Bow Bottom Veterinary Hospital

We absolutely love Dr Schell and the entire team at Bow Bottom! All of our dogs have loved coming there!

Sell sell sell and upsell. Julie didn't even bother to learn my dog's name (even though I told her several times). "buy this, we make it here". "you need that, we make it here". "forget that diet, buy your food here". Just awful.

Response to clinic reply: no I am not confused nor have I confused your clinic with another; furthermore I don't appreciate the condescending nature of your response or your lack of accountability and humility. Dr. Julie Schell is the vet / owner and she the person I'm speaking of; she is a shark. A true salesperson. And I sincerely feel that she was more interested in her hospitals profit than the health of my dog. Thank you.

BEWARE! Over charged for every service. Paid for vaccines that it turns out my pet doesn't even need (disease not in Alberta). Guilted and charge out the behind for our dying cat only to be told she would not euthenize until we tried everything (we had already paid $3200 for blood, urine, ultrasound, fluids) - she suggested we run all the blood again 6 days later because results turned up nothing.

ABSOLUTELY AWFUL experience. Do not go here!

Dr. Schell and all the staff at Bow Bottom Veterinary Hospital are absolutely fantastic! You'll never meet a more dedicated, passionate, or skilled Vet than Dr. Schell. The enthusiasm displayed by Dr. Schell and her love for animals is readily apparent. We took our beloved Golden Retriever for surgery and couldn't be happier with the care he received. Dr. Schell did an amazing job on a challenging procedure. The staff were all amazing as well. Highly recommend this clinic!

They are very understanding and empathetic.
Helped my poor baby girl when she had a broken leg.

Absolutely the WORST place to work or to try and take your Practicum at. They have zero time for training, they cast you aside because your new and still learning. One particular Vet Tech there, Katie, is the biggest and rudest bully I've ever met. She had a customer get upset with her one day, so she went to the back to cry about it. I was asked to go help her with her end of day duties so she could go home and she flipped on me the same way that client just flipped on her. She doesn't like it, but she'll treat others the exact same way. I got a job here when I was only half way done my schooling. So I didn't know everything yet. The Vet was the ONLY one that had patience with me. Katie was extremely rude and felt it was above her pay grade to show me how to do anything or train me. She blatantly told me one day that it's not her job to teach me. Then how the hell am i supposed to learn if you wont teach me!? ! I approached management about this and they shrugged it off. In my one month time here, Katie had 3 people fired, just because she didn't like them and always set them up for failure to the point of them being shown the door. But she has management so wrapped around her finger, they won't look past anything she says and won't even try to talk to the person they're having an issue with, just show them the door instead.
To top it off, they keep a nasty, very unfriendly dog behind the reception desk that bites anyone he doesn't like even if they just move the wrong way. They think they're doing right by the dog by having him out to socialize, but all it does is freak him out even more and he goes into fright or flight mode. Usually leaving the person with a nasty bite. I was bit by him my first day. I was told to give him treats to warm up to him. I went to put some treats on the ground 4 feet away from him and he charged me and grabbed ahold of three of my fingers and hung off of me.
Not a very smart clinic in my opinion.

This is probably the best services you will receive in the city. A lot of clinics provide good service but you can tell that Dr. Julie and her staff genuinely care about the animals. This clinic’s main focus is to do what’s best; NOT what’s most profitable.

This is why it wasn’t surprising for me to see another client say that they wanted to list Dr Julie as her dog’s god mother.

Duchess was in critical condition when she came in to the clinic and the staff took it very seriously and provided us with empathetic care during this heartbreaking experience.

Dr Julie contacted a respiratory and heart specialist to ensure that she received immediate care.

Unfortunately the other emergency hospital had some hiccups —with sending the animal ambulance— but one of the staff brought us to the hospital with a oxygen tank so Duchess wouldn’t die during transport.

Duchess is still in critical care but we needed to leave a review to show our gratitude to Dr Julie and her team.

My partner and I will be sending all our friends to this clinic. Thank you for your incredible care.

Very welcoming place. I am impressed with how thorough Dr Schell is and I appreciate her approach.
Staff are considerate as well. I was recommended this clinic by two different people and I would absolutely recommend to anyone seeking care for their pet.

BE AWARE OF SNEAKING CHARGES.had booked in for a first time visit and examination.was told it would be $124 for that first time visit and examination.we had gone to the emerge a month ago because our cats eye was acting up, and had gotten some test done.my partner and i had given the documents to this clinic before we started the first time visit and examination and they were aware of the emerge visit and tests.so the vet comes in the room and starts doing all these test immediately and never talked about price, we had only scheduled for the first time visit.so thinking this is all part of that first time process we think nothing of it.then they slap on all these charges at the end.the service overall was okay but the vet will start working on your pet without disclosing if it is an added cost or not, be aware and make sure you ask lots of questions, i called and complained but they won't offer any money back of course.this post is for new patients, just make sure whatever the vet is about to start doing, ask if it is added cost on the first time visit fee because they will not warn you in advance!

Dr. Schell and her staff are amazing. Very attentive to your pets needs, they go above and beyond to ensure you have everything you and your pet needs. From late night phone calls and updates, to follow up post visit. A good balance of vetenary medicine and holistic care. Our pup LOVES the daycare!

Heard nothing but terrible things about the vet that owns this practice. Have never stepped inside this clinic but throughout the talks of the community would highly recommend staying far away. Travel a distance for proper vet care.

To preface this review, I’d like to acknowledge that the frontline staff of this clinic are caring, enthusiastic, and helpful. If I was rating the reception team alone, it would score 5/5.

I would rate value for money a 3/5 as this clinic easily charges 10-20% more than other Calgary small animal practices (I suppose maintaining a Porsche ain’t cheap).

However, even after my experience 11 months ago, I still feel infuriated and hurt by Dr Schells’ written and spoken words.

We took our 10 year old golden retriever, Keisha, for ultrasounds and she had a tumour on her spleen which was most likely canine splenic hemangiosarcoma. While there was a (small) chance that it was benign, needle aspirates are usually too dangerous and non-diagnostic to be of use; histology testing would be needed to be sure.

I was quoted that the removal of the spleen is $5k and if it’s malignant, it’s $7-10k for chemo. I received quotes from other clinics that were a fraction of Bow Bottoms estimates, but Dr Schell insisted she was the only qualified vet to perform the surgery.

I asked for palliative care options as Keisha didn’t tolerate anesthesia for her minor periodontal surgery. It took her a month to recover from that procedure when she was fully healthy. We didn’t want to see her suffer from the side effects of another surgery, let alone chemotherapy.

In the last email Dr Schell sent, she suggested I surrender my dog to a rescue society to have her rehomed if I didn’t pay the $13,000 for splenectomy and chemotherapy. This is a dog I raised, trained and loved from when she was 8 weeks old…if you doubt my financial commitment, I paid $6000 THAT year alone on medical expenses to enhance our dog’s quality of life. Keisha was my best friend and the thought of her in a new environment without her family for the last months of her life still brings me to tears.

Needless to say, we went to a better vet that provided compassionate care. Keisha had a wonderful last half year before she told me it was time to cross the rainbow bridge. She departed peacefully surrounded by the people who loved her unconditionally for over a decade.

To Julie Schell: please be advised that your verbal and written conduct was not professional. I felt chastised for conducting my own literature review and questioning some of your treatments, such as herbal medicines. Moreover, your emotional manipulation to upsell clients on additional services is distasteful. Truthfully, I am not shocked by any of the stories posted by other negative reviewers.

Please be aware that I did call the Alberta Veterinary Association and spoke to the deputy registrar in charge of complaints. Specifically, we discussed the ethics of your practice and emotional manipulation of people that want to do the best for their animals.
I didn’t believe it was worth the time, energy or effort to pursue the complaint process. If others reading this review have valid reason to issue a formal complaint, simply Google ABVMA and scroll to the office of the registrar.

My intent on writing this review is to assist other pet owners in taking agency of their animal companions health. You have the right to seek second opinion, and to advocate for what is best for your animal (s). I know I cherish the last few months I had with Keisha, and I’m still shocked a vet would recommend separating a senior dog with canine splenic hemangiosarcoma from their family.

Please note that I have all of my vet bills, quotes for treatment and email correspondence to refute the common “you’re not a client” response to negative reviews.

Bow Bottom Veterinary Clinic has always provided our pets with loving professional care. The staff is knowledgable, helpful and friendly. They have always worked hard to answer our questions, meet our requests, and provide us training in pet care techniques from cleaning teeth to giving injections. Dr. Julie Schell has always been professional, kind, and caring to our dogs. She is very knowledgable and comprehensive in her care. I was amazed by the thorough head to toe health report card she provided us for our dogs after their first appointment with her. She has provided both routine health maintenance care and more extensive specialized chronic disease care to our pets and we trust her completely. If specialized imaging, testing, or Specialist input is required she is able to arrange/provide these services. Our dogs feel very comfortable when they are at her Vet clinic. When we needed specialist care for our older dog we sought out Dr. Schell for her experience with the breed, and we have made her clinic our vet clinic for all of our dogs since meeting her. We travel 3 hours to see her when our pets need her services. Dr. Schell and her staff have always gone above and beyond in their care of our dogs. Thank you for the excellent care!

I’m extremely disappointed with the experience I had here yesterday. My senior dog has recently declined in health, I knew it was time to say goodbye after having a healthy and beautiful 13 years together and figured a vet was the place to go to find relief for him. After waiting for over 15 minutes in a small room, Dr. Schell came in seeming a bit flustered. Started asking me all the same questions her two assistants prior had already asked me. After relaying all the symptoms my dog has been experiencing she thought it was best to do a bunch of testing on him, almost $3000 worth instead of humanely laying him to rest. She told me my thinking was “old school” and also said “ya it’s great you love him but with regular check ups we could have avoided much of his health concerns. ” At a very tender and difficult time I do not believe she holds the compassion towards animals or their owners. She also didn’t know that there are multiple veterinary services that will come to your home to euthanize your pet if the time calls for it. I came home to find out my neighbour just took her cat here and was told she was a “bad owner” by Dr. Schell. After reading other dissatisfied comments you can safely say she is in this for monetary gain. I hope this can be taken into consideration for the care towards future patients, please know that any decisions about a family member’s healthcare ultimately lies upon the family. Especially during difficult times, patience and understanding will get you a lot further. Oh and not sure if you guys got the memo but Covid restrictions have been lifted…

Dr. Julie Schell is rude and condescending to both her clients and her employees. While she appears to be knowledgeable her sole goal is profit gain. She will keep an animal suffering longer than is needed, pushing the medications and herbal remedies and then ridicules you when/if you disagree with her treatment plan in any way. She talks about the clients, in a rude and negative manner to her staff members, and has been known to get overly corrective with the animals in her care. Not to mention the upwards of a 2 hour wait for a simple exam. I will never be bringing my beloved pet here again, and I advise the same to all possible.

Edit to reply: your go-to response to negative reviews is "we've never seen you" - you have in fact seen my animal, and myself as I used to work for Dr. Schell and it was the most awful experience I've ever had. She tried pushing a bunch of unnecessary testing on my kitten who isn't even a year old, and in perfect health. Not to mention what I saw in the back, falling asleep during surgeries? !? !? ! Absolutely unacceptable.

Also edited my review to 1 star due to your condescending response to my review.

This is an extremely good veterinary hospital. I also board my pet there, worry free! Dr. Schell is very knowledgeable, and she cares so much about the pets and their family. The staff are great. I highly recommend this clinic!

Acupuncture on animals? Are you crazy? Not proven, this vet also uses aromatherapy which can be toxic. Avoid at all costs

Amazing staff that genuinely cares about you and your pets! Very professional and friendly