Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists

Dr Cagle was the doctor who saw us in the on Christmas Eve. My precious kitty Licorice was not doing well in what we thought was a urinary track infection. Dr Cagle was kind, patient and provided me options in a most compassionate manner. I was not prepared to have to make the decision I ultimately did but Dr Cagle and the staff at Gulf Coast gave me the time I needed… No rushing or pressure to pursue expensive treatment that did not necessarily allow a positive outcome. He even called me later in the day to confirm that Licorice had an untreatable tumor so additional testing would have done no good. Hearing him say, «You made the right decision» meant the world to me. I cannot thank him enough or ppraise more highly the services at Gulf Coast. I missed my baby that Christmas morning but have peace that I did all I could have done thanks to Dr Cagle and staff.

If you have tons of money to burn, by all means, come here. Their care, competency, and compassion actually rivals the quality I see for humans at a hospital. I should know since I work at a hospital. But like human healthcare, this place is crazy expensive! If you’re on a budget, stay away! For one day alone in the ICU + tests but w/​o any treatment, my pet would have cost about $ 3000. Eventually, I decided to go with euthanasia. Later on, I was told by a third party that we could have done a more conservative treatment plan if I couldn’t afford the ICU care. GCVS didn’t even give me any more options when they knew I couldn’t afford it. They just went ahead with the euthanasia.

My parrot is a feather plucker, however; that in itself did not create the antibiotic resistant bacteria from which my parrot suffered and was being treated, and any relapse of such can be attributed directly to the method of treatment and dosage of effective antibiotics. The care and compassion mentioned quickly turned to veterinarian frustration, in my experience, and the methods of treatment were not re-​evaluated and changed, nor was I referred to another, more qualified veterinarian or simply any other avian vet.
Fortunately, my parrot was recently examined and continues to do well under another veterinarian’s care in another state.
The most glaring question is why should I have had to take my parrot so far to receive effective treatment? If another vet can successfully treat antibiotic resistant bacteria successfully, why can’t they? Methods of treatment are a veterinarian’s choice, and never forget that you, as a patient and parrot parent, always have a choice when trusting the vet does not work.

A complete ripoff. Dr. Mills didn’t seem to care about my cat at all. She gave me an estimation of over $ 1400, 7 hours after my cat played around with a lily flower petal, giving me the impression that my cat would definitely die if I chose to do anything else. Then she left. I wanted them to give him a charcoal ingestion as it still fell within the 6 – 8 hours time frame, but I was left alone in the exam room for at least 20 minutes and I asked twice for the doctor to come because I didn’t want to waste my cat’s life away. Eventually my cat turned out to be perfectly fine at the cost of $ 150 (it’s probably just him not being very sensitive to lily flowers but still).
I felt that they weren’t even close to genuine when it comes to help me. I was ignored for a long time and I was not taken seriously maybe because I didn’t accept the bill. Even when you have no choice but to come to this place, think twice before you pull out your credit card.
The front desk lady was very nice, and that’s the only reason for the extra star.

Nancy (physical therapist) and her staff were fantastic with my dogs rehab; always reachable and quick to respond to all our questions. Desk/​front door staff were ok. Was disappointed when we had our checkup (s) though with the doctors. I realize its a hospital, but one should not have to ask several times as to status of appointment and when we will be seeing the doctor. If the doctor Is running late, had an emergency; tell me, I’ll understand and reschedule. By not communicating and avoiding the customer you build distrust. Overall rating B-.

My fiancé and I came in last night because our dog was hit by a truck. I had already felt that maybe he wasn’t going to make it. Our dog Jackson was not moving but he was breathing hard. His pupils were enlarged. Once we arrived my fiancé came back with an employee and a stretcher. They took our dog to the back while my fiancé signed a sheet of paper, he was signing a $ 95.00 examination emergency form. I was okay with that charge because I knew the Vet had to check him out. The employee that came out with the stretcher (a nurse?) came out and was asking us what we wanted them to do. She told me Jackson didn’t look well, as I thought. I told her I was already expecting him to pass away.
My fiancé was still at the front filling out the form. I told her I needed a few minutes for us to talk. I knew there was no point of having them do any work on our dog with the strong possibility of him passing. She told me she was going to have the doctor talk to us while we discussed our options. We went to another room and the Vet came and talked to us about our options maybe within less than 10 minutes another employee told him our dog passed away. The Vet then offered cremation options, to keep him in an urn and take him with us home OR cremation and his ashes would be scattered in the Gulf of Mexico. We went with that option (Mexico).
The staff was very friendly but what I didn’t like was two of the charges we had. We knew about the $ 95.00 EXAMINATION EMERGENCY fee and the COMMUNAL CREMATION which was $ 110.00. We had no idea that they performed and F.A.S.T. ULTRASOUND ($ 89.78) and INTRAVENOUS CATHETER ($ 59.48). That is the reason I had told the lady (nurse?) I needed a few minutes with my fiancé. I had no idea they performed this on him. I did not want ANYTHING done on him knowing he eventually could pass away. I am upset that we were not notified about the additional charges. I felt that we were kinda taken advantage of in the situation. They did throw in a Clay Paw print for us, it will be coming in the mail and with no charge. Skeptical if the ashes really go to the Gulf of Mexico. That is all.

Avoid this Vet unless you are prepared for a $ 3000 + bill for tests and wasted consults. We took our dog there at the recommendation of our vet who was unable to figure out why our dog was listless and declining. After a brief exam, you are presented with a $ 3000 estimate that you must authorize or they will not proceed. They then performed a host of expensive tests and found nothing substantive. Many of these were repetitive tests that our local vet had just performed the day before. After all the testing, they wanted to run more $ 400 tests and get a consult. When I declined they sent him home with a 5 different medications. He passed away the next day without being able to take any of them. They did not even call to follow up. When I called them they said «sorry to hear it».
Go somewhere else unless you feel like paying for nothing.

A cancer diagnosis is a horrible thing to face, but the doctors, techs, and pharmacy staff at Gulf Coast has taken such good care of my dog that I can’t even express my thanks adequately. They’ve been great, and I highly recommend them.

Literally saved our dogs life. Great staff, very friendly and even took off a percentage due to financial issues. I don’t think he would of made it if he was anywhere else! Definitely recommend for your pets emergencies.

no stars! I am very disappointed in this clinic!
they told us that our dog needed a 5000 dollar surgery when he did not! do not trust everything you are told! … and do not be confused with the gulf coast on campbell rd… this clinic on W Loop S. is using the good reputation of other clinics with a similar name… the names are so close that it is confusing the public! so, beware! these doctors seem to have more interest in making big money than they are with your animal! do your research and get a 2^nd opinion if they tell you your animal needs an expensive surgery.

I am having very mixed feelings about GCVS. We have been to three departments: the EC, internal med, and oncology with the same pet. EC visit was fine. We never saw an internal med doctor as she was transferred and discharged from oncology. We love the oncologist who is very open to what treatment plan we would like for our pet in regards to maintaining her quality of life, and she allowed us to monitor our kitty’s bloodwork with her regular veterinarian.
After her first visit our kitty came home limping from a rear leg blood draw. Ok, it happens.
The amount of communication we received during the following 3 weeks was one call. We, and our regular veterinarian, had to call to make sure the oncologist liked what she was seeing with the blood tests results. Our baby’s second chemotherapy visit/​recheck was scheduled as a drop off. This does not work for us and we called to schedule an actual appointment. During her treatment, they took our kitty to the back. She was returned to us with a bleeding, broken back toenail.
Considering the amount we are paying, better communication protocol should be established. I also am so frustrated that she was injured, although mildly, from the technician handling TWICE. Shes a geriatric cat with few teeth and no front claws who has never given her regular vet a problem.
I will update after her third visit.
Update: Turns out instead of a minor broken toenail, she has NO toenail, just the pulp of her quick left. We started her on antibiotics shortly after realizing the damage at the advice her her regular DVM.

The best, hands down. Saved our dogs life, refunded most of our money. Kind, professional, compassionate. The best.

We were super pleased with GCVS! They were extremely professional & took great care of our dog. You could tell the employees really cared about your pet’s well-​being. Our dog had her kidney removed June 2014 by Dr. Hudson. While the procedure was expensive ($ 4k-​ish) it was worth every penny. Dr. Hudson was very honest and informative. I’d definitely recommend both Dr Hudson & GCVS.

Our Great Dane has received incredible care here! Talented, caring doctors who have given us all our options and taken great care of our dog. As vets go, the prices are reasonable (still, not cheap). But I can’t say enough about how good the doctors are. We highly recommend this place.

After a spinal cord injury left my dog unable to walk with a very uncertain prognosis, we were referred to GCVS for rehab. From the very first visit, the entire staff was incredibly friendly and welcoming, and Nancy the physical therapist immediately gave me hope when I was distraught about my dog’s future quality of life. My dog showed improvement in the first appointment and has come further in her recovery than we ever hoped.
Yes, it is expensive. But it’s highly specialized care and they go above and beyond– allowing you to pick up and drop off around your work schedule and texting updates. I feel lucky to have access to this facility.

Took my dog here to see the dermatologist. They were great. It was hard to get in to see her, but it sounds like there was a decrease in the number of how many vet dermatologists there are now in Houston. Either way, Dr Beale was really nice and down to earth, and so were the staff.
Recommendation: worth waiting if your pet needs specialist help

Dr Manino and Dr Hariu are GENIUSES! Both accurately diagnosed 2 of my dogs who are now living healthy, happy lives. Had it not been for their proper and concise diagnosis’, I have no doubt my dogs would not be in the excellent condition they are currently in. I will continue to go to GCVS yearly for my dogs follow up care. It’s pricey, but WELL worth every dollar for the accurate treatment and care your pet will receive. I recommend any owner of a special needs animal to get a referral.

My experience was only so-​so. I felt more concern at the ER vet on I-​10.
They could collect a sample from my kitten while she was with them for 9 hours, so I had to collect a stool sample at a home. Then after nearly a week, I had to call for results bc they never contacted me.

My dog went in here for treatment of a non-​life-​threatening skin condition, Dr. Irwin put her on steroids to treat it, and the steroids killed her. She was having obvious trouble with the medication – stomach upset, behavioral changes – but you can’t just halt that stuff once you’ve started it. You have to wean away from it. This, the vets here determined to do, but they did it far too slowly, even after the problems were apparent. I was advised to keep her at 40 mg of prednisone daily for weeks, eventually scaling it back to 20. Just as we took the next step down, disaster struck. My dog suffered a massive ulceration, caused by the steroids, that let the contents of her GI tract spill into her body cavity. That lead to sepsis, and she spent her last day in pain, frightened, and with tubes sticking out of her. The great news is that her skin condition was completely in remission!
It’s called «seeing the forest for the trees» and they didn’t do it. They treated a skin condition that wasn’t life threatening and created a GI condition that was. When the problems became apparent, they started scaling back but, again, didn’t recognize the severity of the problem. Avoiding too harsh a reaction to withdrawal of the steroids was more important than the damage the steroids were doing. Again, focus on the tree and forget the forest.
And they charged me about $ 3,000 for the privilege of seeing my dog die. These people will never touch another one of my dogs.

This place is a total joke.
My regular vet suggested I take my cat here for surgery as his urinary tract was blocked from crystals forming.
I immediately took my pet in; explained the situation where I was told to place a $ 500 deposit to see the vet. With my cat being a family member for over six years, I gladly placed a credit card on file.
After five minutes face to face with the so called vet, he said surgery was needed and it was be close to $ 2000; again I said run the credit card.
The next day I receive a phone call, go to pick up my cat and learn they performed no surgery! Only placed a catheter in him and cared for him over night… for $ 2000! I am not an idiot and they kept saying I misunderstood what they meant by surgery.
Placing a catheter is not surgery; by human medical standards nor by the State of TX Vet standards.
My cat became increasingly sicker so I drove to College Station so he could be treated by Texas A&M Vet Hospital.
This place is a total joke and only in the business for pure profit.