Ridgeview Veterinary Clinic 295 Bergman Road, Derry, PA 15627

"Everyone is so nice I had to put my 14yr old long haired chihuahua down and they were amazing I refer them to everyone I know I won't take my dogs no where else...the staff and Vet are very nice and caring about the animal's"

"I’ve been waiting to write this when I was no longer in the height of my emotions. Enough time has passed for me to reflect on it, and it’s necessary to share my experience so that others can avoid this practice. My chinchilla showed signs of a respiratory infection on a Sunday, which is an exotic pet owner’s worst nightmare because chins are sensitive and there aren’t many emergency places available for small/exotic pets let alone on a Sunday. I stabilized her overnight and made a list of places to call Monday morning in case her regular vet couldn’t get her in right away. I contacted Ridgeview that Monday and asked if they have an exotics vet who could see a chinchilla, and if they had anything available that day, which they did. I was relieved to have somewhere to take her so soon. When we arrived, I was immediately met with the filthiest office I’ve ever stepped foot in—I’ve volunteered in the animal field for years and with multiple clinics throughout my lifetime of pet ownership, so I’m very forgiving of the wear & tear that’s typical of a clinic—but this was excessive. That should’ve been my first warning sign to turn around and take my chances waiting for an appointment with her regular vet, but again I try to be understanding that an animal clinic will be “dirty” by normal standards. My appointment was at 2:15 and I arrived at 2, but I wasn’t called back until almost 3. Another thing I’d usually overlook, but with the rest of my experience it’s another point of frustration. When I was finally called into an exam room, the tech was extremely unfriendly/disinterested as I said hello and apologized if I couldn’t hear her calling us from the next room over. She never smiled, greeted me, my chinchilla, or made any attempt whatsoever to interact with us which is unusual among most animal care techs I know. She took a piece of scratch notebook paper and scribbled down a couple of my chin’s symptoms and then said they would be in. Meanwhile, people were coming and going out of the double doors in my exam room between the front & back offices, which I expressed some concern about in the moment because my chin is very fast and a master escape artist so I was worried that she would bolt into the waiting room full of dogs if people would be entering/exiting the room as a throughway during her exam. It turned out this never needed to be a concern once the vet did arrive, as she spent maybe one minute max with us and all of 10 seconds “evaluating” my chinchilla. They never took her weight, asked any questions about her health history or behaviors, or even remotely established a general evaluation for her health despite charging me for an eval. The vet (I don’t know her name as she never introduced herself or made any remarks aside from holding my chinchilla up to the light and saying “it looks like a respiratory infection”) was about as personable as the accompanying tech, which is to say they were both eager to get us out of there as fast as possible. The vet plainly said that my chinchilla would likely die from this and not to get my hopes up. (Several weeks later following an appointment with her regular vet, I’m happy to report my chinchilla is symptom free and back to normal.) The vet also recommended that I “give her her favorite fruit” during this time, which is insane because every reputable source on chinchillas is very clear that they can’t eat fruit/vegetables due to their sensitive digestive systems. My character limit is almost up here, but I was sent home with nothing more than an antibiotic (without taking her weight), while her regular vet gave me multiple different meds. And when I asked how her lungs sounded, they said “Wheezy.” (After rushing her to her regular vet only 2 hours later, he actually said “her lungs and heart sound strong, healthy, and normal.”) I was handed a bill and then left on my own to exit the room, attempting to open the door with a giant pet carrier with both hands full of her antibiotics and the bill. AVOID this practice. This is the only bad vet experience I’ve ever had."

"We just moved to the neighborhood. Our dog is very shy. They got on the floor and petted her to make her feel more relaxed. Both cat and dog got thorough exams and treated well ."

"I agree with the poor ratings related to professional conduct. The owners Holly and the vet are not compassionate toward large animals. Holly is hot tempered and cuts customers off by talking loudly over them. Poor veterinary skills resulted in death of my dog. Do not recommend for any animals."

"My cat was scheduled for a surgery through this clinic. Two weeks later (two days before the surgery), they called and cancelled because they didn't like how we expressed our disappointment towards our previous vet. Our previous vet kept telling us that our cat was getting better but after 7 months they admitted that there was no change in her health. Obviously, I was upset. I decided to drive my cat 800 miles to this vet because they're my family vet. We scheduled an appointment, we expressed our concern about our previous vets mismanagement and TWO DAYS before the surgery these guys cancelled my cat's appointment. Unprofessional. If they had an issue how we showed our frustration towards our last vet, they should have cancelled on us the day after we scheduled the appointment. Instead, they let us believe for TWO WEEKS that my cat was going to get the medical help she needed. If they cancelled the day after we scheduled the appointment, I could have found a different vet without having to put my cat through multiple more weeks of discomfort. Clearly not everyone in this office cares about the job they applied for."