NC State Equine Veterinary Service

Please be aware that unless your equine is going to die do not bring them here. This place has changed drastically since you last might have been here. Very little if any supervision of the vet students and/or vet techs. The hygiene is deplorable. There are drug resistant organisims all over the place. The hospital is dirty. No one likes working there. They killed my horse last year when all she went in for was a small elective surgery. The 1st year resident didn't know how to bandage a horse correctly. It was a horrible horrible situation. They wouldn't even let me be with my horse when they were euthanizing her. She was and always will be my HEART horse. She helped me fight cancer. The vet school, especially the director of it all has absolutely no empathy. They only care about their job and protecting the university. Equine come last on their list. You have better choices than that death trap.
1 7 years ago (28-03-2018)

My 32 yo old quarter horse needed a bladder stone removed. The care was excellent. The doctors called and texted me numerous times per day during his stay....which was a bit extended as I had to be out of town for a few days. The technicians and staff loved on my old boy and he knew it! It has been nearly five months since that time and I can only say it was a relief to know that such caring people were taking care of my family member! I was welcomed to come visit as much as possible during his recovery. His stall was kept impeccable. He was a bit of a picky eater and the barn crew had many choices trying to encourage his appetite.
5 7 years ago (20-09-2017)

I STRONGLY URGE anyone considering bringing their pet to NC State Veterinary hospital to reconsider. My experience with them was beyond horrific and my only desire is prevent others from having to go through a similar affair. I will always regret that the last few hours of my horse's life were spent in their care. My horse was brought to them due to colic. I was displeased with the the staff and felt they did not fully explain what they were doing for him and I had to continually ask for explanations as to what steps they were taking and received curt responses. Then once he had been placed in a stall and administered drugs the vets told me I had to leave the facility despite his critical and concerning condition. Calls were made to request that I be able to stay and see my horse and denied. I was told I could wait in the lobby which was far removed from where my horse was and was not able to see him. I informed the staff that I would be in my car in the parking lot. I stayed there the entire night and did not receive any information on my horse and was not able to see him. Around 5 A.M multiple calls were made to check his condition and answered by a vet tech who did not provide any information (she refused to even tell us if he was in stable condition or not), yet said the vet would return my call shortly. AN HOUR LATER- the vet returned my call and told me that they did not have any definitive information but said that she would not be able to keep me updated on his condition nor could I see him until more tests were performed. I understood that further testing would take awhile and decided to return to my apartment which was a half hour away to change since she impressed upon me that it would be long before I could see my horse. A half hour later when I arrived at my apartment I got the call that they have decided that he was not going to survive and said I could now see him. Infuriated that they did not communicate properly I rushed back to the hospital. When I was approximately 15 minutes away the vet called asking how far away I was- at this point I asked if he was in distress and she told me he was not (which I truly believe to be a lie due to the condition he was in when I arrived). She called again when I was 8 minuets away and said to prepare myself for how he would look again failing to provide relevant information about his condition. When I got to the hospital I could not believe the state my horse was in. His stomach was swollen to horrific proportions, he had been drenched in ethanol, which they told me was because he developed a fever that I was not informed about until then. His eyes seemed engorged and he was shaking violently and his breathing was so labored I was disgusted. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR ME NOT BEING ALLOWED TO SEE MY HORSE UNTIL HE WAS IN THIS CONDITION NOR ANY EXCUSE FOR THE VETS TO BE SO INCOMPETENT AT COMMUNICATING MY HORSE'S CONDITION THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. When I arrived they said he had had a fever and they had performed an ultrasound and had seen fluid which lead them to believe his intestine had ruptured. NONE OF THE INFORMATION I RECEIVED WHEN I GOT TO THE FACILITY WAS GIVEN TO ME BEFOREHAND. They waited until he was in the most deplorable condition to allow me in and to update me. When I got there I rushed to my horse to pet him and instead of allowing me to comfort my horse the vet immediately began to harass me about needing to sign for and perform his euthanization. Instead of allowing me proper time to privately say goodbye to my horse, a crowd of about three people hovered around either in his stall or in the doorway. With no prior information they immediately asked me to decide what to do with his remains without being given options to think about beforehand. I feel his euthanization was rushed and that I was deprived of the opportunity to say goodbye properly to my beloved horse. As we have had to hospitalize this horse before elsewhere we know what good care and good communication look like, I confidently feel both things were absent from NC State Veterinary hospital.
1 7 years ago (29-08-2017)

The cancer diagnosis team's work was perfect. Fine Oncology Department. They saved my dog's life by detecting the true problem with their state of the art diagnostic equipment. The courteous, kind and caring environment keeps your animal calmer than your local vet! I highly recommend this fine institution. The fees were fair and reasonable.
5 8 years ago (01-11-2016)

The hospital is world class in every way, staff, hospital and equipment. I have been using them since 2006 with nothing remotely approaching a bad experience. Three times they have literally reached into the grave to restore a dog to me. Expensive in money terms but priceless in terms of tummy rubs and sloppy kisses. You will not go wrong here
5 8 years ago (09-01-2017)