Veterinary Specialty Services

After our dog was hit and ran by a car the staff at vss had been outstanding. They were able to save her badly broken leg and provided stellar care to her. I highly recommend for any animal emergency!

Dr. Greer the vet we worked with was wonderful. Her surgery seemed to go well. Our dog got good treatment at first but then things went wrong.
When we went to pick up our dog in the evening they were very busy with emergencies so left us sitting in a room waiting for 90 minutes. When they brought our dog out she was worse off than when we saw her that morning! My wife noticed her breathing was labored and that they had just removed the IV and feeding tube, the dog was still bleeding! Anyway, we insisted that a vet look at her before we left and she was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. When we put her on the floor she also urinated a lot, so she had not been taken out in a loooong time. She has been home for a few days and is not getting better. Our regular vet says things don’t look good.
Bottom line, the vets are skilled and caring. The techs on the other hand, are too busy to do their jobs well and quite honestly their attitudes show it. Take your dogs there for an emergency but don’t leave them there for long!

These vets are amazing and caring! They have saved my poor cats life twice! It does not matter what time it is or what day it is these vets are always their for you. I truly believe that they care about each and everyone of their patients. Thank you so much for the amazing love and care you have provided to my family member!

I love VSS and will never go anywhere for my pet. Dr. Greer is amazing and so loving to animals. We brought our sweet little Cavapoo to VSS on New Years Day morning after being told by the Kirkwood Emergency Animal Hospital vet that he was too sick (septic shock) to have surgery at their facility. The vet referred us to the Ballwin VSS, and we could not be more grateful for them. Dr. Greer took care of Triscuit and literally saved his life. The chances of him surviving a 3^rd surgery were 50 – 50. So, very risky, but she was so honest, clear about possible outcomes and the cost.
The facility was incredibly clean, and every staff member is professional, compassionate and kind. I will only take Triscuit to VSS, and will refer all friends and family to this facility. Dr. Greer called us with updates, and better yet, kept the cost within the original estimate, even though the surgery was MUCH more complicated and involved resection of his intestine and suctioning out the sepsis.
All of the vets at this facility are amazing, bright, compassionate and have excellent bedside manner. My family and I could not get over how clean the Ballwin VSS was, especially when coming in on off hours, and a holiday!
As a clinician, I was extremely impressed with everything about VSS– and if I could give it 10 stars, I would. Love them!
Triscuit survived and is doing great! Thank you Dr. Greer and team!

Our old dog had some health problems & became very ill over the weekend. We figured it was time to put her down (something I’d never done before) so I called twice to ask a couple of questions. I spoke with the same person both times and during both brief conversations she was rude and condescending. It was as if I was bothering her. We went somewhere else (further away). I didn’t want anyone at that practice to be a part of the final moments we had with our sweet, old girl.

I’ve never had the pleasure to work with a better veterinarian than Dr. Kelly Gingerich.
I adopted the most lovable puppy mill rescue years ago… only to find out she had chronic liver disease. Dr. Gingerich explained the condition and placed Hannah on a few medications that have kept her healthy for the last five years with no issues.
I’ve moved from the area and have yet to find another specialist in my new city to treat Hannah. I called Dr. Gingerich about some new symptoms she is having and she took the time to explain why and gave me advice on what to ask my vet to prescribe.
She is truly caring, compassionate and wants the absolute best for your pet. The entire staff is great — but Dr. Gingerich is top notch.
Thanks again, VSS, for keeping my fur baby as healthy as she can be!

I took my dog in for emergency service after she accidentally got into the chocolate in the pantry. They have someone available ²⁴⁄₇ which is amazing because Webster Groves didn’t answer their phone as I was panicking.
The vet himself was nice, a little too serious, but it was 2 am and I was barely awake. They gave me an estimate which nearly gave me heart palpitations but explained the necessity of each item. They promised to keep the costs as low as possible and that they would call before doing anything extreme or expensive.
She received amazing care and the costs ended up being less than the low estimate :) everyone was friendly and my dog came out just fine.

I love this location! The Veterinarians are so very helpful and friendly. We have brought both our dogs here and they have recieved the A+ Rating in my book! I would recommend anyone to go to them if your veterrinarian has done all they can for your animal.

VVS is staffed by angels. Their doctors, technicians and front office staff are all professional, caring and compassionate. They not only take care of our fur-​babies, but they take care of us as well when it is a time of crisis.
It had been 1 year and 11 months since our last emergency visit to VVS with my diva dog, Peaches. Again, we were back with symptoms of pancreatitis. When they did an x-​ray they found three masses in her intestine. So much for three being my lucky number, it ain’t anymore.
The doctor explained to me our options and used layman terms so I’d understand the option of surgery. I said I’d like to consult her regular vet and within a flash, they had her on the phone for me. The VVS specialist informed her of Peaches condition and what they recommended and then I spoke with her. We were all in agreement that surgery was the way to go.
The SO had a human doctors appointment, so I drove him back home and returned to be here for Peaches. She made it through surgery fine, unfortunately during recovery she had difficulty breathing and she had to be connected to a machine. They allowed me to come back in to the hospital area (which was amazing to see) to be by her side. Finally, her little big heart stopped and she crossed the Rainbow Bridge to join so many other dogs who have gone before her. After regaining my composure, I asked if I could see her again and they kindly placed me in a private room with her and told me to take my time saying my final goodbye.
If I ever need emergency veterinary services in the future, VVS is still my #1 choice. Who wouldn’t want an angel to care for their dog.

I’m watching my sister’s furry friends this weekend, and started my day today calling the cops on her idiot neighbors who don’t deserve to have pets in the first place. These people leave their dogs out in the dead of winter, for hours on end, and they cry and howl the whole time too! Luckily I’m a heavy sleeper, but I’m not heartless. So I called the cops. And if I lived by you and you left your pets out in the dead of winter for hours and hours, I’d call the cops on you too.
So I was bummed about this the whole day, until another dog needed my attention… Maddie, my sister’s elderly pom, who is in the beginning stages of heart failure, began having wheezing fits, one after the next, and coughing up a very thick white substance. She also seemed to be laboring for breath, and even refused cheese when I tried to feed her (she is now refusing just about everything else, but NEVER cheese). I knew something wasn’t right immediately, and called Sar. I’ve been to VSS before. I took Maddie the first time she began experiencing these problems, but not before going to Big Bend Animal Hospital right down the road, only to be turned away by a frantic front desk woman who left me standing alone in a dark waiting room with a dead phone plugged into the wall, a struggling puppy, and a frantic Sarah S. on the other line trying to give me directions to VSS. So this time, we were prepared. I grabbed her 3 medications, directions to VSS from the fridge, my little Mads in her IU bed, and away we went.
Upon arrival, they pulled her chart, and whisked her to the back right away for oxygen. Every time that I have come to VSS, besides when we came for a cut foot and she wasn’t in harm’s way, they have gotten to work immediately. They’ve saved her life. And having seen 2 doctors now, both were excellent, very compassionate, and very thorough. They also have very nice, new, and clean facilities, and while the chairs are a bit uncomfortable, there are much worse places to wait for your ailing pets than this. It’s a bit far from where we live, but it is worth the extra drive for this quality of care. Warning though: if you have to turn left from 141 South, the left turn light does NOT turn green really late at night. You have to run it. Trust me. I’ve waited 10 minutes on several different occasions, and it’s something that you should know if you’re having a true animal emergency.
Little Mads had to stay over night, but they called to update us and she’s already doing MUCH better! I started the day feeling very discouraged about pet owners today, but when at VSS, I was reminded that there are lots of people out there that will do whatever they can for their pets. As they should for any member of the family.

VSS to the rescue again! One year to the day from when my dog, Leo, was admitted, Maddie was having breathing problems and gasping for air. And again, I was not at home. I was 30 minutes away at a conference for work and my sister was watching the furries. She called me panicked and I told her to take Maddie to the Animal Emergency Clinic because it’s right by my house and even though I like VSS way better, with a breathing issue I thought it was emergency enough to get somewhere fast. The AEC was a nightmare. They turned her away and were really rude! Wouldn’t even tell her where VSS was. I had to give her directions. I met her at VSS and luckily Maddie’s breathing was a little better. The VSS staff met us in the parking lot and took Maddie immediately to the back and into the oxygen tent. The doctor came out soon and explained the issue. Maddie had to go on meds, get xrays, and was in the hospital for 2 days. The vets called with updates, let me visit, and the staff — again — was amazing. So compassionate. Anyone who knows me know that I’m crazy for my pets and get really emotional when they are sick. That coupled with the fact that my other dog didn’t make it a year ago and it still upsets me so I was pretty much crying the entire time I was there. Maddie was in the same oxygen tent that Leo was in. That was hard.
VSS makes everything easier when times are hard. If you can get here in an emergency, drive extra. They are the best!

My greyhound Serena was diagnosed with terminal osteosarcoma two months ago. I took her to VSS as her vet recommended the clinic. I could not be more thrilled with the care Serena received and continues to receive.
Two days after her diagnosis Serena had her right front leg amputated. The staff was fantastic to her needs. She received consults from an oncologist, radiologist, and orthopedist prior to her surgery. VSS gives a low and high estimate for the cost of care. My dog stayed an extra day in ICU, and the cost was still below the high estimate.
Serena is currently receiving chemotherapy treatments. Her oncologist and technician meet with me during every treatment to discuss Serena’s progress. They are truly concerned with her quality of life which means so much to me.

In March 2010, I rescued my shep. mix from the horrible conditions of the old Gasconade pound knowing she was either going to die on her own if she stayed in there another two days, or she’d be the first one to be put down. When I got her from the pound, she had pneumonia and multiple types of worms. After getting her checked out at my vet she was still getting worse and two days later I knew I had to take her somewhere fast. A co-​worker recommended VSS and I could not have been happier with their services! While they do give you a low and high estimate of services, mine did go a little over the high end as my dog had to stay in an extra two days to be treated. The staff was great and always returned my calls in a timely manner and always showed compassion when I would go to visit her.
I have since moved back to Chicago and have brought her to several vets as it has been determined that she has chronic emphysema and will never full recover from everything, but while going to different vets up here, I have been told multiple things they believed to be wrong with her and I still would travel down the St. Louis in a heartbeat to take her to VSS if she needed any medical attention. In August 2010, I emailed them x-​rays and they gladly looked at them free of charge and told me their findings and gave me an estimate of costs if she needed to have a surgery done. No emergency vets in Chicago would look at anything free of charge and their estimate of costs for possible lung surgery were $ 5,000 more than VSS. This place is WONDERFUL and I truly wish the Chicagoland area would come up with a place as great as this.
To some people, their prices may seem high, but in reality they take wonderful care of the animals and compared to other cities, the costs are extremely low.
I also know they work with Stray Rescue of St. Louis and therefore have a fantastic reputation with strays/​rescues that may have more compromising issues.

Wonderful clinic. I unfortunately took my cat to Webster Grove Animal Hospital first. VSS re-​diagnosed him correctly and were extremely knowledgeable. They kept me informed and up to date on everything they were doing. Unfortunately, my cat’s illness is terminal, but thanks to them, his quality of life is excellent until he expires.

Our dog wasn’t acting himself, so we took him to our normal vet. They suspected that he had bloat, and sent us here for surgery.
Upon taking a look at the X-​Rays and evaluating his symptoms, however, the people at VSS suspected that he had bacterial pneumonia and put him on IV antibiotics. They ended up keeping him for 3 nights before releasing him to us with oral antibiotics. He’s now recovering quite nicely.
Note that this isn’t a normal veterinarian; they are a referral-​only practice and an after-​hours emergency center with a full intensive care unit and rehabilitation center, as well. They’re open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and have surgeons, emergency/​critical care specialists, an oncologist, a radiologist, a cardiologist, and an internal medicine specialist. (I grabbed that information off their website, in case you’re wondering. I remembered they had a lot of specialists, but I forgot what exactly they had.)
At my normal vet, I’ve encountered a few unfriendly people. At VSS, everyone I met with seemed quite polite and friendly. They have visiting hours for your pet, and the place is generally clean and well-​maintained.
Another thing I liked is that before they admitted our dog, they provided us with an itemized estimate for treatment that included a «low end» estimate if they had to keep him for one night, and a «high end» estimate if they ended up keeping him for three nights (as they did). The final price actually came in slightly below the high end estimate, but it was close.
I wish I could say that the prices are good (or bad), but I have no basis for comparison. Therefore, I’ll let you be the judge. For a large dog (who needs more medicine than a smaller dog), we got three nights in the ICU, chest X-​Rays, IV antibiotics, nebulizer treatment, and a week’s worth of antibiotics after we came home for $ 1,253.75.
That’s a lot of money either way… I’m just not sure if it’s a good value, or not. I do know that we were very satisfied with the experience.