Stellenbosch Animal Hospital

As new pet owners we have been very happy with the service received here so far. We have been helped by 3 different vets and all were great. We especially appreciate Dr. Brugman’s assistance when we brought in our 8 week old puppy for the first time. He was factual about all the risks without stressing us out unnecessarily, and went out of his way with follow up appointments and advice every day for a whole week just to make sure that our dog was okay. We’ve been here a few times and never waited more than 30 mins as walk ins. Everything is also sparkling clean.

We brought our elder cat in two weeks ago due to constipation and were told to leave him there for a few hours to be treated. Upon bringing him in, he was behaving perfectly fine - no other symptoms than the constipation. When we returned to get him, he was drooling excessively and could not even stand. We took him home and he was acting very strangely - called the vet and explained in great detail to the same vet who had treated him what our cat’s symptoms were, but he told us that everything was fine. Not even two hours later we were forced to rush our cat in but during after hours - which was an additional R1000 fee just to bring him in, and within 5 minutes of being there we were told that nothing could be done and he had to be put down. R4000 spent in two days with no proper explanation of what had happened in those four hours he spent at the vet that could have caused this; no care given to concerned pet owners - just dismissal, which resulted in a very great loss.

We took our cat in for what we believed was a hairball problem, but when we took him out of the carrier, we saw a blood streak on the table. Dr Kidd didn't address the blood because apparently "he didn't see it", even though we pointed it out. We felt that he was being rough with our cat when he was inspecting his kidneys and bladder, as our cat kept growling in pain as he squeezed his pelvic region. He was polite, however, and sent us on our way with hairball pellets. Later on in the night we saw him urinating blood, which caused us to rush him to the Bellville TAH hospital at 10PM. It turned out he had bladder stones, which can be fatal and are far more dangerous in male cats. We have spent almost R10 000 in treatment for X-rays, sonars, pain medication, muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories and specialised pellets. We could have saved the cost of the emergency visit if Dr Kidd just addressed the blood streak on the table. I sent the practice a stern email expressing my concerns about the employment of Dr Kidd. Dr Giliomee was the one who responded, and not only did he take no accountability for the lack of care we received and the fact that our cat could have died, but he was, in my opinion, disrespectful with no regard for my cat's health. He said, and I quote, " There are more complaints targeting me and my partners, so if I follow your recommendation, we should all just retire, and I leave veterinary medicine in the hands of more competent veterinarians." I know for a fact this review will be responded to with a blatantly disrespectful response that takes no accountability for their lack of action, as so many other bad reviews for this practice have been responded to. I may have overstepped in questioning Dr Kidd's employment, but I was upset and scared for my cat's health, and you, sir, offered no words of kindness or support. All I would have appreciated was a genuine apology and some concern for my cat, but instead I got a lecture with veterinary terminology and an attitude problem. I was still expected to pay the bill, which I have done, but I will not return to this practice and would recommend to anyone who considers going here that you stand up for your pet if you feel something is being done wrong because so many of the vets here are arrogant and will refuse to apologise or take any accountability if they fail your pet's health.

Professional and lovely people! Would go back tomorrow. Thank you!

Best Animal hospital with the friendliest and helpful staff

Always friendly and caring. All my pets are in very good hands.

We've had great service for a decade and a half for all of our animals at Stellenbosch Hospital. This is why it pains me to write this review. On the 9th of March we brought our kitten in as she was struggling to breathe. The younger male vet attended to the call. He rushed in, didn't greet us and slammed open the gate and door in front of us and our children. No talk, more slamming of stuff and the most inconsiderate bedside manner of any vet we've ever experienced. I asked him if he was having a bad day, and told him he's dealing with a family stressed about their cat's health. He said it's Sunday. He eventually warmed up to almost normal person level a bit at the end with the diagnosis but his behavior in front of us and our young children in a stressful situation before was despicable to say the least. My wife has been back with our 19-year-old cat and he was assigned to help her, but he has still not apologised for his behaviour that day. You'll see from our account we are very longstanding customers who pay our bills. This was the first time we have ever had to deal with this kind of behaviour anywhere, and it makes us extremely uncomfortable to return to a place we have always associated with warm, kind service from the front desk to every vet we've dealt with before.