Oncology services:
My primary Vet referred my boy to UGA for oncology consultation.
Timeframe for Appt: They were scheduling out 6-7 weeks for appointments, so be prepared for that. There is a waitlist for cancellations, and luckily my boy was able to get in sooner that way.
Parking: That was a little confusing! The sign for the small animal day time parking was in a weird spot so I circled the building confused the first time. You also have to get tokens from the front desk to get out of the parking lot.
Front desk: She was kind and efficient.
Provider(s): The only providers I spoke with were in the oncology department. The senior vet student, Erica, and the resident, Dr. Orbay, were both extremely kind. Erica took a detailed history, gave a full run down of how the day would go, and gave accurate timeframes for each part of the day. Dr. Orbay explained my boys situation in detail, gave me several options, and did not pressure me into any specific option. Both were compassionate and seemed to really care.
Building: I like the separate waiting areas to keep animals apart and not overcrowd. There were charging stations in each waiting areas.
Cost: It’s what I expected. Don’t get me wrong, it is expensive. But I have been to Auburn University’s Teaching Hospital in the past and the prices are on par with each other. Just the consultation (no diagnostics) is $200+. I understand that they want to keep the most up to date technology though, and they have to get money for it somehow. Not to mention all the people they have constantly working in the hospital.
Overall: I’d recommend the oncology service and providers. Although the news I got was not what I wanted, the providers did their best. Thank you!
Colleen Reyerson
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March 20, 2025
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!
Suzanne Lee
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March 28, 2025
As soon as we entered we were greeted by 2 friendly young ladies at the front desk. We were seen right away and the vet student in charge was Devin Saunders. He was kind, extremely patient, and explained all options to us clearly so that we could make an informed decision on the treatment we wanted for our bichon frise, Mideum. Dr. Bennett, the veterinarian in charge, came into the room with the most beautiful smile and wrote our options on a board to reiterate what Devin was stating.
I am pleased I chose to try the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. They gave me all options of treatment and not the most costly one. My vet at home was emphasizing surgery, while this hospital told us it was not necessary. I highly recommend giving the school a try, I'm glad I did :)
Adrienne M
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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
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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.
Oncology services: My primary Vet referred my boy to UGA for oncology consultation. Timeframe for Appt: They were scheduling out 6-7 weeks for appointments, so be prepared for that. There is a waitlist for cancellations, and luckily my boy was able to get in sooner that way. Parking: That was a little confusing! The sign for the small animal day time parking was in a weird spot so I circled the building confused the first time. You also have to get tokens from the front desk to get out of the parking lot. Front desk: She was kind and efficient. Provider(s): The only providers I spoke with were in the oncology department. The senior vet student, Erica, and the resident, Dr. Orbay, were both extremely kind. Erica took a detailed history, gave a full run down of how the day would go, and gave accurate timeframes for each part of the day. Dr. Orbay explained my boys situation in detail, gave me several options, and did not pressure me into any specific option. Both were compassionate and seemed to really care. Building: I like the separate waiting areas to keep animals apart and not overcrowd. There were charging stations in each waiting areas. Cost: It’s what I expected. Don’t get me wrong, it is expensive. But I have been to Auburn University’s Teaching Hospital in the past and the prices are on par with each other. Just the consultation (no diagnostics) is $200+. I understand that they want to keep the most up to date technology though, and they have to get money for it somehow. Not to mention all the people they have constantly working in the hospital. Overall: I’d recommend the oncology service and providers. Although the news I got was not what I wanted, the providers did their best. Thank you!
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!
As soon as we entered we were greeted by 2 friendly young ladies at the front desk. We were seen right away and the vet student in charge was Devin Saunders. He was kind, extremely patient, and explained all options to us clearly so that we could make an informed decision on the treatment we wanted for our bichon frise, Mideum. Dr. Bennett, the veterinarian in charge, came into the room with the most beautiful smile and wrote our options on a board to reiterate what Devin was stating. I am pleased I chose to try the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. They gave me all options of treatment and not the most costly one. My vet at home was emphasizing surgery, while this hospital told us it was not necessary. I highly recommend giving the school a try, I'm glad I did :)
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.