Honestly, my pets have gotten better care at Angell than I've ever gotten in the human healthcare system ! What an amazing group of people, at this point we've seen almost every speciality and everyone is professional and caring, and very transparent about costs. read more

I cannot say enough great things about our MSPCA adoption experience! We've been looking for a cat for a few months now and visited the MSPCA multiple times to find the perfect fit. Each time, the center was full of helpful staff and volunteers, they all had extensive knowledge of each animal and took the time to answer our questions and gave us the space to interact with each cat we were interested in. The space was clean and well cared for, it was evident that the animals were in safe and warm environment. We never felt pushed or hustled and it was clear that the staff wanted to make sure that each animal was going home with the right owner. After a few visits, we finally met Luna! She was the perfect fit for us and the MSPCA staff made the adoption process smooth and easy. One of the best parts of the entire process was our one on one meeting with Shannon, an MSPCA staff member. Shannon sat down with us after we had filled out our paperwork and walked us through Luna's complete medical history, her experience at the shelter, and everything we needed to know about bringing her home safely and comfortably. She answered all of our questions and gave us her contact info should we have any questions. Without this time and care, we would have felt much less confident brining a cat home for the first time. Thank you thank you MSPCA! If you are looking for an adoptable pet friend, definitely head over to the MSPCA Adoption Center. read more

RIP OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One morning last summer I woke up to an extremely ill chihuahua. His name is Macho and he is only 5 lbs. I woke up to find him very sick, barley able to move and bleeding out of places he shouldn't be. Panicking I rushed him in a cab to the MSPCA. First off it's like $200 just to walk in the door. I arrived and after filling out some paper work I was ushered into the "financial" office. Once there I had to explain that I was poor and only had about a hundred bucks on me. The lady was actually quite nice and after about 20 minutes of begging she agreed to have Macho seen and I would be sent a bill instead of paying upfront. Macho and I were seen by a vet shortly after. I explained his symptoms to a technician, a young lady. After a brief examination (maybe about 90 seconds) the tech told me that she believed Macho had swallowed something and that his life was in danger. I was informed that Macho needed an X-Ray and being on the verge of tears I agreed. They took Macho and returned about 10 minutes later with good news! They could see nothing on the X_Ray. Now, here is where it gets fishy. I was told that even though it appears Macho hadn't swallowed anything, he was obviously still very sick. I was informed that it was crucial that Macho stay over night for observation and that since he was continuing to bleed, he had a very real chance of passing away. I asked the tech/vet how much this would cost. Her reply was between $2,000 - $2,500. The first words out of my mouth were "How am I going to pay for this?". That is when Macho "suddenly" improved. All of a sudden Macho didn't need to stay overnight. He could go home right away and all I needed to do is keep an eye on him. The tech handed me some paper work and directed me back to the financial office where I signed more paperwork and left. I am enraged just writing this. They wanted my last dime which would have left me stranded in JP with a very sick dog. The bill had come to $650 for an X-Ray and a 90 second exam. Needless to say I did not give them everything I had and took a cab home. The good news is that Macho improved on his own in about two days (Thank God). I am still paying the bill. Out of sheer frustration, I only send them $10 a month. However, there is a danger to this. I was informed by phone that if anything ever happens to my dog in the future they would refuse to see him unless I pay the balance in full. What caring people. read more

For my 100th review I wanted to pick someplace that I hold near and dear to my heart. And the MSPCA adoption center is definitely one of them. When I first moved to JP I was SO excited to get a cat. I literally couldn't wait. My mom is allergic to them so I could never have one growing up and my old roommates cat was a bitch so I wasn't allowed to have one there either. A few days after moving I realized I had a some unwanted guests in my apartment. Mice. I'm not ok with mice. So it was the perfect excuse to ask my landlord if I could get a kitten. After I got his approval I skipped around the corner to pick out the cutest cat in the whole world. Obvs. Talk about heart wrenching! All those little animals with the saddest faces doing the best they can to look adoptable. But which did I want? The 3 legged black cat? The autistic one? The ginormously fat one?!?! I started speaking with one of the employees trying to find out which ones had been around the longest. Which she thought would be the hardest to get adopted... etc. She led me to a small room that held two of the most beautiful cats I had ever seen. She told me they had been there for a few months after being given up by a family whose child had developed allergies and would probably be hard to get adopted b/c they were brothers and had to go as a pair. Well that pretty much did it for me. Even though I had only intended to get one I couldn't just leave these little guys behind. After playing with them for about 20 minutes I made my decision... Wrap 'em up! Or ya know... get the paperwork ready since they both had to be neutered (which is included in the cost of the adoption) and wouldn't be ready to go home for a few days. While they were getting everything ready for me to sign I kept walking around. I was standing in one of the larger cat rooms when I looked up and saw the tiniest little paw hanging over the edge of a climber. And what's that? An extra TOE?!?! Cutest Ever. I lessthan3 polydactyl cats. After a little maneuvering I lured the kitten down to where I could get my hands on her. She was a feisty little thing with a shaved belly due to the spaying she had done a few days earlier. Maybe it was that I wanted a cat to take home with me that day. Or maybe it was the thought of this not being a no kill shelter but I figured: Well I'm already getting 2 why not throw this one in as a bonus? The staff couldn't believe it. They said they had trouble getting people to adopt one get and had rarely seen anyone take more than two. One of them called me an angel. Precious. So now I'm the proud owner of 3 absolutely gorgeous cats. And 7 months later I love them a million times more than the day I brought them home. Added bonus: Running into Chloe and Liz while filling out the paperwork and them thinking I'm completely nuts. But I'm ok with my crazy cat ladyness. read more

Sorry but this place sucks. I brought my cat here on an emergency, she had a seizure and was diagnosed with chronic renal failure by our regular TRUSTworthy vet. First of all, trying to get into the parking lot is ridiculous, they have the brick wall going around most of the building. Anyways, we registered and sat and sat...apparently they were swamped with 'emergencies', but there were only about 5 patients there in the 3 hour span I was there? Really? Second, we told them not to give our kitty a blood test, that she already had one 2 days ago, shes anemic. What did they do? Stuck a catheter in her for no reason (we told them she already urinated during the seizure), gave a blood test and we left with an almost $500 bill, basically to talk to us about something that we had already mentioned, oh and they shaved her half her whiskers off. I will say, they are friendly people...or interns that is. The woman that helped us was knowledgeable yes, but didn't really do anything to help. We ended up calling our regular vet way past hours to talk to this "doctor". The intern suggested this that and the other thing BUT it, probably would have cost a few thousand dollars and maybe last a month. My regular vet said to not do that, its not worth putting the poor cat through the pain. They have book knowledge, but they don't have much else. By the way, the next morning we had to put my little baby to sleep. Whatever they did didn't help and put her in pain and made life worse. Thanks Angell. read more

I am not kidding when I say negative stars are more what I think of this place. The story: - Brought my pet to Angell's emergency clinic. Charge before I was even seen? $141.00 - Waited 2 HOURS in an empty room for help. - Was seen by an intern. Not a doctor. She repeated back to me what I had told her the problem was. Then told she couldn't do anything. Literally. Nothing was done. I'd have to have him stay overnight to see a specialist in the morning. - Over night stay would cost me and extra $45 and she couldn't promise that anything could be done. - Total quoted to me for potential treatments? $1,900.00 Well, I took him home that night and brought him to an exotics vet in the morning. They only charged me $65 for the emergency visit and $300 for preforming surgery. Angell is a WASTE. They pray on people's emotions and the guilt they feel about a sick pet. DO NOT GO HERE. read more

This is a review of the veterinary clinic, not the animal/adoption shelter. Our cat swallowed a piece of yarn, and was feeling real crappy for a day or so. She was not eating well and we had to take to a vet, on a Saturday night. Our regular vet office was closed, so we had to take her to the emergency at the MSPCA-Angell. The animal hospital itself is built out real nice, has all of the amenities of a real hospital for people (emrgency, inpatient, outpatient, pharmacy, different wings...etc) The veterinarian who examined our cat seemed fresh out out of school, and the only think he could recommend was an MRI. He did not mention the cost of it (which later turned out to be around $400) The MRI did not show anythign specific, or he could not see anything specific. Still, he said that a surgery has to happen immediatly. The only thing that stopped me from agreeing to the surgery was the $3500 bill for the surgery. Chunk of change that I did not have. I took our kitty home, and in now she is feeling better, with no help from Angell. I checked around for similar prices at other vet clinics, and they are at least twice as less. Unless this is a realy urgent emergency which can not wait a day or two, I would strongly avoid this place. read more

My kitten got into an accident and I had to bring him here. The front desk and doctor were ok, but the way they treated the situation was just inconsiderate. The emergency doctor told me I had three options: 1)put him down 2)surgery 3)give him to the shelter and have them make a decision. I told her that I wanted option 3 but didn't want to hear their decision. She said ok and went away. When she came back she just blurted out that the shelter wouldn't give him the surgery. This broke my heart. The front desk wasn't much better. After paying the initial hospitalization fee, she kept asking if we wanted and extra add-ons. Like a private cremation or vase to hold his ashes in. After saying no to those options, she prodded me more, asking if I wanted a clay imprint of his paw for an extra $5. They treated the whole experience like a business transaction. Like those salesmen that try to sell cheap trinkets to tourists. And the prices they charged were shocking. It felt like they were taking advantage of the situation. If we had opted for surgery, it would've costed about $5,000. Big vet hospitals like this make me feel like they don't even care for animal lives. They just want the money. read more

This Review is for the Angell MSPCA location. My experience here was uncomfortable and disheartening. The lack of knowledgeable staff and abundance of rude people working here is unreal. The employees i encountered were extremely judgmental and made it clear that anything other then "their way" was the wrong way to do anything. Just to give you an idea one employee was so rude that she actually sent me an email apology for her unprofessional behavior. This particular mspca is no better then a puppy mill, running adoption specials with discounted fees. After witnessing the flood of people that show up for these types of offers i cant help but feel like its more about getting these animals out of the shelter at whatever cost regardless of where they end up. The final destination of these animals does not seem like top priority. From what i saw it seems like the people working here have lost sight of what they are doing this for. I was so saddened by my experience that i will never again donate money to the mspca and will adopt my future pets through other rescue organizations. read more

MARK at the emergency desk has a big heart. Our pet was unable to be seen by a vet and he took the extra step to make a phone call to Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital. We were able to take our Yorkshire Terrier Jack there and had the most excellent care. Thank you Mark for helping us when we needed it. read more

This is a review of ER services only: I would love to give Angell a higher rating, but I just can't. While they certainly offer state-of-the-art testing and treatment for animals, they offer very little for humans. I brought my dog to the ER and was charged $156 dollars just to get in the door. When I reviewed the invoice I saw that $11 of that total was the charge just for registration - which simply involves giving a clerk your address and phone number! This is ridiculous! After my dog was evaluated by a very nice doctor who advised that he be admitted for evaluation overnight, we were both sent to the finance office... they wouldn't even take my sick dog out back before I paid a huge deposit for services that had not even been provided! So, my poor dog had to stand in a small office while I signed paperwork and gave them my credit card info. This is not cool! How big can the deposit be, you ask? I was required to leave an $820 deposit for services that ultimately totalled $480. Really? And to top it off, it took a week to get the money back because they only process account credits once a week. That's not nice! To the folks at Angell, ya'll need to review your ER intake process. I felt like my money was your only concern. I understand it is nearly as expensive to treat animals as it is humans, but I don't think it's right to make my sick dog stand in the billing office and I don't like the practice of taking HUGE deposits for services that haven't been rendered and then taking your sweet time to credit my account. read more

Like another reviewer said, I have mixed feelings about Angell too -- first, it's a kill shelter which, I know is necessary, but still goes against my ethics.. ok, but aside from that, i will focus on the medical services -- which, they have a lot of really great vets, top equipment and is definitely one of the largest animal hospitals. Last year our dog was diagnosed with cancer and they did what they could, but ultimately I went to my regular vet for continued and end of life care for him. My chief complaint is that they won't provide care until they get payment and I do feel nickle and dimed by them. It's too sterile and the sheer size of the organization, I only managed to speak with the dr. that actually diagnosed my pet 2 times. We had issues with the Rx's, some of them were making him sick, then they changed it, then for some reason that medication was discontinued -- (while, not Angell's fault.. ) it was difficult to get another Rx to replace the last one. The care is very fragmented and when your pet is given 3-6 mos to live, it just sucks to feel like another number... I strongly recommend ARL of Boston if you're looking for caring vet services for your furry family member. read more

What a nightmare this place is. I brought my American bulldog in because she was very sick. Two hours later they had to put her down. I was informed that I needed to pay $350 right now in order to cremate her and by a box to store her remains. I had to borrow money off friends and family to pay that since I didn't want her stored dog on top of dog In a cold storage room. I am disabled an unable to work. They usually have a payment plan but since my dog was only there two hours before she died due to a tumor eruption I was not eligible for any assistance. I was left with $350 in vet bills. Like I said, I am ineligible for assistance because my dog was too sick and they refused a payment plan of $100 a month for 3 1/2 months. Now they called a lawyer and are demanding a payment because AGAIN, they refused payment plans. They need to find a way to work with disabled and elderly dog parents. This is just sickening. read more

As a future medical professional, I understand the responsibilities associated with being a medical professional -- including but not limited to beneficence, non-maleficence, and being a devout feduciary to one's clients/patients. As a future medical professional, I am shocked and appalled at the lack of professionalism and lack of feduciary behavior that was shown to me when my pet cockatiel was in need. My bird started off with mild symptoms -- sneezing, making weird breathing noises as if she had phlegm in her throat, and she had a runny nostril. Noticing these symptoms, I promptly sent her to the MSPCA Angell ER to have her assessed and treated. It was a Friday Morning. They assessed her, took a culture of her nostril discharge, and told me they would call me with the results and a prescription. This visit cost a little over $300 ($150 for the general ER visit + Lab fees + avian specialist fees). **Fast forward to Monday** Monday rolls along. My bird became significantly sicker -- lethargic, shivering, and refusing to eat. I thought she was going to die. I called the veterinary hospital to see if they had the results of my bird. They said they would get to them whenever a doctor "gets around to it." I expressed the urgency of need of the antibiotics because my bird became significantly worse. As such, I had my fiancee bring my bird back to Angell to see why they had not yet gotten my results (3 days of culturing a specimen is more than enough for a diagnosis). Given the weakened condition of my bird, they told my fiance to have her evaluated and kept in an incubator. He respectfully declined and asked to simply have the results and the script for the antibiotic she needed. They refused and made him sign a consent form to have her incubated (which was a whole separate charge that they never mentioned) and have her assessed by another doctor that did not originally see her case. After 20 minutes of them "assessing" my bird, they gained no new evidence nor specimens, and they realized that the results from the inital visit were available the whole time. The manager called it a "miscommunication" for the reason why I was never contacted with the results. Upon checkout, my fiancee noticed that in addition to the cost of the antibiotic, they charged us ANOTHER $150 for the 2nd ER visit that we didn't even want and would not have needed had it not been to their gross negligence. He spoke with the manager who claimed to have no idea what was going on and that she couldn't do anything about it. She claimed that she would go to the overseeing doctor to see if the fee could be waived. They are still making me pay $65 on top of the initial visit and testing for absolutely no reason. I am absolutely sickened by the actions of these greedy schmucks. I should not have needed to take my bird to the ER a second time within 3 days. Their "miscommunication" nearly costed my bird's life, yet their only concern was making sure I paid their $150 ER service fee for service that did not benefit my bird's well being. I am writing this to forewarn people who plan on sending their beloved pets to this corporate junkyard that pretend to be medical professionals. I am not the only one with these complaints, and there should not be anymore in the future. I did find another avian veterinarian near where I live. I will never leave my bird's health in the hands of these people again, and I will gladly refer any bird owner to the new avian veterinarian I found. read more

They say that death comes in threes, and that's exactly the situation I was in when I took my poor kitty to the MSPCA emergency room for the last time. My impression of Angell, based on multiple emergency visits (two urinary issues as young cat, one visit the week before my kitty died, and another the night that he died), is that the staff are welcoming, the center is calm and clean, and the medical care is modern and top notch. I feel very confident taking my pet here, and I know that Angell delivers terrific medical care. When you walk through the door, you can expect to be greeted immediately and have your pet assessed on the spot (bonus) to screen them for any life-threatening emergencies. However, when my cat stopped eating and had difficulty breathing, I rushed him in for another emergency visit -- this one cost me over $3,000. Now I know the age old adage that pets cost money. Pet ownership is a tremendous responsiblity. But I had just buried two close [human] family members at great expense. And two funerals later, I was grieving, exhausted as s***, and I was $40 short until I could get my family members' estates all sorted out. Since I had some pretty unusual circumstances, I asked the staff if I could pay everything but the $40, which I'd postpone for a mere three days. Of course, I was encouraged to open their Care Credit credit card, which is just another form of predatory lending for low-income people: http://www.financialfraudlaw.com/lawblog/carecredit-and-predatory-health-care-lending-cuomo-investigates/1299 Fortunately, my wits about me and my negotiation skills in tact, I argued mightily with the reception staff. After shelling out $700 in emergency visits, another $3,000 to save my kitty's life, many well off people would find themselves at their financial limit. What followed was a really unpleasant "haggling" process, where a manager / supervisor type person decided to postpone giving me test results. Which really pissed me off, since my cat was on the brink of death. The vet, however, put the tests through. Anyway, even after all these life-saving interventions, my kitty passed. I can honestly say that he got the best care, and that we were supported very well by the medical staff, the techs, and everyone who tried to save his life. Moreover, we were left alone with my kitty's body for as long as we needed, and the staff was very sensitive about his passing. We got a lot of supportive and encouraging words. But I think that the finance office needs to be more accomodating and solution-oriented. I saw a number of shady people come in and out of the emergency room, trying to duck a bill because they hadn't planned for their pet's needs. All I was asking for was 3 days and a little understanding, which could have EASILY been worked out among sensible people. So minus two stars for making this experience more difficult during a really crappy time in my life. And for shady loan practices. read more

Okay, I am trying to make this review as objective as possible. On Christmas night, we returned home from visiting family to find out Maine Coon in terrible distress. Normally a super easy going cat, he was meowing non-stop and going in and out of the litter box. Clearly cause for alarm, we stuck him in the car and rushed over to Angell (this was 10pm, so it was the only place open). We saw Dr. Adam Lancaster. As soon as we got there, he checked the cat out and immediately took him back to the examination area. It was clear that things were not good, but he was not very communicative initially. We were told to wait, which we did for approx. 30 minutes. (Points for a beautiful, clean and calming facility). He called us in to say that Gray Feet was in kidney failure and that without an emergency intervention, he would die. This was due to a urethral blockage of unknown origin. Not the news we wanted to hear. Heeding the prior reviews, we asked him to break down exactly what was going to be done and which procedures were absolutely critical vs. those that could be done when he was stable (i.e. x-rays). He was pretty short with us and we had to ask him several follow up questions before we really understood what was going on/what the course of treatment was. Not the best "bedside manner" when we were already freaking out and upset because our cat was in really tough shape. So, we authorized treatment and were told to return during visiting hours. I asked if we could see Gray Feet before we left and we were told that we couldn't. This was super upsetting and I wish we were told that upfront. A sleepless night later, I received word that Gray Feet was stable after his surgery, but was still at risk for re-obstructing. They kept him for a total of 4 days (he did re block and was still urinating with the help of a catheter). In the end, Dr. Lancaster was amazing at touching base with us during the hospitalization to let us know any updates. He was also great with the discharge instructions and Gray Feet has (knock on wood) been really healthy so far. The money we spent was insane, and we've been told by our regular vet that it is significantly higher than what most vets would charge. It was an emergency and was the only course of action we had given the circumstances. Money is money, but our cat was given AMAZING treatment and was babied by the Dr. and nurses, so that's all that matters to us in the long run. read more

I've always gotten the feeling these folks care more about making a buck than treating the animals that are left in their care. The nickel and dime pet owners for the smallest things, and try to tack on more add-ons than a used car salesman. Their one redeeming quality is their 24/7 availability, for which ones pays through the nose, anyway... read more

Everyone on the staff are so friendly and helpful. They all bend over backwards to make sure both pet and owner are comfortable and feel safe and secure about the procedure about to be performed. What I appreciated most about Angell is how much everyone truly cares about everyone's pets. read more

First off, let me just say that the people who work here are all really nice. The place is clean and bright, and the staff polite and helpful, despite the ungodly hours they were working. However, I am somewhat appalled at how expensive everything is. As a first time visitor to the hospital I was charged $156 ($145 emergency fee and $11 just to answer a bunch of questions and "register" my pet in their system). I don't know if this is the norm in American veterinary establishments but I can assure you where I come from this sort of fees would be considered preposterous. So after paying all that money, we had to wait. "It's a busy night, and we only have 2 doctors right now," we were told. I know it's not the best working hours, but 2 doctors in the emergency area in such a big hospital seems a little... disappointing. We had to wait till 4:30 am (that's a 4 hour wait; we arrived a little after midnight) to be seen, and even then, despite our doctor being friendly and sweet she was constantly rushing off somewhere else and juggling several pets at once. We were told that x-raying our ferret would cost $189 for 2 views and $100 for one. Even human x-rays don't cost that much. Our total bill came up to $401 for the emergency fees/registration, x ray and a 5 day supply of antibiotics. We were in the doctor's office for all of 30 minutes. The boyfriend and I even joked, "If we end up having to wait till opening hours to be seen maybe we should ask for a refund on the emergency fees." Bottom line: Nice place with friendly staff if you're an emergency admission, but the prices are horrific, and unless your pet is having a seizure or has just lost a lot of blood, be prepared to wait for a VERY long time. read more

Our beloved dog was referred to by the VCA Brookline, as Angell has full access to ultrasounds and x-rays. Check in took 30 seconds, and a clinician came to check vitals within 2 minutes, at which point she was declared unstable and admitted into care. The tech let me know it would likely cost between $300-500 and explained every step of the way. She treated my sick dog with tremendous compassion. After about 40 minutes, the vet explained my dog's status and let me know all possible options and associated cost and care time. I decided to euthanize, and could not have received more compassion and professionalism. The staff here made what was a horrible day a chance to say goodbye to a beloved friend with dignity and love. read more

These are good people who do good work, and who absolutely care for all animals. They can handle any sort of emergency and are very compassionate. I've needed their emergency services more than once, and am always very appreciative of who I meet here. That being said.... You ABSOLUTELY need to be assertive when you use this office, especially for emergency situations. These people will definitely bend over backwards to help you solve a situation, but I've always had to fight to get their staff to articulate a more long-term plan. Personal story time: Last summer when my cat had a blockage, it was apparent something was wrong, so we rushed him in. The vet told us we needed to do two X-rays. She then told us we needed to do one more X-ray for a complete view. Turns out cats are not two dimensional, weird right? Next we were told all of the X-rays were not conclusive and so we would need to do an ultrasound. The ultrasound finally concluded that we needed to do an exploratory surgery. This ultimately cost us thousands of dollars, hundreds of which could've been saved if we had just looked longer range and gone straight to an ultrasound. It also would've saved our poor cat a lot of time and intense discomfort. Moral of the story: use this office if you have an emergency, but make your doctor explain what the end point is, and make it known when money is a concern. read more

Nice building? Yeah. State-of-the-art facility? Yeah. Expensive? Extremely. Should it be your first stop for anything aside from an emergency? Absolutely not. I adopted a cat from the shelter half. He was about 2 years old, extremely sweet and affectionate cat. He had an upper respiratory infection that they provided me with medicine for and that went away. Eventually, my cat had a weird but minor looking upper lip infection that my friend said looked a lot like rodent ulcer and told me to see a vet about it before it got worse. So, to MSPCA I went because hey, they're familiar with the cat and they were kind enough to provide me with a coupon, right? Wrong. The coupon was not for the internal medicine as the lady at the front counter claimed in a way that I don't think you could have been more apathetic about. So I went in with a doctor whom I forget the name of. He almost let the cat out of the cage in the hallway, and as we went through the appointment, he didn't tell me much. I've always been frustrated with some vets and even human doctors who just make guesses and seem to think that you're an endless money bank. $300 later we were out with a medication that 'might work' and a failed nail trimming session (after the pharmacy almost handed us 2 entire boxes of pill pocket treats because they read the prescription wrong). The medicine did not work. Eventually, my cat suffered from a blockage and he was unable to urinate or defecate and we brought him there immediately as it was the only emergency vet service in the area. The doctor said it was fatal and we'd either have to pay for $1,500-2000 surgery that would most likely be reoccurring or have him put to sleep. We chose the latter option and was bawling my eyes out while hugging my cat while a bunch of emotionless students stood there jotting stuff on paper. I don't know if my story is just pure bad luck, but I didn't really enjoy my experiences here. I just felt like the staff didn't care. I would definitely go to another vet before this if it's not an emergency and even then prepare for your wallet to be decimated. Just remember to be extremely stern to make sure you get your money's worth. read more

If you have to end up at MSPCA-Angell Oncology Department, you want to end up in the hands of Dr. Christine Anderson and Steve. They rock. When you get the call from your vet that the biospy came back malignant and your dog-child is being referred to an oncologist it is nothing short of a mental apocalyptic meltdown. How can my lil' fuzzy butted warrior have cancer?!?! This is so unfair! Well, after throwing my pity party for 1, I quickly made the call and got the next appointment they had on the books. Within a week, Cyrus and I were at Angell preparing to hear who knows what. Dr. Anderson and Steve were awesome. They were both so thorough and willing to answer every single question I had. Cyrus had already been run through the gamut between vet appointments, surgery, and follow-ups so he was obviously suspicious of "Baby Cy...wanna go for a car ride?!" by now, so it took coaxing, and he was nervous the moment we walked through the door. They talked to me about treatment options, side effects, recovery/survival rates, costs and other things to expect. When his ASPCA Pet Insurance came back useless they even wrote letters in his favor to help push the appeals and fight the battle. In a hospital as big as Angell I expected to feel like just a number with Cy and like cattle being pushed through, but the Oncology department has been amazing. The only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is yeah, it does come at quite the hefty price tag. However in the end, I do think Cy's cute lil face is worth every penny. read more

This is a review for emergency care and follow-ups. I see a lot of people complaining about the price of care here, but I just can't agree. Yes, it costs money to take care of our furbabies, but MSPCA seem to do everything possible to defray those costs without any detriment to the care provided. This facility is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week--I challenge you to find somewhere else that is always on call. The staff who work here are certainly overworked and underpaid; shout out to the vet who, while explaining emergency lifesaving procedure pricing, let us know that he gets paid less than $30k a year. Dude is a DOCTOR. Come on! They also have plenty of information on site regarding payment plans (love that 0% interest, CareCredit) and pet insurance. I strongly recommend you look into pet insurance if you're reading this, it has literally saved our family thousands of dollars. OK, done talking about money. As I mentioned, we only frequent MSPCA for emergency care. Not gonna lie to you--two of those emergencies proved fatal, and I truly felt that the staff at Angell did their very best to keep those losses from happening. I don't blame them at all. More recently, they've done an exceptional job keeping one of my furbabies alive and kickin. He's had a spate of health issues, and they roll with every one with compassion, patience, and care. When he had to spend some days and nights there, the staff sent me texts and pictures of his progress! They were always available to answer my questions, even after we brought him home. I can't express how much their help has meant to us. The vets went out of their way to connect with us and reassure us that our little dude would be OK, and I am uper grateful to them for that. Sidenote: great pet watching! Even though we are usually here under stressful circumstances, it's still nice to see all the cute critters around. read more

The I‑131 therapy team really took the time to make me feel comfortable and understand the process when I was leaving my cat with them. They took careful notes, and waited for my cat to exit his carrier and explore the room on his own, taking the time to establish a great bond with him from the very first moment. It left a really big, good impression on me. Thanks to Dr. Duddy and her team! I'm really appreciating the ongoing daily updates about my cat as he goes through the I‑131 therapy. Knowing that I'm going to get continued information and pictures about his wellbeing makes his being away from home a lot more bearable. read more

Long story short, and to keep this less than two paragraphs, I spend thousands of dollars (worth every penny) to basically pay to bring my pomeranian back to life after a direct bite from another dog to the brain. It caused cerebral swelling for over a week and that means by dog pissed and shit on himself the whole time and they made him well enough to be 100% back to normal. Dr. Burrell called me every single day to tell me his progress even though I was unable to talk, and even convinced me to not euthanize him (maybe a ploy to make more money, but at least I still have my son that cost four digits, too.) Mspca is the reason I still have him. You have to pay to get your pet checked into the emergency hospital, but if you can't afford it, you shouldn't have a pet! read more

Our 10 year old tuxedo cat suddenly got really sick out of nowhere and it was the first time we've ever had to take him to some type of emergency care. We wound up at MPSCA Angell - and after two ER trips they determined he'd need to stay over night for a gallbladder issue. We were pretty anxious about it - we've never had to send our cat overnight for anything, let alone a health issue. But we didn't need to be nervous - the doctors and technicians at MSPCA Angell are amazing, and so kind and reassuring. With Covid, things were kind of chaotic (by no fault of theirs, just the nature of the pandemic), and they had to call from the exam rooms. Every doctor I worked with was patient, kind and took as much time as needed to explain everything going on with our cat. Once he was admitted for his overnight stay, they texted us photos of him relaxing in his bed and called us with regular updates. It was obvious they were doting on him and giving him tons of affection and attention on top of his medical care. Having those photos and regular updates made his two night stay a lot more bearable for us and I'm extremely grateful that they took time out of their day to send those updates. The hospital and staff were extremely busy every time we went, so the fact they took that extra time to update us on our cat's progress to help us feel a little more at ease with the situation was really amazing and shows how much they care about your pet. Also, the final cost wound up being on the low-end of the original estimate, we actually got a bit of a refund, and this is something I heard expressed by other people in the waiting room. Someone waiting nearby said this hospital quoted them the lowest price for a surgery of any nearby hospital, and it was by about $3,000. And, for what it's worth, on one of my first trips, while waiting in the lobby, I spent three hours sitting near a woman who's cat was clearly 100% fine and healthy (I won't get into how I know because this review will be 10 pages, but trust me when I say that the cat was absolutely not sick). After being told her cat was fine, I heard the woman (loudly and obnoxiously) push the doctors to do more tests and procedures on the cat, including some invasive ones, but the doctors refused to put the cat through that for no reason. Overhearing this only made me trust them even more - it showed that they put the care of the pet first above everything else and they aren't trying to take advantage of people either by admitting pets and running tests for no reason. I hope we don't have to use the emergency services at MSPCA Angell again anytime soon, but if our cat ever gets sick again, I will not hesitate to bring him here immediately. Thank you again for the amazing care for our cat, you all made a very stressful experience less stressful!! read more

My review is for the adoption center only. I have no experience with the hospital, and based on the reviews I've read on here, I hope I never have one. I was a volunteer at the facility, so I know how clean it is and how well they treat the animals. It's mostly staffed by volunteers who are there because they love and care for the animals. The volunteers are always very vigilant about cleaning the cages and providing enough food, water, and love. I also adopted a kitten from the facility. She was in cat intake when I came in for my shift and it was love at first sight. The process of adoption took awhile, but they're very thorough about making sure you're allowed to have an animal in your home, that your roommates are ok with it, and that you're competent enough to care for the animal. They want to make sure they don't end up back at the shelter. And I love my kitten with all my heart-- though I can probably chalk it up to being in the right place at the right time, I'll give some credit to the MSPCA. My only gripe is that they euthanize animals who are healthy and adoptable. They say it's because they don't have enough space and they only do this after long and careful consideration, but if it's true that the top board members are making $250,000 a year, then I think some of that money could be better spent on larger facilities for the animals. I don't believe in euthanizing animals for any reason unless they are in severe pain they won't recover from. They say they don't have any other options, but I'm not sure whether or not I believe that. read more

Our dog Flynn was recently really sick and we took him to Angell Memorial for a second opinion, after having been to our local vet. Angell was able to fit us in with not too much wait, given the serious nature of his disease. We met with Dr. Meg Whelan and she was truly wonderful. So smart and professional and you can tell she truly cares about the animals she treats. She suggested a pretty advanced treatment plan for Flynn's ITP which involved using drugs they use to treat Chemotherapy in humans. Flynn also needed pretty regular follow up blood tests and Dr. Whelan was willing to let me come in at 7am on weekdays, so she could check him and I could still make it to work on time. How nice was that! It's been almost 3 months and Flynn is doing really well though he still requires regular monitoring, which we do at our local vet, Old Derby Animal Hospital. Dr. Whelan at Angell is still in touch with the staff at Old Derby regularly to check on Flynn's progress. I am eternally grateful to her for helping to save Flynn's life. read more

I hate giving this place anything less than 5 stars because they are a state of the art facility. I am just reviewing Angell based on my experience. I just got my 2 kitties neutered here since they were cheaper that their regular vet... or so I thought. I was told that each cat would cost $101 for a grand total of $202.. Seems logical, right? I was told that everything needed was covered under the umbrella of 101 per cat. I left there spending $450. On initial exam I was told that one cat may need to have a tooth pulled but that she (intern) would call me first before they went ahead and did so because she was going to check with a dentist. I was also told that it would cost around $50. Well when all was said and done his tooth was pulled and I was not asked permission.. the total cost to pull his tooth.. $64! Back to the concept of $101 covering all the necessities.. I was charged additional fees for meds, collars, and anesthesia. I was told this when I was checking out.. not before the surgery. So much for 101 covering everything. So if you are considering a similar procedure for your beloved get the bottom line up front. Otherwise be prepared to pay a healthy bill! And if kitty needs a tooth pulled go elsewhere.. $64.. I'm still trying to justify that charge! Otherwise, the staff is very nice. They offer great specialized services just be prepared to pay! read more

The MSPCA will always get five stars in my heart. Without them I would not have found my best friend, my heart, and the one thing that can make me smile when the rest of the world wants to make me cry. Time machine back to February 2010. I had decided I wanted a dog. I had scoured pet finder and found two dogs I was interested in- a deaf dog and a dog with three legs (clearly looking for special needs). I looked at them/met them, but they were not going to be good fits. The girl that helped us said, "You work long hours, these guys have major separation anxiety issues. You need an older, mellow dog. How do you feel about a pit bull?" Me: "Uhhhhhh.I don't know?" (Seriously, I had no idea that people hated pit bulls. How can you hate them!? They are awesome!) Out comes Eugene. A galumphy, snorty blue-nosed pit bull who walked right into my heart. I told my then husband "I need him. We have to get him." And we did. And we renamed him Gus. And he is awesome. We've since taken obedience classes and agility classes that are super awesome. (Gus loves the teeter-totter thing and high jump). The training is first class and really reasonable price-wise. My ultimate goal is to get him certified as a Canine Good Citizen so he can be a therapy dog. Until then, I'll keep going to classes, sending them money, and running races in their honor. There isn't a better animal charity in Boston. Send them all your money. Now. read more

Clicking the 5 stars and seeing "Woohoo! As good as it gets!" does not make writing this already difficult review any easier. However, as sad as my experience here was, Angell deserves all 5 stars. When I carried our cat Trouble in here a few weeks ago, I knew there was a chance it was bad, but I hoped it wasn't as grim as it could have been. As soon as they saw the difficulty he was having breathing, they rushed him to the ICU and had him on oxygen. It was clear from the beginning that it was probably bad, but it was also clear that everyone here cared about him immediately and wanted to do what they could for him. I was there for hours, and while it was difficult and stressful for me, and probably a million times worse for Trouble, who hated strangers and strange places, everyone at Angell did what they could to keep me informed at all times, and let me know that they were doing everything they could to diagnose him and make sure he was getting the best care possible. It took two days of IV medication in an oxygen cage before my cat was healthy enough to slip his way into his carrier on his still sedated legs and come home, and the prognosis was very guarded. He had very severe heart disease and needed three different medications twice a day to keep it in check. While hearing that news was extremely hard to handle, Dr. Kane made it much easier simply because he seemed so genuinely sympathetic and caring about it. He also recognized while Trouble could probably benefit from another night of medication and staying on oxygen, he was so much more stressed than a normal cat from being in there that he was probably better off coming home. He cared enough to recognize what my cat really needed and did what he felt was best based on his own experience with him, not just based on some normal by-the-book routine. Every other doctor I spoke over the following two weeks seemed to immediately know who I meant when I mentioned Trouble, and had their own experience with him during his stay. They all knew him and seemed really sympathetic about his intense dislike of being at the hospital, and seemed to like him even more because of it. They were careful because he could get aggressive, but never seemed angry about it, they just seemed to want to try harder to make him feel better. Last week, when he started having difficulty breathing again and we rushed him in, we knew it was bad, and Dr. Kane was very calm and honest about everything that needed to be done to help him. He was ready to do everything they could to save Trouble and pull him out of heart failure again, but it wasn't to be. Shortly after we stepped out of the room, while they were prepping him for the chest tap he needed, he went into cardiac arrest. The team started CPR and I believe did everything they could to save him. We lost him that night, but I don't blame anyone at Angell for that. He was old and had a severe heart condition. I truly believe that everyone there wanted to save him and wanted to give him the best, longest life possible. From our perspective, they were very caring and sympathetic and seemed legitimately saddened to lose him. There is no way this could ever have been easy, but everyone at Angell did what they could to be sure that they never made it harder than it had to be. While it ended sadly, I don't regret bringing him to Angell even for a moment. They gave us some time with him that we never would have had without their help, and I believe they gave him the best chance he could have ever had. read more

Brought my cat to be neutered here Friday morning. First off - the prices to fix your animal up here are outstanding. I thought shelters and such were supposed to encourage people to get their animals fixed to control the population problem, even without filling out a low income form. Besides that, though, we were told to bring the cat in at 7 am to drop him off. My sister and I got a zipcar and got there at 650. I had to be at work by 745 so I thought it'd be enough time, especially since I work 10 min away from the shelter. We were told to have a seat before a technician came out to take our cat. After 30 minutes, I started getting curious as to why nobody had come by to pick up the cat. I went up to the front desk and asked what was going on; the woman responded, "sorry our internet's down I'm trying to find the number." Idk what number she was looking for or why their system of checking in animals relied on the Internet, but I said okay and sat down. Another 10 min past and now I was worried I was going to be late to work, so I asked again. The woman answered that she was sorry and was just looking for the number to call the doctor ............... My sister wound up dropping me off at work and going back to wait. She was there for another 35 min waiting for the Internet to get back up, before she got called back to do a physical exam with the dr. I'm not sure why they couldn't just take the cat in since it was just a simple neuter - no vaccines or anything. The exam isn't what bothered me, it was the outrageous wait. Why have us drop off the animal so early if you're going to leave us waiting there for close to an hour, if not more? read more

We arrived for our dog's appointment and the doctor wouldn't see us but said we could come back 3 hours later. We took work off for this appointment and live 40 minutes away. I wouldn't trust them with my dog. Super disorganized. read more

This isn't a "regular vet visit" vet... this is where you go when your dog gets hit by a car or has a horrible accident or has cancer. Are you going to pay a lot? YES. Are they going to save your beloved pet? Yes (if it's possible, it'll happen here). Will you sleep better at night knowing you got your pet the absolute best care? Yes. 'Nuff said. read more

Words cannot describe how much I love this place. It was a Sunday afternoon and we had just become new daddies 24 hours earlier. Our 8 week old beagle/basset puppy, June, was not doing well. She was dehydrated, confused, vomiting, and a few other symptoms. We called Angell and asked for advice on what to do, and were told to bring her into the Critical Care area. Reception met with us, checked us in, and while still checking in we were greated by a vet-tech "who has the puppy in distress?". He immediately was by our side helping us with our little June-bug. After taking her back, about 15 minutes later Dr. Maggie Thies met with us and explained the situation with our pup. After her recommendations, we left her overnight for care and observation. The care she is getting is clearly top notch, and they have visiting hours. She was well taken care of, and they even made sure she got to sleep with one of our t-shirts that smelled like us so she could be more comfortable. At 10:30pm we got a text and a picture of our puppy from saying Goodnight to her Daddies. This was enormously appreciated--- Lauren her Care Coordinator texted us this picture and it really helped us feel better going to bed knowing she was in such good care. It was a simple touch, but really wonderful. I called almost first thing the next morning, and spoke with Dr. Thies herself. She gave me an update on my little girl, and we are going to get her and bring her home this afternoon. When checking out with out pup, we were explained how to give her her medications and all of our questions were answered. Additionally, we were told how to contact Angell if we had follow up questions after leaving. Hopefully we will not need to be back for emergency care, but if we do... I know she'll be in good hands. read more

This is a review for the Avian department at Angell. We have a boar named Junior who we wanted to neuter and decided to come here after being referred. It's not close to our house but I wanted the best care for our little piggie. Dr. Staudenmeier performed Junior's surgery and I am so thankful for her and her team. It's been almost two months and Junior is healing well! There were some concerns along the way (neutering a guinea pig can be a very invasive surgery) and Dr. Staudenmeier and the team were available 24/7 via email and by phone during normal business hours. We received exceptional customer service throughout Junior's surgery and post-op and I would not hesitate to bring any of our animals (we have another guinea pig and two pekingese dogs) to Angell again. read more

By far a horrible experience, and not just because my cat needed emergency surgery. My vet performed surgery, but needed my cat to be sent here for observation overnight because my vet was closed overnight. This place charges a lot to keep an animal overnight and doesn't watch your recovering animal. Sometime overnight, my cat pulled out his catheter and they didn't realize it until the next morning, setting back his recovery another two days, at least, and costing me another thousand dollars. This is on top of super slow service, unmarked entrances, poor location, and dirty waiting area. read more

Update, apparently there's an additional $45 fee to test a stool sample which was also not disclosed. I am beyond frustrated with the lack of care displayed by the employees here. They also look so unhappy to be working here. This place sucks!!! Original review below... Called to schedule an appointment for my kitten... I made it clear that we had no paperwork (long story) and were concerned about making sure he receives any appropriate vaccinations. I asked what the cost was, was told $75. Ok, great. We get to the appointment and they ask me at the front desk for his stool sample. Don't have one because the person who booked us over the phone did not suggest we do that. It would have been nice to know in advance so I won't have to make two trips when I could have accomplished this in a single trip. Ok, well, no big deal. They tell me to go wait at the cat waiting area and point to the left. I ask "are you sure it's on the left?" and she says yes. However the left has a sign for dogs (and every animal over there is a dog), so we ignored her recommendation and waited on the right side in the "cat" section with another cat owner. Then we meet with the triage nurse who is pleasant and asks us some questions which we answer. She doesn't seem to know the answer to the questions or maybe is still in training. No big deal. HOWEVER, when the doctor comes in she asks us the same questions, not acknowledging our previous answers. Does the doctor simply not read the notes, or did the first person not take notes at all? Either way this is very frustrating...I feel like I am not really being listened to at this point. A few minutes into the exam, the doctor mentions it is "free microchip month" but we have to have it implanted at the time of the visit. Well gee, it would have been nice to know this in advance so we could have done some research and made an informed decision ahead of time rather than have to decide on the spot. I ask whether we can come back any time during the month and am told no, it only applies during the appointment. After that, I am offered a "sample" of toothpaste, but wait, it's not a free sample, it is a $10 sample. Wtf? We also get upsold on this test which may or may not be accurate for an additional $63...so in my head I am doing the math and come up with about $150 ($75, $63, $10). But wait, when checking out, the bill is almost $200, because the vaccines are apparently NOT included in the $75 fee. It appears that the employees here have not been trained on how to set expectations accordingly which has wasted my time and costed me more than originally had budgeted. I went with this hospital at the recommendation of a friend and the fact that it is open weekends but I felt like I was being jerked around and that I was seen as a sales opportunity rather than a person. Save your time and money and avoid this place...you and your pet deserve better! read more

I only go here when my Ruby dog has an after hours emergency because this is our only option. The experience is always okay, but is rarely under $250. This last trip was $566, and the doctor ended up running a crap ton of blood work most likely assuming we'd be scheduling surgery at Angell. I actually held off on getting my dog spayed when she was a pup because I didn't want her to have surgery here, and still felt the same way as of this Sunday. Just to be seen, be prepared to shell out $130. It's $130 before they do anything. You have to pay up front. Also, WTF is a trauma work up? No such things was mentioned and cost me about $100 and my dog had no trauma. My dog had surgery elsewhere, and it ran me $600. Angel quoted me around $2,500. I can't fathom how they can overcharge so much more, particularly when I feel like my vet elsewhere is so much better. Also, scare tactics when it comes to pets isn't okay. I feel like they try to freak you out to get extra services or so they run more tests. Ruby, no more evening issues-day time only! read more