Northwest PA Pet Emergency Center

Due to the plethora of negative reviews here, I was very hesitant to take my cat. The other two options within a reasonable distance were at capacity or were not open. I called and spoke with someone who was honest with me that there may be a wait, especially if I arrived during shift change, but they would get him in. It took several hours of observing my cat to decide to make the 1.5 hour trip. I called when I left and they quoted a wait of maybe an hour if they didn't get busy in the meantime. I arrived and was the only car in the lot. They had me fill out paperwork and answer questions and took him in about 15 or 20 minutes after our arrival. When I left home, I thought we were at death's door, but by the time we got to the hospital his behavior had improved a bit. I expressed this and the doctor was understanding and agreed that if I didn't want to do anything I could just take him home. I did end up authorizing some blood work. She also gave me a choice of a couple quick, supportive treatments/injections that I decided against. No one gave me any trouble about those decisions. I had to pay before services were rendered and the price was steep, but if you're demanding a doctor's time at 4am, that's to be expected. I was honestly prepared to spend far more than I did. We were there for about 2 hours. During that time, 2 other vehicles arrived and their animals were taken in just as quickly as mine had been. Dr. Simon (I believe was her name) was very kind, honest, and compassionate, not at all pushy about anything. She was patient and answered the dozens of questions I asked. I will say I was a bit uncomfortable overall. Their policy of not letting the owner in the building creates discomfort and suspicion, though they might not realize it. It gives you an instinctive reason to ask "what don't they want me to see?" During the height of covid this may have made more sense, but as its not standard procedure anywhere else anymore, it was a bit anxiety making. I wouldn't allow a hospital to ask me to drop my sick child at a door with a stranger and not be allowed to enter the building. For a lot of us, we love our animals as our children, so this is tough. I also found that once I paid and had authorized and denied various actions, there was very little concern with efficiency. It took about 40 minutes to hear back about his blood work and then once they said he was ready for discharge, it took 45 minutes and me calling twice to get them to bring him out to me. The wait on the bloodwork is fine, especially knowing other animals that may have been more critical had entered the facility by then. However, the discharge wait made little sense, as I assumed an assistant could just place him in his carrier and bring him out. Maybe they have required paperwork, though, that the doctor has to be involved in that delays this process when they have multiple patients. Granted, that wait time would not have phased me if I'd been in the building with him. But being separated from someone you love and leaving them with strangers creates that urgency to be reunited. I'm sure I was on their last nerve by then, but no one expressed this. They were also in the midst of shift change during his discharge. My only other concern would be for cleanliness. The vestibule itself smelled a great deal, which indicates the building probably does too. I've never been in a veterinary office without a bit of odor, but this seemed excessive. I used to volunteer for my local Humane Society and this odor was worse. Obviously I couldn't see inside the facility or the exam/clinical areas. I hope they are clean and up to applicable codes. My boy seems just fine after his visit. We'll be following up with our normal doc tomorrow. Overall, my anxiety made our experience more difficult than the facility itself did and the doctor seemed great. I'll certainly update here if anything changes. I thought it was important to share my experience, though, since so many of the negative reviews here focus on price and wait times and not the actual care rendered.

posted: 03/04/2024

We had an emergency visit when our dog ingested LOTS of things he shouldn’t have. Our provider was M. Meyer she and the rest of the staff were incredible from the start. They helped us out a little in areas we weren’t sure we could afford because they cared more about the welfare of our baby. Thank you for treating our loved one like your own!

posted: 04/03/2024

Recently took my 3 year old dog to this location around 1am due to an unexpected seizure. Before arriving I let them know all the details about the situation and what transpired. When arriving I was instructed to first fill out papers before my ill dog could be treated. This protocol doesn't make any sense to me because in situations like these seconds matter and it was defiently an urgent matter. 20 minutes pass and they were finally able to do their job and take care of him... once in their care they truly don't give us any answers at all, feels as if they did the bare minimum just to receive payment. They also made us take him back and watch him in the car upon waiting on the result to come back, rather than keeping an eye on him until the results come back. Hopefully the city can put a more qualified individual in charge of this place, if not future situations like this will continue to occur.

posted: 03/03/2024

On one of the worst days we could have imagined, the staff and Dr were exceptional. If we compare it to a human ER they were very fast they brought her in did several tests and arrived at the diagnosis we were most afraid of. They euathanized her for us and gave us as much time as we wanted to say good bye. They were very compassionate and caring. We arrived at 2:40pm and left at 5:40pm, the reviews I saw complaining about how long it took I don't think were fair. We've taken my mother in law to the ER and been there 6+ hours more than once. I can't say enough good things about this place and highly recommend it in times of need. Today we got a condolence card from them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

posted: 01/25/2024

Making a review souly because theres so many negative ones. Came here with my cat who got attacked by a dog. Took about 20 minutes for him to be seen. Yes it is pricey but what do you rlly expect from a emergency service? Went in at 1am and was done at 5am. Which honestly for everything done is decent. Very happy i did not let my anxiety about the negative reviews get to me because im so happy about the job they did with my boy. Very polite staff aswell!

posted: 05/11/2024