U. of I. Small Animal Clinic

I had an extremely disappointing and heartbreaking experience. Before they even saw my pet, they charged $200 just for walking through the door. Despite paying upfront, I was left waiting from 9 PM until 4 AM with no updates or communication about my pet’s condition. The lack of urgency and compassion during such a stressful time was devastating. When I was finally able to speak with the vet after hours of waiting and crying, she casually asked, “Sooo what do you think is going on?” This was after I had already explained everything multiple times and spent hours waiting for answers. It felt dismissive and unprofessional. We ended up taking our cat to Good Friends where they took our cat immediately, reassured us, and saved our cats life. I would recommend skipping this place and going somewhere where they actually care about your pet and not about profit.

I could not have asked for more caring and compassionate care when my dog passed. They were very informative, had a comfortable room to say goodbye to our dog (with children’s books about dealing with pet’s passing), had cozy blankets, gave us hugs and reassurance, etc. I’m very grateful that they made such a hard day a little bit easier.

They've been giving my 13 yr old dog a refill on his cushings medication for the past 2 years with no issues until today. They're requesting to see him before they'll refill his medication. He has only 4 days left of his meds. They said my dog is considered a new client since they haven't seen him in 2 years. The only openings they have for new clients is slim to nothing. I have a son with cerebral palsy who already has appts scheduled in the area where this clinic is. We live an hour away and very tight on funds considering we don't get any assistance for our disabled son and I'm out of work to care for him over some break. This lady is able to override and put him at a different time other than 12:30 and she wouldn't do it. I was told by other staff that she could do it. She didn't care about my son going without his appts nor she cared about my dog dieing without his meds. This is beyond the worst customer service I've recieved from them. We've been to U of I multiple times and been a very good client that pays their bills on time. God for bid they could move my 13 yr old dog that's dieing from cushings that I pay over $400 a month in medication a month to keep him alive. I would understand the circumstances if I was given a warning about this inconvenience coming but not a letter, email, or call was made to notify me of this ahead of time. You expect me to drop my son's appts. Put my dog over my special needs son that can't walk and delayed in many other areas. You've lost your damn mind!!! The lady that does the scheduling was very understanding and believed the tech would make this work with my schedule due to my circumstances with my son. I had no problem bringing him for a recheck but they only give you one opening option on Wednesday's. 12:30. That's it. My son has an appt from 10:30-11:30 I couldn't promise I could make it on time without getting a speeding ticket. She didn't care. She doesn't realize my son can't physically load himself up in the car etc. I just lost a dear friend to a car accident couple weeks ago and I won't dare jeopardize my life, my son's, or anyone else's so that you can make some money on that 12:30 slot. You ma'am don't get paid enough to sit here and argue with me about what's most important. You lack tremendously in kindness and understanding for those that have it much harder than you. I hope you never lose the ability to walk. Appreciate what you have because one day you maybe in my shoes.

I cannot say enough good things about the small animal clinic. My Shih Poo went into the ER with elevated liver enzymes due to pancreatitis. He had to stay up there 2 nights (I am 3 hours away so this was pretty rough) and they called multiple times a day with updates on how he was doing and kept us in the loop with price. I know that’s not always important when trying to keep your fur baby alive, but still good to know! Dr. Sharp and the student vet helping her were amazing! I don’t think my little Henry could have been in better hands. He went in a very lethargic pup (He’s 5 lol) and he was back to his energetic self when we got there to pick him up. It has been almost 2 weeks since he got discharged and they have called to check up on him. It may be routine, but I still appreciate the effort and I can tell he was very well taken care of

*This review is for the neurology department only! (I'd give zero stars if I'd have to account for the predatory pricing). First, I want to give thanks to the whole neurology department for providing great care to me and my dog Rex. Even when I didn't have the money for a MRI or a spinal tap, you made it work to were he has a great quality of life. Without you, Rex would never had a chance, and I wouldn't have the joi and love of having such a great dog within my life. I will always be grateful for that. My dogs been a patient at UofI for about 2 1/2 years now. I had him hospitalized twice for severe cluster seizures and they always treated him good for what I can tell. Rex is very difficult to work with when it comes to drawing blood and they make it work every single time. I know they treat him good cause he doesn't mind going to the neurologist at all. I once left my Midazolam on the front porch during Christmas and it froze. Rex had a seizure episode and I didn't know if I could use it. I called on Christmas night and got an answer from a doctor within 5 to 10 min. Multiple times my pharmacy didn't have Kepra on hand and I was running out, they gave me a refill through the medication dispensery within hours on the same day. The neurology department did such a great job at finding the right medication balance that he was seizure free for a year and a half. The seizure rescue protocol they formulated actually worked and broke the cluster seizures. That is pretty rare. When me and Rex go to an appointment I feel listened to. They keep great track of any minor change since the last appointment and take their time. If the UofI neurology department can't control my dogs seizures, I'm sure no one can. Thanks for all you do! *Again, this is only for the neurology department.