Cottonwood Falls Animal Clinic

Don’t try to call them if you’re having an emergency with your animal after hours. Despite being a 24/7 emergency vet, the receptionist was very rude (and hung up on me!) and told me they wouldn’t even forward my message to the vet since we had not been a client with them for minimum 2 years. Thankfully our cat survived our 600km overnight drive to Calgary.. but I have heard of this situation happening to others and their pet died 😢 if an emergency vet is a service provided it should be available to everyone, otherwise don’t advertise the service.

I have moved to the area recently and it was really hard to find any vet in the area that would see my senior dog who started displaying signs of lack of bladder control. Out of calling every vet in the area up to and hour and a half away, Cottonwood gave us an appointment which I was very thankful for. Since my senior dog has been very well taken care of, Theresa has a genuine kind way and love of animals and you can feel that, the front desk staff are also very kind and friendly. I feel a huge amount of care in there and so decided to take both my dogs there instead of another local vet we had found that wouldn’t give us appointments other than an annual check up three months away. Theresa also made me feel at ease with my dogs condition and that was such a relief. She has since rectified her UTI and went above and beyond and discovered a kidney issue which is now being supplemented. I feel safe bringing my girls here and am super thankful for them seeing us when nobody else would. I have only had really great experiences and would recommend if you want a vet that truly knows and cares about animals. Pricing was also fair, cheaper than previous experiences so that’s a plus.

Dr Hart is a very intuitive lady with great animal communication skills. She is also very skilled, knowledgeable and kind.

We moved to the area in late 2020. Cottonwood Falls was the only clinic accepting new pets I could find between Trail and Nelson. We had our first appointment in early 2021 with them. Charlie was 10 at the time and did have previous health issues. I believe we had 4 appointments at the clinic. We generally waited 10-15 minutes for our appointment, however waited upwards of 30 minutes once. Always felt rushed and that they were overbooked. Craziness of covid and lack of vets accepting new pets I didn't let it bother me. June 4th I received a call from my girlfriend saying Charlie was acting weird and something was wrong. I left work and came home. Instantly I knew something was wrong and called Cottonwood Falls Animal Clinic to bring Charlie in for after hours emergency appointment. Answering service told me to sit tight and Dr Hart would be in touch soon. 30 minutes later I don't hear anything so I called back again, telling them how concerned I am and I want to start driving into Nelson(we live in Salmo). They tell me to sit tight Dr Hart will be in touch soon and could potentially drive out to our house in Salmo. After another 20 minutes I decide I'm no longer waiting, started driving to Nelson and called another clinics emergency after hour line. That doctor called me back within 5 minutes and was waiting for us at the clinic by the time we made it to Nelson. I received a call back from Dr Harts office, 2 hours after my intial phone call and they advised me to call someone else as Dr Hart wasn't responding. I was less then impressed and already at another vet. They did an ultrasound on Charlie and saw several suspected tumors and appeared something internally had ruptured/leaking. They gave him pain meds, us a grim reality and sent us home with a follow up more in depth appointment in the morning. Unfortunately Charlie passed away by my side late that night. Thankfully at home and pain free. The doctor who assisted us that night, called us multiple times to see how we were doing, was waiting for us when I arrived with Charlies remains, assisted with arranging cremation and sent us a card in the mail. Here we are over 3 months later and have never received a follow up call from Dr Harts office. Maybe to check up with how our emergency worked out for us? or why we haven't been in to fill Charlie's prescriptions? The clinic that assisted us that night was surprised that Charlie had never received an ultrasound. He was older and had health issues, one of the things they would have recommended for a new patient, such as Charlie, was an ultrasound. Would have it made a difference? Could we have extended his life if we had caught it 4-6 months earlier? That's something I'll never know, but at the very least could have known his time was coming to an end and have been better prepared. I gave them 3 months to follow up with me and for my emotions to settle before writing this review. Hands down the worst experience I've ever had with a vet. There's lots more in general I could say about our overall experience with Cottonwood Falls Animal Clinic. From the very first appointment I told my girlfriend I didn't have a good feeling there. My biggest regret is not trusting my gut and finding an alternative vet clinic.

We have always had great experiences here. Appointments are easy to book, prices are in line with most vets.