South Texas Veterinary Specialists

On Friday morning, I took Blanca to what has to be the WORST veterinarian hospital of all times: South Texas Veterinary Specialists (STVS). We were referred to this extortionist hospital by another vet. We planned to have her surgery there, but it did not happen. When I went inside the place, I had to do paperwork, and I was soon called to the back. Mind you, Blanca went into two violent fits in the morning yesterday; her bandages were torn up and her leg was exposed. Blanca also hates tight spaces, but we had to put her in the kennel. She had her second fit inside the kennel which was painful to bare. Anyway, the doctors took Blanca to the back area where I assumed that they were going to clean her leg or calm her down. The doctor came back and told me how much the surgery would cost: a whopping $ 1888.00, which was nearly all of the money that God blessed us with. Now at first I agreed to it, but I forgot my wallet at my home — which later became a blessing.
Without me having my wallet, making a down payment became difficult. Not to mention, a friend had dropped me off to the hospital; therefore, I couldn’t walk to my nearby bank while holding Blanca’s clunky kennel. The hospital wanted a down payment of $ 1888.00, which to my understanding isn’t a down payment — they just wanted me to pay the whole bill! I only received $ 560.00 of the money; I told them that the rest would process in two days. However, STVS would not take any other payments, except for the whole load. To make matters worse, they told me that they would keep Blanca for a day for seventy dollars to do bandage work. If I wanted her to stay for two days, it would have been $ 150.00. I began to feel as if these people cared more for money than what they claim to care for animals. Over the phone as I walked a long trek to my bank, I argued with the office manager that my cat is suffering and she needs the surgery now. I explained over and over that they’ll get the money needed, if they could just start treating my cat. The office manager stuck to the policy and basically said ‘no money, no service’. Unbelievable that STVS is an emergency animal hospital — only if you got the money!
I was furious and decided not to waste any money on STVS, and to get my cat out of there. Two or three hours later, my father and I went back to pick Blanca up from STVS, since I called another animal hospital for her. Blanca was STILL inside of her kennel, and they did not clean her leg off, no bandages or any meds! The way my kitty came into the hospital was the same as she left out — in pain and miserable! South Texas Veterinary FRAUDS has a measly 2.7 rating via google. I also gave them a one star rating — hoping that I could give them a rating less than zero.

If a negative star we be given its fir these folks. Was referred by vet due that golden lab mix had onset seizures, money was not an issue however he had a seizure during the exam and was overdosed. According to the tech she kept stating he’s a big dog and needs all this medicine. Unfortunately they gave it to him without asking he died on the drive home. Common sense should would tell you, you body needs time to become accustomed to medication. Even for a large dog. I don’t recommend this place to anyone.

I am a big fan — don’t think my dog would have made it without them. We have a TRUE hemophiliac dog — only the second one the vet had ever seen. They sent his blood to Baylor to verify. Our old family vet diagnosed and got it on the money — without the fancy test. But now we do know exactly what blood factor he is missing — in case we have to do another transfusion. They have someone with the sick animals 24 hrs a day — and they did not freak out at all when I called at 2am and checked on him — or whatever hour of the day or night I called. The Vet herself called me several times on her own accord to fill me in on his condition. He was there about 6 nights with several transfusions. Yea — it’s expensive — more than I can to admit — let’s say it would have been a very good down payment on car — but you can’t put a price on my love for my animals — I am just thankful I could find a way to pay for it. Office is kinda hard to find and way on the far side of San Antonio, not a fun drive with a sick dog – (especially from Corpus!) but you will get top notch care for your pets here.

Amazing doctors. They saved my best friend and gave me more days with him. My family and I are beyond appreciative.

Awesome doctors! Took care of my girls tumor. In my moments of despair and paranoia they calmed me down and ensured me my girl would be good!

This place is seriously not the place to take your loved pet. I wrote a review on on July 4^th due to additional injuries my Baby sustained while under thier so called «care»! The Manager of this place never returned my phone calls, or answered my emails until I wrote a formal complaint to the BBB. Only then did she reply with a patranizing and script written response. Oh yea and by the way, the Practice Manager in her own words…”“As we originally responded to the owners online public forum posts, with our reply listed below, we genuinely wish to find a resolution to their concerns” It’s a joke, she offered no resolution except to tell me she apologized that the baby food was given cold and that they did not bring it already warmed??? What about the food being SPOILED lady? Was there any mention of his «Pinched nerve» your hospitol created by placing him in a crate to small? Nope! Never mentioned. Again, her response was a joke with no concern for Baby at all. She babbled on about how wonderful and passionate they are??? If this was the case, then why did the Practice Manager reach out to me upon my departure and do a little research once she was notified that all of this had transpired. Her response has now taken this issue to a different level and I will be obtaining an attorney. It may be a civil case but for me it’s the principle. I spent over $ 2100.00 at this place fixing thier neglegence. The crate, the cold and spoiled food and now this rediculas response. My current Vet was shocked at my story showing him all of the records from STVS and the no repsonse from the Practice Manager only until the BBB was sent. Do your research and take your pet to a place that really does care for animals. This one does not!

I simply cannot say enough good things about STVS. My husband and I moved to San Antonio about a year ago with our beagle, Rocky, and we learned about 4 months ago that he had bronchioalveolar carcinoma (lung cancer) — a rather large tumor in his lung near his bronchial tube. Our primary care veterinarian referred us after noticing a mass on one of Rocky’s x-​rays. After the doctors at STVS diagnosed the cancer, we chose to stick with them for all of his subsequent treatment, in large part because of the obvious skill and care exhibited by ALL of the doctors and staff we have met. Dr. Alvarez, Dr. Williams, and Dr. Wiley have all been AMAZING! Dr. Williams was able to remove Rocky’s tumor in its entirety (and we understand this was not an easy feat, given the size and placement of the tumor). Dr. Wiley has managed his chemotherapy following surgery and we’ve been so impressed by her professionalism and knowledge! During our first meeting, she talked with us about the studies that have been done on chemo in dogs and helped us weigh our options in a very balanced and objective way. Once we chose to move forward with chemo, she has remained available, responsive, and has managed his care with the greatest compassion and empathy for our worries and concerns. Every step of the way, STVS has been patient, understanding, and communicative and has delivered the best care we could have possibly asked for! They’re even understanding of Rocky’s incessant barking (all beagle owners will know what I mean!) in the waiting room each time we take him for chemo. If you need a specialty vet, you will find excellent care at STVS and a group of professionals who truly care as much about your pet as you do.

Dr. Greller was amazing, was very attentive and patient listening to my needs. The facility is clean. Would highly recommend.

I was really quite amazed by this place. The staff was nice, pleasant, and helpful. When we came in, I saw that the parking was easy, and the lobby was quite clean. We were able to see a vet in a very short amount of time. The vet had a great bedside manor, and put us at ease.
In fact, the vet was nice enough to waive the charge, since we didn’t take too much of her time. We really appreciated that!
At the checkout area, they had treats for your furry friends!
Meow! Woof! Bark! Purr!

DO NOT GO HERE!
This is the worst veterinary hospital I have EVER been to. When the reviews say you will be over charged and receive poor medical assistance they were not exaggerating.
Our German Shepherd puppy is 1 and when we found out she has early onset hip dysplasia and would need a total hip replacement we were referred here. Our normal vet at Affordable Pet Care (Dr. Blevins) insisted we come here bc his friend from school Dr. Isreal is great and learned from the pioneer of the surgery. Well we were already a little skeptical bc our vet didn’t give any other options and raved out what great friends he was with her but nothing about her skill.
The next day we made our appt to see Dr. Isreal here and I asked how much the visit would be. I was told $ 85 which is steep but we figured it was bc they were specialists. I came on Unilocal to read the reviews and was instantly skeptical. We took our dog anyway to have peace of mind because we needed to know what we were dealing with.
As soon as we got there the problems started. Our appt was at 10 we got there 20 minutes early for the paper work and didn’t get pulled into the office to see a vet tech till 10:30. Then Dr. Isreal came into the room about 10:45. The very first thing she said to us was that she didn’t look at our dogs X-​rays bc she didn’t have time and wasn’t able to pull them up on her phone (WTF!?).
All she did was tell us about the surgery and hip implant, part of which didn’t apply to our dog bc of the way GS femurs are shaped. When we brought up our concerns about patient care and cost she simply avoided them and directed us back to the surgery. Which is only done once a month at this clinic bc they fly someone in from Houston to do them. SHE BARELY EXAMINED OR TOUCHED OUR DOG! Or watched her walk or any type of actual exam for that matter.
We made the decision before we left the room to find someone else. But when we got to the counter to pay I was told $ 120 for the visit! I stress this most, Dr. Isreal stammered, seemed confused by our questions, and only spent 15min max with us. So for the hour and 20 min I spent at the clinic, 15 min of that with the person I was there to see they wanted me to pay $ 35 more than what I was told.
I asked for the office manager who was condescending and didn’t want to listen. She «honored» the rate I was quoted and told me this would be a courtesy bc they’d like to help us with our pet. I stress as well she was upset with me that I was upset about the price difference and ignored my concern again that this is what we were told was going to happen by their online reviews.
Save yourself the time and got to Mission Veterinary Specialists, not only are they honest and kind, they also do everything on site with wonderful vets. You don’t have to wait for them to bring other people in and they have been honest with us about the price the whole time.

I typically do not post reviews but I just lost our 17 year old shih tzu. I can not thank Dr. Rainbow enough for the care he gave to our precious dog. Initially he had a type of cyst growing inside of his eye & he performed surgery to remove it. Our other vet wanted to completely remove the eye! This little guy did eventually lose most of his vision but that comes with age, not the condition he went in for. The doctor treated him with special eyedrops for several years & then offered the option of a new type of drop that would improve what vision he had left. It was an OPTION, no hard sales pitch, no pressure & yes I do believe he saw light & shadows with the use of these. I can’t thank Dr. Rainbow enough for his expertise in opthamology & even though it is expensive it’s also quality of life. He gave that back to our pet many times over! In fact the past 6 years I’ve gladly paid the fees as I believe experts in their field have gone the extra mile to learn their specialty, the state of the art equipment that normal vets can not afford, excellent care from staff, over nite care is provided, etc. People go to these vets for a reason, for answers! Ask first about financial concerns, treatment plans, as I’m sure they will work with you! Again, thank you for the love & care you gave to my pet.

I know this is much after the fact, but to be fair I did want to follow up that the manager did call me back a day or two later and they were willing to reimburse me for the damaged harness. Unfortunately just a couple of days after that visit our dog took a turn for the worse and we had to have her put down so I never did return to the clinic and didn’t remember to come on here and to mention that they did try to make amends.

A huge thank you to Dr. Dahlinger, Celeste the physical therapist, and all the other wonderful staff at STVS. Our Basset Hound had a ruptured disc in his back and we had to rush him in on Halloween night. Dr. Dahlinger explained things in detail to us and was able to perform surgery on Theodore within an hour or so of us taking him in. Theodore spent 2 weeks there recovering and starting physical therapy and is making great progress. His physical therapist, Celeste has been simply amazing! The staff has always been very kind, compassionate, and caring to not only Theodore, but to my husband and me as well. We are very appreciative that they literally saved Theodore’s life and that he is recovering so well and quickly. Thank you!!!

I’m a referring vet from just south of Austin. There is no «easy» reason anyone is looking for specialist care. It’s always a very stressful, emotional time – because if your pet needs a specialist, it’s often very ill. From my perspective as a referring vet AND as a client of South Texas Veterinary Specialists, I don’t think your pet could be in better hands. Although we have plenty of specialists closer, we generally encourage our clients to make the drive to San Antonio – as I encourage my friends & family members the same way. It’s not just the care – honestly we are fortunate to have many very good referral centers in Central Texas. I think most or all of them treat the pets medically just fine. The reason I encourage my clients to drive to San Antonio has more to do with the care the owners get, and the communication that I as a referring vet get from the staff. Online reviews are a poor venue for objective research and open & honest discussion, but if you are considering specialist care for your pets, in my opinion you and your pet will be well taken care of at South Texas Veterinary Specialists.

I had a very sad experience with STVS. My 3 year old cat had a complicated set of issues, I know they did their best to save her, and have no issue with Dr. Book, and the veterinary staff. I had taken her to several vets prior, and do not blame them for being unable to save her, since she was rejected from the litter as a kitten by her mother.
The day she died, they had me leave a $ 1,500 deposit which cleaned me out financially. I waited until the next morning to learn she had passed. In a way I was relieved because I could not afford any more care for her. I told them I could not emotionally deal with picking up her little body and giving her a burial. They assured me they would handle it, and there was an 80 something dollar refund returned to me from the deposit. I received touching cards from ALL the vets that tried to save her life the same week she passed away.
About a month later I received a call from them wanting to know what to do with her remains. I was still dealing with a lot of grief, and was too upset to discuss it, so my brother had to call them and sort things out. Knowing that she was probably still in a freezer awaiting cremation was very upsetting and brought back the whole ordeal to the forefront again only amplifying my grief.
Today, almost 3 months from my loss, I received a nice card notifying me that they had made a donation to ACVIM In memory of her name. While that’s really nice, I would like to have received my refund instead, and made my OWN financial decisions. They thought nothing of taking my money to cover their costs, but are fairly lax about returning the unused funds. Maybe they think everybody is wealthy because our love for our pets will motivate us to pay anything to save them, but some of us suffer hardships because of that love.
I really wish they would handled the aftermath of my cat’s death as well as they cared for her while she lived.

Fantastic group of specialists! I work with Guide Dogs, who are the eyes and beloved companions for blind people. The stakes are very high to get these dogs back to health. Over the last decade, STVS has been a literal life-​saver for many beautiful dogs.

After reading reviews for emergency vet services on google, I was very worried. However, the service here is great. Came in at 3 am for my labrador retriever. I was very impressed with the vet. She was very observant of things I hadn’t even noticed, and explained everything clearly. I hope I don’t ever need an emergency vet again, but if I do, I’ll come back here.

My dog has been vomiting undigested food on and off for a couple of days. I took him to my regular vet on Monday and they did x-​rays to determine if he had swallowed any foreign objects (he’s a 7 mos. old, very curious, Goldendoodle, so it was highly possible). They also did a fecal test for parasites. Both came out negative and we took the dog home with a $ 31. bag of easily digestible dog food. I was told that if he vomitted again to let them know. The first 24 hours he was fine, however the next morning he vomitted his dinner from the night before and I called the vet. She stated that she would order a medication that would help him with his nausea and vomitting. Before I could pick up the prescription, the dog vomitted his breakfast. When I arrived at the Vet’s hospital, she recommended that I take the dog to South Texas Veterinary Specialists. She said she would order an ultrasound and would meet me there to read the results. I asked her how much it would be (I paid her $ 305 on Monday). She said she thought around $ 250. I said okay and went home and picked up the dog and through Friday traffic, I arrived at STVS a little after 5. I will admit, as soon as I walked in I thought it seemed a bit ostentatious for a Veterinary hospital. Nonetheless, I filled out the paperwork and waited and waited. Finally, a tech came and got me to escort me to one of the examination rooms. In the meantime, I overheard a woman calling her husband and saying that they were charging her $ 1100. to keep her dog until Monday and that it might be as high as $ 1700, but she would be required to pay the $ 1100. on the spot. I also heard another gentleman upset about his bill.
When I met with the Vet she shared that the dog was going to have to stay the weekend, due to the time of day and that the radiology department was closed. She stated that they would have to repeat the x-​rays, I protested stating that they were just done on Monday, and she said she realized that, but they needed a different view (?) So, between the ultrasound, etc., it would be between $ 900. and $ 1500. depending on what transpired. She said she thought it would probably be around $ 900. because the dog was so alert, etc., and she would call me daily with an update. I left there thinking it was $ 900. for the weekend stay and more if the dog had to stay before the Monday morning pick-​up time the Doctor stated. She also stated that they would monitor the dog until there was no vomiting for at least 24 hours. So, today, Saturday, at 12 noon, I called to see how our dog was doing and the person on the phone stated the Doctor said he could come home. I was excited and figured they must have found nothing wrong with him, but I was also a bit confused since it was less than 24 hours. What happened to them monitoring him? I figured since he was supposed to stay until Monday that I would get a refund for a portion of the $ 900. Imagine my surprise when I was told at check out that I would need to give them an additional $ 35. When I challenged the Doctor, she launched into some speech about how she didn’t make any additional money for seeing my dog after 5 pm. (What that had to do with anything, I’m not sure. To be honest, I think the place is a major money maker. It also made me lose faith in my own vet. She didn’t meet me there. She didn’t really tell me the truth about the cost and it made me wonder if she got a kick-​back for the referral. I don’t know any more today than I knew on Monday as to why my dog vomits undigested food in the middle of the night. Should our dog not be cured, we were told the next step is some endoscopic procedure. My husband and I are filling out the second mortgage paperwork, just in case! So, my advice to anyone taking their animal there, be prepared! Make sure you find out exactly what you’re paying for. Better yet, skip this place altogether… surely there has to be an honest vet in San Antonio, no?

I am a little biased, I absolutely adore the doctors and staff at STVS. Being that I’m in the veterinary field myself I truly understand how phenomenal they are at their jobs. San Antonio is so lucky to have such a dream team of doctors and support staff to aid our most beloved furry family members that cover everything from oncology, dermatology, surgery, internal medicine, neurology, ophthalmology, and physical rehabilitation.
At this moment I have one of my very own babies (Maggie) being taken care of while she recovers from her TPLO surgery (she tore her ACL and this was the fix). They have many qualified surgeons but I opted to go with Dr. Williams who in my eyes is a genius. During my surgery consultation he took one look at Maggie and confirmed my referring veterinarian’s fears and then went right into making me feel at ease. He told me that after a procedure like this that my baby girl would be better than she was before her injury. There would be a 99% chance that she would be able to walk and have a great, pain-​free life post operative. As a pet owner these are the results you want to hear. I left my consultation feeling 100% confident that Dr. Williams would look after Maggie as if she were his own and he did. As soon as her surgery was finished he called me personally to let me know she’d done well (even with our previously discussed issues with not tolerating anesthesia well).
As other people have mentioned they are on the expensive side but you honestly get what you pay for, if not moreso. What is more important than finding the most qualified doctor to look after you pet? I would gladly pay their fees in a heartbeat if I had to. Getting down to pricing. the consultation with a surgeon was $ 115 (I believe it is the same as well for internal medicine). I was quoted $ 3,000-$ 3,200 for a TPLO surgery (note that pricing varies with each individual animals needs). I opted to have Maggie hospitalized for 3 weeks to allow her surgery site to heal properly as well as to take advantage of their state-​of-​the-​art rehabilitation facility.
I have also had to take Maggie, as well as some of my other family pets to STVS for dermatology, internal medicine, VIC (Veterinary Imaging Center), and EPC (Emergency Pet Center) which are all housed in the same building. I have had nothing but great service from receptionists, to techs, to doctors and would wholeheartedly tell anyone who cherishes their pet to take them here.

I am sad to see that their 1^st review was so low. I was sent here when my dog was hit by a car. She needed extensive surgery to repair her injuries. It came to be $ 3500 which is a lot of money. I would pay that in a heart beat if I had it. Being in a tight financial position, I was devastated knowing that I would have to have her put down knowing she could be just fine if she had surgery. The Doctor could obviously tell I was in a bind and very sincere in my love for my dog. He went completely out of his way to make sure my dog was able to get the care she needed. People always complain about the cost, but it is a state of the art place that cost a lot of money to keep running and everyone there needs to make their money too. I have gone to other vets with far smaller issues and the cost of those visits were very high in comparison to this instance.