Hickory Veterinary and Specialty Hospital

i highly recommend coming here for any emergency with your pet. my sweet girl moo is 14 years old. she had a hot spot they took care of for her this past september, and breathing problems this past weekend. i can tell they took great care of her and they were very kind and helpful.

posted: 05/27/2024

We had a TERRIBLE experience with Hickory Emergency vet service which ultimately resulted in the death of our pet. DO NOT take your pet here in an emergency situation. They had no sense of urgency or the “triage” they mention on their page. They misdiagnosed our dog. We were there on a Monday because she had a large mass on her shoulder. They said it was most likely cancer and wanted to take an X-ray to see if there were tumors in her chest. Took an X-ray, no tumors. Took a biopsy, no cancer cells. $1,000 bill. Sent us home with antibiotics and told us to come back if things didn’t improve. Our dog had Addison’s disease and they didn’t listen to her history. We brought her back the next day due to lack of appetite and her being lethargic, and again, no sense of urgency. They removed 12oz of puss from the site and put her back in the room leaving the open wound bleeding with no gauze or bandage and no sense of urgency when we saw her go completely limp and started yelling in pain. They recommended surgery and said they couldn’t give her any pain medication due to her Addison’s (although our regular vet was able to prescribe medicine that was safe with her disease). We wanted to do the surgery at our vet since Hickory wasn’t very responsive. They said that would be fine and we scheduled the surgery for the next morning. We took our dog home and she passed in a matter of hours. I was sent a survey and of course I left a bed review. When they called to talk to me about it they said, “Well, your dog was old, and with Addison’s this was expected.” That was after they said we could do the surgery the next day. Our dog had Addison’s for over four years and lived a happy, healthy life, even with a wound on her back that often wouldn’t heal. We took her to the vet every month and they monitored her levels. I truly believe she would still be with us if she got better treatment from this vet.

posted: 08/25/2024

Unfortunately my mom had to make the incredibly difficult choice to put her dog down after she was struggling with an incurable disease. It was after hours and she was unable to go to her regular vet, so she went to Hickory. An already awful experience was made worse by staff who were not compassionate or seemingly knowledgeable. To start, we were taken into a private room and the receptionist from the front came in while we were spending time with/saying goodbye to our dog to get my mom's form of payment. I understand they need to have people pay for the emergency services, but the lack of compassion during such a horrible moment felt so cold. Then the vet came in a while later and unfortunately we didn't catch his name, but he initiated the process and when something strange happened, my mom asked, "Is that a normal response to sedative?" And he said, "uh..I'm not too sure. Not really." Then he said he was going to continue. When I asked if she was in pain he just said "I think she's sleeping" when she clearly wasn't. After we said goodbye, we were walking out(my mom in tears) the receptionist says, "Enjoy the rest of your night" Such an awful experience was made even worse with the lack of empathy from this hospital. If our dog wasn't suffering so much we would've went elsewhere. I will never take my pets here or recommend this location.

posted: 08/07/2024

Had a late night emergency with my cat, called to make an “appointment” and they took him right in when I arrived. The doctor kept me very well informed throughout the 3 day stay. Great staff :)

posted: 04/19/2024

My recent experience at this clinic could have been much better in terms of care and consistency. Despite consulting with a number of emergency vets at this clinic over the span of five days, my pet's diagnostic issues persisted, even after being discharged. This was a disappointing outcome, especially considering the significant expenses incurred and the number of vets my pet saw. As a result, I sought care elsewhere and was pleasantly surprised to find it characterized by consistent and more accurate diagnostics, exceptional service, and genuinely compassionate vets. My concerns are further validated by similar experiences shared by others. It's disheartening to learn that these challenges are not unique to my own experience. Throughout this ordeal, I encountered conflicting opinions and a lack of consistency in care and communication among the different veterinarians. Despite the considerable expenditure, critical issues remained undiagnosed, leaving me with more questions than answers. While I understand that medical problems can be complex, the inconsistency in care and updates was concerning. The clinic's response to our dissatisfaction was inadequate, and unfortunately, critical issues were overlooked. This underscores the need for improvement in certain areas of care oversight. In light of these experiences, I urge prospective clients to carefully consider all factors when seeking emergency veterinary care for their pet. It's crucial to ensure they receive the quality of care they deserve, safeguarding both their health and your peace of mind.

posted: 05/25/2024