Univ of Penn

I was recommended UPenn Vet Behavior center by a neighbor for my two dogs who had a hard time adapting to the intercity lifestyle. This is a very expensive process and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Multiple times during the process I mentioned to take my dogs outside to see the actual behavior they display in the urban environment and not just what you see in this sterile exam room and each time the Dr glazed over it and said we could do this when they walked us out, which never happened because they left to get their prescriptions and never came back. Also the meds that they prescribed actually had a degenerative effect on my dogs and made her behavior worst than she was before. Sent multiple emails to the DR to update her on the degression of the dogs and no response. You literally pay about thousand dollars to sit in an exam room while they pummel you dog with cheap unhealthy treats under the guise they are "observing" their behavior.

Worst animal hospital experience ever. Nothing done and nothing said for over 3 hours when taken to the ER then the doctor said 4 1/2 hours later, “take them to their regular vet.” Waste of time and money.

I would give 4 stars for the amputation surgery for our cat after she was attacked by a dog but zero stars for the ER. Yes they handled the initial trauma well; however, they failed to do a proper culture of the wound which should be standard in bite cases so after all our poor cat went through, she gets a bad infection while recovering from amputation surgery because she was put on the incorrect antibiotics to begin with. Thankfully we were extremely diligent about monitoring our cat's recovery saw the signs of infection rather quickly or she might no longer be with us. The surgery department skilled vet and surgeon has to put her through surgery again debriding the infected tissue and take even more of her side where her leg was almost to the point of absurdity. So not only did they subject our cat to additional unnecessary trauma, put her at unnecessary risk but then they had the audacity to slap us with another few thousand dollar bill for the second surgery for a staggering total to save our cat. All of this could have been avoided if the ER had taken a culture of the wound upon intake. We informed the management of this lapse and their defense was that "it isn't standard protocol". Ridiculous considering they did a culture just prior to the second surgery to make sure she was on the correct antibiotic the second time around. MAKE IT STANDARD PROTOCOL upon intake. The second surgery deeply affected our cat's gait from being more "normal". While they have some good vets there and some not so great ones, they are all about squeezing an absurd amount of money from people, many of whom are at their most desperate moments regarding their pets' health. Penn should be ashamed of themselves, they are a school that has backing in the millions and they don't even offer a payment plan outside of Care Credit for eligible Philadelphia residents and their pets. Typical of a lot of what Penn does- elitist, greedy and completely out of touch with the community around them.

Our dachshund, 5 year old named Milo, sustained a spinal injury causing him to drag his back legs. After 2 weeks of vet care and conservative treatment with anti-inflammatory medication, nerve medication and pain medication he was slow to recover. We decided that he was going to need further intervention. This lead us to Penn Medicine. I was very please with how quickly we were able to get an appointment with the neurologist. We drove 2 hours to Penn. The parking attendant checked us in to our appointment. Someone called within minutes and took a history and came and got Milo for his appointment. Due to covid protocol we couldn't go back with him. Within 15 min the neurologist, Dr. van Veghel, called me with his findings. He was very specific, explained everything in lamens terms and was very thorough of all potential treatment options and outcomes. We decided to proceed with an MRI knowing that we likely needed to proceed with surgical intervention. Because we drive 2 hours and they could not do the MRI that day we left Milo in their care. The next morning Dr. van Veghel called with an update, again explaining every step, did the MRI and updated us with that and went into the surgical intervention. Dr. van Veghel again updated us after the surgery and several times each day until discharge. I was truly amazed that the updates came from the doctor himself. That was so comforting. We were able to pick Milo up 2 days after his surgery and Milo WALKED out with Dr. van Veghel. He took time to meet with us in person and go over a the care instructions. Milo is now home. It's only the 2nd day but it's amazing how much of a difference we can already see in his ability to walk again. Thank you Dr. van Veghel and the team of staff that took such good care of our little Milo With much love, The Brandt Family

As my sweet, senior cat was declining quickly, we made the short drive to the emergency clinic at 2:30 AM. The doctor met us at the door. Within just moments, we reached the decision that is one of the toughest for pet owners to make. The care team took the best care of us in that moment, without unnecessary poking, prodding, and stress. It was over quickly and quietly, with the vet sitting by our side.

I would give this a 0 if I could. Took my cat in awhile back. We waited for 5+ hours AFTER the doctor had already consulted us and gave our cat medicine to calm her down - to only ask them to give us our cat back. It became obvious that our cat wasn’t a priority as they couldn’t spare someone to give her a medical bath. Then they have the audacity to ask us to donate to them.

The people that work here are absolutly either under educated or just don't care. I had my dog there a few nights a go and basically they said they didn't know what was going they just assumed that it was either this or that. They just seemed like all they wanted to do was admit her, in which would have costed thousands in which I would have gladly paid. The nurse told me she isn't guaranteed to live but they wanted to do a bunch of tests regardless and I saId no im taking the dog home and when I paid it seemed like that was all they were interested in .I told them I'm taking my dog home so if she does pass it's there with her family well 2 days later my dog is up and about the way she used to be. so basically they suggested I put my dog to sleep without proper knowing do not take your animal here if you care about it :

My Greyhound dog had a jaw fracture a year ago that an emergency ER misdiagnosed as a snake bite. Upon bringing her, we were met with the most helpful and knowledgeable staff. She came home well and amazing. Their prices were fair for the level of service she received. At this moment, she is there in the ICU for a heat stroke. The doctors call me after every test and have a care plan. They have answered all questions I’ve had. They’ve offered the absolute best care for her within a 1,000mi radius. In the ICU, I am confident my girl has the best quality of care. I would 100% recommend Penn as a care facility if your animal is in need.

We had an okay experience bringing our dog here after first moving to Philly. We had a followup appointment scheduled for around the time the pandemic started which was understandably cancelled. We needed one refill on my dog's medicine to hold us over. In the last 2 months I've sent several emails to the vet, I've called probably ten times and left as many messages for both the pharmacy and the vet. When I've gotten someone on the phone they've said I'll hear back within 24 hours. I've had unresponsive vets but this is really something else, I can't believe no one has gotten back to us. Looking for another vet in the area for after the pandemic, can't rely on UPenn for this.

My first visit was with my cat that has sensitive ears. I told the vet he has sensitive ears. She then went straight for the ears. He got so upset she had to muzzle him, call in extra help to hold him down, etc and finally I said enough. Both he and I were fully traumatized. However, she diagnosed what has probably been causing his sensitive ears all these years so I thought maybe it was worth it. I brought in my second cat for a checkup and it went well. ** Update: I called to order a refill for a prescription food and after being on hold with the pharmacy for an hour, I gave up and left a voice message. The good news is they called me back in less than 45 minutes. The not so good news, the pharmacy phone system wasn't working right and they didn't notice. *** Final edit. I took him back for an annual checkup and a new vet realized his skin growth was something to be checked. he was diagnosed with a skin cancer that required surgery. The tumors were obviously present for that notorious first visit and it turned out that vet was wrong about his food allergy. The vets that worked with him cared and after he acted out tried to reduce his stress. Unfortunately, waiting until he acted out is too late. I don't know if they weren't allowed to spend the time to proactively manage his stress, were jaded to stressed out cats, or not trained on stress management for cats. During visits they removed him from my presence and wanted to sedate even for basic checkups. The one time I didn't know they wanted to sedate him, I let him eat. When I proposed going ahead with the appointment without sedation one of the students went straight for a muzzle! Since the cancer treatment I have moved out of Philadelphia and found a wonderful vet that proactively works with my cats and their stress from the moment she and her techs enter the room. The complete opposite of Penn Vet. I would not take my cats back to Penn Vet unless they needed some specialty I could not get from anywhere else.