A Visit to the Gilbertsville Veterinary Hospital

About five years ago, my wife and I decided that we wanted to expand our family. At that point in time children weren’t on the horizon. A dog, however, seemed like a great idea. After some searching online, we visited a no-kill shelter and adopted an American Pitbull Terrier Mix named Syrus.

Syrus was fixed and had all of his shots but we wanted to take him to a veterinarian and get him checked out. Being in a relatively new area, we turned to the web to find a local vet. We narrowed it down to a place in Oley and made an appointment.

I don’t know if this particular vet had a distaste for the breed or if maybe he just had a really bad day. Regardless of the reason, we wound up leaving the office angry and insulted. It was not a good experience and we made the decision, quite easily, that this place was not the one for us.

The following year, when Syrus developed a limp, we began a new search for a veterinarian. On a recommendation of a friend we gave the Willow Creek Animal Hospital a try. Everyone from the receptionist, to the vet tech, to the doctor was pleasant and seemed genuinely happy to see our dog.

The first visit, and every one after that, started the same way. The doctor came into the room and immediately got on all fours to play with our dog. We were happy to call Willow Creek Animal Hospital Our Vet and recommended them to all of our friends.

I tell you this story because I got a disturbing text from my wife yesterday while I was at work. Syrus was in pain and crying out whenever he put weight on one of his hind legs. We were going to need to see a veterinarian. The problem, our new home was a forty-five minute car ride away from Willow Creek Animal Hospital.

While I was happy to make the drive to see our preferred vet, I didn’t want Syrus to have to endure a ninety-minute round trip being jostled around in the back of a car. To keep Syrus comfortable, we were going to need to find a local vet to take a look at him.

We got a recommendation for the Gilbertsville Veterinary Hospital and made an appointment. I immediately got flashbacks to our visit to Oley and hoped that we wouldn’t have a repeat experience because our dog was a pitbull.

We had Willow Creek fax over Syrus’ records and arrived at Gilbertsville Veterinary Hospital for our appointment. I immediately felt at ease when the receptionist greeted us with a smile and began talking to Syrus.

When it was our turn to go into the exam room, the Vet Tech was very friendly both to us and our dog. When it was time to see the doctor, he was also kind and spent plenty of time getting aquatinted with Syrus.

Syrus has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease in the past so I was concerned that he once again fell victim to a tick bite (same symptoms as last time). After a thorough exam, the doctor explained that Lyme was unlikely and that he felt Syrus must have pulled something in his leg.

Syrus responded well to pain meds (I gave him some before going to vet to make him comfortable) so we opted to go with an anti-inflammatory medication. Since the visit, Syrus has been doing well. He needs rest and it has been a chore keeping him from running around with our Daughter.

Our experience with the Gilbertsville Veterinary Hospital has been very positive and we are happy to call them our new vet.