VCA Carriage Hills Animal Hospital and Pet Resort

Even though our baby didn’t make it, I just want to leave this review here and say thank you. Moon wasn't given the proper care that she needed and deserved, but I’m glad she transitioned and went over to the Rainbow Bridge knowing that you all had did the best you could do and made her comfortable. We’re forever thankful for the compassion and care that you gave us. Thank you. We’ll be forever grateful.

If you ever run into an issue with a duck or chicken, we cannot recommend Dr. Oster in Montgomery, Alabama enough. He is the only avian specialist in the area and also helped develop the exotics program at Auburn, so you truly feel you are in expert hands. We have been dealing with ongoing issues with our sweet duck, Gretchen, for months, and he not only solved the case, but has been such a joy to work with throughout the process. He is extremely communicative, takes the time to call you directly, and even checked in with us by text while he was off. He has been so kind and gentle with our duck, which meant everything to us. He is about a four hour drive from Panama City, but absolutely worth every mile. He is also very affordable, which makes the level of care even more impressive. We are beyond grateful to have found him and truly feel like he saved our duck’s life. I know it can be difficult to find knowledgeable care for ducks and chickens, so I wanted to share our experience for anyone who may need it.

This was the closest 24 hour vet to us, so we drove 2 hours there after our dog showed signs that he was having difficulty swallowing. I assumed he swallowed something he shouldn't have. We brought him in and his vet was Dr. Stephanie Kitchens. They brought him to a different room to do the exam and "scope" his airways. We didn't see any of this performed. She said everything was clear and sent us home. 2 days later he's currently at our local vet recovering from surgery due to an obstruction that had made it to his stomach, a thread was on the back side of his tongue all the way to his small intestine. Something you'd think you would've seen if she used a "scope" like she said she did. We will never return here again, and will never recommend them to anyone. The staff was friendly so the 1 star is for them.

If you’re looking for a vet who actually gets exotic birds, I can’t say enough good things about Dr. Oster at VCA Animal Hospital. I brought my cockatoo in for a pretty stressful cloaca issue, and from the moment we walked in, I felt like we were in the right hands. Dr. Oster was incredibly thorough—took the time to explain what was going on in a way that didn’t feel rushed or overly clinical, but still made it clear they knew exactly what they were doing. They handled my bird with real care and confidence, which matters a lot when you’ve got a sensitive, intelligent animal like a cockatoo who doesn’t tolerate just anyone. What really stood out was how proactive the treatment plan was. It wasn’t just a quick fix—they looked at underlying causes, gave clear instructions for care at home, and made sure I felt comfortable every step of the way. And most importantly: it worked. My cockatoo is doing so much better now, and the improvement was noticeable faster than I expected. The whole staff was kind, attentive, and clearly experienced with exotics—not something every clinic can claim. You can tell they genuinely care, not just about the animals, but about the owners too. Honestly, I walked in worried and left relieved. That’s about the best outcome you can ask for. If you’ve got a bird and need a vet you can trust, Dr. Oster and the team here are the real deal.

I took my English bulldog to Carriage Hills to see their oncologist, Dr Carswell. She and Dr Griffin started surgery on my little buddy, then came to me and gave me the bad news. I lost my little buddy, Edgar. The cancer was much more advanced than ultrasound indicated. Everyone i talked to at Carriage Hills were very kind and sympathetic to my situation, and then my loss. While I grieve the loss of my Edgar, I can’t say enough about how kind and understanding, and sympathetic everyone was. They allowed me to wait in an exam room, and while I waited several people checked on me, brought water to me, and just cared for me and ministered to me. To say im grateful is an understatement.

I wish I could give zero stars. Got referred to this place by my dogs vet. I walked in with my dog wrapped in training pads to soak up how much blood he was losing from eating rat poisoning. There were two white ladies at the front desk. One was sitting down and she had strawberry blonde hair & the other lady was standing up and had dark brown/ black hair & she was extremely rude. I walked in and was greeted by the lady sitting down & she asked how may she help me. I told her that my dog was bleeding out & before she could respond to me the lady standing up immediately blurted out "DO YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT?" I told her that I didn’t have an appointment and that I was sent here by my dog’s veterinarian.. She asked if he sent me there or call. I told her he just sent us here. She asked if he had ALL his shots I explained to her I wasn’t really sure since it was originally my boyfriend’s dog but I knew he had some shots done. She said in a condescending tone that they don’t do payment plans & that she hopes my boyfriend can pay 90 dollars just to be seen. I know for a fact that was racially motivated. I never asked about a payment plan and we were very willing to pay whatever to have him feeling better. We just didn’t want him to die. Without evaluating him she then said the vet is busy and won’t be able see him until 6pm…. My puppy had been losing pools of blood since 1pm. He is a very small puppy & was bleeding out terribly and lost so much blood. They refused to treat him as an emergency and give him care immediately. I took him somewhere else. It was too late to save him. He passed away from losing too much blood. Now I have to get him cremated when all I wanted for was him to live and be ok. I took him to three different places to be seen that day. Please if you love your pets do not bring them here if it’s an emergency. I am so heartbroken and upset. I just wanted my puppy to be ok. Now I am grieving the loss of my best friend who’s life was so so short lived.

My cat had been fighting a long battle against Lymphoma and after suffering what the vet believed to be a heart attack, it was time to put our cat down. She was very skinny after her battle with cancer which made me worried that the vet might have a hard time finding her veins for the injection. The vet moved extremely quickly due to my cat's extremely poor health. Unfortunately, after administrating the injection, another pet at carriage hills needed immediate assistance. The vet said it would take potentially 3-5 minutes for my pet to pass and then immediately left because one of the techs kept coming in and saying the vet was needed now because of another animal. Unfortunately, the injection did not work and my cat spent the next 15-20 minutes gasping for air while she laid in my arms. She wasn't dying but she was suffering even more. We tried to find a vet tech but they were all gone from the common areas and we couldn't find anyone to help. Finally, after waiting with my suffering cat, a tech came out and we were able to let her know what was happening and get my cat to the vet to finish putting her down. I understand that another animal was in urgent need, but in my opinion, I believe my cat deserved more care and attention to ensure that her passing was peaceful. I am extremely upset. Despite the error and mishandling of the situation, which I believe is egregious, they didn't really do anything to help other than send the tech in to apologize.