Pets At Home Vets??

foxymum1977_2 · 20 January 2010 at 8:59PM

has anyone experienced the vets inside the pets at home shops? our local store has a vet practice running from inside the store & i just wondered if anyone has used any of thier services?
i phoned earlier for advise & a price to get our pup spayed & may use them as their price was very competitive & also included microchipping.
many thanks in advance.

samboette · 20 January 2010 at 10:02PM

Hi there

We use Companion Care (Vets in [EMAIL="P@H"]P@H[/EMAIL]) for our hammies and now our little Pup Alfie. They have been excellent in caring for our tribe. They are also one of the cheapest vets in our town. I know the vaccinaton package for Alfie includes both 8 & 12 week jabs, flea, worming, microchipping and free insurance for a month with Petplan for £45, the vet just up from us charges £32 for the first vaccination alone!!

In our case nothing is too much trouble, even operating on our 18 month old Roborovski Hamster who only weighed 25g because he had a lump which was rapidly growing. You can imagine how fiddly that was but they did it and happily he is still with us going strong!!

I'd personally recommend them without a doubt!! I have every faith in them at our branch!!

Apricot · 20 January 2010 at 10:10PM

I use Companion Care inside PAH as well(in Cardiff(. I have found their services to be great. Allowed me to take Missy for a free consultation when she ran away and was covered with oil. They are always nice & give very good advice (I have even phoned them & had a vet ring me back with advice).

Same as Samboette, I would recommend them without a doubt.

foxymum1977_2 · 20 January 2010 at 10:22PM

thankyou both so much, i see they are called Companion Care then! looks like we will be taking her there for het spaying in the next few weeks then!

Guinea_2 · 20 January 2010 at 10:43PM

I have used Companion Care since they opened in our local Pets at Home store. I believe it's a franchise and our one has been sold to different vets a few times, although most of the vets have been lovely and helpful. I was put off of it at one time as the vet there was HORRIBLE and looked at everyone as if what had happened was always the owner's fault but he has now left and the vets are very nice and helpful. We've got one of our dogs booked in for Monday to be spayed. We had the older one done about 18 months ago. It's also very convenient as they open on Sundays with the normal shop hours.
Hope this help....good luck!

emlou2009 · 21 January 2010 at 11:57AM

I use Companion Care and love it, compared to the other vets around here they are so much friendlier.
My older kitten was neutered at 5.5 months by a local vet, and the hassle in getting them to do it was ridiculous. I had to take him for 1 check up to see if he was suitable with the nurse, and then I booked the op for the next day, but the vet got the receptionist to call me back and say he wanted to see him himself as he wasnt quite 6 months. So I had to take him in the next day for the vet to grope him, having starved him since 8pm the night before, for the vet to say I had to take him the next day cos he'd cancelled the appointment, and then say that cos I hadnt had his jabs done yet (indoor cat) he wasnt happy to have him in his care so wanted me to shell out for his jabs first! I declined and gave him an earful, and had to take my poor stressed kitten back the next day for the deed. All because he was 2 weeks under 6 months :rolleyes: I dropped him off at 8am and picked him up at 6pm, he was very disorientated and wobbly when I picked him up, and very distressed, chewing at the wound, so I had to put a collar on him which further stressed him. I dont think they had given him the correct pain relief, or had done the op quite late in the day despite me dropping him off at 8am, as I have never known a male cat to be so distressed after being neutered.

When my second kitten started spraying at 4.5 months, I rang them again for the receptionist to laugh at me and say he probably had a bladder infection so they would charge me for a consulation, and basically accuse me of not knowing the difference between weeing and spraying. I rang Companion Care and they asked me to take him in for a pre-neutering consult, saw a lovely nurse who got the vet to check there and then, and booked him in the next day. I took him the next morning at 8am and picked him up at 2pm, bright as anything if a little "drunk", I never saw him pay any attention to his wound til the next morning when he washed it. I wasnt guilt tripped into having his jabs done, and the op was £10 cheaper!

I will never go back to the first vet, and will now always use CC!

amy104 · 21 January 2010 at 4:34PM

I've used them previously but at my local one I found their knowledge of exotics like rabbits very limited - I felt like I knew more about rabbits than the vet did. I'm happy to pay a few quid more for my local vets if it means they get a more experienced vet dealing with them.

foxymum1977_2 · 21 January 2010 at 5:38PM

thankyou for your views, are they not very experienced vets then do you think? it is funny that they are quite a bit cheaper than our vets around here.

samboette · 21 January 2010 at 9:18PM

The vets there are very experienced! Have you checked out the companion care website? You can view your local companion care on there and take a look at the staff who work there, they include a little bit of background about themselves, their experience etc! Worth a look! Just because they are cheaper than most vet practices doesn't mean they do any less of of a good job!

I'd still recommend them whole heartedly! If you don't like the service they provide you can always go elsewhere but i'd give them a go!

Apricot · 21 January 2010 at 9:22PM

I would say that they are very experienced in my surgery anyway if you google "companion care + your area" their website will come up where you can look through & read about the vets qualifications & the nurses qualifications too. I looked at a lot of vets online but Companion Care's website seemed the most open to me & I popped along to my local PAH to have a nose around & asked the receptionist a few questions before I signed my cats up there as they needed to be spayed. Why not go along and have a look? Im sure they won't mind.

My nan also took her rabbit there for treatment for a bad leg & had a positive experience. Obviously each practice will differ but look & their website and pop down for a chat and if you feel positive about them then make your decision.

foreign_correspondent · 21 January 2010 at 9:23PM

I think they tend to undercut local vets on routing things like speying and neutering, but then often charge more for other treatments and ops, and I believe they do not offer an out of hours emergency service. I would rather give my local vet my trade, as they offer help 24/7, have been established for years and have a very good reputation to uphold.