Alta Vista Animal Hospital

I am absolutely in love with this animal hospital! My husband and I did our research before bringing home our new puppy and decided to go with Alta Vista. We made our very first appointment before our puppy even came home. The front desk staff was so welcoming and sweet. They helped get our file ready so we would be ready to go come appointment day.
Our very first day couldn’t have gone better. We meet our vet (Erica Tyre). To say she was amazing isn’t enough. She spent so much time with us making sure our questions got answered and we never felt rushed. When it was time to leave she made sure to tell us if we had anymore questions or concerns to give her a call or come right in.
3 visits later (puppy booster shots) I am still amazed by this place. All of our immunization went off without a hitch except this last visit (2 days ago). Our puppy seemed to have a reaction to her last vaccination. Yes, we’ve had dogs before. Yes, we know some shots may have a few side effects. No, she didn’t have a reaction the other two times. So after saying all this, i quickly call Alta Vista and left a message for Doctor Tyre to give me a call back. Not but 10 minutes later did she return my phone call. She was so incredibly helpful. She stayed in touch the entire day and even the next. She made it appoint to call the following day to see how our pup was (she was back to her puppy self again). The work and passion this doctor has for her patients goes above and beyond what i ever expected.
Thank you to Doctor Tyre and the whole Alta Vista staff. My husband and i look forward to doing business with you guys for a long time to come!

The secretaries are very nice and receive too much grief from clients because the vets are running late 1. It’s not the secretaries fault and 2. Shit happens ! Susie is one of the secretaries in emergency and she is very professional and loving towards animals, which is important in an emergency situation ! Staying calm is key which she is very good at !
The technicians and vets were very kind with my two cats, my cats were calm because she actually liked them and her job it showed.
I also get all my pets food from here and toys, our pets are family, and deserve the best service and quality

Brought one of my pups after he scared us with blood in this stool and vomiting… they were very prompt in examining him and the vet was very friendly and empathetic. Would definitely come back if needed (hopefully we don’t need it again!)

I brought my 13 year old cat in on a sunday night.
two days prior he had some crystal blockage in his urethra (apparently) said a vet from aylmer eardly hospital, so i had paid for his unblockage operation.
So two days later he clearly was not feeling good so i brought him in at the alta vista as soon as i sat down a vet technician came and greeted us to a room. She was super helpful and clearly did not mind that my cat was leaking urine on her, she even gave him a kiss (he was smelling very bad) because of bladder leakage.
She reassured me and took a sample from his pee to examine at their lab, she even gave him a litter box which was very sweet of her. When she came back she said there were no crystals found in his urine!!! which was contradicting the vet in aylmer. So we did wait a very long time for the vet to give us the results, because there were more severe emergency cases plus it was a sunday night. When the vet came she said it was most likely a bladder infection NOT CRYSTAL BLOCKAGE!!! she also was super caring for my cat and since he wasn’t drinking much at all she gave him a hydration injection, antibiotics also by injections. They also gave me 2 oral medication for muscle relaxant of his urethra and pain killers. The moment he came back from those injections he was feeling so much better it was a big relief. And they even offered to wash him. The price for all this was very reasonable considering i;m a student with a very modest budget.
I was super impressed with this place and you can tell they care for your pets and they don’t look at them like a figure amount. I am most definitely bringing my cat there from now on, no question about that.
MUST ADD: DON’T GO TO THE AYLMER EARDLY CLINIC
WORST EXPERIENCE I’VE EVER HAD

I recently had to take my dog to Alta Vista to have a complicated surgery done to repair a broken leg. I’m going to start by saying the surgical staff and the service they provided was top notch and he’s fast on the way to recovery.
What I felt could use some improvement was the «bedside manner» of their Emergency desk staff. After bringing in a dog who is visibly injured, I got no help in opening the doors, attitude when I asked a question. When we came to pick him up, while explaining what to expect in the coming the weeks, the technician kept telling us he’ll need to loose wait while he recovers.
While that might be the case for most dogs of his breed, this is not the case with our dog, and it was obvious that she hadn’t seen our dog or she would have known this was not the case, which she confirmed after she did end up seeing him.
Anyways while we had a great experience in general, could have done with a little less scolding and attitude.

Nice place, great surgeon, nice staff, one horrible vet…
I brought my dog in after vomiting/​not eating for a few days, I already had the assumption that she ate something and was blocking her system. We arrived for an emergency appointment, and knew I was getting charged for it. We waited for almost 3hrs for a vet to come check my dog out. So we walked in and spoke to the vet (her name escapes me)… Anyways, I explained the situation and my guess and I added we were here a few months ago with the same issue. So we got xrays done and it did show something was blocking her intestine. The vet insisted on surgery, despite me offering other options (last time she was put on IV fluids for 24hrs and was a-​ok), but the vet said if I did not get the surgery now, my dog would die, just bluntly said if I don’t do something now my dog was going to die. I’m no vet, but she was not taking the time to understand or offer other ways to try and help me spend less (I’m not exactly carrying thousands in my pocket but I’m prepared to help my dogs when need be). I got real mad and upset and went ahead with the surgery. Afterwards they tried to steal over 1000 $ after a «miscalculation» on their estimates for the surgery (you get a low and high, and I paid the highest). I love Alta Vista, and the surgeon was a really great man (can’t remember his name either but he was amazing), but that one vet was really a killer for it.

I have only taken one of my animals to this hospital for an emergency visit, and I will not be returning. I have rescued and raised horses, cows and dogs my entire life, and have dealt with hundred and hundreds of vets.
Although the facility is beautiful, the staff have a lot to learn.
My female Mini Dachshund had gotten spayed at my normal vet, and the day after she stopped eating, so I rushed her to Alta Vista. We were seen by a vet soon after we arrived. However, the vet that we saw was scared — that’s right, scared– of my 12 lb dog. He rushed at her face to check her teeth and gums, but did not let her smell him first, and so she got a little startled and jumped, and he started saying that she was going to bite him. I assured him that my dog was not going to bite him, he just needed to let him smell her, and he refused to check her gums. So I had to lift her lips for him!
The diagnosis: she had a stomach ache. and he sent us home. I had to take her to my regular vet the next day to get a proper diagnosis.
Then after I paid, I looked at the invoice and they double charged me for the emergency fee. So I went back right after I paid and they said the manager was not in so I needed to come back at another time to get my money refunded. It took me about 3 months and 30+ phone calls to get that money back. It was ridiculous. Every time I called, whoever I needed to talk to was not in or on the phone or blah blah blah.
It was just an overall very disappointing experience.

While I can handle the tardiness of seeing a vet because it may involve an emergency or a serious unavoidable issue, I cannot tolerate scamming at the expense of patients. I was seen 45 minutes late and my dog required a shot. Because no one was available to administer it, I was told to leave my dog and to come back when she could given the shot. I left and came back as requested, and was told I was to pay a boarding fee. Not only was my bill over $ 1000, but they tagged on a fee that was unethical considering it was their lack of staff that had my dog wait for a shot that was the very reason we booked the appointment. When I questioned the receptionist, I got a blank stare with no reason other than «company policy» to bill for it. Completely petty and poor service, unwelcome attitude overall. They showed no love for my dog and were utterly rude all round. I will take my business elsewhere– and since leaving, found a FAB vet at Greensboro who rescues dogs, shows great affection for all animals and was prompt and friendly. AVOID THIS SCAMMING VET HOSPITAL

First off, in case you missed it. Last July this became an American company. If this is where you want your pet dollars to go fine.
As for the care. What can I say. You get what you pay for. It’s probably near to the best in Ottawa for Fido and Fluffy. Plus they have a better «Emerg» and Hospital for closed hours than humans in Ottawa do. NOTE that the clinic is NOT walk in or you are charged emerg fees. Even for a hang nail!
The Vets are awesome… but somehow that awesomeness just doesn’t trickle down.
Sloppy billing, zero payment plans unless they decide ok. Apparently there is a fluid policy on this. ???
Beyond the vets, they fail at every turn now. Dr James Hutchison must be just rolling to see how his family business has turned into a money maker rather than the original vision I remember.
Today I had the most rude response when I called to apologize for not making my Saturday payment and that we would be in today (Tuesday after a long weekend). His name is Mark. I dont like Mark any more. Further to that he does not know his job nor Canadian law.
So be very very careful and check your invoices as things magically appear. We’ve had 2 now. I CANNOT stress this more.
Update: Called today (August 8^th) to inform «Mark» that no more effort will be made to pay this off earlier, but will be paid in full when the date arrives. And its a meagre amount at this point so they will be receiving it in nickles weekly. AVAH and my vet Dr Rogers can thank Mark for that.
Again I was cut off at every sentence, he was snide and laughing through the conversation. Very patronizing and mocking. How is this in any way a professional demeanour?
If you want just as decent general pet care at a cheaper and less harassing staff, I would suggest going elsewhere.

While trying to find a vet for my cats in Hawaii I realized that so far I have been incredibly biased thanks to Alta Vista (from the time I lived in Ottawa). If only I could transplant their staff to Hawaii…
First off, I have no idea in terms of the cost of procedures/​exams/​surgeries. I can honestly say that I never really compared costs. However, even if this place is 3x more expensive than another vet, I would have kept going here. Why? Because it is much more like a human hospital rather than some dingy, fly-​by-​night affair with a doctor who you really just have to wonder about (you know, the ones where you feel like you actually have a better clue than they do).
Alta Vista has a 24 hour ER that is actually staffed (with 8 ER vets at that) so you will have a doctor and numerous techs checking in on post-​op, overnight, or ICU type of situations. Beyond this, they have specialists available at the hospital, board certified in areas such as dentistry, cardiology, ophthalmology… And the range of tests they can do is quite humbling when I compare that to what my own doctor does for me. Depressingly so, perhaps.
My parents also took all their pets there (and are continuing to do so with their dog, to this day). Even when the worst happens, that moment you when you realize that a beloved pet simply won’t make it and so you choose to do what you simply can never prepare for, the staff of this hospital were there, ready to comfort yet to give you enough space to take in the loss. They will offer grief counseling information, help to arrange burial preparations, etc.
I have simply not been able to find anything that comes close to this place. Every time I go to a new vet when I move, it is as if you had found a modern medical facility and are then forced to go backwards to some pre-​historic medical era in veterinary medicine.
I know some people just see a pet as a pet, nothing more. That is to be expected. Perhaps some people are ok with going to any vet. But if you are the type of person who sees a cat or dog or reptile or whatever creature you share your life with as a true family member, you owe it to yourself to give that member as much case as you would to a parent, a sibling or another loved one and take them to a clinic where the quality of medical care matches that of a human hospital.
Oh and FYI, get pet insurance if you can, of course. $ 25/​month vs having the money to do insanely expensive surgeries is well worth it if you really love your family.