I'm extremely upset with the service I received from this practice, both in terms of the care for my pony and the way I’ve been treated as a client.
My elderly pony was unwell and deteriorating, and I called the practice to discuss whether euthanasia might be the kindest option or if there were other options worth exploring. Unfortunately, the vet who attended barely spoke to me, offered no guidance or compassion, and took bloods without any meaningful discussion. I was left with no understanding of what had been done or what the plan was. As it turns out, some of the blood tests taken were completely unnecessary, and if the vet had spoken to me properly, they could have been avoided — saving both time and a very large bill.
The situation escalated from there. I was told the results would be back by Friday morning, but despite calling the practice multiple times that day, I never received the promised call. I was told three times that someone would ring me “shortly,” and then falsely told they had already tried to contact me — which they hadn’t. I finally received a call the next day (Saturday) to confirm the bloods showed euthanasia was the kindest option.
I arranged the procedure for the following Tuesday, but despite the practice knowing my pony was very nervous and couldn’t be handled in the usual way, they sent a vet who had no prior information. This vet stated the procedure couldn’t go ahead without a headcollar (which wasn’t possible), and that I should have been advised to go down the route of a gun euthanasia. Had this been explained to me earlier, a highly distressing and unnecessary situation could have been avoided.
Worse still, the vet attempted to chase and corner my pony, despite me repeatedly asking her not to. The pony was left frightened in his final moments. Eventually, she allowed me to sedate him — something I had asked to do at the beginning — and I had to organise the gunman myself. Throughout all this, I was trying to do the right thing, yet I felt unheard and dismissed. The vet even admitted before leaving that the visit should never have happened and told me I would not be charged.
And yet, despite all of this, I’ve now received an invoice, including:
A full call-out fee for the euthanasia visit — which didn’t go ahead as planned.
An "emergency" surcharge, even though I made it clear this was not an emergency.
The full cost of blood tests, some of which were unnecessary and could have been avoided with proper communication.
To make things worse, I was told someone from the practice would follow up with me after I raised a complaint. Nobody has contacted me. Instead, they ignored my concerns and just sent me a bill.
I’ve owned horses and animals my whole life and have never made a complaint like this. I’ve always had enormous respect for veterinary professionals. But the handling of this situation — the lack of compassion, poor communication, inappropriate charging, and complete absence of accountability — has been disgraceful.
I would urge others to think carefully before using this practice, especially in sensitive or emergency situations. What should have been a peaceful and respectful goodbye turned into something I now relive with deep distress.
