Northern Suburbs Animal Emergency Centre 19 Plenty Road, Bundoora, Victoria 3083

"Bad experience ever! My dog had a blood test, and the vet promised me to send the results thru EMAIL at the same day. But unfortunately, i must wait for few days to get it emailed. I called several times to ask about the email, but all the receptionist had their own answers, everyone explained the different answers. One of them explained the hospital doesn’t do email only via phone results. It’s really not acceptable, we paid expensive for the blood test and we need to keep the results for other purposes also, maybe for the insurance? And for the last called, a male receptionist said i need to wait, no idea until when, and then he hung up the phone before we finished the conversation. Yes, i admitted I called the hospital for several times, but it’s not my fault, they are all gave the different answers. Even this time could be my last visit to this hospital, but i still hope that they need to give the better service for other pets, our love ones."

"I took my 14 year old cat in on a Sunday evening after she'd suffered a bad injury to her hind leg. The vet initially said it could probably be treated via wound management, but wanted to get second opinion from their on-call vet surgeon. The vet then came back and said they'd need to perform an emergency surgery that evening (would cost me $1800) and a second surgery would be required a few weeks later, with regular (every 2 - 3 days) dressing changes in between. All up I'd be looking at close to $4,000. I explained I was a low income single parent, and that seemed extreme, espeically for an elderly cat. She then said she could amputate the leg, that evening, it would cost me less, but that my cat would struggle with 3 legs as she was arthritic. She was pushing me to do the full surgical plan. I asked again if it could be managed non-surgically. She said no. I was incredibly distressed, but even in my shock and distress my instinct was that it was a) far too expensive, and b) the wrong treatment. I asked that they give my cat pain killer, antibiotics etc, and dress the wound, then I took my cat home for the night. First thing following morning I took her to my usual vet. He said that surgery would have been completely ineffectual, and would have caused my cat even more pain. She is healing well with just good wound management. All up the cost is less than 1/4 of what the Emergency Vet quoted me, with no surgery, nor amputation required. My advice is to seek a second opinion if you possible can."

"This clinic is famous among wildlife rescuers for being terrible with Wildlife, and I try to avoid them at all costs, but sometimes an animal needs urgent euthanasia in the middle of the night. Vets are legally obligated to euthanise, assess and provide basic first aid to wildlife free of charge. They attempted to charge me for euthanising a suffering native bird. They have also messed up with my domestic pets in the past, such as giving incorrect dosage for my cats medication. Luckily I'm quite experienced with cats and knew the correct dosage. I wonder how many owners have been given incorrect dosages and had no idea."

"It's unfortunate I have to give one star. My cat came to their clinic with weak limbs at around 7pm on a Wednesday. It took 2 hours (understand they were busy). When I did see the vet she didn't check his vitals but just put him on the floor and said he seemed ok and gave pain meds. I asked about dosage and while she gave me answers she rushed me out. On the Sunday my cat was wheezing and again limbs weak (heart failure) I went back there at 5pm (called ahead noting my cat was very ill) and was told there was a three hour wait. I told them that my cat looked like he was at the end of life and needed medical attention, I got a quick glance from her computer (woman with an American accent) and she told me three hours. I was panicked, so I left and drove to CARE in Collingwood. I got there and within 5 minutes, the triage nurses took him and started treating him. It was all very distressing and whilst he is very ill, it really goes a long way to be personable and ask questions and not just resort to the wait time. I understand they are busy, tired and are dealing with high stress customers, but minimal acknowledgment and not even calling a nurse to observe him for triage was poor and traumatic. Improve your triage system and hire a team who can show care."

"Twice this month I've needed urgent vet care for my aged pets. The first patient was my 15 year old Labrador who, on a Sunday evening, suddenly experienced severe pain. She was carefully assessed and given pain relief after a bit of a wait. The second patient, a fortnight later on Australia Day, was my 18 year old cat who unfortunately needed to be euthanised. Dr Adrian Wong treated both. He was absolutely excellent in every way. The vet nurses too were kind and empathetic. My animals and I were treated so well throughout these distressing events and the costs were entirely reasonable."