After losing contact with the small vet's office we had been taking our three cats to for many years prior, we decided to try switching to APAW, since they are right in our neighborhood. Scheduling the appointment and bringing the cats in was simple, there was a bit of a wait to be seen, but it was a busy day, so we assumed it was just a fluke. Our two older cats required a dental cleaning (with tooth extractions; not surprising as they'd had bad breath a while), which turned out to be very expensive! More than we expected, and we were not given warning of this prior to the billing (in the realm of $1200!) After explaining our shock, a bit of a discount was given, and our cats did seem much happier afterwards. So we figure, okay, a bit pricey but probably worth it. However the receptionists seem to have no idea how to enter information into the database, as the ages and colors of our cats were all mixed up on their printed charts! And I know we filled out the forms correctly. The receptionist took a couple times to get the information right. We're sure that the right cats got the right procedures done, but the mix-up was mildly concerning...

This was about half a year ago.

Now our family has a new pet, a 6 month old lab mix, who we adopted two days ago from an out-of-state rescue. By the recommendation of the rescue we scheduled an appt for our puppy for this morning, after bringing her home last night. The receptionist, over the phone, did not ask if it was a new pet or not, as I would have expected, but again, this did not concern me greatly. We arrived 30 min prior to our appt, in case we needed to fill out the new patient form, but when we signed in, I had to prompt the receptionist to give us the form (which was needed). Again, they were busy, whatever. There was an incoming snowstorm so we were hoping to get puppy checked out as quickly as possible.

I don't think we were seen until 30 minutes after the appt time. There were others who had been there before us, but appointments shouldn't be scheduled so close if there aren't enough techs to handle them in a timely fashion. We brought in our puppy, the tech took her weight and temp, and told us the doctor would be in shortly. Maybe 15 minutes later of pacing around this small exam room and no sign of the vet. We were told that another pet required some extra x-rays so the doctor was behind. Okay, fine. The receptionist came in to explain to us their expensive-sounding wellness plan (not even sure if we would even need the puppy plan or adult plan). We wait some more, while puppy curls up and falls asleep. I peek into the back room to see the vet entering some info into a computer while the tech paces around. It's about an hour past our scheduled appointment time now, and I suddenly remember the inordinate wait when we took our cats in for an exam.

The vet finally comes in, and checks the puppy out, says she seems to be doing well. We asked about a bizarre cough she started displaying when seeing other dogs in the waiting room, but the vet said nothing appeared to be wrong, and to just keep an eye on it. When I tried to ask a few questions the vet was distracted by how cute the puppy is (which is understandable, but not very professional). We finished up the appointment and went out to pay.

By this point, we were the last family in the waiting room. Snow is coming down heavy. We went to the reception desk and were not even acknowledged by the young woman working there, who then got caught up talking to a friend and disappeared to the back. A couple minutes later she resurfaced, still chatting. I flagged her down and got an annoyed, 'We're still getting the medications together (heartworm and Frontline), we don't know the cost yet,' while leisurely flipping through our file and talking to someone on the phone. While we were waiting, someone showed up at the entrance, which had been locked, and knocked. We let the guy in, because the receptionist did not even bother to acknowledge him. The man received a blank stare from the receptionist and told her that he had been informed they were closing at 4pm because of the snow ('No...?'), and that his dog would be receiving a bath, which I assume meant the dog was to be picked up around that time (a bit after 1pm). More blank stares and some awkward back and forth, before the receptionist asked him, vaguely, if he would be paying by credit card. I did not see how the situation resolved, as we needed to get our puppy home (after we were -finally- given the bill), but it was a painful exchange to witness.

I am leaving 2 stars for this because despite the wait time, our prior visit went very smoothly. The vet and techs were great and thorough with our cats, and they were very happy after their tooth cleaning. This visit however, was a trainwreck, and despite what the vet said puppy is still hoarse and coughing. We will see how our next visit unfolds, but it might be time to seek out another office again...