Emergency Animal Hospital – South

My spaniel, Burt, got a stick lodged in his upper gum this afternoon. I could tell he was in pain and very uncomfortable. Despite our best attempts to pull it out ourselves, he needed medical attention, and our normal vet was closed.
I called the Emergency Animal Hospital South, and the receptionist was lovely. We walked straight to the counter, and they treated him immediately. The nurse even came out with the stick to show us what got stuck in there and chatted with us briefly about the procedure. They took care of this minor emergency very quickly and didn’t even charge us!

Thankfully this place is not the only game in town and unfortunately they treat this job as a game.
My first clue should have been when turning in the initial paperwork, on the date I wrote «Groundhogs Day ’16.» The receptionist Jennifer Hill immediately says «I hate that movie and can’t stand Bill Murray!» My wife and I exchanged a look and just kept silent, everyone is entitled to their opinion — even if that opinion goes against conventional wisdom.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve charged about a grand in vet bills for the wifes’ male cat Zephyr. However the last couple of days he had to stay at the overnight ER clinic. The wife said that she’d put that on one of her cards the night before last. Wednesday (the day after Groundhogs Day ’16) morning we went in to get him prior to bringing him back to the vet and the receptionist told her that she was owed a refund due to being charged for a cone that he did not need.
Unfortunately Wednesday my wife was going to have to work late so she would not be able to come with me as Zephyr needed to be picked up from the vet about 5:30pm and then dropped back off at this overnight ER clinic for one more stay. She gave me her card and there was no issue at our vets office. However when trying to use her card at the ER clinic I was told I could not use my wife’s card and then Jennifer Hill (the receptionist) accused me of stealing my wife’s cc card and threatened to tear it up. I did reach over the counter and took it out of her hands so that my wife wouldn’t be upset at her card being cut apart (seeing as it is on record as her having used it the night for Zephyr’s stay as well as a refund the following morning). I reminded her of that and she then called me an asshole, I busted out my phone, put it on video and actually asked her to repeat that, to my surprise she did and I have that on video. I’m not sure what happened to her between checking in and leaving but accusing me of theft and then threatening to cut my wife’s card is way beyond acceptable. Let alone there were several people in the waiting area who witnessed this. So I wound up having to put that charge on one of my cards.
The following morning (Thursday) when I went and picked Zephyr up she was not only non apologetic but stoic, slamming his paperwork down on the counter in front of me; this was in front of a couple that were there to get their dog.
Now it’s Friday and suddenly the cat is worse and we are having to bring him back into our regular vet. I fear the worst and hope that due to her (Jenifer the receptionist) being in a bad mood (or possibly just a foul person in general), and not liking me due to my sense of humor, that she did not do something malicious to Zephyr; however given my experience at this horrible clinic I can not count that out as a possibility. If there is anything different in Zephyr’s blood-​work from Tuesday I will be filing a civil suit against this clinic.
Bring your animals ANYWHERE else but here, for the sake of your animals and humanity itself.
As a couple of other reviewers pointed out as for staying away from the «blonde» vet, she stopped coloring her hair and is letting the grey grow out: «Dr.» Jenifer Means Floyd, she certainly lives up to her middle-​name. She is whom is supposed to handle complaints. She called up, I hit record (in Texas only one party needs to know the conversation is being recorded) and had her on speaker — my wife couldn’t believe how rude she was being. I then went and looked her up on FaceCrack — at least she can be honest about being a horrible mother.

Quick trip with Oscar for hurt foot but what turned out to be a very broken toenail. Everyone was very nice. We were in and out in 20 – 25 minutes. They emailed me the detailed report about 30 minutes after we left. Cost was about $ 105. I’m very satisfied and will be back again if needed.

Beware of Dr. Tawney a horrible vet who does not have a heart in my opinion. My cat died here last week and if she had listened to my concerns he might still be alive today. I would never ever take my pet here ever again. I am sure the other doctors are very good and Dr. Johnson seems compassionate and fair but I pity anyone with a pet emergency that ends up with Dr. Tawney. Not only did my cat not have to die but the pain was compounded by this cold, rude and unfeeling vet.

I’ve been meaning to write this review for a while. To begin, this review is of the service I received from their front of house/​reception staff. I never saw a vet, so I can’t comment on that.
My cat was sick on a Sunday so I went to the first emergency vet I could find, EAH-​South. I was in tears and fearing for what was wrong with my kitten, and the lady at reception could have given a care less. From beginning to end she was a nightmare. She wasn’t comforting, she was almost annoyed by my tears and just put the paperwork on the desk with few words. «$ 80 fee to be seen.» *faces back to the computer* She NEVER ONCE looked at my cat, she never even opened his carrier to address his situation or anything. You can’t even LOOK at him? After over an hour of waiting I asked about my status to be seen and she explained that they were busy and since my cat seemed to be fine I would be waiting longer. Shouldn’t you have told me it would be a 2 hour wait when I got there? No, because she didn’t care. Oh and my cat seems to be fine? How would you know, you haven’t looked at him. Nobody checked his breathing, nobody took his pulse. The way she said it too still makes my skin crawl. I stepped outside, called another emergency vet and went there instead. She single handedly ruined their business from me. The lady from the other place was so assuring just over the phone!
Guess what reception, he had ingested a plant that had fallen off a shelf. I care about my animals, you should at least pretend like you do too. Her blatantly annoyed attitude, lack of communication and cold demeanor killed any business I would ever consider giving them.
This woman obviously didn’t get into this business for a love of animals. I will absolutely tell friends with pets in the area my negative experience with their reception and I hope since then they’ve found a staff who CARES.

Super overpriced. A $ 4 bag of fluid was like $ 40. My dog was with them overnight for a week. He never improved. Even when it was clear he was dying they kept saying to keep bringing him back and keep trying. So in my opinion they’re not honest and after the money.
The bill was ridiculous. Also they make you wait for forever and a freezing cold room. I would come to drop him off and it would take an hour or two to do that.
There was one doctor I liked and trusted but the rest of them forget it. It was more like sales.
He died. They didn’t help him.

Worst «care» ever. I just spent +1.5 hours waiting to see someone to look at my dogs ear. He SCREAMS out in pain & I needed a vet to prescribe something to soothe his irritation & pain. The front desk & waiting area was mobbed & the customer service was atrocious. The entire place was cleared out before I was lead to a disgusting smelly room. A vet tech (may be. She didnt introduce herself & I dont know what her job was other than to take my dogs temp) My husband came to see the progress and I let him know how long I had been waiting. He had checked into the front desk & the receptionist said it might be another hour before we were seen– but she was snotty & not helpful & never gave me a clue how much longer they’d be. I left more miserable than when we arrived. We never saw a nurse or vet. Epic fail!!! Do NOT take your furry kid there.

We spent Saturday night here and it was the hardest night of our lives. Despite that, we felt we received the best care and service possible.
We brought our beloved Butterscotch here for a very sudden illness. When we called ahead and asked about the wait, we were told it was an hour. I carried her in there and someone immediately asked what was going on with her. While we had hope that her condition would not be as serious as it was, the experienced staff was able to tell she was critical and immediately ushered her in. They were able to make a very difficult and fast diagnosis, which required emergency surgery. Dr. Poulsen very calmly and sincerely explained our options and answered all of our questions. Even in our extreme grief, he carefully and compassionately went line by line through the charges, making sure we were comfortable with each step. I also can’t explain it, but he was able to go through everything in a way that showed he was determined to save her but also did not give us false hope.
The staff was extremely sweet and professional throughout our experience. We lost her that night, but they kept us updated the whole time. I believe it was Wes who called us several times while she was in surgery, updating us on her condition and asking for our final wishes. Dr. Poulsen personally also called us and his words helped us tremendously.
Everyone went above and beyond for us in our terrible time of grief. We had requested to keep her collar, and when we went to retrieve it, they had also created a clay keepsake for us with her paw-​print. It was so incredibly kind.
Most of the negative comments here don’t make sense. This is an ER. There will usually be a wait. They are overworked and busy. It is expensive, and as a business they have to collect to keep the hospital running for more injured pets. But the thing is, we understand that experience. We brought Butterscotch here last winter when she tore out her own stitches from her leg. We actually left because we were irritated at the long wait and didn’t think we were getting the best service. But looking back, one of the staff basically saw her for free because he came and checked her out in the waiting room since we were so worried. He confirmed that her leg did not need attention before the morning. Now knowing how they treat the most critical of cases, we wish we would have been more understanding.

Very frustrating. Their first priority is getting paid. You must wait as long as they choose to get a bill. You gcan’t just authorize a charge on a credit card, you MUST wait for an indefinite time until they have one of the vets give you a bill. Not sure what they would do if you walked out, but I would be afraid to find out.

My dog ate quite a bit of dark chocolate the other day, turns out a lethal dose. When other emergency vet hospitals wouldn’t even answer questions on the phone and the ASPCA emergency line wanted to charge $ 65 to even answer a question, Emergency Animal Hospital South not only answered all my questions but also did it with calmness and kindness. Exactly what I needed in that moment.
When I arrived, they remained calm and took my dog back to treat him immediately. Although there were several other people in and out while I was there, we were treated as though we were their most important patients. We were given plenty of information in an understandable, but not talked down to manner so we felt able to make decisions in an educated fashion.
They saved my dog’s life — I can’t thank them enough!

Total lifesaver for my cat and me. We came in at 2 am when he was howling because he wasn’t peeing. The tech said he was blocked and they offered a few options. As far as «customer service» goes, I had no problems. I did have to wait, but I mean it is a hospital. To the man complaining about waiting for 15 minutes, that’s a pretty stupid complaint. You always wait in a hospital. When I went back to visit my cat before leaving, I saw why they have you waiting. There were so many animals in the back and everyone was needing attention so I get why things seem to take awhile. My cat had to come back another night and it was the same thing.
I heard the techs laughing and I thought it was nice to see that they all like being at their jobs. That didn’t bother me. I think my cat liked the energy. I will continue to use this place in case of any other emergencies.

I’m torn on this place. Being that I work in a restaurant where I manage 50+ employees, customer service is the name of the game. I completely understand there is a big difference between a restaurant and an emergency vet clinic. But I believe customer service is in all things we do. In my world, everyone is our customer. We treat everyone like they are customers. This includes employees, vendors, the gas station worker and of course customers. So here is a rundown of what I experienced here…
Our sweet and caring Sully dog has had a couple of very hard weeks. Unfortunately it did not end well and on early Monday morning we had to make the hardest decision of our lives and lay him to rest. Our only concern through all of this was getting Sully better. So when it was all said and done, roughly $ 2600 was spent and we came home with credit card debt and a broken heart.
The positives:
We were able to call and check his status as much as we wanted.
Even though this location is obviously short staffed for the amount of volume they do, both vets we talked with seemed to show genuine concern. I can’t imagine having to do what Dr. VanDyke did on a daily basis. She was strong for my Sully and that was very much appreciated!
The negatives:
The cost and the way that you feel you are being sold on something at every turn. I absolutely understand that this is a for-​profit business as that is what I do. However, it felt like «pay this or else your dog dies». Which is ultimately what happened and we still paid. Even at the very end, we were offered to do another x-​ray when it was obvious that the big guy’s life was literally minutes from ending. I just wanted his suffering to end and honestly feel that if this sales pitch didn’t happen, he wouldn’t have suffered as much as he did.
The worst part:
We had scheduled a consult with a specialist which works in the same building. But they are separate businesses and don’t share information? But they are the same business/​building with the same number? I really still don’t understand that. Anyways, after my sweet Sully was gone, I get a phone call from the specialist Monday afternoon saying «We just want to confirm our meeting with Sully»! Talk about ripping your heart out! That’s the service/​communication piece that is obviously missing from here. How hard is it to leave a note or an e-​mail or cancel the appointment yourself?
In conclusion, I can’t even fathom how hard a job like this could be. My job is hard and I don’t have to put animals to sleep! I think it comes down to being understaffed and maybe some defined roles. We absolutely appreciate the card that was sent to us today and are still trying to pick up the pieces. If it wasn’t for the phone call yesterday, I probably would have left 4 – 5 stars.

This place has been a lifesaver as most of my dogs’ emergency needs have been after-​hours or it’s hard for me to get her to the vet during normal business hours. They’re friendly and get you in as quick as possible and my first time there they didn’t charge me because it was a very minor incident (bad hangnail). I’m so thankful they are right down the street from us!

I would recommend ben white animal hospital over this place any day. These people at this place only care about the money they don’t care about the animals. Me and my daughter brought our dog in here and because I didn’t have 95 dollars they turned us away and we thought our dog was having a stroke.

Wait, did I go to the wrong hospital or something? Because these people were absolutely HORRIBLE. My puppy came in throwing up into my hand and had bloody diarrhea for hours just minutes before we arrived, and we were put into a separate waiting room for 30 minutes, forgotten about while we were in there (the receptionist told me this to my face) while there were only two other people in the entire office. Also, the receptionist COMPLAINS to my FACE about having to wipe down the room after we leave because my puppy may have Parvo. IM SORRY, BUT ISNT THAT YOUR JOB?! I apologize that my dog is sick. I’ll go to a hospital next time. .. Oh wait.
Next, we were taking back into the actual examination room where we waited close to an hour for service. All the while, my puppy is groaning and still throwing up in my hand. The entire time this is going on, I can hear the officer workers in the «Staff Only» room next door laughing and having a grand old time. I’m not sure what kind of night I decided to go on, but it certainly wasn’t one worthy of the five stars this mockery of a helpful clinic have somehow managed to receive below.
Do not go to this place under any circumstances. I had to go to another hospital to receive help for Mason. I am beyond aggravated that my dog could have died waiting for these clowns to want to do their jobs.

Amazing place with caring staff. They treated me AND my cat with so much patience I was really blown away. Clean and spacious. Thanks so much!

Very good care for my dog. All staff were very helpful. Reasonable price considering the service you get.
Lily is home and getting better every day after a very serious illness. I am so grateful they are there.

This emergency hospital has only seen me in my darkest times (once just a week after I got my pup Abby and she started peeing blood, once when we had to put down my husband’s dog of 16 years, and once when we had to put down my cat of almost-​17 years) and they’ve only ever been thoughtful, patient, and kind. Emergency clinics don’t get the wellness exams with happy pets — they get the injuries, illnesses, and end-​of-​life tears.
Their thoughtfulness in sending a bereavement card is extra appreciated.

I have used this ER location multiple times, and have been happy with their services. But this last experience is so unacceptable it shouldnt be forgiven or forgotten.
This is review is mainly regarding Dr Tawney.
We recently had to take our dog to the ER and thought the South location had always proven to be a good place to go. So we went in hopes of finding help for our baby but what we left after hours waiting to be seen and about 10 – 15 mins with the doctor, with was no answers and no treatment for our dog.
Our regular Vet got an ultrasound on our dog and from that they determined it was most likely cancer and the lining of the stomach was 4 – 5 times thicker then normal and this is why she hasnt been eating. We were devastated, and wanted a quick second opinion and because she hasnt eaten, we thought taken her to ER that they could help us, maybe give her nutrients thru IV or pain meds or some direction and possible second opinion on the ultrasound.
After about 2 hours of waiting we finally got into a room. Waiting again forever, then Doctor from hell came in with an attitude from hell.
The first thing she said as she slapped down the folder she had in her hands onto the table was, «well, i dont know what you want, after looking at these 30 pages faxed to us, I dont understand what the problem is» (paraphrasing). Not hello, would you explain what is going on, no introduction whatsoever.
She went on and continued to treat me rude, cold, no empathy, callus, and very demeaning, even after I explained to her our situation, she could care less.
She told us that she couldnt help us.
I explained this situation to the Office Manager and she stated that this doctor was known to be blunt and that it seems like we needed someone who shows more compassion. REALLLY! What dr Tawney did, goes way beyond being blunt, she was a cold hearted bitch. We are okay with a doctor being blunt, for that gives you specific treatment options without fluff. Dr Tawney was not blunt, she was extremely rude and had absolute no concern for the condition of our dog.
I can understand people having a bad day, but this is our child, if you take your child to the Dells Children Hospital and run across a doctor like this, you would be outraged and would want to punch the doctor in the face. Everyone has heard of doctors with no bedside manners, well, this isnt the case here, for she had shown absolutely no concern for our dog. If this was a child at Dells Children hospital, you would want a different doctor.
I will never use this hospital again. And I think Dr Tawney needs to find a new profession that she cares about because its obvious she isnt happy doing what she is doing now.

Wow. Gentle, understanding service from people who care about how much you love love your pet.
My very sick kitty needed to be put down on a Saturday afternoon. No one in Lakeway was available, even the mobile vet I called.
From the first call until the hand written condolence card in the mail on Tuesday, this place is nothing but professional.