Grand Traverse Veterinary Hospital

"My cat came in with a simple ear infection and URI. I questioned why my cat would be needing a steroid injection and rabies shot while having an infection but Dr insisted the rabies was a policy and could not wait and she felt the steroid injection would help. Well within days, my cat became severely ill with pneumonia. I attempted to call and discuss but was greeted rudely on the phone and they refused to talk to me. I took her to another vet clinic where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and heart enlargement. Apparently steroids can cause heart enlargement in cats especially with the long acting strong steroid she chose. It has compromised her immune system ( for at least a month)and she has been unable to fight the infection in spite of oral antibiotics and now has gone into heart failure. I will be euthanizing her this afternoon. Now my special needs son has lost his companion. Beware of Dr Roeters. She refused to look at a video at the appointment where I captured her respiratory infection and informed her she had been running a fever. She had an attitude that she is the vet and what you have to say doesn’t matter. Those types of Doctors are dangerous and miss things because they are too self assured."

"I loved this clinic when Dr Jane Alexandra and her husband owned it. Dr Alexandra did several extensive surgeries on my daughter and my dog with cancer and was such a skilled surgeon. Dr Jossen was also with them and kind. When Richard and Dr Marr bought the clinic we continued at the clinic. Dr Marr and Dr Dush treated a cat and a dog with good experiences during those visits. Then I brought my sick cat who had a respiratory illness and ear infection to Dr Roeders. She was condescending when I informed her that I had taken my cats temp 2 days prior and had a fever asking me how I had taken it. REALLY: did she think I did it under her tongue. (I’ve been a nurse for 35 yrs and also have had many animals) since my cat had improved when I took her in but still was very sick but fever free I wanted her to view a short video from 2 days prior when she was having audible wheezing but she would not be bothered to look, I told her the cat was not eating and gave some zofran ( which Dr Marr had prescribed for my previous cat who had chronic illness with nausea) and she did not like that. I asked about an injection for nausea then and she did not think it was necessary since she was eating some but I reminded her she was eating only after given Zofran. After I left and got her home I tried to feed her and she refused and gagged. I called the office immediately asked about the injection. Richard told me “ well Dr Roeders said you declined the injection”. Well, She lied so that trust is gone forever. On top of that, she gave a rabies vaccination during that visit although I questioned giving it while she was sick. Her reasoning was because we had given a booster vaccine at home so why shouldn’t she. Whether that was right or wrong to give that booster vaccine at home, as a Vet she should have known better and 2 wrongs don’t make a right. Also a booster vs a new rabies vaccination my cat never had is apples to oranges. She said it was their policy to have a rabies vaccine. However, she wanted to see the cat in one week so it could’ve waited till that appointment for my cats best interest/ best practice. Richard was also very rude when I cancelled the nausea injection appt with a tech 1/2 hr before appt ( a 5 min inj with a tech for an injection that should have been done at our visit) His very first words were “ your canceling this late. We had 3 cancellations on the same day yesterday. Those cancellations were for vet appts. Maybe the office should take a look as to why people are cancelling. I must say that the receptionist was a very good listener and professional when I called back to cancel my follow up vet appt. in 1week and why I was cancelling Now 1 1/2 weeks later I took my sicker cat than when she came to this vet to another clinic. They confirmed the Rabies could have waited until another week at followip. However, the worst Dr Roeders did was give a long acting steroid injection which they NEVER would have given her since it compromised her immune system causing pneumonia. That injection is still in her system and compromising her. There was absolutely no reason to give it in the first place. This vet clinic never uses this particular steroid injection because of its long action on a pet and you can’t take it back once given. The cat is still having nausea and had to be given fluids. She finally received her nausea injection and I was sent home with anti-nausea pills. She’s also on oral antibiotic that targets ear and respiratory problems along with eardrops, both of which this veterinary clinic did not do. She received an antibiotic injection from this clinic , but that one really did not target what Luna has going on. On top of it, her ear infection is as bad as or worse than when the vet clinic saw her so treatment that they gave her absolutely did nothing and in fact, the steroid inject caused the ear infection to develop into pneumonia."

"This veterinary office is great! It is definitely worth it to bring your pet here. My family first started taking our dog here when our previous vet dismissed a large under-paw infection. From the first appointment we knew that they cared about the well-being of our dog. The vets and techs here aren’t pushy and fully talk about what’s getting done and the cost, being fully transparent. They will even print out a cost-rundown before paying so you are informed. The cost of prescriptions and medications is relatively inexpensive, similar to what rural vets charge. GT Vet is also very flexible with appointment/test times and scenarios . Our dog needed to be seen due to an ear infection, but they didn’t have time for him in the schedule. We were able to drop him off and have him get seen when they had spare time. My dog gets especially anxious, so during our first few appointments they allowed us to wait in the car before going in. Overall a great group of vets and techs that actually care about both you and your dog!"

"Dr Jossens has always been wonderful and taken such good care of my dogs. I recently transferred back to GT Vet from Banfield because I knew I would much rather go without being locked into a monthly plan just to save some money with a vet that treated my dogs like “just another patient”. Dr J has always been very dedicated and caring. She is very attentive and always thoroughly explains the care she gives. When I put my 15 yr old Golden down 6 years ago, I knew without a doubt that I wouldn’t have wanted to go through that pain with any other vet! I’m very happy to be back with the GT Vet family because I know my 2 Golden girls will have the best care now!"

"I was having severe back pain that rated a 10 out of 10 on the pain scale. I called the GT vet clinic and asked if I could reschedule my dog Charlie's appointment as I was having a difficult time walking. They went on to tell me that they would still have to charge me an office fee for not calling 24 hours ahead of time. I had no idea that I would be having back pain on this day...so I was a little upset. However after trying to reschedule the appointment I told them I would be there that day at the appointment time. It was then said that they could come to my car to get Charlie...I was so relieved. The pain was that bad. Charlie was in and out of there in about 5 minuets. I sincerely appreciated their kind gesture. They take such great care of him every time he has to go and I couldn't be more happier with their service. Thank you Grand Traverse Veterinary Hospital for your kindness and caring for not only the pets but for the dog Mom's too."