MSPCA-Angell West

I adopted my cat Kosh from the MSPCA in Nevins Farms with the understanding that he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a thyroid problem. This meant a lot of drugs and lots of follow-​up exams with my vet and with a cardiologist. It was here at Angell that Kosh was diagnosed and here where I went for a follow-​up. They took great care of him and were very patient with him. That’s my kind way of saying it took 3 assistants to hold down a 14 year old cranky cat. But they did it and treated him like the royalty he thinks he is once he tried to stop biting them. They added some meds and stay in contact with my regular vet to help keep Kosh healthy. Most importantly, they didn’t try to upsell me into something the cat didn’t need or try to convince me that I needed to go there for all the regular vet visits. They were professionals which is quite a refreshing change of pace. I highly recommend taking your pet here, especially if they need some kind of specialized care or a second opinion.

Let me first start with my puppy sadie 7 month old with cancer in her back leg. This hospital only cares about the $$$$$.The front office manager is not a nice people person. Specially in front of a crying 13 year old who thinks her dog is going to die… Very unhappy with your customer service. After a few issues with you and the doctor we went to blue pearl. I’m glad to say that our puppy sadie is a tripod and so very happy and alive. I’ve told many people about our experience and they said that’s so sad. SOMETIMES things happen for a reason I’m just glad it happened at blue pearl instead of your establishment. …

Last Wednesday I had to put my beloved 19 year old cat/​buddy Nikkita down due to her age. Dr. Hamilton as well as the technicians and there very nice intake staff made this difficult decision as easy as it could be during an extremely stressful moment. They were absolutely wonderful, kind and sympathetic. The staff truly understand the love of animals and how each owner is feeling at a time of grief.
Thank you again.

Had our 14-​year-​old cat treated here for what turned out to be a rare form of cancer which only became apparent in the terminal phase, and which mimicked a lot of other conditions. Took a lot of testing to diagnose, and the condition was non-​treatable.
As you can imagine, it was expensive — but no regrets. We wanted to be sure we had done as much as humanely possible for our companion. We had previously dealt with two other conditions (one treated at Angell-​Boston and one at the Boston Cat Hospital) on two other cats which turned out much better (many additional quality years) but that was not to be the case here.
But if you are on a budget — may want to think about it. You might want to look into pet insurance, of which there are several policies offered by insurers, and they looked pretty reasonable (including major medical) but your pet has to be young when you sign up.
Angell will give you an accurate estimate of the charges each step of the way — but at that point you really don’t want to be in the position of deciding yes or no to your pet’s care. Will make it real tough.
The staff and facility are excellent.
But keep in mind this is top-​end treatment for pets — it is not inexpensive, and you need to realize that.
If you are a cat owner — may want to get the book the Cat Owner’s Veterinary Handbook — it will help you recognize many common conditions — and alert you to those requiring advanced diagnosis
By the way — Angell treats many types of pets.

My dog recently had a scare where we found a brick of rat poison in her mouth after a walk at night. We called the ASPCA hotline, were advised to try peroxide to induce vomiting, and then it didn’t work. So off to Angell we went!
I was so thankful for the staff there. We were seen right away. We gave them our case number from the ASPCA hotline, and they communicated with poison control to figure out what to do. They induced vomiting and couldn’t find any rat poison, and we were given a bottle of Vitamin K to use as a precaution. What a relief! It was not a cheap cost (vet care never is). They were so helpful and explained everything they were going to do upfront. They also communicated with my vet on my behalf.

I thought. the vet care was excellent, the facility clean and the staff courteous and professional. the only. negative is that it is pricey.

If your pet has a life-​threatening problem, then I have to believe they are great, but if you have a pet with a non-​specific problem, my view is that they are test happy at your expense. $ 1500-​$ 2000 to find out that there was NOTHING SERIOUSLY wrong with my pet beyond some nausea and dehydration as a result. His issues were solved with some bland food and fluids, and that could have been done without spending a small fortune. I am a new pet owner and didn’t know what to do as my pet was sick on a weekend and there was no way I could miss work on that Monday. I didn’t have a back up plan and, in hindsight, that was a huge mistake. I figured, take him in, get something to calm his stomach, get some fluids, get some prescription bland food and take him home … but NO … had to run blood tests, sedate him for an X-​ray, shave his leg … keep him overnight … run more tests and scare the heck out of me that he had some serious illness, which subsequent tests run by my regular vet have ruled out.
What has caused me to reach my «test happy» conclusion was that the admitting vet saw me in the waiting room when I went to pick him up, and completely avoided speaking with me … she looked right at me and very quickly went into the back. That raised red flags, causing me to ask for copies of the tests. I’m not a vet but let’s just say that the vet’s description of the results didn’t match the numbers. Were they off? One item was off by less than 2%. To be fair, I can’t say with certainty if that was enough to warrant the tests that followed, but the fact that there was nothing seriously wrong with him does.
There are many options for emergency care in the Boston area, so I won’t be going back to this facility.

Beyond thankful for all the incredible staff here! My Siberian husky got hit by a car and fractured his leg, was referred to MSPCA by the vet — Gave them a call and they took him right in upon getting there. They were so helpful with financing and explaining everything about the procedure. Got him back today and he’s doing much better. Really amazing people working here

I am so happy that Angell Memorial, one of the top animal Emergency and Medical care facilities in MA has opened a branch in Waltham. Our dog had major surgery to remove a lipoma that was impeding her mobility and had wrapped around nerves in her leg. I can’t say enough good things about Dr. Kudisch, the surgeon that performed the procedure, and all of the staff there. Staff was always available to speak to me, at any hour, before and after the surgery. Dr. Kudisch was great at helping me determine the costs, potential risks and benefits of the surgery so that I could determine what I wanted to do. At no time did I feel that she was ‘pushing’ me to do it. Additionally, even though the surgery turned out to be much more complicated and thus twice as long as expected, the cost was still in line with the initial estimate. Bottom line, Not only are the results fabulous (a dog with renewed mobility), but the costs were very reasonable, especially considering that any ‘profit’ goes towards helping animals at their shelter rather than into stock holders pockets.