Compassionate Care Animal Clinic

Every time I’ve see Dr. Hutson, she has always been kind, compassionate, and understanding. I appreciated the way she looked out for the best interest of the pet, avoided expressing judgement to clients when faced with difficult decisions regarding the best care and health of their pet, and extended sympathy. The vet techs are very helpful, knowledgeable, and skilled. However there’s a sad reality in having a primary vet at a one-vet clinic who has many clients, while I have one vet I trust that knows my pet. In emergencies, Dr. Hutson's team can mostly offer squeeze-ins or next-day appointments since their day is so filled; it makes room for emergencies difficult. My cat was in a dire situation of not eating for over 24 hours and Compassionate Care offered a squeeze-in next-day appointment. Her condition worsened into not going to the bathroom and vomiting from trying; I took her elsewhere. The other clinic diagnosed her with severe Kidney Disease and had some treatment options. Friday, I called Compassionate Care at their 9 AM open to speak to Dr. H about my cat's diagnosis and treatment, but she wasn’t available. I got a call at 3 PM because Dr. H had been performing surgery. The sad reality is she couldn’t take on my emergency because she was facing an emergency. There was no one else I could talk to. Dr. H offered a different solution than the other vet I saw and I do trust her knowledge. However there are some concerns. Dr. H suggested more fluids, and I asked what the dangers of giving more fluids are if my cat wasn’t urinating. What I didn’t say is I worried that my cat wasn’t absorbing the fluids she received the day before, but that’s my fault. I showed up to Compassionate without my cat to further talk, pick up fluids, and an injection. Because I wasn’t familiar with giving the injection, we decided to bring in my cat Saturday morning; she asked if we should wait to give her more fluids and I agreed. Saturday morning I showed up with her; we had to wait in the lobby since at least one of the rooms (the only room? unsure) had a client already. Despite what Dr. H said about more fluids, she gave her more but didn’t mention that until it was done. She said my cat was in severe pain and to say goodbye in 4 hours if no change. Apparently her bladder was empty, despite the 100 mL she received Thursday. It was only strange after my mother asked me why Dr. H didn’t offer pain meds to ease the suffering of her possibly last few hours. My mother had to insist that she receive pain meds; Dr. H gave her pain and anti-nausea medications that she said worked immediately and without side effects. I was relieved that this is the type she received. My cat worsened in the next few hours at home; she was lethargic, barely able to life her head, in shock, and unresponsive to her environment except when she saw me or my mom. She struggled to get up after the morning visit and her body trembled. My mother insisted we find at-home euthanasia options. We found an amazing vet that came to euthanize her. She discovered my cat had fluids in her lungs. Apparently this can happen in CKD cats by over hydration of fluids if they can’t absorb them. She may not have been over hydrated but if she was, it wasn’t mentioned and lungs in fluid weren’t caught. Mostly my concern is that pain meds were only given after insistence from my mom. Regardless, Compassionate Care did call to check in on Sandy after they saw her; Dr. H did compassionately tell me I was doing the best I could and I do appreciate her words and willingness to see Sandy, even if it may have been limited due to other emergencies and clients, or just my cat’s condition. It’s just the unavoidable reality of a one-vet clinic but her quality of care has always been great.

This is truly the most caring vet I have ever been to. After a really bad experience elsewhere , the time and sensitivity the dr and staff spent with Bindi, our maltipoo , was amazing . And the best part was not pushing unnecessary extra tests for money. We are so happy to have been referred here!❤️

Dr Hutson and all the staff at Compassionate Care are kind, professional, and knowledgeable. I called this morning, and got an appointment for more sick dog 🐕 this afternoon! They took x-ray, Drew blood, etc, and did not overcharge for anything. Sent us home with some medication and reassurance... and I know there will be a follow-up call tomorrow, because that is how they do business. Very caring! 😍

We called the vet to make an appointment because my poor dog has problems with her ears and won’t stop shaking her head. We were told we could come in at 1 o’clock this afternoon which we were very grateful for. Then they asked if we were a new client which we are And she said never mind that the next available is in four days. I would say that they should change the name of their company. Compassionate should not be in there. How do you turn a dog away? That’s in pain because we’re a first time client even though they had space. The goal was to change the vet to somebody near our home but I guess it will not be this one.

I write this review in despair, but feel morally obligated to share my experience. Tragically, on October 23, a special dog that meant the world to my family was killed after slipping out of his harness and running onto Palmetto Park Road in front of the square where this animal clinic is. I pulled up alongside his body on the side of this busy road in anguish, not knowing what to do. Through tears I decided that I was going to have to gather his remains into the back of my car and try and find somewhere to bring him as it was abundantly clear he had expired. Seemingly out of nowhere in that instant, two wonderful ladies pulled up behind me and introduced themselves as being with Compassionate Care Animal Clinic right behind us. Some kind soul had called and alerted them of the situation, and within an instant they sprung into action. One of the women was Dr Tracey Hutson, the head veterinarian, and she could not have been more helpful and sympathetic to my horrific situation. She and her associate saved me the heartache of having to gather the dog’s body and transport him physically to the clinic and didn’t even charge me for the effort later on. While in the clinic, Dr Hutson prepared the body so it would be appropriate for last viewing and consoled me as I waited for my family to arrive and come to terms with this horrific tragedy that had come upon us. She and her staff were a pillar of support to us as they offered tissues, words of encouragement, and also space for the grieving to occur. I am not the religious type, but the efforts from these people that day felt like a godsend, and we can’t thank them enough for the work that they do. “Compassionate Care” could not be a more fitting title for this establishment, and I encourage anyone who requires their services to support them. They deserve it!