Grove Center Veterinary Hospital

Great job taking care of my dogs. Staff is friendly and thorough while maintaining cost efficiency.

We unexpectedly needed to put our 13 year old lab down and Dr Bender came to our house within hours to help us out. We were not patients of his but he treated us kindly and took great care in relieving Gracie of her pain. In addition, his fee was reasonable and our family’s experience while sad, was bearable. Thank you Dr Bender.

We have been struggling for almost a year to find a diagnosis for a chronic problem with my cat. We tried various medications and procedures and nothing worked. Finally, we opted for a second opinion and took our cat to see Dr. Bender. Within the first visit he had a solution that logically made sense and set forth a treatment plan that has worked. We were so close to putting our little girl down and Dr. Bender saved her!

I have been a patron of Grove Center and Dr. Bender for 15+ years. It easy for me to say that they have always provided the best care and advice for my pets. It is wonderful to walk into an office where they remember you and your pet, or pets in my case. And of course the fact that they will do house calls is such a plus!
Dr. Bender helped my family and I navigate the difficulties of a dog with a multitude of health problems. He has the patience and expertise to work with you to diagnose any problem. With his help our dog lived a wonderful 10yrs. I don’t think this would have been possible without his guidance.
This is my vet for life!

Dr. Bender is the first vet who I’ve had do a house visit. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but he immediately scared the s_​_​t out of my cat. Not at all gentle and took no time to meet her before going after her. He also basically told me to sit in the corner and be quiet. I don’t think he wanted me in the room – but there was no way I was leaving her with a stranger – DVM or not
After discussing the visit with a friend as I drank a very strong margarita, I’ve decided he won’t be asked back.

This is the only place I can or will take my cat. I am a worrier, and Dr. Bender has always called me back to discuss my fears. In addition, my cat is a HUGE pain at the vet, and he handles her in a way that reduces stress for her, and me. (Really a pain. I had tried to take her some place else first, and they refused to see her because of her behavior.) I love that they remember us, and are always available to discuss concerns. Thanks Grove Center!

I wish I’d known about Unilocal when I was going to Dr. Bender. I went to him because he did house calls (at an additional cost, but that’s totally fair), and I had a very high-​stress cat who needed that.
I always found him unpleasant, giving me an attitude like I’m an idiot when I had too many questions. But, I felt like the care was fine, and as my other cat was living with cancer, I was afraid to switch vets in the middle of his care, so I hung in there.
Since it’s been so long, I can’t give accurate comments, other than to say the reason I finally left Dr. Bender was because he was CRACKING JOKES as he put my cat to sleep. I will never forgive or forget that as long as I live. It hurts, even years later. That’s not acceptable under any circumstances, ever. I was sitting next to my cat bawling my eyes out and saying my goodbyes, and he was making jokes. JOKES.
So, I left him for a wonderful vet and never looked back, except to wince when I drive past his street now.
I will add that Bruce, one of the vet techs there, was FANTASTIC — very compassionate. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to keep me there.

I love Grove Center Vet. Dr. Bender and his staff are friends rather than just people who work in the office. Dr. Bender has given outstanding care to my four-​legged «children».
I have one elderly cat with a couple of diseases. Juggling her care so that the treatment of one disease does not make the other worse has been tricky, but Dr. Bender has done a great job. Under Dr. Bender’s care, she is doing much better than should be expected.
Another kitty has had several problems that required more sophisticated diagnostic equipment than that available at Dr. Bender’s office. Dr. Bender referred me, called the hospital where he referred us, and kept in touch with us throughout the ordeal. My cat is alive and healthy today due in a major part to Dr. Bender.
I appreciate that when I have to call after hours, the answering service calls Dr. Bender and that he calls me back nearly immediately. If I need someone after hours, I want to talk to Dr. Bender not someone I don’t know or –much worse– leave a message.
I can’t praise Dr. Bender and his caring, friendly staff enough. If you need a vet, he’s the right one.

Dr Bender is the perfect vet if you are only interested in the convenience of house calls other than that if you are ok with leaving your sick pet alone without any supervision for and overnight hospital stay. When symptoms are reported and brushed aside as if they meant nothing until finally it is too late for your pet. When I called and reported that my dog drank many bowls of water over the course of a few days it was brushed aside as if it were nothing he informed me that his last blood test didn’t report anything but that test was Done in March and it was then August When when i brought my little guy into him dehydrated he finally gave him a new blood test and kept overnight all alone in not such great shape. I did tell the doctor that I felt it was better for him to be in the hospital but he insisted that it would be ok In the morning his blood sugars were dangerously high but instead of calling me he went out on one of his house calls. The other thing I did not mention in Feb of this year my little guys blood test came back with elevated liver blood values but again there was no mention of a follow up blood test. Dr Benders lack of whatever you would like to call it cost my little guy’s life plus a $ 9.000 vet bill

I first heard about this place from a friend who treasures her cat more than anything in the world (other than her husband, lol). I figured wherever she takes her cat must be amazing. I was right.
Dr. Bender (the only vet at this hospital) is a very good vet that uses scientific logic with his diagnosis (no automatic guessing as some MDs/​VMs do, he takes his time). He is thorough and does everything necessary to know the exact problem and best treatment. He acknowledges your background/​knowledge level and talks to you accordingly. As a scientist, I really got tired of vets that explained what a bacterium is to me after I already told them what I do for a living.
Another amazing thing about Dr. Bender is the personal attention. First, he does house calls, which is the first I’ve seen in this area. Second, when I call with an issue, I am able to speak with him directly. He is also the one calling me when updating me on the progress of said issue. Third, he takes his time to talk to you and give you an in depth explanation, along with giving you time for questions.
The prices are pretty reasonable too. So, this is our vet from now on :)