The Animal Hospital of Lynchburg Located in Virginia: Review

When it was discovered that a cat I adopted had feline leukemia, I got my other cats tested as well. One of my cats, however, missed out on being tested when the others were tested. Wanting to use a veterinarian near where I needed to run an errand, I made an appointment with somewhere I'd never been before - The Animal Hospital of Lynchburg on Memorial Ave.

In making the appointment, I told them how I wanted to drop off the cat for the test and then return to get him after running an errand. I had done this with my other veterinarian and it was never a problem. They said that this was not only fine, but that it was preferable since the alternative would have been for the cat to wait in my car.

When I arrived to drop off the cat, I was informed that a flea dip was required since he would be staying there for about an hour. And of course, this wasn't a free service. I explained how I didn't appreciate the hidden fee since him staying there for an hour had been discussed on the phone. The lady went on and on about how they couldn't have fleas there. She was very condescending in the way that she spoke to me.

What bothers me about this rule, aside from it's an extra expense that they didn't disclose, is that anyone in the waiting room for any length of time would be just as likely to leave fleas behind. If I was waiting for an appointment, my cat could have just easily infested the office with fleas. The cat didn't even have fleas, not that this small detail seemed to matter.

After a lot of arguing, they told me to leave to run my errand and that he would remain in his carrier while I was gone. Their attitude was so shocking that I was concerned my cat wouldn't be waiting for me when I returned. Needing to run my errand, however, I left and returned an hour later. My cat was still in his carrier when I returned. That was where he was supposed to be, but they waited until I returned to do the test. It's a short test so that didn't really matter.

While everything did turn out fine, I would not recommend The Animal Hospital of Lynchburg. The veterinarian that I saw was fine, but the office staff is too unfriendly.