Massachusetts Animal Medical Center

First: Thank you for your services, I have been bringing my animals her for over a decade. I almost always bring my pets to the Merwin Animal Clinic in Brighton however when there is a service they don’t do, they refer you to the best option. Every Spay/​Neuter for my pets, family pets & friends pets has been referred to and done by the Massachusetts Animal Medical Center. They are professional and will do everything they can to care for your animal. Second: Recently getting my dad’s chihuahua neutered was fairly stressful but this Center helped to make sure everything went smoothly. Merwin helped to set up an appointment for the neuter & less than a month later the surgery went well.
Third: A BIG thank you again for all your help + kindness.

Dr. Bergeron & Dr. Boardman and staff are caring, thorough, and have treated me and my dog really well.

There are some negative reviews here, so I thought I would let people know that some of the previous vets have left and there are new ones. The one I go to, Dr. Kennedy, is excellent and very responsive. Front desk staff is friendly and knowledgeable. I agree it is pretty expensive but that’s been my experience elsewhere as well.

After writing my review, the owner contacted me directly to resolve the issue and offered to match the price I found online. Prescriptions in hand by next day. I’m appreciative and hopeful MAMC’s customer service can continue to match their level of care.

I saw a lot of negative reviews here, so I thought I would throw a positive one up since I have no complaints with the Mass Animal Medical Center. I’ve been taking my dog here since we adopted him in 2012; both vets are very nice and gentle. The few times we’ve had to go in due to illness, they figured out what was wrong pretty quickly. Staff is courteous and will help submit your pet insurance claims.
I haven’t really shopped the price of Vets but my advice to anyone who thinks that they are overpriced is get Pet Insurance. We have the preventative ASPCA coverage and our vet visits are mostly reimbursed

I wanted to write this review so pet owners can get some understanding about this place. I didn’t have a horrible experience so this won’t be a gigantic rant. Just the basics I’ve encountered.
I scheduled my cat an appointment ASAP after noticing he broke a molar off at the gum line and half of it was still hanging on for dear life. They told me it needed to be extracted asap or else it could risk getting an infections or becoming abscess. I was recommend to this place so I was comfortable and looking forward to making this my primary care for my cat.
After all the examinations leading up to the extractions, the tests, the blood work. everything, an hour later. I get my estimation. $ 693 and some change. This is more than my rent. This is one full pay check of two weeks worth of work. This is way too much money to have a cat sedated and a tooth popped out. The vet took a piece of gauze and tried to pull it out herself!!! If she’s willing to do that why would it cost almost $ 700 to have it done properly?
I made an appointment for Tuesday to have the procedure done, planning to put it on a animal medical card, called care credit, so I could make payments.
*They do not accept care credit
*They do not have ANY payment plan methods!
* They expect you to pay in FULL for all your animals needs, big or small.
I’m 22 and I love my cat, I do not have an extra $ 700 after my rent, student loans and bills. This place is crazy to not offer any payment plans or ANYTHING! I wanted to walk out seeing as I can’t afford it, but then they made me pay $ 88 for a «new patient fee» and blood work.(the blood work that I don’t need the results of because I’m not using this clinic). My cat also got fixed there 6 months ago (which was a good experience) so why was I charged for a ‘new patient fee”.
Seems like a rip off to me, definitely more concerned about the $$$ and not anyone else’s /​any animals well being.
If you don’t have a ton of money to spend on your animal (and some extra for the bullshit) don’t go here, If you do. make an appointment with Dr. Callahan, he’s the bomb.
(Definitely don’t go here for your cats shots! They charge an absurd amount, go to the Merwin Animal Clinic is Allston, It’s about $ 18 per shot!)

I would not recommend this hospital for yor animals. I brought one of my cats in for an ear problem which was ok, but 2 weeks later brought my other cat because she wasn’t eating and lethargic and the same dr didn’t even know us. We were just there 2 weeks prior. She came back with lab results and couldn’t read them, stating «she didn’t know what some of them meant.» Then recommended to send the labs out to get more answers. well ya I did because I wasn’t sure if my cat was going to die. Not a pleasant experience. Ever since I went, they email constantly for more appts and send booklets. Crazy

I gave two stars because other then the vets, the staff is really great. It’s nice they have most facilities on site (x-​ray, blood, etc) and free available parking. But the buck stops there. My husband and I were made to feel guilty, and irresponsible every time we went in. Our dog has chronic stones that act up from time to time, as well as allergy and skin issues. The vet literally scolded me and the front desk admin last time I was in because I allowed her to give my dog a treat, as if .one treat off his restricted stones diet on the way out was going to cause a stones flare up. It embarrassed both of us. I called to speak to the owner the next day, and see if I could switch to a different vet/​location — but I was blown off — he had another admin call the next day and leave me a voicemail, that he thought it was in the best interest for me to stick with my original vet. Needless to say — I just switched to Kindness Animal Hospital in Waltham, with Dr. Sara Rosenblatt. and our first visit in on a SATURDAY –was refreshing.
I could continue to list my bad experiences with Dr. Joy Allman’s service, but I’m over it. just beware…

I can’t say I’d recommend this place. I’m really not impressed with how poorly things are managed there. My wife and I are planning to move to Australia in the spring, and there is a fair amount of lead time needed to get our cat prepared for that travel (Australia has very strict import rules for pets, among other things, since they don’t have diseases like rabies).
Our cat has always been healthy, so I have only been to Merwin Memorial Free Clinic for her vaccinations (I love them, they are great!). I was on the hunt for another vet nearby that has accredited vets (as required by Australia) and Mass Animal Medical Center was recommended to me by one of the workers at Merwin. I called them on Thursday and talked with Alyssa. I told her all that I knew I needed to do, and she said they should be able to accomodate me and that one of the vets would just need to look over all of the Australian requirements before I could come in. I told her our time table is getting pretty tight and that I needed to, at the very least, get right in and have my cat microchipped and vaccinated for rabies so that we could get a rabies titre test done. (There is a period of 180 days that has to pass from the date that the blood is sampled for the rabies titre test (with a satisfactory result) before our cat can be released from quarantine in Australia. She must remain in the States for at least 60 days after the blood sampling, and she has to be held in Australian quarantine for a minimum of 30 days. The remaining 90 days must be spent here or added to the Australian quarantine period. The longer she’s in quarantine, the more expensive it is for us, and the longer she’s stuck in quarantine away from us :/​) Alyssa told me that she understood the urgency behind all of this and assured me that the vet would look everything over and they’d get back to me later that day or the following day to schedule an appointment.
She called that evening to clarify some things (apparently she AND the vet were under the impression that my cat was a dog) and get previous vaccinations info, so I offered to scan everything I had and email it to her to speed up the process, which I did. Alyssa responded the following morning saying thanks for the the info and she’d be in touch on Monday. I wasn’t psyched for another 2+ days to pass, as every day is pushing our departure date further back or costing us $ 30+ a day in quarantine fees, but I decided to be patient and wait it out.
I called Monday AM just after they opened to check in, in hopes that I might be able to get in later than day and get the ball rolling, but the girl who answered said that Alyssa was unable to assist me, but would call me later that day. I hadn’t heard anything by that afternoon, so I decided to send another email urging her to get back to me as time was of the essence! She called shortly after I sent the email and said the vet hadn’t quite gotten through the requirements, and that she’d be in touch within the next two days. WHAT?
I reiterated that regardless of what they wanted to double-​check, I NEEDED to get my cat in for microchipping and a rabies vaccine, along with a blood test, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. None of that should be anything especially time intensive or out of the ordinary, and I could be in and out in no time. She said that there was concern about the long gap in vaccinations, and I asked how that could be, since my cat had just been vaccinated last April. She seemed dumbfounded and said I had only sent over a vaccination certificate for 2007. I definitely attached 5 different images to the email I had sent. She went back to the email and realized she hadn’t looked at any of the other images attached. She said they’d need to look over everything again and she’d get back to me on Wednesday. I GIVE UP. I asked where else I might be able to get the three simple things I needed done quickly, and she suggested VCA Brookline Animal Hospital.
I can honestly say that is the only decent help I received from Mass Animal Medical Center. They gave me a great recommendation on a WAY BETTER place to bring my pet. I called VCA Brookline immediately, the folks answering the phones sounded much more knowledgable and organized, I was assured they could do everything I needed, and that I could come in the following day at noon to get it all done. I was in and out in under 40 minutes today, and my cat is chipped, vaccinated and blood tested. TOO EASY.
Mass Animal Medical Center needs to get their sh*t together. They were clearly disorganized and seemed unsure about whatever I was asking every time I interacted with them. Obviously the vets can’t be answering every phone call, but the go-​between should be on the ball. If you don’t have the answers and have to ask the vet anyway, just put the vet on, especially if they’re already standing right there telling you what to say!
I will be happily visiting VCA Brookline and avoiding Mass Animal Medical Center from now on.

My two cats are patients of Dr. Alleman, who I cannot say enough good things about.
She is SO great with my two cats. She is so caring. Her and her staff are so great with handling my difficult cat. She always works to make things less stressful on them. I really cannot say enough good things about her. Yes, this place is pricey, but the level and quality of customer service and care make it worth it. I have taken my cats to cheaper vets when in a crunch in past but I do not do that anymore because I have regretted it everytime. One of my cats seems to always have some sort of issue going on and I really only trust him with Dr. Alleman.

The first time I brought my cats here they were decent. Not great, but decent. The female vet was professional and competent.
The second time however, we had a different vet, this time a man. As soon as he came into the room one of my cats was ill at ease due to his loud voice and complete disregard for the fact that sometimes the vet is a scary place. I asked him to speak more quietly and he brushed me off, saying that my cat was shaken up from the car ride and because of dogs in the waiting room. Well, guess what? My cat is a bit of a weirdo and she LOVES riding in the car. She sometimes sits curled up in the passenger seat. She never so much as meows during car rides, and she also has no problem with dogs.
Anyway, that wasn’t the biggest problem. The biggest problem was that as soon as she made some squirming motion on the examination table, the incompetent and clearly uncaring cat hater decided to put a muzzle on her. I should have walked out right then. She became very agitated and jumped off of the table with the muzzle on. The muzzle covered her eyes, and she jumped blindly, hurting herself when she hit the cage on the floor. I picked her up and held her tightly against me to calm her down and I removed the muzzle. The vet was completely unapologetic.
There was absolutely no reason to muzzle my cat. Although she has swiped with her paw at people in the past when scared, she has NEVER bitten anyone, and she showed no aggression during this visit. I told him this. Still, he muzzled her. Her offense? Squirming when he handled her roughly. When you approach a cat with clear dislike of it and your first motion towards it is to roughly grab the back of its neck while talking loudly, the cat is going to squirm.
You should not be a veterinarian if you do not like cats, or otherwise do not know how to handle them.
Please, for the safety and well-​being of your cat, and your own emotional well-​being, DO NOT BRING YOUR CAT HERE.
Edited to note that the first vet I had, whom I really liked, was Dr. Easterbrook. It was Dr. Callanan (the younger one) who was completely incompetent, rude, and clearly has a cat problem. I see on the website that he doesn’t own any cats, and also that he is the son of the practice owner. This is what nepotism gets you.

If you have a serious issue with your pet, i don’t think you should bring your pet here. If you need just vaccines, go wait at Merwin instead. I know Merwin is basically the same vet, but don’t give them the chance to charge you ridiculous office visit fees.
my dog was severely sick and I brought him here. I paid hundreds in vet bills only to have the dog still sick and his illness undiagnosable for months. When I took him to the groomers and told the groomers about the symptoms, the groomers suggested that it might be kidney stones and gave him a remedy that solved the problem within a couple of weeks. How is it that a groomer with no veterinarian degree was more helpful than these vets?
There are a few redeeming qualities about this animal center. There was one lady that also worked at the front desk that was really nice. The vets put on a good enough façade to make you believe they care about you and your dog, but honestly, from all those experiences, they care more about your money.
IN SHORT: GO ELSEWHERE. They will take whatever money they can get from you.

I’ve brought my dog here for several years and I feel comfortable recommending this clinic. Dr. Esterbrook is very good – our dog had a mysterious illness that caused a major hospitalization without any real diagnosis but she was able to figure out that our dog had a food allergy!
To get up to 5 stars they need to get better organized on the front end.

It pains me to give them this low of a review. I’ve used them for 2 years and didn’t have a problem until about a year ago. I absolutely love the vet and the staff. They’ve always been very nice and take great care of my cat.
That being said, I think they have a cleanliness issue. The past three times I’ve brought my cat there, she’s gotten a very bad cold 4 or 5 days after her visit. She’s indoor and the only animal at home, so it’s obvious she got it from their office. The first time this happened, I called their office to see what I should do. They refused to give me any information over the phone and told me that I had to bring her in again. When I did, they said there was nothing they could do. That cost me $ 100, on top of the $ 200 from a week earlier. When I told expressed concern that my cat might have gotten sick from their office, the vet just said «these things happen». If it had happened just the once I’d agree with her, but 3 times in a row? That’s not a coincidence. A cat should not get sicker from going to the vet, especially one that charges as much as they do

I took my puppy here… It was our first vet apt so I was a bit nervous, and came with a list of questions. Dr. Esterbrook was SO patient, and answered each one. She found an ear infection that I didn’t even think to check for, as well as some other small things. I think she was amazing.
The place was clean, and everyone was very nice. Our vet bill was pretty high, but he got 2 shots, an examine, 3 different medicines, 2 different tests, and some special dog food for his tummy, so I felt like I got my money’s worth. I was just a little shocked to see a $ 7 charge for cutting his nails, but I suppose that is standard?
I would definitely recommend this place! Even though we discovered a couple of health issues, at least I now know, and I walked away feeling SO much better about my puppy’s health!

You saved my dog’s life today. We rushed him to our regular vet clinic and the Dr. was out and couldn’t even give him oxygen– as our lab was suffocating to death on their waiting room floor.
He was minutes from dying in our arms, gasping for air. We never would have been able to make it to the emergency clinic. We picked him up and ran to your facility down the street. There was no one at the desk– I don’t even think you were officially opened yet– but the staff came running to the car, carried him off and brought him back. Thank you so much for the fast acting, compassionate care you gave to us. Sagan H. thanks you.

Last year I brought my dog in to have a cyst looked at that seemed to be getting bigger and needed to be removed. I had used them before for routine shots etc. and noticed that they were a bit pricey and a bit too business like, but none-​the-​less, I did not want to switch because they seemed competent and it was not far from my home. The Dr. I spoke to first was very cold and condescending. There was little to no compassion for the situation. She gave me a quote to have it removed which totaled over $ 1,200.00. I was dumbfounded at the cost. I waited a couple of months and went back. I was told that because the cyst grew a centimeter in diameter that the cost went up to over $ 1,400. I was in shock at this point and once again there was little to no giving on the cost of the procedure. When I went home I reviewed the laundry list of «needs» for the surgery. I knew it could not be right. I decided to get a second opinion and upon a recommendation, I went to the Commonwealth Animal Hospital where I met with Dr. Hawks. I can not express the world of difference. Although they are a business, it was evident that their primary concern was for their patients and not their wallets. Needless to say, I switched and had the surgery done at CAH for at least 30% less. Much of what the Dr. s at MA Animal Clinic (formerly: Brighton Animal Hospital) were charging for was not necessary.
This group could use some people skills training and understand the value in being fair and not gauging.

This place is great. I’ve been bringing my dog here for the past four years, and have never had a problem. I’ve seen pretty much every doctor there, and they’ve been nothing but great. Having an extremely shy dog, who is quite nervous around new people, can be taxing and trying. But these doctors have been nothing but great! Yes, their fees are a little on the expensive side, but given their great handling of my precious dog, I don’t care. Knowing that she’s in good hands is worth every penny.
Plus, they send you little updates and reminders for your pet’s shots and vaccinations — which is always appreciated.

We’ve only gone to Massachusetts Animal Medical Center a few times, but each time they treat my pooch like he’s their own. Our most recent visit was quite a scare. I woke up and our dog was having a very severe allergic reaction to what looked like a bite on his snout… I called Mass Animal Medical Center & they were able to get him in within the hour.
I threw my pup into the car & rushed him there and I was so glad I did… whatever had bitten him was only getting worse and he was starting to have problems breathing.
Guinness (our Chocolate Lab) was really skittish as he was in pain & scared, and they handled him like pros, calling in for more assistance to hold him when he got freaked out by the examination. They took him in for the day and treated him and called me regularly with updates. When I went to go get him later that day he was out of it, but his poor face looked a MILLION times better. Had I not been able to get him in so quickly who knows what would have happened.
It is a relief to know such wonderful professionals are just a phone call away for those emergency situations… not to mention the regular, planned visits, too.

I have had nothing but BAD experiences with Brighton Animal Hospital. From the vet assistant losing my cat’s medical records to the vet charging outrageous fees, everything about the place was horrible.
The vet was inept and kept diagnosing my cat with a different problem every time I visited for the 3 weeks my cat was sick. My cat was taken for a day to a special clinic to have testing done and when all was said and done, the vet never called me back to let me know what the results were from the $ 400 worth of testing (this was after $ 300 worth of visits and medicine that did not help). I kept calling but she was always «too busy.» Even worse, when I went to pick up my cat, they «lost» her (had her confused with another cat) and had marked her charts saying she was a bad, mean, vicious cat (my cat is afraid of shadows).
Don’t go here if you value your pets health and don’t want to waste hundreds of dollars.