Wonderful hospital and attentive staff. We took my almost 15-year-old Chihuahua-Pug mix Joey there for testing as my vet suspected he may have Cushing's disease.
A 4-year vet student coordinates the care and explains each step in the process, and initial and final meetings with the vet. The staff gave Joey a battery of tests, including abdominal ultrasound, blood work, and ear analysis.
Joey went into a full-blown panic and turned into a little land Piranha after they tried to put the muzzle on him, with no luck. They sent us back to the hotel with meds to help his anxiety and we returned the next morning. This time they put him in what they call an air muzzle, which is a globe with a front opening and velcro in the back. He did much better with that muzzle (he looked like Astro from The Jetsons; see photo).
They had to sedate him in order to do the tests, which made me a little nervous considering Joey is almost 15 and has inflammatory bowel disease, which he likely had when I adopted him as a puppy. The vet explained that she went easy on the sedation given his age. And I'm grateful she was cautious, because we left around 3 pm and he really didn't come out of it until midnight.
The clinic has very efficient processes every step of the way. It did take several weeks to get the appointment, and they require a $100 deposit at that time. There's no getting around the fact that it can get pricey, depending on what tests they do. The total for Joey's diagnostics was $1,600.
The vet said it's very likelyJoey does have Cushings, which can be controlled with a med. She recommended that my vet repeat the initial test, to confirm the diagnosis. The vet was very good about explaining everything, and answering our questions. And they were very patient with Joey, considering he was initially quite uncooperative!
This vet hospital has a great reputation and is well respected. We talked with other dog owners who had come quite a distance, i e. Greenville, and we are told that's common for people to even come from other states.
The route options from Atlanta to Athens seem to be an unavoidable convoluted mess. And Google Maps did a horrible job, but we didn't have much better luck with Waze and MapQuest. If I ever travel to Athens again, I would be sure to have a GPS unit like a Garmin or Magellan, and a hard copy map!
Emma Held
-
February 08, 2025
Had a fantastic experience with UGA Vet Teaching Hospital. My sweet pup swallowed part of his rope toy (don’t make the same mistake as us and buy your dog rope toys) and had a blockage so I took him in. The doctors were incredibly empathetic, thorough, timely, and professional. They took amazing care of him and got him out of there within 24 hours. It could have been much worse and their attention to detail helped to save him & get him better. 4 days later and he’s back to being our perfect pup again. Thank you, UGA Vets!
Slightly expensive but what you’d expect for an emergency room, and would pay it all over again for the peace of mind.
Adrienne M
-
February 13, 2025
We have been through the ER here with other pets and can’t say I have had the best experience in the past. However my beloved kitty boy Jormun started having rapid weight loss and we assumed it was a bad worm infestation. Took him to UGA and after much testing, we found out he has dry FIP, which is very hard to diagnose and was extremely overwhelming to come to terms with. I was so thankful that the ER doctor (ahh I forgot her name!) was able to conclude this and get us over to Dr. Talavera in Internal Medicine. Dr. Talavera and her entire team were absolutely amazing to our boy. We were so impressed with her knowledge of FIP and felt like we were in the best hands possible, especially because it’s relatively hard to find a vet well-versed with FIP. It was a super dark first week for him, considering he was at death’s doorway, but now he is on day 15 of the new FIP treatment and almost completely himself again. Dr. Talavera and her team made my boy feel as comfortable as possible and made us as cat parents feel validated and informed. They understood this was the biggest thing happening in our lives and were very involved in updates. I really cannot thank them enough and highly encourage anyone with concerns of FIP to establish care with Dr. Talavera!
Tiffany McCannon
-
August 14, 2024
I cannot say enough good things about this place. We came in with our 1 year old Frenchie who was having cluster seizures for the first time ever. We were very scared, worried and didn’t have much money. The good folks here worked with us to make sure we could afford the proper care/hospitalization that our boy needed. Everyone we encountered was kind, compassionate, patient, understanding, and genuine. The neurology dept also explained his condition and treatment in great detail. We left with many reassurances, peace, and hope that our beloved Zeus was going to be just fine. We cannot express our gratitude enough. I will always refer everyone I know to UGA as I constantly sing their praises.
Bre Fowler
-
January 19, 2024
Dr. Chen is amazing! My German Shepherd had to have surgery to have a foreign object removed. Dr. Chen called before and after the surgery, she was very knowledgeable and kind! She answered all my questions and explained everything thoroughly!
Dr. Chen seems passionate about what she does, and the rest of her team I’ve communicated with has also been informative and nice! I love how she referred to the animals in their care as “kids” too!! From the front desk, to the nurses they all seemed great! I think one of the girl’s name was Zoey who was a student working with Dr. Chen, she was super helpful! They seem to be a very busy place, but they don’t push you away or make you feel any less important! This place felt like a real human hospital and the care is beyond anything i’ve ever seen!
I think this place is amazing and would absolutely recommend anyone bringing their pets here!! I even got pictures of my sweet girl during her stay, and they called me twice a day to give me updates as she’s staying there recovering for the next couple of days!❤️🩹 So far, I haven’t had one bad thing to say. The price for her procedure was really expensive, but the care is top notch and worth it! If anything ever went wrong in the future (praying that doesn’t happen) I’d rush my pet here in a heart beat! Thank you Dr. Chen and her staff for caring for my dog Karma as well as making me feel involved in every step of her recovery!
Wonderful hospital and attentive staff. We took my almost 15-year-old Chihuahua-Pug mix Joey there for testing as my vet suspected he may have Cushing's disease. A 4-year vet student coordinates the care and explains each step in the process, and initial and final meetings with the vet. The staff gave Joey a battery of tests, including abdominal ultrasound, blood work, and ear analysis. Joey went into a full-blown panic and turned into a little land Piranha after they tried to put the muzzle on him, with no luck. They sent us back to the hotel with meds to help his anxiety and we returned the next morning. This time they put him in what they call an air muzzle, which is a globe with a front opening and velcro in the back. He did much better with that muzzle (he looked like Astro from The Jetsons; see photo). They had to sedate him in order to do the tests, which made me a little nervous considering Joey is almost 15 and has inflammatory bowel disease, which he likely had when I adopted him as a puppy. The vet explained that she went easy on the sedation given his age. And I'm grateful she was cautious, because we left around 3 pm and he really didn't come out of it until midnight. The clinic has very efficient processes every step of the way. It did take several weeks to get the appointment, and they require a $100 deposit at that time. There's no getting around the fact that it can get pricey, depending on what tests they do. The total for Joey's diagnostics was $1,600. The vet said it's very likelyJoey does have Cushings, which can be controlled with a med. She recommended that my vet repeat the initial test, to confirm the diagnosis. The vet was very good about explaining everything, and answering our questions. And they were very patient with Joey, considering he was initially quite uncooperative! This vet hospital has a great reputation and is well respected. We talked with other dog owners who had come quite a distance, i e. Greenville, and we are told that's common for people to even come from other states. The route options from Atlanta to Athens seem to be an unavoidable convoluted mess. And Google Maps did a horrible job, but we didn't have much better luck with Waze and MapQuest. If I ever travel to Athens again, I would be sure to have a GPS unit like a Garmin or Magellan, and a hard copy map!
Had a fantastic experience with UGA Vet Teaching Hospital. My sweet pup swallowed part of his rope toy (don’t make the same mistake as us and buy your dog rope toys) and had a blockage so I took him in. The doctors were incredibly empathetic, thorough, timely, and professional. They took amazing care of him and got him out of there within 24 hours. It could have been much worse and their attention to detail helped to save him & get him better. 4 days later and he’s back to being our perfect pup again. Thank you, UGA Vets! Slightly expensive but what you’d expect for an emergency room, and would pay it all over again for the peace of mind.
We have been through the ER here with other pets and can’t say I have had the best experience in the past. However my beloved kitty boy Jormun started having rapid weight loss and we assumed it was a bad worm infestation. Took him to UGA and after much testing, we found out he has dry FIP, which is very hard to diagnose and was extremely overwhelming to come to terms with. I was so thankful that the ER doctor (ahh I forgot her name!) was able to conclude this and get us over to Dr. Talavera in Internal Medicine. Dr. Talavera and her entire team were absolutely amazing to our boy. We were so impressed with her knowledge of FIP and felt like we were in the best hands possible, especially because it’s relatively hard to find a vet well-versed with FIP. It was a super dark first week for him, considering he was at death’s doorway, but now he is on day 15 of the new FIP treatment and almost completely himself again. Dr. Talavera and her team made my boy feel as comfortable as possible and made us as cat parents feel validated and informed. They understood this was the biggest thing happening in our lives and were very involved in updates. I really cannot thank them enough and highly encourage anyone with concerns of FIP to establish care with Dr. Talavera!
I cannot say enough good things about this place. We came in with our 1 year old Frenchie who was having cluster seizures for the first time ever. We were very scared, worried and didn’t have much money. The good folks here worked with us to make sure we could afford the proper care/hospitalization that our boy needed. Everyone we encountered was kind, compassionate, patient, understanding, and genuine. The neurology dept also explained his condition and treatment in great detail. We left with many reassurances, peace, and hope that our beloved Zeus was going to be just fine. We cannot express our gratitude enough. I will always refer everyone I know to UGA as I constantly sing their praises.
Dr. Chen is amazing! My German Shepherd had to have surgery to have a foreign object removed. Dr. Chen called before and after the surgery, she was very knowledgeable and kind! She answered all my questions and explained everything thoroughly! Dr. Chen seems passionate about what she does, and the rest of her team I’ve communicated with has also been informative and nice! I love how she referred to the animals in their care as “kids” too!! From the front desk, to the nurses they all seemed great! I think one of the girl’s name was Zoey who was a student working with Dr. Chen, she was super helpful! They seem to be a very busy place, but they don’t push you away or make you feel any less important! This place felt like a real human hospital and the care is beyond anything i’ve ever seen! I think this place is amazing and would absolutely recommend anyone bringing their pets here!! I even got pictures of my sweet girl during her stay, and they called me twice a day to give me updates as she’s staying there recovering for the next couple of days!❤️🩹 So far, I haven’t had one bad thing to say. The price for her procedure was really expensive, but the care is top notch and worth it! If anything ever went wrong in the future (praying that doesn’t happen) I’d rush my pet here in a heart beat! Thank you Dr. Chen and her staff for caring for my dog Karma as well as making me feel involved in every step of her recovery!