eat as well in unfamiliar environments, but that after some time, and when he gets hungry enough he will eat. My dog had diarrhea for 2 days after I got him home. I called the office to see if he had had any problems while staying there. They said no he had been fine. I then asked if he had gotten into any other food. They said no he was only given the food that I supplied and chicken because he wasn’t eating well, despite the fact that they had previously told me he was eating just fine when I called to check on him partway through his stay. Even if he wasn’t eating well, they fed him something that was very clearly listed in their records as a food allergy. Their only response upon learning of their mistake was “well sorry, have you tried pumpkin?” Also, upon pick-up, my dog was covered in urine and the stench was so bad that it transferred to the shirt I was wearing when I carried him out of the office. I am mortified that I left my pet with people who so blatantly disregard the health and well-being of the animals they are paid to look after.

Adopted a few new fur babies. Took them in to see Dr Slack as soon as possible. She is an excellent vet. She listens to the owners and doesn't talk down to them. We love our animals and we know them well so it is important to us that a vet listens.

I found Animal Care Associates as a last option for an emergency vet visit, but it turned out they were the best option to ever make. On March 2nd I took my rabbits both to get neutered at another vet called Good Shepherd Vet. They didn’t tell me ANYTHING about aftercare for my rabbits but I had done research to help me. One of my rabbits was recovering fine, but my dwarf rabbit seemed to be licking excessively at the wound. He had been eating a little and drinking but only slightly and I noticed he wasn’t really pooping much. I wasn’t sure whether to bring him to a vet or not because he was still eating and drinking and pooping, but suddenly he started getting worse. I could hear his stomach gurgling and he started not drinking or eating anything and not pooping. I called Good Shepherd Vet and tried to get an appointment or even just an emergency visit but they were full. I desperately searched google for any surrounding emergency vets but almost all of them were booked. That’s when I by chance came across Animal Care Associates. I gave them a call and despite their schedule being completely booked they squeezed me in between an appointment which I appreciated so much. It turned out that my rabbit was severely dehydrated, had ulcers in his mouth, was underweight from not eating much the couple days after his surgery and was going through GI stasis. If it wasn’t for Dr. Karin Fujitani I don’t think my rabbit would’ve made it. She was incredibly kind to me and explained in depth about what options of treatment we could go with and with her instructions/guidance I was able to nurse my baby back to health. I was amazed at how in depth about care that Dr. Karin Fujitani was and how patient she was with me with explaining things. They also have a cute website called petly.com where you can see your pet’s appointments and info so I really enjoy that. I absolutely won’t take my rabbits anywhere else ever again except for Animal Care Associates.

Our Greek tortoise was showing signs of some sort of eye infection on a Thursday evening. My husband called and they were able to fit us in the very next day. The staff was all very friendly. In addition to the eye infection, the doctor also detected a respiratory infection that we didn't know she had. Treatment is antibiotic injections and eye drops. They made sure we knew the proper way to administer the injections before letting us go. Additionally, the doctor called a few days later to check on her. Fabulous care!

Nice polite people who try to help

Always great with my doggies!!!

Everyone is very nice. We didn't have an appointment and they worked us in. Very thorough and took a lot of time explaining everything. Very caring.

Because I wanna go to veterinary school.

AAHA accredited unlike most (all?) in Kanawha Valley. The staff is nice and pay attention to your questions. Like each Vet, so far. Only one person at front desk that isn't very 'open' in facial expressions and can be impatient while checking out. I work to get her to smile. 3 yrs ago the ONLY Veterinarian I called that were aware or willing to inocculate my teeny dog with Lepto seperately from the 5/6/7/8-in-one(!) shots that are NO LONGER NECCESARY ea. yr. After the boosters & 1 year rabies, one only needs to inoculate every 3yrs. with exception toward Lepto & Lyme. WV is a State that Leptosporosis "flare ups" are likely 2 occur. My dog(s) are inocculated each yr at her/his annual exam. I have witnessed dogs recovering from Lyme looking emaciated & part crippled from the infection. Oh my! She is also innoculated for Lyme. No way my Lil girl will be in that predicament. Don't forget having Animal Care Associates check 4 heartworm; & provide yr round protection! ACA will remind you & ask if you'd like to have the test performed, but ya haveta 1st go to be reminded! Mosquitos hatch throughout the winter here, it isn't cold enough to kill them off until spring. I suggest heartworm medication/prevention yr round. I've witnessed treatment of an infected dog. It was horrible! I saw a robust, protective GSD, bada*s, "go down" with eyes rolling up as the toxin to kill the heartworm infection, was injected into him every 12 hrs for-I believe-3 days. Timber was lucky, he survived, many may not, especially if you skip the vet until something goes wrong. I'm horrified by some who, when asked what happened, answer with,"I dunno why she died" or "maybe he ate something bad" or "he was 7 & old ????". None of this needs to happen! Take your pets here & they'll be glad to keep your pet from the "I dunnos" to the best of their ability. Prevention is key! People buy shots at hardware store & while better than nothing, do not understand rabies isn't a part of those ???? or think it too costly to go to Veterinary. The fact is, you save if they get sick & shots here are not expensive. I feel better getting this off my chest & out to you West Virginians, my home sweet home?

They are very knowledgeable and did a great job with my turtle.

Great veterinary care for all pets big and small. They have taken care of my ferrets and dogs .

Staff is awesome and prices are high but worth the care of my fur barbies.

We have been to ACA for the last 6 years. The staff is very caring and professional at all times.

Friendly people to work with and very good at taking care of the animals!!

Always a good experience when boarding our dogs. Good experienced staff that enjoy the boarded animals.

We had a,baby bird fall out of the nest at work. They took him/her and gave them excellent care.

Took great care of us when we brought our pet in that was passing away