The Petinary Madison, Wisconsin

Dr. Kohn may be one of the most Wisconsin-esque people I've met since I have moved to Madison. His office is nestled into a peaceful part of town and it does not look like the average corporate veterinary clinic. It has a great ambiance that actually makes me feel that my pet is a living animal rather than a price tag. Dr. Kohn was very gentle with my puppy when he was receiving his shots and answered any of my questions on a calm and professional level. He also gave me great recommendations about Milo's nutrition and care that I fact checked. From my opinion, Dr. Kohn knows what he's talking about and will treat your dog with the care that you want at a honest price.

I would never take my dogs anywhere else,he is the best in Madtown!!!

We found Petinary to be the perfect place to take our usually stressed-out cat. A relaxed atmosphere and gentle, thoughtful manner is just what she needed. Thanks!

TLDR: avoid The Petinary if your visit requires any TLC whatsoever. Fine for routine visits (vaccines etc). I hate to leave a negative review of a local business, but I want other pet owners to know what kind of care to expect here. The Petinary made a bad morning even worse and I wouldn’t wish that on any other pet owner going through a tough time with their pet. My 9-year-old pit rescue suddenly & unexpectedly passed away after snuggling and playing fetch a mere 5 hours prior. We put him to bed healthy at 11pm and then when I woke up early at 4am and went to let him out of his kennel, he wasn’t breathing. It was a shock followed by a gut wrenching 3hr of sitting with my partner and our beloved departed dog at home while we waited for a vet with cremation services to open. The Petinary was the first to open at 7am, so we headed in. We’d been there before for a vaccination and had an unremarkable experience (not positive, not negative) and figured it was nice that the place taking care of our dog in death would be someone who was familiar with our dog in life. However, we had a very off-putting experience with the owner/veterinarian Dr. Mike Kohn. We walked in and told him we’d come to drop off our dog for cremation. We were visibly in distress, but he didn’t say a word to us (not “welcome in how can I help you” not “sorry”). He walked out to the car to help us bring our dog inside. Without going into graphic details, the way he handled our dog was upsetting. He dropped our dog on the tile floor right inside the exam room door (maybe it always feels harsh and unceremonious but I do think that letting him thud on the ground was a bridge too far), and walked back to the front desk to ring us up. Despite the hostility thus far, my partner asked Dr. Kohn if he had any idea what could have caused a sudden death like this in an otherwise very healthy dog. Dr. Kohn glanced at our dog’s file and without looking at us said “he was 9 1/2?” We responded yes and he just shrugged. We hadn’t ordered an autopsy and Dr. Kohn hadn’t asked for any details, so I know he couldn’t give us an informed answer, but he could have said something like “some big breeds suffer from congenital heart defects” or “sometimes it’s just their time.” He just took the credit card I was holding out and scanned it for the cremation costs (which I will say were not totally unreasonable and came in a very nice box). By this point, I should have known not to try to engage any further, but I’d brought in our dog’s nail clippers and a few months of his remaining heartguard medication and asked if maybe the office could use the nail clippers and give the medication to another client or a shelter (which may have been nonsense, but in my defense I wasn’t exactly thinking straight that morning), and Dr. Kohn scoffed, rolled his eyes, and tossed the stuff on his desk. When I came to pick up our dog’s ashes 2 weeks later, I met a slightly better version of Dr. Kohn, which — given the low bar of that first visit — meant that he handed me the ashes without outright disdain, but still without a single kind word. He said “should be all there” and handed me the bag. Before I left, I told him he’d hurt me and my partner with his gruffness and that I was planning to write a review to that effect. He avoided eye contact and said he didn’t remember the morning I was talking about but that he apologized if he did any of that. I encouraged him to be more thoughtful in the future and I honestly hope he will be. I understand it’s been a hard year and that everyone has hard days, but my partner and I were having a VERY hard day when we went to The Petinary that morning, and we were looking for some empathy or at least professionalism, and we received neither. Bad days notwithstanding, bedside manner and customer service are part of the job, and based on my experience, The Petinary does not deliver.

Our pet dog was treated with TLC during his annual check up. Very satisfied with the services.

I started going to Petinary a few years ago because it was in the neighborhood and I wanted to support a local business. It was fine for the standard vaccinations, but when my cat got sick, Mike (vet/owner) insisted that it was allergies despite my repeated objections. When I got a second option, it turned out to be inoperable cancer. Despite that, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and returned when I adopted a new cat from a shelter. The new cat turned out to be rather sickly, but rather than trying to address the issue (stop the diarrhea), he insisted that I would need to administer an IV drip twice daily to replace the fluids lost with the diarrhea. When I suggested that we address the diarrhea instead, he summarily dismissed me (again) and said I either had to give the IV or take the cat the ER constantly for dehydration. His lax COVID protocols also made me uncomfortable. While I was there, the mask was off and on, and even when on, the mask was always under his nose. He was also quick to throw his former staff under the bus which was really unnecessary. Needless to say, I got a second opinion with a vet who not only helped me find the root cause of the diarrhea, she also found an ear infection that Mike completely missed. Mike's vet records said "ears fine". Even after all that, I was willing to let sleeping dogs lie until today. We needed our 3rd cat's records transferred to our new vet. My significant other went to pick up the paperwork because I really didn't want to deal with Mike's unprofessionalism or overall rudeness again. Mike proceeded to gripe at my SO, saying he had already faxed the records over to our new vet (the new vet said they never received the records, which is why we needed to pick them up in the first place). Mike then grumpily handed over records for the wrong cat. When my SO returned to get the correct records (a scant paragraph of scribbled notes), he overheard Mike bad mouthing him to another customer in the exam room!! I really wanted to like Petinary, and gave Mike several chances, but the multiple bad experiences I've had there, both in terms of pet care and general decency, compel me to warn people to go elsewhere.

I have counted on Dr. Mike and the staff at the Petinary for nearly 30 years.Through good times and bad, Mike has been there to help support the furry members of my family. Honest and direct about recommendations and care, I have and will continue to trust and rely on their service.

The best affordable, holistic pet care in madison. Highly Recommended.????????

I have to change my intitial review based on my recent experience, which seems to mimic what so many others have said. We've brought our dog here for years but I've always felt put off by Mike's attitude and tendency to brow beat over any issues. My 13 year old pug has recurring UTIs and I decided rather than go back to Petinary I would try a new vet this time. The new vet, upon examination, told us that my dog has severe teeth issues and is missing quite a few teeth, none of which has ever been brought up to us by Petinary. They also did blood work and more thorough lab work to determine if the infection was antibiotic resistant. At this point I made the decision that we were done with Petinary and the new vet contacted Petinary to get the records sent over. The vet tech who called Petinary was treated very rudely and hung up on by Mike. The new vet then asked us to reach out to try and get the records sent over so I called and spoke to Mike. This was our entire conversation... Me: Hi, I'm calling to get my dog's records transferred Mike: They've already been sent to (new vet's name.) Me: Oh, okay. Mike: *hangs up* I was so angry with the way he treated me. There are much better vet clinics in Madison who will take much better care of your pets. Do not give this man your business.

We have bringing our 3 cats here for the past 4 years since we wanted to support a neighborhood business, however had a truly horrible experience at our most recent visit and cannot on good conscious recommend this business to other pet owners. Mike Kohn (the vet) was not wearing a mask when I arrive to the Petinary. He puts one on after about 5 minutes of walking around the clinic before we go back to the exam room, but it is not covering his nose. I ask him to pull his mask up since I am pregnant and very concerned about COVID exposure... to which he gives me a very rude look but complies. As other posters have said, Mike will guilt trip you about every choice you make about your pet and lacks any customer service. I think that the woman who used to be at the front desk probably made our prior experiences tolerable, but now without her it is just an uncomfortable experience.

The owner and veterinarian, Mike Kohn, is condescending and makes no attempt to put customers at ease. I can only describe my visits there as bizarre and uncomfortable.

Petinary has been the only veterinary clinic I have ever brought my dog to since 2017 and it's usually an okay experience (friendly staff and in and out quickly). However, I had a truly strange and uncomfortable visit with the vet and his assistant recently. I called to make an appointment for a Bordetella vaccine and was told they didn't know who I was or who my dog was. I was eventually told they had misfiled the paper records and their "electronic records were corrupt." I was so taken aback and caught off guard I never inquired about the safety of my personal/credit card information. At this point, why I continued to schedule the appointment is beyond me. Fast forward to the appointment - my dog is very terrified of the vet clinic and usually receive assistance from staff on getting into the room/up on the examination table. This was not provided and the assistant was less than pleasant. My poor dog ended up peeing out of fright twice. Once we made it into the examine room, I had a few questions about my misplaced paper work, the corrupted system, and the cost of the appointment. I was verbally accosted by the vet - He blamed previous staff for the different price variations and the misplacement of files. He never took personal responsibility or apologized, and I never received a straightforward answer regarding the e files. Needless to say, we will not be going back and do not recommend this veterinary clinic to anyone.

My partner had a truly bizarre experience with this vet. We recently got a rescue dog who is very mellow and well behaved. The vet was convinced her life was a tragic nightmare and implied she isn't worth the $300 we paid for her and the adoption organization we worked through was a scam. He then insinuated we bought bad dog food and that we needed to buy overpriced specialty pet food, when asked why he didn't have a straight answer. We took our dog to another vet to get a second opinion and it was night and day! The other vet reviewed our dog and didn't not see any signs of trauma, was happy with her diet, and overall seemed to like our dog. This guy wasn't just mean about my dog, he was also loudly berating his staff and it felt unprofessional. Maybe it was just a bad day, but it was bad enough that we won't be returning.

The veterinarian there was the rudest, most unfriendly person I have ever spoken to in all of my years of customer service.

Listening to this Vet is one of my biggest regrets they will use your heartstrings to pull out your wallet.

DO NOT BRING YOUR PET HERE!!!! Dirty office, extremely rude staff, and terrible medical practice. My puppy was sick for weeks and they told me I was overreacting and just to feed him bland diet. He was becoming malnourished and dehydrated and got so bad I had to take him to the emergency vet. I went to Whole Pet on Park st and my dog was immediately diagnosed- like within 5 minutes, for a fraction on the price might I add.

Dr Kohn was highly recommended to me by my entire family who has taken their dogs there since the 80’s. We have taken our cats to his office a few times and each time haven’t been able to vaccinate them due to being sick or possibly sick. Our cats are prescribed food by Dr Kohn and we were told they absolutely can not eat anything but this food. We get our food delivered from Chewy, and have for the past year or so.. every so often they verify our cats prescription with Dr. Kohns office. This time, he refuses to authorize the food unless we bring our cats in for vaccinations. Shame on me for not vaccinating my cats sooner. And shame on Dr. Kohn for holding out a cats food in order to do so. Don’t go here.

We took our very sweet 6 yo old cat in. She needed a few things looked at, shots and a general check up. The woman at the front desk was welcoming but the two men who looked at her, from the very beginning were very rough with her. They forcefully yanked her out of her carrier and held her down as if they were rushing to finish our appointment as soon as possible. It was so unnecessary and she responded like any cat feeling threatened would have. I understand vets need to protect themselves but they didn't even give her a chance to feel at ease. They showed no compassion, no attempt to make us or our cat feel any better. They just kept mentioning how she had an attitude and that it was a "problem." They did not bring up any of our concerns that we outlined over the phone (teeth cleaning, bump near her eye, rectal gland issue), which turned out to be OK because we will be taking her somewhere else. We have taken her to other vets in Madison but felt it would be better to take her somewhere sooner. She has never been treated that way before by a vet. Why make an already scary visit for a sweet little cat worse? We will NOT be going back.

Been taking my dog here for 13 years (Shih Tzu & Bichon Frise mix). I have a great experience every time. Extremely knowledgeable and caring staff.

I brought both of my dogs in for shots they do an amazing job. They also gave my dog a new lease on life by identifying and removing a cancerous tumor.

I've been seeing Dr Kohn for just under 30yrs and am completely satisfied

I grew up with all types of pet's and never have I met such a kind and knowledgable vet crew. It was my kittens first vet visit and they did everything they could to make him feel safe and welcome (me too.)

The got me in in an emergency right away and were outstanding in the service and courtesy

Dr.Kohn and staff are great! I've been taking my dogs there since moving to Madison from Chicago 16 years ago. I love Jack Russell's and he has cared for 4 of my dogs to date. I love that it feels very homey and local in the office, and at the same time, professional. Dr. Kohn has always made me feel like I was important, and not just another appointment in his day. He and his staff always have time for questions on the phone, and can even fit you in if your super concerned and want your animal just looked at. Last week, Dr. Kohn spayed my 7month old Bella and I was concerned about it being infected. I called this morning and they said bring her in now and we'll have a look. Mike and his receptionist Michelle set me at ease right away when I got there. Turns out, it was just a little inflamed, but healing accordingly---whew!!! Thanks you guys for everything!!!

Horrible experience. Brought my 12 y/o chihuahua in there for them to look at his ears at 8:30 on Monday. Was charged $65 for a check up. During the check up the vet mentioned that my dog had a heart murmur (which we were aware of) & said that we should consider talking to a vet that is a cardiologist for meds. Upon bringing my dog home he began struggling to breathe with fluid coming through his nose. I rushed him to his long term vet who said his chest was full of fluid & that his heart was failing. [mind you this was an hour after being at petinary seeinf “dr.” kohn] After two hours in the oxygen tank Bouncer past away in my arms. Not only was the vet at Perinary not professional (dirty office, yelling at his secretary in front of me) but he was also unable to identify that Bouncer was in his last hours of life. We are devastated by this loss & when I called to complain I was told someone would call me. No call received. Take your loved fur babies elsewhere.

If you're looking for a wholistic vet for your animal, this is where you find it! He will give you honest answers and care instructions for your little ones. I have a yorkiepoo and we have been coming here the last 4 years. Very happy with service and care. And she loves the treats!

I give a 3 star rating in that it was not my best vet experience ever, but i would still say this is a reputable place to take your pet to. My kitty was overdue for a vet appointment. I brought him to Petinary because it was close, convenient and they had an opening for the day i needed. The place is cute, lots of plants, birds in cages and also a dog laying under the reception desk. It almost seemed out of a movie or cartoon. The receptionist is super friendly and clearly loves to meet your furry family members. However, i was not told there would be five people in the room with my cat, the vet and myself. This really spooked my cat. He somewhat felt ambushed. He did not do well at his appointment and my cats temperament is generally very calm. The vet is very knowledgeable, i felt respected and my price for a checkup and rabies shot total was $65. This is very fair for Madison pricing. I will be coming back in October for an additional shot for my cat, but i will ask that there is not so many people around. I would suggest you also do the same if you think this would spook your animal. I ended up with the worst scratch i had ever received from my cat in 6 years of having him while holding him during them giving the vaccine.

Renee Frederick - How long ago were you here? I show that the last time you were here was in 8/2012. Is it possible that you meant to review a different veterinary clinic? We have records for Oliver for 12 years. The last time we saw Oliver, he was 15 years old.

Its a cute place and my experiences there were good, but definitely rushed and not thorough exams. My cat was taken there when I got him as a kitten at 12 weeks and twice again for a few vaccinations and general checkups. The vet continued to tell me that my cats teeth were good/healthy. After seeing some reviews on here I got a little worried and I took my cat to a different vet in Madison. Immediately during the exam the vet noticed that my cat had an abnormal amount of tartar of his teeth for his age and gum inflammation. He went under anesthesia for a full cleaning and x-rays and it turns out he has "enamel hypoplasia" - meaning his enamel is rough and was improperly formed as a kitten. I am really lucky to have caught this early on as it can lead to the teeth pulps actually dying. Basically, if I had never switched vets I don't think I would know this valuable information about my kitty and I am really glad I did.

Other than the phenomenal interactions between the staff (Michelle is a HOOT!) Dr. Kohn gives quick, simple to understand and honest advice. I have taken my cat (Cesar) in for his vaccinations and neutering, all of which went amazingly. I am also hugely grateful that Petinary accepts CareCredit, its a godsend for sure. Overall, I would recommend them to anyone and I look forward to continued (as needed) visits with them.