Cat & Dog Hospital of Columbia

I have been a customer with the cat and dog hospital for a very long time now. I use to have a 19 year old Pomeranian who was a patient here and now I am onto my second dog with them. I had a 2pm appointment today with Dr. Farris. I came to this vet specifically for my dog’s neurological issues,) but that was completely overlooked. The vet didn’t ask any relevant questions, and when I showed her a video of my dog’s eye flinching and mouth trembling, she dismissed it by laughing and saying, “Well, my eye twitches all the time.” Instead of addressing my concerns, she immediately shifted the conversation to my dog’s weight, pointing out he had lost about 10% and saying he didn’t have room to lose that much. He was 7.3 pounds over a year ago now he’s 6.8 pounds. I agreed and wanted to discuss his weight myself after my main concern and expressed my worries about his sensitive stomach and how his food tolerances keep changing. I asked if she had any recommendations, and her response was: “Based off that information, I would have to be a magician to give you an answer.” Dr.Farris- instead of claiming you need to be a magician to give me food recommendations, maybe start with the basic, common-sense questions like “What does his diet currently look like?” But no—she was beyond rude, kept talking over me, and was clearly more focused on selling me blood work than actually helping my dog. I had to circle back myself to his neurological concerns, which should have been the first priority, given his history of seizures. This visit was the biggest waste of time. If she had shown any real interest in my dog’s condition rather than just pushing tests, I would have agreed to the blood work. But from the moment she walked in, her agenda was clear, and it wasn’t about helping my dog—it was about making a sale. Would NOT recommend this doctor to anyone who actually wants a compassionate and thorough doctor for their pet.

We’re deeply disappointed and feel traumatized by our recent experience. We’ve trusted Cat and Dog Hospital for years, always feeling like family with the staff and care. However, after some time away, we brought our sick cat in because he was lethargic and not eating. During the visit, a lump was discovered in his kidneys, along with low blood cell counts. We were told the lump wasn’t the issue, and the focus shifted to his bloodwork—leukemia or another condition was suspected. We were referred to a partner ER team, where our cat underwent weeks of tests, blood transfusions, and procedures. Despite spending over $20,000, we never received a clear diagnosis. Desperate for answers, we sought a second opinion from another local vet. They immediately identified the lump as cancer. It was heartbreaking to learn that precious weeks had been wasted, and we could have acted sooner if this had been properly addressed. We feel let down and devastated. We had to put this cat down. We will not be returning.

2nd review following a conversation with office staff and later Dr. Feinstein. I had to call them about my foster dogs distemper vaccination after realizing it was expired in looking at his previous vets records. His shelter paid his bill, I didn’t have a copy of the invoice and needed to verify if they gave the distemper. The lady I spoke with confirmed they didn’t because they had noted in his chart that the distemper was a 3 yr and wasn’t due yet. That is incorrect and I told them my records show he was due to have it and I gave them his vet papers for them to copy. I was then told the only copy they had in his file was the rabies. So I emailed the document showing his other vaccinations. I initially was thinking I would bring him back in to get his distemper since they should have done this during his initial visit, and should not be charged another exam fee but due to the awful experience, I decided I would go elsewhere to get his distemper, which I did. Days later, I received a call from Dr.Feinstein who was rude from the start and said she was told I wanted her to call me. I told her no I didn’t need to speak with her (the distemper issue was resolved). As I was about to hang up, instead of her apologizing to me for my experience with the vet, the vet refusing to do bloodwork and a dental exam, discarding my other concerns, failing to give his distemper that was due and failing to copy his vet records, the only thing Dr.Feinstein had to say to me was that I made a mistake on my intake form and noted that his rabies (not distemper) wasn’t due for 3 years. I informed her that the rabies had nothing to do with my review. The issue was the distemper not rabies. First, they were given his records and should have checked them and not just the intake forms. Second, they gave me the intake forms to complete while I was told to wait at the bottom of the stairs at the entrance door until a room was ready. I’m not sure why we had to wait there instead of in the waiting room. So I’m trying to fill out forms standing up with a disabled 60 lb (sweet & scared) pitbull who was whining, not staying still, and I’m trying to hold him up since he can’t stand up on his own and trying to keep him from falling. Not only is Dr.Feinstein extremely rude, she is unapologetic and refused to take any accountability for their mistakes and lack of medical care. She should have wanted to discuss what happened with explanation of why my services were refused. I’ll be updating to disclose what was missed as a result of refusal of services. 1st Review: I was looking for a new vet after our last two vets left their practices. I made an appointment to bring in my foster dog with a neuro disorder for some concerns and also in him not having history of bloodwork, only vaccination records. In all my years of experience with other vet practices and specialists, the vet we saw was by far the worst experience at a vet practice I have ever had. She refused to do bloodwork, wouldn’t check his teeth, (he’s over 5 years old and no history of having a dental and I had a dental concern). She was quick to discard my concerns and didn’t seem to truly be listening and more wanting to talk over me. In asking why they wouldn’t do bloodwork even though I had no medical record of last time he had bloodwork. I was told it wasn’t necessary. I was told they don’t do annual bloodwork and other vet practices do this for the money. I even advised about my previous foster dog who also had a neuro disorder, that I took for a routine vet visit (different practice) and had bloodwork done. He had a high infection in his blood showed but no sign of being ill. If bloodwork wasn’t done, we may have found out about this infection too late. My foster dog is very friendly but scared. I felt rushed and that she just wanted to be done with him out of lack of patience and didn’t want to deal with a neuro dog. She only offered to test him for heartworm…no other bloodwork. I declined in knowing I needed to search for a better vet and one that would also give him better care.

Amazing group of people who care about you and the furry babies! Sadie’s concerned face when she hears doctor 😹😂 Airplane Ears

Dr mcPartland and her crew are stellar. Been going there for 20+ years and I’ve always been treated so kindly and seen as quickly as possible. Dr mcPartland always tells it like it is with compassion and love. When our dog Jimmy had seizures, we brought him to her and she recommended the safest course of action for his age of 15. We were in complete agreement. Aging pets are tough, but having Dr mcPartland and her crew to go to makes it so much easier to deal with. Thank you to everyone there.