Laurel Animal Hospital

We just recently moved to the area and looked through Unilocal to find a vet. They were able to give us a same-​day appt and are much more reasonable than any vet I’ve been to previously. The same meds are a fraction of the cost here, and the charge to see the vet is also less. Dr Tucker also seems to care about the animals. He got down on the floor with my dog, who was really scared (she has a lot of anxiety), instead of making her get on the table. I was impressed and will definitely be going back.

One of my kitties started limping a couple of days ago and then had a little blood on her paw yesterday. We decided to take her to the vet. We used Unilocal to find a good option, to my disappointment.
Pros:
They got us in and out fairly quickly, and didn’t waste our time with anything extra, they just put the medicine in her paw and gave us an oral medication.
Cons:
We entered the treatment room and they never shut either of the doors.
They had another cat in the room. Just sitting on the counter. I found that extremely unprofessional.
The receptionist and vet both LITERALLY spent more than half the time I was in the reception area and the treatment room berating me for letting my cats go outside. If I went to the doctor for my kids and he spent the whole time chewing me out for an aspect of how I parent my children, I’d find a new doctor.
A few weeks ago, our cats became potty outside/​eat inside kitties. I’m expecting a baby and explained that the litter box was the biggest problem. The receptionist said, «you can change cat litter when you’re pregnant. You’re just as likely to get toxoplasmosis from gardening as from cat litter. It’s over-​exaggerated.» But, quite frankly, I don’t garden right now either.
I know my kitty. I’ve had her since she was just a few weeks old. They kept telling me to keep my hands away from her while they were treating her because if she scratched me I could sue them. However, they were really struggling to hold her down. I helped anyway… and guess what, no scratches, no bites.
Overall:
I will never go back here. This could not have been a more disappointing experience unless they highly overcharged me.

I had a very sick cat named Ted and I’m here to share our experience. Ted had been through a lifetime of surgery, and operations. He had urinary crystals and kidney issues that just wouldn’t go away. He had a laser surgery done that was thousands of dollars, I home made his food for him and did whatever I could to give him the best life. He occasionally would become obstructed and not eat, or go to the bathroom, I would have to take him in for a bladder expression. I did this several times over the course of his life. Recently Ted became very sick and was not eating and soiling himself wherever he stood, I knew it was time to lay Ted to rest. I was hoping for a peaceful end to teds pain. I recently moved back to Raytown and had taken Ted to Laurel before years ago when ted was spotting bloody urine, so I decided to call and set up the appointment. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to endure.
Upon arriving to laurel animal hospital, I was immediately bombarded by questions as to why I was doing this (he’s only 6, he could probably be treated, have you tried this?. Etc type questions) after 6 years of doing the best I could and spending thousands on something that did not cure or help him I was struggling to afford and care for teds sickness, every few months having to have his bladder expressed is expensive.
He hated it.
I already felt like I was giving up, I already felt guilty, the front desk lady really helped to enforce those feelings, and didn’t really care to understand our struggle that had brought us there. I knew this was the right thing to do. Ted was sick, suffering and previous treatment wasn’t working. A few minutes later the front desk lady instructed us to go to the exam room, I was shocked to see another cat in the exam room on the counter (it looked like a shop cat that roamed freely throughout the clinic) that’s great your cat is friendly and sociable, however I expected the last moments of my cats life to be private as he does not like other cats. I also walked into the exam room to the vet pulling the solution into the syringe that stops his heart, he briefly stopped, looked in teds cage and said «he looks about 12 pounds» and pulled a bit more in the syringe. «Well hello to you too, doctor» I was in shock to walk into an exam room to a doctor with an attitude like that and a free roaming cat on the counter. There was no «hello I’m Dr. So and so». I don’t even know what the vet’s name was. I should have immediately left. But I knew I would have been too scared to bring him somewhere else and I would have selfishly kept him alive and in pain for my benefit. I knew I had to do this.
(Just breathe)
Ted was becoming very upset about the other cat in the room. I asked if there was some medicine or something to calm him down because of this other cat in the room (I didn’t want him to be upset before his final shot) he said «we can gas him» well that’s just great I have to gas my cat because you can’t keep yours out of the exam room. They never offered to remove the other cat from the room. He proceeded to set a small Tupperware box on the exam table and told me to put Ted in. (The box was very small for my tom cat.) we went to a bigger operating room in the back. I watched for 10 minutes as Ted struggled to breathe and slowly started to fall asleep in the tiny «gas chamber» it was absolutely horrible. He was finally asleep. The assistant pulled ted from the box and layed him on the table, the vet came back shaved his arm and gave Ted the final shot, walked away and literally said nothing the entire time.
I was sobbing on my knees so ashamed I let my big man go like that, when I turned around the vet was standing with my stuff that I had left in the exam room, he handed me my belongings and said «here’s your stuff» that was it. I was rushed out because the next patient was here. I didn’t expect sympathy from these people, but I will be dammed if I will ever bring back a pet to this place. Most places won’t gas your cat before the big injection, most will use a little medicine to calm and not totally knock them out for it. I’m not an expert, but I volunteer at a shelter weekly and asked about the process I had been through, they said they had never heard of such a way to do it, and never heard of gassing a cat before euthanization.
I am sharing my experience hoping that it might save someone from experiencing what I did. Other places would not rush you and at least respect you and your decision without assuming you didn’t try to save your cat. They do offer cremation services through Wayside Waifs and I chose to have him cremated. It was only a week of waiting for my ted. He’s my angel now, at least Wayside enclosed a letter of sympathy with his ashes, finally a little compassion

Dr. Tucker is the best vet I’ve ever encountered. The staff at Laurel is wonderfully friendly and will know you by name after just a few visits. I’ve taken my dog and cat to Dr. Tucker for checkups and for health problems, and both animals have left with accurate diagnoses and easy to follow treatment plans. He almost immediately determined that my dog had a ruptured disc after I had just taken her to another vet who said he couldn’t find anything without doing blood work first. He is sharp and cares about your pets. I couldn’t be happier.

Dr. Tucker has cared for the animals in my family for the last 20 years, at least, & if I hadn’t recently moved, he would still be caring for them. He is a wonderful veterinarian and person. He is kind, compassionate & very affordable… because he truly cares about the animals in his care & is not in it for the money. I would absolutely recommend him to anyone who wants only the best for their animals.

I love this place! We took our dog Katie to an emergency vet to find out she had pyometra and they wanted to charge us $ 1300 to save her life. We couldn’t afford it and thought unfortunately we would have to put our beloved dog to sleep. Called Laurel Animal Hospital the next morning to see about putting her to sleep and the staff was so helpful in trying to find us an alternative. Dr. Tucker told us he would do the surgery for a lot less than the emergency vet and would let us make payments. Our Katie is home and doing great and gets to live out the rest of her years here with us. Dr. Tucker and his staff did an amazing job with Katie and we are forever grateful.

I love Laurel Animal Hospital. Not only are they competent, they are caring, compassionate, and truly want what is best for your pet. The prices are so incredibly fair, that even if you live a decent distance away, I would recommend going here. Other clinics I’ve been to have a substantial fee just for seeing the doctor… Laurel does not. It’s a very friendly environment, and you can tell that the vet and the nurses really have a passion for the care of your animals. GO HERE!

I’ve been taking my animals here since 2005, and am always so pleased! The staff is so caring and compassionate, and Dr Tucker is always so helpful, and can diagnose my animals without having to run 1,000 tests and spending $ 5,000. He’s right everytime.
We’ve gone to him for neutering, vaccinations, teeth cleaning, and last year we had to put our 2 dogs, and 1 cat down. The dogs were 16 and the cat was 21. I was so upset, and the staff was so nice. they really helped us through this tough time.
I’ll never go anywhere else!