Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center

I cannot say enough about the care my dog received at DVSC. My peek-​a-​poo is literally like our baby. We took her to DVSC in the middle of the night on a Sunday morning because she was screeching in pain any time she moved. They immediately diagnosed her with a back injury. They did blood work and x-​rays that confirmed. After discussions of a plan to try to avoid surgery as first option, we took her home with steroids, pain meds and muscle relaxers. They instructed us to take her to our vet in a few days which we did. She just wasn’t getting better. The vet said surgery seems inevitable. We went back to DVSC for a surgery consult. Dr. Ben Bayer spent almost an hour with is talking through options. He was so caring and patient. We admitted her for surgery that day. My dog was at the center for four days. Each day the doctors called us 2 – 3 times a day to update us. It wasn’t a nurse or admin calling but the doctors. They were so informative. It showed how much they care. I wish that people received that type of attention and care in the healthcare system. My baby is recovering well and is doing great. She wouldn’t have made it without DVSC.

My vet recommended I take my dog to see the cardiologist because she is the best and my dog had a bad heart murmur. I never even saw her! She sent all information via her lackey who insisted on calling my dog «she“‘ even after I told him the dog was a male. To make matters worse, the lackey gave me the bad news in the reception area instead of a private room. I’m crying like a baby because I elected to have «him» put down because his heart was so bad. What cold hearted people!

We took our dachshund, Zoe into DVSC Grapevine, after a quick vet appointment with our normal veterinarian. He said in order for her to walk again (she had slipped a disc, we thought), she needed immediate attention. He arranged for Dr. Franks to meet us there and do surgery immediately. From the time we arrived to the time we picked up Zoe after surgery, DVSC was exceptional. I can’t say enough good things about their level of professionalism, compassion and care. Zoe is recovering nicely from surgery (is running around now) and we credit it to the fine work by Dr. Franks and the staff at DVSC Grapevine. I wouldn’t hesitate to take out other pets to them when the occasion arises.

Before coming to DVSC, our cat, Samson, had spent 4 days at the vet because of struvite crystals in his urine. During this time, he was sedated three separate times, had three flushes of his bladder and a catheter sutured to his penis. He was leaking urine constantly and couldn’t clean himself because of the e-​collar. There was a lot of inflammation around the catheter, and he had to wear an IV in his arm. There were several large, noisy dogs being boarded at the vet during his stay, so he was also sleep deprived. Needless to say, he was miserable in every way and my husband and I were emotionally exhausted from seeing him go through all of this… especially after learning that it wasn’t over and that he needed emergency surgery.
Our vet referred us to DVSC for an emergency perineal urethrostomy. I have to say, I was really underwhelmed with the level of professionalism from some of the staff we encountered here. Dr. Hans was the first of our encounters, who was a young man with a very blasé attitude. He sauntered in, asked us a few questions and yawned very loudly several times, like a college student with a hangover. On any other day it wouldn’t bother me, but we had just been through hell and back and were worried about putting our cat through surgery. To see this guy with a complete lack of empathy was just irritating.
The second vet we spoke with was Dr. Wells. She was not quite as mellow, but still managed to annoy me on a couple of levels. First of all, she referred to this surgery as «chopping off his penis». Aside from the fact that that is an insultingly dumbed-​down version of what the surgery actually is, I found the bluntness of her comment really jarring. I would never say something like that (especially with a grin on my face) to two people who are obviously vulnerable. In addition to that, she attempted to make a joke by saying, «instead of ‘Samson’, he’ll be ‘Samantha’». That was just completely unnecessary and downright unprofessional. Castrating a male animal does not make it grow a vagina. And, no, I don’t think the joke is clever or amusing in the slightest.
Ultimately, the most important factor here is that the surgery went well and my cat is back home and in recovery. Time will tell if the procedure was a success, but we are optimistic. For this reason, I am giving DVSC the 3-​star «A-​OK» rating, and hoping that a year from now I will not even remember the bad experiences we had with the staff.