Companion Animal Medical Centre

Dr. Steffen has taken care of all three of our dogs. She is the most compassionate and analytical doctor I have ever encountered. She is constantly educating herself on best practices and brings her learnings to provide holistic and advanced medical care. She always goes above and beyond knowing our dogs are our whole world. She is empathetic and loving towards our dogs. We are grateful to have her in our corner as our Lakota enters her 15th year. We couldn’t ask for a better partner for our senior dog. Thank you!

posted: 10/31/2024

I had a very troubling experience with Dr. Gwendolyn Steffen and her clinic, and I want to share my story to help others make an informed decision. This was my first experience with a veterinarian, as Reese is my first dog, and it has been nothing short of disappointing. The issues began on around October 2023, when I arrived to drop off a fecal matter sample for Reese at the time Dr. Steffen had instructed. Despite it being business hours, she wasn’t there. Just as I was leaving - she arrived, she made an offhand comment, "Of course, someone showed up as soon as I left." After a lengthy conversation about music, she mentioned that the computer system was down and told me not to worry about the fees. However, when I tried to schedule another appointment later, I was informed that I had an outstanding balance with late fees and interest, which I had never been told about. Despite updating my address multiple times, I never received a bill. Things took a turn for the worse during my visit on October 23, 2024. I brought Reese in for a sick exam, and Dr. Steffen recommended sedating her, which I agreed to. The appointment was at 11:15 AM, but Reese wasn’t seen until just before 1:00 PM, leaving me waiting for over two hours without any updates. After the sedation, I was hit with a significant bill for services I never authorized, including laser and ozone treatments. When I voiced my concerns, Dr. Steffen was dismissive. It was especially alarming to see Reese leave the clinic in worse condition than when we arrived—she was walking on her back legs in a strange manner and had her tail tucked between her legs. The billing issues were compounded by Dr. Steffen's refusal to correct inaccuracies in Reese’s medical records. She falsely documented that I had requested pain management for Reese, which I never did, and added condescending comments about me being a "financial loss" to the clinic, even suggesting I was seeking free services. This was simply untrue, as I have always paid for any services rendered. When I asked for these inaccuracies to be corrected, she refused. Throughout my time dealing with this clinic, I also experienced multiple instances of microaggressions and blatant racism. The most egregious was when Dr. Steffen asked me if I had been assaulted in the face because of the size of my lips—a deeply inappropriate and offensive comment. Additionally, when she prescribed pain medication for Reese, she repeatedly emphasized that it was "canine pain medicine." I don’t understand why this would even need to be clarified at a vet’s office; it felt like another condescending assumption about my knowledge. Additionally, Dr. Steffen frequently brought up her Black boyfriend in conversations, which came across as performative rather than relevant to Reese’s care. On top of these concerns, I overheard staff talking negatively about Reese when they thought I couldn’t hear. It contributed to an overall atmosphere of unprofessionalism and disrespect. Dr. Steffen would often mention that all of my calls were recorded whenever an issue arose, but when there was a dispute about something she said, she never referenced these recordings when it turned out she was incorrect. To address these issues formally, I have submitted a complaint to the Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board. I strongly urge anyone considering this clinic to read all the one-star reviews carefully—they are consistent with my experience and paint a concerning picture. This clinic's practices fall far short of the standard of care that pet owners deserve. I hope sharing my experience helps others avoid the same issues I encountered.

posted: 10/23/2024

If I could give this practice a 0 I would. Dr. Gewndolyn Steffen heard my desperate need for help for my 8 year old pitbull who was experiencing seizures and horrible side effects from the seizure drugs and used this as an opportunity to make money off of me. During our first phone consultation she was more interested in me bringing in my 2 new kittens to establish them as patients than my dog that needed help immediately but I decided to go see her anyways bc I am willing to do whatever I can to help my pets. I paid $300 for a "holistic consultation", where I left there with no more information than I entered the building with and told me she would be emailing me all of the information I would need going forward. I also paid $350.00 for bloodwork that she never went over the results with me, and when I took them to another vets office they were unable to determine most things from it because it was a "holistic" panel that they had never seen before. They were able to determine that his Liver enyzmes were extremely elevated and since I could not get a response from her I had to pay to have them do the bloodwork again. After having to call and email several times to get any type of response from her she finally emailed me a very generic email with lists of tons of supplements, crystal therapy, foods she recommended but again nothing specific to my dog and his current situation and when I replied to her email with several questions she never bothered to email me with a response. The email subject was read this email first, but I never received anymore information after that. She would say she was going to call me to go over the bloodwork and then I would get texts from her and her 1 staff member that she would need to reschedule. That went on for about a week, everyday and then no further contact from them at all after that. I would not recommend her to anyone and I wasted $650.00 for literally nothing. Her facilty was not clean, there was dog hair everywhere to the point it was stuck all over my dogs paws and body from walking through it. She also did not mention that she has cats loose through out the place and my dog is super reactive to cats. Save your money and avoid this place at all costs.

posted: 11/20/2024

I have been blown away by Dr. Steffen’s dedication, knowledge, and care for my dog! No other vet has ever gone to the extensive lengths as she has to educate me on every step of his care, detailing each part of his blood work, and thoroughly answering all my questions about his medical conditions. In fact, she’s even called me on her weekend to discuss his medical care and setting us up for success with his special needs for our international move. You can tell she’s passionate about each furry animal she takes on as a client and will do the best she can to ensure they have quality care.

posted: 03/23/2024

Doctor Steffen has always given great care to our pets. Using traditional and holistic veterinary methods.

posted: 12/16/2024