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February 2024 by Nat Sargent
We have been taking our cats to Winter Hill since 1998. Most of that time the practice was owned by Dr. Jane O’Donnell- a simply wonderful vet! The new practice owner (Dr. Symanska) is difficult to communicate with and I rarely feel heard by her. A good vet knows that the pet owner’s needs are also part of pet care. She is dismissive of your own experience with your pet. She had the age wrong in both her head and her records about my cat. She quickly tired of discussing strategies to care for my complicated older cat. On two occasions she withheld important prescriptions for administrative reasons. On the second occasion she made a disingenuous statement about her license related to the prescription for some Hill’s food that any cat could eat. I feel infantilized during our conversations, based on her tone and word choices. She’s imperious. There just seems to be a lack of professional maturity. I have many other issues: the portal, messages from the portal, hours, answering the phone….I I would strongly advise finding another vet. I am so empathetic about running a small animal veterinary practice. The practioners have high rates of depression and suicide, its hard, thankless and not always financially rewarding. Practitioners need to remember, as Dr. O’Donnell did, that pet care is also people care. Take care of the people and the pets will have better outcomes. I am not one to write bad reviews about anything, but the amount of uneccessary stress caused by my interactions with the vet warrants sharing.
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January 2024 by Paige Anderson
The rudeness that I encountered from this place is just so unprofessional and uncalled for.I just received a letter on the vet's policies, notifying me of being more than 5 minutes late. This is true, I didn't know that my previous appointment would run later than it did. I literally RAN all the way from Assembly Row to my home to pick up my cat, inducing my asthma along the way. Instead of being understanding about the circumstances and just leaving it at a rescheduled appointment, the vet manager accused me of "disrespectful behavior", in their words.Also, my cat is very distressed when he's in his crate. He will beat on it multiple times so I try to at least let him poke his head out and see where he is when he's inside so he feels more in-control of the situation. He didn't leave the crate when I was there, with the exception of one visit, which the doctor did not seem to have an issue with. Once again, the vet manager accused this of being "disrespectful behavior."The lack of empathy shows. I wouldn't be as upset if the letter was like "Just an FYI, we understanding things happen but..." or a fair conversation where we would respectfully hear out each other's reasonings and point-of-views, but the manager chose to insinuate that I was the one completely at fault. Do better.
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November 2023 by Holly Hatch
They have cared for my cats since 2000. I was sad when the prior vet retired but they have done well by Emmy. She just had extensive dental work and extractions and the vet was very communicative and caring.
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September 2023 by Caitlin Fletcher
We had an awesome experience at Winter Hill Vet clinic for our Bernese Mountain Dog puppy. Dr Kasia and all the staff are incredibly compassionate, knowledgeable, and caring. They answered all my questions and helped ease some of my anxiety as a first-time puppy parent. Highly recommend!
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August 2023 by Lilo Zsolnay
Very nice people. The bill came to $500 for a first time visit with our elderly cat. I recommend asking about pricing upfront as we paid a high lab fee ($350.). However, a great vet and staff.
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April 2023 by Kerry Norton
I am not happy at all! I had a problem with both receptionist! Very very rude! I am going to report this tomorrow to manager! The receptionist made it seem only cared about the money I saved the emails I will put my story on here I am to upset right at this moment
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March 2023 by K Tarbell
This vet requires you to submit all requests through their online portal but doesn’t respond unless you follow up several times. If you need an appointment for your sick pet it’s a least 5 days and they tell you to go to an animal hospital.
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February 2023 by Krishna T.
This clinic is very unreliable. They take 5 days minimum to respond to emails and after they confirmed my appointment booking, they then emailed me two days prior to my appointment to say they had to reschedule. We then rescheduled at the time they asked us to, only to show up for the appointment and be told they double booked again and could not see our dog. It was also a waste of anxiety medication on our dog for an appointment that we didn’t get.
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November 2022 by Katie V
I knew I was going to like this place when I first spoke with Lillie, at the front desk, over the phone. She not only helped me set up my first appointment for my kitten, but talked me through all the steps I needed to take prior to picking him up. I’m sure I asked her a million questions and she was very patient and informative. Such a sweet person.I saw Dr. Peabody, who was equally as informative. She was very thorough in her check-up and offered lots of tips for someone with their first pet. She made my kitten feel very comfortable and calm during the exam, and I know that is rare. I would highly recommend coming here if you want to make sure your pet is receiving high quality treatment from people who really care.
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November 2022 by Danielle McPherson
I have been bringing my pets to WHV for many years and always have a positive experience. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable and treats safety as a high priority.
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October 2022 by Katie Gilligan
I've taken my cats here for about 6 years. After taking them to a few other vets before landing at WHVC, I was blown away at how kind and thorough they are. They really do their best to make the whole experience comfortable for my cats, and I always leave feeling supported and like my cats are getting the best possible care.
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September 2022 by Caitlin Smith Rapoport
We just moved to the area and were having trouble finding a vet nearby to help us care for our aged kitty. Dr Peabody and the whole staff at Winter Hill was so kind to us and our cat, and helped us develop a clear plan for her care.
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August 2022 by Lesley Rogers-Do
I’ve taken my senior cat here for years and my new kitten as of recently, and they are just wonderful. So caring and kind and extremely thorough and transparent. A place that really cares, even calling to check on your animal after a visit or procedure. Highly recommend. My cats will be patients for life.
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July 2022 by kristin nowakowski
Writing this as we just had to "break up" (what feels like a breakup, I am heartbroken!) with Winter Hill. The only reason for this breakup is that I now live in the North Shore and it's just tough to get down to Somerville for appointments. However, I have been bringing my cat Sonny to Winter Hill since 2015 and added my dog Murphy on in 2020, and the staff and doctors (even with some changes along the way) have been wonderful and done a great job caring for my fur babies. If we didn't move, my husband and I would've stuck with this vet office, they are wonderful!!
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June 2022 by Katie Valle
I knew I was going to like this place when I first spoke with Lillie, at the front desk, over the phone. She not only helped me set up my first appointment for my kitten, but talked me through all the steps I needed to take prior to picking him up. I’m sure I asked her a million questions and she was very patient and informative. Such a sweet person.I saw Dr. Peabody, who was equally as informative. She was very thorough in her check-up and offered lots of tips for someone with their first pet. She made my kitten feel very comfortable and calm during the exam, and I know that is rare. I would highly recommend coming here if you want to make sure your pet is receiving high quality treatment from people who really care.
