Russell Animal Hospital PA: Dr. James Paine, DVM

My first visit was great. The vet was able to figure out what was causing my dog issues and put him on a medication. I went back for a recheck, because he was better but needed another at round of medication. She checked out his rear end and mentioned something about anal glands and I said he's had his anal glands checked before and he didn't need them done. Then she said they were just going to take him to the back and check them out. Never told me that it was going to cost me $70 for them to check him out in the back. Took him back there brought him out and said yep they were empty. I found out after I had already paid the bill and looked at the invoice that I was charged. Never express to me that they were going to charge me. I already paid for the vet visit and then they took him in the back to look at them and then I got an extra charge. For something I told her he didn't need. One not so happy dog mama. Just clarify with them before they do anything with your dog if they're charging you for it. Question them at the front desk about it. The vet tech she questioned her and said so do we still charge if they didn't need it she said yeah if we do the procedure we still charge them. The thing is that wasn't disclosed before he took him back. Never said I recommend having this done this is the cost do you want to do it. It was ok this is what I'm gonna do and guess what I'm gonna do the same to you.

posted: 03/05/2025

They helped my daughter euthanize her kitty

posted: 07/05/2025

Our animals love going to the vets, strange I know but the staff treat our animals like they are family. Everyone is on a first name basis. Best vet in the area

posted: 01/21/2025

Such a gem of a place! The staff are so caring, gentle and knowledgeable, it was worth my commute from Manchester. They were up front and stuck to the pricing plan, no $urprises or hidden fees, no high pressure to buy products or schedule expensive procedures. They genuinely care about the pets and their " parents" as well. The new patent welcome kit was so great, the icing on the cake. They called to check on my Gracie this morning to see how she was coming along. Excellent vets are so hard to find, glad my search is over. They will surely be seeing plenty of business from me in the coming year as I have 5 more where Gracie came from lol

posted: 07/15/2021

On Saturday a.m., I noticed my 1 year old male cat was not himself. He wasn't very interested in his food and I didn't see him go to the litter box that morning. I kept an eye on him for a couple hours and he seemed to be getting worse. He was clearly very uncomfortable and seemed sore in his back end. I brought him to Russell as my boyfriend takes his cat there. My primary vet clinic is not open on Saturdays. Once at Russell, they said they had to call my boyfriend for permission for me to have our cat examined. He had previously done that when we took his cat for a UTI but they said I wasn't in the system. They called and he gave permission again. They did a very quick exam, seeing that my cat was very uncomfortable and they said his bladder was full. They expressed a small amount of urine but my cat was clearly uncomfortable when they were squeezing that area. They gave a pain injection and sent us on our way with no testing or xrays of any kind. I was told to keep an eye on him and to let them know on Monday how he was. Of course they said to contact the emergency clinic if things got worse but they did nothing else. We went home and my poor cat got worse over the next hours. He could not pee and wasn't interested in food. He was in and out of litter boxes but not peeing. He was crying and pacing. I contacted the emergency vet VCA CAVES. I was asked to bring him in. I did and he was admitted with a urinary blockage which can be fatal if not treated immediately. He spent 2 full days there with IVs, catheter, lots of meds and a hospital stay. It cost me $2700 and he is home now but still very unhappy, uncomfortable, peeing all over himself. He endured a traumatic experience. He is very slowly making tiny strides in recovery this evening but I feel as though RUSSELL was neglectful in their assessment and lack of treatment. I feel like they just wanted to treat my cat's discomfort and pain without looking further into the cause. If they had taken more time to try to find the cause of my cat's issue, I feel like things may not have gotten so bad for him. I found the whole experience very upsetting and will not take either of my cats back there.

posted: 11/16/2021