Chambers Nicholas Dvm - Van Crest Animal Hospital

We found a cat in our yard a year ago and after deciding to keep him, we took him to Van Crest to get him checked out. We were given a quote for all the shots, exams, micro-chip, treating ear mites and an ear infection, pulling out 4 teeth and cleaning the rest. The amount of the bill was a shock initially...who is ready to spend $700 on a pet you've had for just a couple of days?...but he had already stolen our hearts and Van Crest offers Care Credit payments plans, which made it possible for us to afford giving him the treatment he needed. When we went to pick him up, we were told that 2 more teeth had to be pulled out because they were in too bad of a shape. However, they were nice enough to work with us and keep everything within the initial quote. We REALLY appreciated that! A couple of weeks after the treatment, our new little baby was a TOTALLY different cat! He was happy, didn't have a stinky breath...and started to actually play with all the toys we had bought him (although he seems to be 3-4 years old)! We were thrilled!
We have not had any problems with him until a year later...and he is actually hospitalized right now. He stopped eating and drinking 2 days ago and started vomiting and having diarrhea. We trust that he will be well taken care of and pray that we can pick him up tomorrow in a much better shape than he was when we left him there.
I don't think Van Crest is over priced and I do believe that they really care about the animals they treat! I would recommend them.
Oh...ad we met an owne of a German shepard...he has been bringing himt o Van Crest since she was 6 weeks old...not she is 12 years old! So, they must've been doing something right to have him come back for 12 years!!!

Posted 08/24/09 | Report Abuse

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Prior to realizing how Van Crest treats boarded animals, we had boarded our dog there several times. Upon picking her up from Van Crest the last time, she was returned to us in a sickening condition. She completely reeked of urine and had a film covering her coat. Her white paws where also stained a yellow tint. After realizing that her condition could only have been the result of having spent days in her own urine, we contacted the owner/vet to get some answers. He told us that, while he isnt there over the weekends, the technicians told him that our dog had wet her cage overnight and that they normally bathe the dogs prior to sending them home (probably to hid how the dogs are treated). The condition our dog was in was the result of having spent NUMEROUS days in urine. One accident could not have left her in such a condition. Although we were refunded our money, we are deeply saddened that we made our innocent dog endure such conditions. Also, our dog was also no longer house trained when she got home we had to completely start over because she would just wet inside. Im guessing this is because she wasnt taken out when she was left with Van Crest and got used to peeing when and wherever she could. Please do not go to Van Crest animals should NEVER be treated this way.

Posted 05/29/09 | Report Abuse

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I have never had a positive experience dealing with Van Crest Animal Hospital. They have a very high employment turnover because they don't know how to treat their employees with respect. Most importantly, they don't know how to treat their patients. In most emergency cases, the female doctor pushes euthanasia because she doesn't know how to properly treat the patient or because she assumes the client doesn't have the money to pay for even mediocre care. The only thing this husband/wife veterinarian duo values is money and not the well being of the animals their clients entrust them with. I have witnessed first hand uncertified veterinary assistants euthanizing animals and administering rabies vaccines, which is clearly ILLEGAL. Please, heed my advice and do not consider this hospital for any form of animal treatment if you truly care for your furry loved one.

Posted 03/13/09 | Report Abuse

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I think that Dr.Vancrest and his wife are awesome people. They are wonderful with all animals,that i have seen. I recently had to have surgery on my shitzu and they treated my baby and me very good. I wouldn't trust anyone else with my animals.They don't sell you anything you don't need. They are not pushy, everyone in the office are very kind to their clients.They don't mistreat anyone, and they are very understanding Doctor's. I would highly recommend them. They are a awesome crew.

Posted 11/12/08 | Report Abuse

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Please! If you love your animals NEVER STEP INSIDE of Van Crest Animal Clinic. They jeopardized two of my animals' health. My cat of two years almost died because of her visits at Van Crest. My cat was not eating for 6 days so I took her to Van Crest. After Dr. Chambers did everything else under the sun first- he finally took an x-ray of my cat. He only seemed to see a small string in her stomach. I ended up having to rush her to Emergency Care because she was so lethargic and these vets were much more knowledgeable than Dr. Chambers. They had to remove an entire hairball out of her stomach that was blocking anything she tried to put down! (My cat survived b/c I took her somewhere else!) A dog I only had for 3 months was treated for heartworms at Van Crest. ( I should have known to never go back!) They rushed the treatment to get the $$$ in 3 weeks According to other vets and research, they should have waited 5 weeks between the initial shots and the oral (second) treatment. I was not offered any other options of how my dog could be treated for heartworms. I was not explained much about the treatment, except for being handed a sheet of paper with information on heartworm disease- not the treatment itself. I see these vets as extremely greedy. They are also hard to get in touch with. Dr. Chambers was out of town during my cats illness and I could not reach him, therefore I had to rush her to emergency care-which was in her best interest anyway. I had trouble getting in touch with him also when my dog was throwing up clear, yellow, and white mucus. They do not care about the animals or the owners. All they care about it getting as much $$$ as they can from you. I switched vets after my dog started to breathe really hard in his belly after the second treatment...my dog just died tonight. I would not recommend these vets to anyone. Please as I said before; if you love your animals try someone else in town! If you want any more information about these stories, what happened, and Dr. Chambers feel free to comment!

Posted 10/02/08 | Report Abuse

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This Vet's office is very decent for the basics: getting shots, getting a pet fixed, deworming, etc. The pricing is very reasonable, but if there is anything seriously wrong with your pet, I would recommend a different vet.

I had a kitten who had FIP. This vet coulnd't figure out what was wrong with him, charged me 350 dollars to give him saline overnight, and then refused to put him to sleep when he was paralyzed. I had to take him to a different vet who diagnosed him in about five minutes, and confirmed that he needed to be put to sleep.

So, if you need a rabies shot, you're good to go! But, if there's anything seriously wrong with your pet, I would suggest against it.

Posted 08/28/08 | Report Abuse

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My husband and I always took our cats to the Cat Clinic, which is extremely expensive. When we got a dog, we had to get her checked out because of a suspicious bald spot on her leg and such. We took her to Van Crest, because it was the highest we could afford at the time. They were very knowledgable, and answered all my questions without being bothered by it. And I tend to ask alot of questions.

Since then, I took my male cat to get neutered, and yet again, they helped me understand everything I needed to do, and did a wonderful job. Now I am taking our puppy there there get neutered, and also to get her paw and tail checked out.

I highly recommend Van Crest to anyone, because they have proved to me that you are able to get wonderful care for a decent price.

Posted 05/03/08 | Report Abuse

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The worst clinic i have ever been to. The girls that work for him are very sweet and knowledgable, however both vets are less then satasfactory. Too many "incedents" have occured to my pets and pets of others there. His surgery status is unclean to say the least - and the attitudes of both he and his wife are foul and snobby when in reality they do not have the skill to be so. I would not reccomend this clinic to anyone who truly cares for their animals, for their well being is not what's at heart - but the money you pay them is.

Posted 09/13/07 | Report Abuse

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Husband and Wife DVM tandem. Friendly staff, small quaint office, major downfall was Dr.'s inablility to read a slide and lack of surgical experience.

PROS:
CONS: Does not let you tour the facility. Inability to provide itemized receipts.

Posted 09/22/05 | Report Abuse

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