The Big Easy Animal Hospital

I know the wait can be long, we’ve all been there. What makes me coming back is the pure LOVE for animals Dr Ruiz has. I know any questions or concerns I have, she will answer. She will go above and beyond for my pets and I’m sure any animal that walks through the door. I assume that is why I’ve had to wait past my appointment time, because she gives her 100% every time. That’s why we wait and we will continue to come back, because she is here for our fur babies. It’s even clearer to me now during this pandemic, she allowed me to be IN the hospital with my pet and will allow new clients. I don’t know any other vet currently doing that. She will risk her health to make our pets more comfortable by having us in the office. Sorry I ranted on, but don’t let the wait time deter you, this is a wonderful office and I’ve been coming here for a long time.

To say the staff is AMAZING is an understatement!

I’ve had decent experiences here and love their doggy daycare, but I have never had them be on time. The pandemic has only made things worse. After waiting months for a wellness appointment, we were told on arrival that the vet was behind by 1.5 hours due to “an emergency”. I wasn’t aware this was an emergency animal hospital as they don’t board sick animals and close at 530pm. They didn’t bother calling customers holding appointments and instead had people arrive only to wait in the parking lot. It’s 40 degrees outside. I get it; businesses are struggling, but what is occurring here is uncalled for. Either run a clinic or don’t tout yourselves as one. Emergencies are for animal hospitals. Professionals should alert customers of schedule changes as early as possible. That way, people can reschedule and not sit angrily in the parking lot which ultimately trickles down to your staff. Having walk in days during this pandemic is a bad idea.

We have been bringing Remy to The Big Easy for about five years. They are considerate, concerned thoughtful, professional and through. The Dr's are very knowledgeable . and have healing hands. We are very happy that the Animal Friends told us about The Big Easy. We have not been back to Animal Friends.

I brought my first cat here for her initial check up after adopting her. They told me her teeth were bad and that she needed dental surgery (which I expected). She needed to get blood drawn in order to proceed. Two nurses came in and verbally expressed to each other in front of me that they were bad at taking blood and didnt like to do it. They went back and forth fighting about who would be the one to do it. Finally one held my cat and the other went to draw the blood. The one nurse lost grip of my cat who was now running around the room with the needle stuck in her leg. They caught her and took it out and let me know that she needed to go to the back to have it done. They came back with my cat extremely upset and her collar broken (which they absolutely did not offer to replace) as they took it out of her neck instead.nnThe next day she was limping. It was clear her leg was infected from the bad job they did the day before. I took her in. The same nurse who was holding her when her blood was drawn met me in the room. They refused to acknowledge what happened or take any responsibility. After I pushed the subject (since she was THERE she should know what happened) she said she had to step out. Another nurse came in and I didn't see the first one the rest of the time I was there (very shady). They tried to force me into getting her x rayed saying she probably fell and broke it. I was insistent on them treating it as infection. (I felt they should have covered this visits expenses but again they refused to acknowledge what happened so I figured this was the best I could settle for. She got better proving that I was right about my hunch.nnFinally the day of the surgery came. There was an option to pay extra to have her heart checked. The shelter didn't know much about her so I decided to go with this option since she could die if something was up since they had to put her under for the surgery. When I picked her up, they informed me that her heart tests came back bad but they decided to move forward with the surgery since they assumed she was probably just nervous. Didn't call to tell me and let me decide, just put her life on the line so they could get my $600 for the surgery.nnOverall the staff was very rude and the place as a whole seems very $$ driven and will do anything to make a buck even if it puts your pets life at risk.nnWill never go back and deeply encourage others to spread the word and choose a vet that is more honest and caring.nn***edit***nI found a new vet I really like. When I had my first visit with the new vet, they called big easy to get her records. They insisted that my cat was never seen there which means their staff is once again proving incompetence or they destroyed her file which is extremely illegal.