Barton Heights Veterinary Hospital

Normally, I like this vet office. I had a vet tech appointment for my one dog to get booster shots. Vet Tech Appointments are supposed to be a quick appointments where a tech takes your pet back to the exam room area and gives them their boosters and then brings them right out. No exam, no consult, a quick in and out. My appointment was for 9 am. I checked in at 8:50 am and said I was going to be in my truck outside. The receptionist said she would call me when ready. 10:30 come around and I go inside to see what was holding things up. The receptionist went back to check and came out and said the vet tech was running late. She just got in. I said OK. I go back outside. 20 min later I am called to come in to the office because they were ready. I go in and sit for another 10 minutes. She came out to get my dog with a feeble, "Sorry for the delay". I said a phone call would have helped. A waste of an hour for a 5 minute process. Now, I get it, things come up. Communication is everything. A simple phone call out to me in the parking lot, letting me know there was going to be a delay, would have gone a long way to making the wait tolerable. Just for context, as I was in the parking lot, about 5 other pets arrived. From what I could tell these were full vet appointments. All but one were done and gone by the time my dog was seen.

I’m deeply heartbroken and disappointed by my experience , When my dog, who was very sick, needed urgent care, I called to seek help. I was told they were at full capacity and couldn’t assist. Despite explaining the severity of the situation, I was turned away without any guidance on alternative options. Tragically, my beloved dog passed away because she couldn’t get the care she needed. I understand that emergencies happen and facilities have limits, but there should be better protocols in place to support pet owners in critical situations—whether it’s referring them elsewhere or offering advice on what to do. She deserved better, and so do other pets and their families.

This was our first time bringing our dog there for a checkup, shots, etc. My first impression is that the front desk staff, the techs, and the doc were all pleasant and seemed to really care about the animals there. The place was clean and seemed to run in an organized, efficient manner. Sure, the total cost smacked us a little, but our girl needed to get everything done, so that's to be expected. We're really hoping that this is the vet clinic that we'll happily bring our girl to for many years.

Beware they are no longer a 24/7 emergency care clinic even though they continuously advertise as so. I have called twice now in the last two months in an emergency capacity at an off time and have been met with “yeah we have no vet on staff but good luck”. Maybe you guys should change your website and your google search so people with emergencies stop wasting their time on your “24/7 emergency vet care” which seems to only exist Monday through Friday 9-5.

My visit to Barton Heights VH was a wonderful experience! The receptionist, technicians and Dr. Bergquist were exceptional. We will be using them as our primary veterinarian. Thank you for you care, compassion and professionalism.