Return-Path: Received: from IUS1.CS.CMU.EDU by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU; 16 Aug 88 14:16:28 EDT Received: from IUS1.CS.CMU.EDU by IUS1.CS.CMU.EDU; 16 Aug 88 14:14:51 EDT To: Harry.Bovik@k.gp.cs.cmu.edu Subject: North Hills veterinarians Keywords: animals, veterinarians Date: Tue, 16 Aug 88 14:14:48 EDT Message-ID: <4313.587758488@IUS1.CS.CMU.EDU> From: Carol.Novak@IUS1.CS.CMU.EDU Here are the responses I got when I asked for recommendations of veterinarians and veterinary hospitals in the North Hills area..... :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Date: Tuesday, 19 Jul 88 16:06:47 EDT From: littke (Nancy Littke) @ b.psy.cmu.edu The vet that I take my cat to is very good and seems knowledgeable and I have been very pleased with him. His last name is Woods (Robert) and his office is on Highland Road in McCandless, right across from Espe Elementary (very close to where Hills used to be). A friend of mine has a vet named Bolenz that she likes very much also. Happy purring! -Nancy Littke :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Date: Tue, 19 Jul 88 17:48:52 EDT From: Alfred Peterson My wife and I have had good success with Allegheny North Vet. Hospital. We have two cats and have been there on three occasions, including one "emergency" bladder infection. It is run by a husband and wife who are both DVMs and live upstairs so they can do effective post-operative care, etc. Their fees are not high, although I can't recall any figures off the top of my head. I recommend them highly. --Spencer Peterson, SEI :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Date: Wed, 20 Jul 1988 09:55-EDT From: Charles.Krueger@ORCRIST.GANDALF.CS.CMU.EDU Debbie (my wife) is a veterinarian at the North Boros Veterinary Hospital. It is a modern, progressive, well equipted hospital with 3 doctors. I'm sure you would be happy with their service. You can ask to see a particular doctor, so if you would like for Debbie to take care of your animal, tell the receptionist when you make your appointment and/or when you come to the clinic (they have some open office hours and some appointment-only hours, but I can't remember when). The clinic is located at 2255 Babcock Blvd., just across from Lighting By Eric. If you take the Babcock exit off of McKnight, it's about 1/4 mile east (towards Millvale). Their phone is 821-5600. As far as Allegheny North and Northview, it appears that Northview is a better clinic (based on the veterinary gossip). They have a doctor there that specializes in birds, and Debbie often refers difficult bird cases to him. --Charlie :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Date: Wed, 20 Jul 88 10:48:20 -0400 (EDT) From: Mark Held For the past 25 years or so my family and I have used Wexford Veterinary Hospital - 10309 Perry Hwy. - 935-5911. It's at the top of Pine Creek Hill, Heading north on Rt 19 about a mile from the intersection of McKnight and Perry Highway (actually the northern termination of McKnight Road), on the left hand side of the road. It's tough to see the driveway, and if you get as far as the first light at the top of the hill then you've passed it. It's worth looking for. We've always gotten excellent care, frank advice (at times painful), and prompt response in emergencies. They now have 3 vets; Dr's Childress (the founder), O'leary and a young woman whose name escapes me. I've dealt with them all and would never go elsewhere. My brother lives very close to the vet you mention on Seibert and has been taking his Lab, Buddy, ther for seven years. No complaints, no problems. In fact once Buddy took a tour of Northway Mall on his own a few years ago and was traced to my brother only by an off-hours effort by the people at that vets. Buddy was wearing only his rabies vaccination tag, the police called the veterianarian at home who drove to the office and looked up my brother's address in his files. Good Luck, -Mark Held :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Date: Wed, 20 Jul 88 12:10:51 EDT From: Ellen.Borison@ZOG.CS.CMU.EDU We generally take our cats to Hart's Run Animal Hospital in Fox Chapel. It is a small practice and not equipped for anything major. For major problems, we have dealt with both Northview and with Wexford Animal Hospital. We have had a bad experience with Northview but would recommend Wexford highly, even if it may be a bit further out. (It is on Rt. 19 in Wexford.) Our experience with Northview: Only a month or two after we got her, one of our cats got very sick very quickly. We brought her into Northview barely alive and she died shortly after we left her. (Not unexpectedly.) However, they gave us the brush-off when we tried to question them about possible causes (given that we have a multiple cat household, understanding causes could be important to the other cats health!). This happened several years ago. Since then, Hart's Run has been acquired by Northview and is now staffed by a woman named Betsy Kennon. She's great, but she does not practice at the main hospital. For major problems, we take the cats to Wexford Animal Hospital and see Dr. Childress. He will take time to answer our questions. I have confidence (based on experience) in his judgement and he has opened the Hospital after hours to treat an emergency. I recommend him highly. - Ellen :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Date: Wednesday, 20 Jul 88 13:54:28 EDT From: dennler (Cathy Dennler) @ a.psy.cmu.edu I have been taking my animals (now 7 cats and 2 dogs) to North Boros Veterinary Hospital on Babcock Blvd. (near Hahn's gardening place) for about 11 years now. There are 3 vets at this practice and they work cooperatively, consulting one another on their cases. I prefer Ken Bollens, who is the senior vet, especially for non-routine matters. He's on top of current developments in animal health and medicine, and does his best to keep down costs, especially for serious illness/non-routine surgery cases, where costs can quickly escalate. In addition, he is aware of the importance of the PERSON'S input regarding an animal's health, i.e., he respects your perception of when an animal may be having a problem and what you think the problem may be, and doesn't make you feel like an ignorant layman. The facilities are great. They are equipped to handle just about anything, including all kinds of lab tests, x-rays, surgery, etc. Although the service is not quite as personal as I'd like (their only flaw) this is more than compensated for by Bollens' professionalism and expertise. We have had several life-threatening situations (including a cat with FUS and a dog with a severe ulcer) and Bollens has always pulled the animals through. In short, I trust his judgement, and am confident that if he can't save an animal, no one can. Most of their office hours are "open hours", i.e., no appointment is necessary. You simply arrive, see the receptionist, and wait your turn, which usually is not long since normally at least two of the vets are present. However, if you want to see a particular vet, you must tell the receptionist (better yet, call in advance to make sure the vet will be there); otherwise, you get to see the next available vet. On occasion, I have been there when Bollens was unavailable, and have seen one of other vets. Frank Haustovich is almost as good as Bollens. Debbie Krueger provides more of the "personal touch" that I mentioned earlier, but I don't feel that she is quite as knowledgeable as the others, except in routine matters. They also board animals at a reasonable cost, and I have used this service several times. My 11-year-old German Shepherd, who was an abused puppy and is a real sissy, always returns from her boarding happy and frisky, so they must be doing something right. Pertinent details: 2255 Babcock Blvd. 821-5600 M-T 10 am - noon Open hours 2 pm - 8 pm Open hours W,H,F 10 am - noon Open hours 2 pm - 5 pm Open hours 6 pm - 8 pm Appointment only Sat 9 am - 1 pm Open hours VISA and Mastercard accepted :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Date: Wed, 20 Jul 88 23:14:21 EDT From: Linda Hutz Pesante I don't know how far you are from Wexford, but the Wexford Veterinary Hospital is so good that I drive from O'Hara Township to see Jay O'Leary there. The vet's office is attached to the hospital. They are excellent vets and good people besides. And they realize that your pet isn't just an animal, if you know what I mean. Not only did they take good care of my Maltese when she was in their hospital, but they called me in the evening to let me know how she was doing. I don't know if they always do that, but they knew I'd had a bad experience--another dog of mine had died at a vet's...the vet's fault. They were very reassuring. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Date: Fri, 22 Jul 88 02:00:12 EDT From: Dave.Touretzky@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU I heartily recommend Northview Animal Hospital. It has three vets. The senior one, Dr. James Beebe, is the best avian vet in Pittsburgh, and is recommended by many knowledgeable pet shops and bird trainers. Even though it's a pain driving there from my home in West Mifflin, I won't take my birds anywhere else. They also treat dogs and cats at Northview. I'm sure your kitty will get excellent service. -- Dave ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::