Bulger Veterinary Hospital

Awesomeness. The best care for your pets. We have had no doubt with the service Bulger provides for our pets, whether it be for a regular day appointment or evening/​weekend emergency visit.
We have experienced all aspects of the business, emergency services are bar none.
The staff are very friendly and attentive to us and our pets.
Plenty of doctors to choose from or not and just appear. You won’t be disappointed.

I take both my rescue dogs to Bulger and wouldn’t have it any other way — I truly trust the entire staff and have the greatest confidence in our vet, Dr. Burns. My pups were both diagnosed with heartworm disease after adoption (it didn’t show up on their pre-​adoption tests because HW has an incubation period of up to 6 months!) and everyone at Bulger was beyond accommodating and kind to me and my pets before, during and after the two treatment periods.
I am now at the point where I look forward to seeing Dr. Burns for routine visits because what could have been a really traumatic experience with HW, became a positive one. I may have adopted my dogs, but she saved both their lives!
Thanks to everyone at Bulger for all you do!

We have 3 dogs and I have to say the care they receive here is second to none.
Our primary veterinarian is Dr. Vanderlaken and she is wonderful, very caring and knowledgable but when she is not at work and we need to see someone immediately we have seen several other doctors who are excellent as well.
I love that they can take care of everything we may need for our pets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
It really can’t get any better than this.

We came in last with our sick guinea pig Zoey who was being treated for pneumonia. We have used this place many times and have always appreciated the care. But last night not only were we upset over Zoey we were also very angry. The vet that was on acted unsympathetic, nasty, seemed annoyed. The vet tech was so so much better with us and Zoey. I was trying to explain which medicines she was on and the vet said in a nasty tone that means nothing to me and she doesn’t know what we want her to do. I didn’t grab Zoeys medicine I was in a rush to get her to the vet since her breathing sounded so bad. We brought our dog spike here in January to be put to sleep and the experiences were night and day. Once we decided to put Zoey to sleep the vet never came back. There was no price breakdown it cost us $ 206 where as with Spike they only charged for the euthanasia. Just a horrible visit… and total lack of respect

When my little guy got sick and needed emergency care, I was directed here. They were fantastic in taking care of my pup in his time of need. They explained everything to us, gave us options for diagnosis and dealt with my puppy’s frantic overexcited owners. Thankfully, they did not find anything wrong except for pup being under the weather. They immediately contacted my regular vet who followed up the next morning. I felt good about the service we received here.

Truly, they are the best!

I used to love bulgers, have been going here for 15+ years with many of my animals. But lately they are so impersonal. Definitely looking to switch asap!

I use Bulger for their cardiologist an ophthalmologist services. I have been using them for many years and always been very satisfied. They are always neat clean and organized. Generally on time but since they treat emergencies they can run behind.

we had a older terrier mix who we ended up taking to them after he had a serious seizure episode in May. It was on a weekday night when all the other places vets were closed. We had to drive a distance to get there but it was well worth. As an animal hospital they are one of the few Vet 24 Hour ERs in the area. The ER is not large and since it is the only ER in the immediate area so it was busy. Even so they treated us like we were the only ones there. They quickly took him to the back to diagnose the cause of the seizures. Unfortunately it was a painful diagnose that our little guy had a brain tumor. We did not have the money at the time to do a MRI but the doctor was fairly certain that was the issue. He was but on meds to control the seizures.
About two weeks ago are little guy’s condition took a turn to the worse to the point that he was in severe pain. It was the second time we had been there in two days in the early morning hours, and the medication they had given him the day before was not helping. They were realistic in what they could do for him considering his age. In the end we had to make a very difficult decision, but it was the only choice that was fair to him. The whole staff at Bulger are so professional and caring that even allowed a special request to have him euthanize outside in the grass where he found it more comforting. The doctor was very understanding of the situation even though she probably has gone through it many time in the past.

A big thank you to Bulger and especially to Dr. Marion who took exceptional care of our dog Roscoe when he needed immediate emergency surgery on his eye. Two weeks later, he is doing great! His vision is returning and is getting better day by day.
We decided to bring him here for his visit since we had been previously referred to Mass Vet Referral, which is in the same veterinarian group, for another issue (life with dogs… it’s never boring!), and saw how well they genuinely cared for our dog.
Even though we came into Bulger for an emergency visit, we will be bringing my two dogs here from now on. They are wonderfully caring and compassionate, and don’t mind if you have a million questions — they are more than happy to give you answers and top notch care around the clock.

Bulger Veterinary Hospital is by far one of the greatest Vet’s. I have been to two other ones in the Boston area and it took a further drive to find one that worked for us. No matter what time of day, early morning, afternoon or in the middle of the night, there’s someone on staff that you can call to get quick answers.
Our pup was recently neutered at Bulger’s by his lovely Dr. Burns. She is AMAZING with him and us. Sweet, intelligent and caring. Our pup had some complications after the surgery with a reaction to the medication he was on. They have been more than helpful with trying to get him healthy again.
I will never go any where else. They are just too great with our dog!

Of my many pets, my cat Blackie is my obsession. She’s 14 years old and we’ve had her since she was a kitten. She came to us with a bad paw that was turned in and upside down (hard to picture, I know) but for many years she lead a normal life until a year ago something happened and the paw became infected. Our regular vet recommended we take her to Angell where she got surgery that removed a lot of excess skin she had developed over the years. In my opinion *too much* skin because the paw NEVER healed. For the last year I had to constantly keep her paw with dressing and it would sometimes get better and then bad again. More recently, it would ooze a lot and it looked worse than usual. My regular vet was at a loss. Then she stopped eating and was just not being herself.
On a friend’s recommendation I took her to see Dr Lauren Blaeser at Bulger. Turns out Blackie had a broken bone and it was infected. She recommended the paw be amputated. Both her and all the staff were very understanding, put up with my insanity, answered my questions, etc. Dr. Blaeser even gave me her cell phone number and sent me pictures of Blackie who stayed there several days as she needed to be hydrated prior to surgery and since I live one and a half hours away it made no sense for me to keep coming and going.
Blackie, now our three-​legged cat, came back home and immediately started to act better than her old self. She has energy, purrs constantly, runs around, jumps everywhere. It’s like getting her back as a kitten.
Thank you Dr Blaeser, all the techs (particularly Lauren P. Thanks for putting up with constant, hysterical texts) and Bulger Vet Hospital. Wish I had taken Blackie there a year ago.

I LOVE Bulger’s! They are so thorough, and kind. My dog always feels at ease when going here. The staff at Bulger’s is the best around! I couldn’t recommend a better vet!

We visited Bulger’s emergency center one night when, unfortunately, we went in to have our cat put to sleep.
The staff was so kind while we were there, and the vet who saw us talked to us after the procedure and reassured us and offered us sympathy. The care of the staff on duty made a hard trip a little easier.

I’ve had to seek a second opinion for my dog’s treatment twice in the past year. Both times Dr. Mary Letwin gave him a thorough and complete examination with a more accurate diagnosis than my own vet had given. She was attentive, clearly intelligent, extremely communicative with me concerning the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, and very compassionate and understanding. The facility itself was easily accessible and they got my dog in immediately to be seen (not an emergency situation, either). Dr. Letwin is now my dog’s vet.

I will never take my dog to this vet again.
Angus my energetic 4 month old weimaraner became increasingly lethargic over a 24 hr period of time. He was weak and needed to be hand fed. He slept passed 6 am in his crate (unheard of for him) when he finally got out of the crate he quickly retreated to his bed in the living room. However, Angus continued to urinate and move his bowels normally, but we would have to carry him outside to do so. Unfortunately it was a Sunday so an emergency vet hospital visit was in order. With a fever of 105 we were certainly concerned and were prepared for further testing and costs, however a bill estimated at almost $ 2,700.00 for overnight monitoring (recommended by the vet) was just not possible for us. So we chose to move forward with what the doctor strongly recommended which was diagnostic testing including lab work and a chest xray. His lab work all came back normal and his chest xray was interpreted as «maybe, very early upper respiratory infection, or possibly normal for a puppy.» We were told he had diarrhea during testing, so the doctor was also concerned for colitis. Angus was given subcutaneous fluids for dehydration and started on SD i/​d wet food and two different antibiotics. We then took him home but not before paying our $ 650.00 bill, and the doctor reminded us that since we were unable to afford keeping him overnight for monitoring a complete diagnosis could not be formulated. Overwhelmed and nervous for Angus’ health we forgot to ask questions about his fever, what to watch for and how to treat it (since he was never treated for the fever there) We picked up a digital thermometer at rite aid and checked his temp when we got home and it was 105.3. Luckily we have a friend who is a vet that we called at home who provided us with more than enough information on how to treat this fever overnight until we could get him to our regular vet on Monday. Bulger does not and will not provide you with information over the phone, since of course that would be free. Monday morning we got Angus to our vets office bright and early. He was diagnosed with Hypertrophic osteodystrophy within 5 minutes of this visit that ultimately cost only $ 135 which included xrays and more subcutaneous fluids. Our vet was surprised that this diagnosis was overlooked since it was text book cut and dry and frequently seen in 4 month old weimaraners.
So was the vet at Bulger just uneducated or taking our bank account for a ride… either way that’s no type of vet I want caring for my pup… what about you?

We used to go to Wignall Animal Hospital in Dracut. Nevermind the fact that we now live in Reading, and the drive is too much, the hospital is the worst.
But, this is a review for Bulger. I had a previous dealing with Bulger a few years ago when we had to put my 13 year old Golden Retriever down. The staff was so professional, caring, and very sensitive towards my family, who was obviously grieving.
So, when we needed a lump on our Boxer checked out, I decided to go to Bulger. The vet we saw was so sweet, and it seemed to me like she genuienly cared about and liked my dog! I also didn’t feel like she was trying to do unneccessary tests to pad the bill.
The lump turned out to be benign, and the bill was easy to take.
I would highly recommend Bulger Animal Hospital… who, in my opinon, are in it for the animals, and not the paycheck.

After a recent horror at Angel memorial in boston i feel compelled to write about a positive one i had here. Lets face the fact emergency medical care for our pets is expensive yes, In my eyes i deem the money well spent when it relieves pain or suffering from my pets! If we are lucky our pets recover When i adopted my cat Onyx from MCPSA nevins farm 4 years ago last september, she was under weight had conjunctiveitis and a respitory infection. She had not been spaded or given rabies shot prior to adoption. The mspca provided me witha voucher for the spay surgery. Onyx had a terrible reaction to the anesthisa after the surgery. She stopped eating and became extremly
visit to bulger they administered sub Q fluids which rehydrated her & she started eating again. I wanted to thank the vet again who provided care to her, i dont rember her name this was 4 year ago… If she reads this Thank You!
In the event of an emergency i will go here again NOT TO ANGEL!

The Bulger Animal Hospital gets a 4 star for being so wonderful in our times of pet emergency/​needs. We have gone to this location twice, and have had comprehensive service by a wonderful staff.
Unfortunately, we had to put our pet, Bruno (cat), to sleep on Monday night. Came home to find he was mauled by some animal and he was not looking good, two bites in his chest and his leg was messed up pretty bad. breathing was distressed… and he was missing a tooth. So since The Bulger Animal Hospital has a 24 care unit and is one town over, we dashed him there. Bruno was taken and seen immediately, he was in pretty bad condition. He was given a thorough medical exam for his injuries. They were extremely gentle, understanding and knowledgeable of his condition. They gave him a sedative to relax him and ease the pain he was having. Which made him happy. He started going down hill from there and they diagnosed that his lungs were punctured, thus the breathing issues, and they gave us options to deal with the injuries and the well-​fare of the animal. They were pretty open with us about his condition and didn’t force us to do anything we didn’t want to do. Things didn’t look good for him and we decided that putting him down was the most humane thing to do, because he may not make it through costly surgery. (this was tough and they were compassionate and gave us options to see him and how we would like to deal with his remains, etc)
We went to this same animal hospital in 2005 when Bruno had what we thought was vertigo, and we ran there for assistance cause he had no balance at all and his eyes were going nutty… and they diagnosed him with Feline Vestibular Syndrome. Bruno stayed there over night and got medications and was well soon after.
I like this location, and am so glad they are nearby for emergency care.
RIP Bruno

I have been to many vets before but none have ever been this attentive, kind, and wonderful to my cats as Bulger. The staff including Pat and Jay are exceptionally friendly and helpful. Dr. Amber Burns is beyond reproach in her skill and kennel-​side manner. I honestly don’t know where our household would be without her. Yes Bulger is more expensive that most other vets but I truly feel you are getting what you pay for.