I cannot begin to express my disappointment for Pen Bay Vet Clinic that claims to “care” for their innocent patients. This clinic is ignorant, greedy and uninformative when it comes to vital information. They cannot seem to comprehend that just because they are understaffed, that does not mean they can allow for lackluster check ups, as this leads to problems that owners are unaware about and a diagnosis that is overlooked, leading to the passing of my family’s sweet 6 1/2 year old Doberman.
My family has gone to this clinic for quite a few years, but has not seen their carelessness clearly until now. We are immediately transferring our animals to All Creatures, as they are private owned, not cooperate owned, and much more involved and informed in their veterinary practice.
Our beloved pure bred Doberman, Pepper, was our sweet boy who only loved and looked to please all of the people who surrounded him. We were completely unaware that there were common heart issue in Dobermans, one that our vet was supposed to have tested for at 2 years old, one we were not even informed existed. He had all the signs, lumps on his sides in the early stages; we were told these were nothing to worry about. Next, coughing that sounds like wheezing. We brought our boy to the vet to have this checked. All they cared to do was feel his side, listen to his breathing and make a GUESS that is was pneumonia. They prescribed us with $70 medication and sent us on our way. No tests. Not even a recommendation to another clinic.
That same week, he began to worsen, eating less and becoming very lethargic. This was not the way he usually acted. He was so excited for breakfast time. Now, no interest at all. He was only 6 and a half years old.
Saturday morning, 05/23/26, my father woke at 3:30am to see the living room covered in puke, some parts bloody. This was very concerning to him. Because of the way the vet had treated his concerns for the dog as small issues, he thought maybe the medication was rejecting and he would take the dog to the emergency vet. We truly had no idea…
That morning, 5am my parents took him to the emergency vet, thinking they would bring him home, along with another medication. Since this vet was considerate enough to do an xray, they not only found that he did NOT have pneumonia, but the xray that our vet didn’t care to do showed his heart enlarged, pushing up against his ribcage, his chest full of fluid. The poor pup couldn’t even lay down without spilling his fluid.
That morning was the worst news I’ve ever heard. “Way worse than we thought… it’s his heart… he’s not gonna make it…” I can’t express the sorrow I felt hearing this coming from my mother and my father. This was a terrible and infuriating experience, especially knowing there were signs that could have been noticed, if a vet cared to do their job and consider this issue that was very common knowledge to the emergency vet. Should’ve been common knowledge to any vet who cared about the animals they treat. Congestive Heart Failure. A diagnosis we didn’t receive until after he passed at 6:30am. This was not supposed to happen.
I would never wish this kind of tragedy on any dog owner, especially the ones who know them as their best friends. That’s who this dog was to my father, his best friend. He called the Pen Bay Vet to inform them of his disappointment and grief. They had no real care, only enough to shut him up and get him off the phone, told him they would talk to someone about it. Not good enough.
If you care about your pets NEVER take your animals here. They are cooperate owned, none of the techs are paid enough or happy with their jobs and they are only there to take the money out of your pockets, no matter how little you have. They do not work with you, they do not inform you of life saving tests and they do not allow you to have the life you deserve to have with a healthy and happy animal. We will never get over the death of our sweet boy. I hope no one ever has this happen to them or their family.
We love Penbay Vets! Both doctors are amazing. Our dog sees Dr. Bouchard and she is so compassionate and knowledgable. We have a 100 lb German Shepherd who is terrified of needles, and she does everything she can to make it comfortable for him. The vet techs and office staff are awesome too. We are so thankful to have a place that we trust completely!
My response to your apology (review below):
To clarify again: I had repeatedly told the staff that his reaction to them was not normal for him. He is not an anxious dog, has always loved going to the vet, has never needed sedation during treatment, and has always been comfortable being handled by people.
Your “Staff Only” space is the space you walk through to get to the exam rooms… and I don’t think any other pet owner would stand by doing nothing when their pet is crying out for them every time they’re being handled alone by people that make them uncharacteristically anxious.
I hope that you will adjust your treatment style to make your patients more comfortable with the staff, that you will acknowledge what the owner is trying to convey to you about their pet’s needs, and that you will not dismiss their requests to be present during their pet’s treatment.
Best of luck to you.
This is the first review I have ever written which should tell you something about how strongly I feel. I will not be returning to Pen Bay Vet.
*TLDR: They needed my dog to be sedated to give him shots, refused to let me be there with him, made him howl and cry like I’ve never heard before, condescending staff.
My first visit was for routine vaccinations for my 2 year old dog.
(I have had him since he was 10 weeks old and saw him through all of his first year vaccinations across several different vet offices. He always loved going to the vet and never had any problems with shots.)
He reacted very strongly to his first shots at Pen Bay Vet and they said they were unable to perform the blood draw given how stressed he was getting so we made another appointment to come back.
When we came back for the second visit they told me they did not have an exam room available so I couldn’t go back into the treatment area with him. I could hear my puppy yelling and crying in a way that I have never heard before. They came back out with him and said they couldn’t get anything done, so I had to return again two days later after giving him THREE rounds of sedatives so that they could handle him.
When I came back for the third visit with my gentle little 2 year old wobbling like he was drunk, the vet tech came out, didn’t introduce herself to me or my dog, and then told me she would be taking him back without me. I insisted that I go back to the treatment area with him so that he would stay calm. She said they would come get me if they had any problems. Within 1 minute he was howling and crying again, and no one was coming to get me.
Keep in mind the “treatment area” is just the space behind the first door, where I could see through the little window that he was skittering around the floor, wobbly, disoriented and scared. I went in and held him, and they were able to do the shot and the blood draw. *Note that they said he wasn’t as drowsy as the dogs normally are on the sedatives. If you need a dog to be passing out to give him a vaccination, you’re doing something wrong.*
When I went to check out, the front desk told me not to let myself back into the treatment area and that next time I need to “ask first instead of just walking in, that would be great”. Her condescending tone and something about “there could be other dogs back there” excuse was absurd to me. I could SEE my dog in distress, with NO other dogs around (*ALSO WHY would there be other dogs in the same treatment area as my sedated and distressed dog in the first place!), and I had ALREADY told them I should be there with him and they refused me.
Coming from a person in health care, this is NOT how patient care should be done. If I could give zero stars I would.
