Lee has been helping us with our English Mastiff puppy "Blue" for the past few months and WOW what…read morea difference it has made! When we first started with Lee, Blue was terrible in public, was constantly barking at strangers and was extremely skittish. Since working with Lee, Blue now walks wonderfully on a leash, is confident out in public and no longer barks and jumps at every dog or person he passes. We are so thankful for all of the work, time and patience Lee has dedicated to Blue; it has definitely paid off! We would most definitely use his services again!

I had a German Shepherd puppy with Level 4 hip dysplasia. Without going into details because most…read moreknow what it is, how to treat, etc., I went to Merryfield and the vet told me to put the dog down. He had 3 other occasions in his life where he couldn't get up. We left him alone, let him rest and hopefully sleep, gave him Aspirin and shortly he was about to get up and RUN. You could tell this vet disliked GSD.

the worst. absolutely terrible service, dirty and old. will never take my pets back there.read more

If you care for your pet, don't bring it here. I wondered why there were no other customers the…read moreentire time I was at the clinic, now I understand. The veterinarian barely looked at my dog and was rude and condescending. During the exam, from an adjacent room, she sat in a chair the entire time. I asked her to look at a skin tag on my pet and she said, "Are you willing to pay for a biopsy? Otherwise, we'll just keep watch on it"-and she never looked at it! She said my dog is fat (She's not) and her teeth should be cleaned (She didn't look at them-only read the chart.) Worst vet ever. I have been to this clinic 6 times in the past few years and I have never seen the same doctor twice. They have a continuous staff turnover and that is a red flag to me. I won't be back, as I value my dog more than this.

We had a TERRIBLE experience here - would NEVER go back! Had to hospitalize our dog - come to find…read moreout after agreeing - that they don't have overnight staff (they neglected to tell us that upon agreeing to leave our pet) We were charged over $800 for 18 hours of services Nope I'm sure - this is the place :-(

I have an older diabetic dog and I had a lot of trouble finding a good vet. I went to 2 different…read moreprivate equity owned vets and they were terrible. Lake's vet was the opposite in every way. They don't try to up sell you on unnecessary procedures, they don't spend 20-30min going over every imperfection in your dog hoping you'll order a test, they only charge a slight markup on medicines over what online pharmacies do (the private equity places were charging more than double), etc. They provide good straight forward competent care not focused on squeezing every last dollar with extras. One particular incident that incited me to leave my last vet was they pressured me multiple times to bring him in for an overnight visit simply to monitor his glucose curve. This was after him being on insulin for 8 months with no incidents and well control fructosamine levels. We had already done a 12 hour glucose curve when he first went on the insulin. I explained to him that he is a very old blind dog and would not do well being in their facility for over 12 hours over night and considering we had a curve and a history of how he was doing on his dosage I couldn't see the point. But they wouldn't stop pressuring me to do it. I don't mind them padding the bill with extra tests or charging more for whatever, I was just concerned with getting my dog care. But if they were going to pressure me into something that would cause him stress or harm for something they made clear to me was just their blanket policy and that was all that was behind it I was out. Lake's vet has never done this and is willing to work with me on what would be best for the dog over corporate policy designed to maximize the money they make off of him. The techs are also very good. My dog cant have blood drawn from his paws so we have to get it from his neck. Previously I had vet techs who were either too rough with my dog or too tentative allowing him to fight and struggle, both of which made the experience more stressful than it needed to be. The techs at lake's were very quick and firm with holding him, but not rough or in a way that stressed him, but they also didn't give him wiggle room to struggle and it made the whole process go very smoothly. They were also good at giving reassurance after to keep his stress down. I can't recommend them enough.

I went one time with my older dog. all the Vet wanted to do was focus on extraction of his teeth. I…read morehad to ask him to please take his temperature and also asked him to weigh my dog. for a first visit I would have thought this would have been a normal protocol so they could establish a baseline. I left very disappointed for having to pay for nothing.. and then the same Vet was arrested a week later for sexual harassment of an employee...and same Vet works there today... so many other very caring Vet's in Branford, go elsewhere!!

I would strongly advise against using Ridgehill Animal Hospital…read more I arrived right when they opened without an appointment because my dog had been in visible discomfort for hours and I was hoping they could fit him in at some point during the day, given they had his full medical history. Instead, I was immediately turned away by a receptionist with no compassion and told to go to the emergency vet down the street. I spent time outside trying to keep him comfortable, and after seeing other clients arrive, I went back in to ask if there was any chance he could be seen later that day. I was told "nothing today" and dismissed again. During this time, Dr. Pearce did not acknowledge me or my dog at all. I later went to Central Emergency Veterinary Clinic, where the level of care and empathy was night and day. Ridgehill never followed up to see how he was doing. When it came time to euthanize my dog, I was told there were no appointments available with his primary veterinarian until the following week. I was offered a late Friday appointment with another provider, which I accepted. On the morning of that appointment, I called inquiring about the process I wanted to be present for the entire process, including catheter placement. I was initially told "you can ask when you get here". The receptionist did ask and came back and I was told no. Then, I received a call a few minutes later saying the owner had canceled my appointment entirely and that I should "go somewhere else." Canceling a same-day euthanasia appointment and turning away a distressed pet owner in that moment is beyond unprofessional--it's inexcusable. This practice demonstrated a consistent lack of compassion, communication, and basic decency. I would never return and strongly recommend others seek care elsewhere.

My partner and I brought our dog Koda to Ridgehill almost his entire life, and after our last…read moreexperience, I would never bring another dog again. I am truly blown away by the blatant disregard and disrespect we experienced at the end of our dog's life. We brought our dog in Monday, 7/6 after he began to experience some discomfort in his front right paw. Our appointment was late at night, and we understand they close at a certain time, but we felt ignored and rushed out by the vet that we saw. Not only did she completely disregard what we were telling her about his limb lameness, lethargy, etc., she chalked it up to allergies, which he has had his entire life. She prescribed an antifungal, apoquel (which we expressed we have tried and it has never worked, and we had switched to cytopoint), and gabapentin that we later learned was not appropriate for his weight. We told her he wasn't eating or drinking, she didn't bother to pursue that further. She essentially said his allergies were bothering him, we could take x-rays, and then proceeded to tell us she didn't have time for x-rays, and sent us home. We gave him the medication, he showed minor improvement. On Tuesday, 7/14, our dog started to show signs of total paralysis and he couldn't move at all. We brought him in that day to see Dr. Pierce, who is FANTASTIC. She was kind to Koda, listened to us, and showed compassion. She told us half of the medications the first doctor prescribed were basically pointless, and the gabapentin was 1/3 of the appropriate dose for his weight. Dr. Pierce hydrated Koda, gave him food, and took x-rays, which should have been done the week before. Koda was given steroids, and we were told to check-in. Wednesday, Koda did not improve. He got worse. We had to give him water through a turkey baster. We were told we would be called in the morning for his x-ray results, and we weren't. We had to call. We didn't get a call back until almost 4:00 in the afternoon. As the day continued, Koda continued to go downhill, crying in pain, unable to move. We called them back around 5:30 seeking advice, expressing fear he needed to be euthanized, and asked for a call back and appointment. The person who answered the phone said, "um, no.... I need to talk to someone and they'll call you back." Nobody called back that evening, and we had to take Koda to the emergency vet to get euthanized. The following day, 7/16, as I am typing this end of day, nobody returned our call. I am willing to wager we will never receive that follow up call. I am absolutely DISGUSTED at the way Koda and his symptoms were ignored the initial visit. I am disgusted that Dr. Fracasso didn't dose him properly, listen to our concerns, x-ray him (even if that wouldn't have made a difference), and diminished his pain as allergies. I am disgusted that we were dismissed when we called back scared and seeking advice, and I am DISGUSTED that nobody bothered to reach back out. I would NEVER bring any pet I may have in the future here again, and based off of several recent reviews, I know this is unfortunately not unique to my partner and I. Ridgehill wants to get paid, they do not care about your animals, or you. It is absolutely disgusting to me that an animal hospital would treat an animal at end of life like this, and their family. I saw more compassion in an hour at the emergency vet we had to go to than I ever had at Ridgehill. Avoid them at all cost.

My husband and I have had three one-on-one sessions with Michelle and our rescue dog. We've learned…read morea ton and appreciate her non-judgmental way of handling our questions and concerns. She's constantly thinking of ideas and strategies for us and our sensitive pup. Michelle has also been helpful with our follow-up questions over email. Hardest part is finding a time slot that works, but we've found that weekday mornings have been best. We hope to attend one of her out-and-about group classes in the future, which gives our dog another environment to learn and experience.

These people are so empathetic and compassionate. They cared for my Rosie after she died in a…read moredignified manner and took care of her so that I could have her with me now. Its such a heartbreaking time but their kindness helped me through those first days. Ive had these services when I lived in another state and these people go above and beyond the others.

While going through an extremely difficult time in my life Colonial was extremely kind and…read morecompassionate in the care of my beautiful twin girls

I am very fanatic about my pets, because I love them more than anything else in this world. I had a…read morebeautiful Rottie-Shepherd named Neiko, (who is now at the Rainbow Bridge.) I trust this Veterinarian with everything that I am. He has saved my dogs from certain death several times. I presently have a dog Cassidy Lee, and he has been incredible with her. I trust him, and he just does beautiful work. My dog has gotten into her share of trouble, and each and every time she has been saved by Dr. Brocklehurst. I would honestly NEVER go anywhere else once I found Seymour Veterinarians. I think he is a genius, and cares tremendously for my dog. He has also saved my other dog Neiko, and prolonged his life where he lived a lot longer and I was so grateful to him for that. I cannot say enough good things about this Doctor, and the rest of his staff. I commend and thank everyone who works with Dr. B., because with everyone combined has helped my dogs, and their lives have definitely been enhanced. All I can say, is that my dogs under the care of Dr. Brocklehurst, has made my dogs much more comfortable in their lives. He has researched everything on my dogs conditions, and has prolonged my Neiko Boy's Life by closely monitoring Neiko by consulting VCA Shoreline Veterinary Referral and Emergency Center. Thank you so much to the entire staff, and especially Dr. B. for giving me more time with my dogs. This doctor along with his staff seriously cares about animals.