Russell Lake Animal Hospital

They are amazing, they saved my dog when another animal hospital did not. They even went as far as making an exception due to the gravity of the situation and gave him surgery on a Sunday. Best vet in Nova Scotia by far! Their prices are fair and will not try to over charge!

We have received nothing but exceptional service every time we’ve come here. It’s obvious the staff knows what they’re doing! They are gentle and loving to all fur babies and really made our kitten feel at ease. I really loved how Hannah and Dr Amanda were able to explain everything to us thoroughly without making us feel like we were stupid!

We will come back here as long as we live in the area:)

Had a horrific experience during euthanasia of my companion of 14 years. The owner does not take accountability for her actions or the staff she hires to work under her. To skirt responsibility and point fingers, and make absolutely no attempt to remedy the situation or lessen the blow of my loss, goes to show the kind of business that she insists on running.

The front desk staff know little to nothing and their lack of proper training is evident. You can call for hours and never get a human being to answer the phone. The vet I had for my pet’s euthanasia had the emotional range of a turnip. Mistake after mistake after mistake - and then to euthanize my pet without telling me what was happening, as it was happening, just adds insult to that injury.

I watched my pet fall to the hard metal table without any sedation as they rushed through what was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. When you say you’re going to sedate a pet, why not sedate them? Why euthanize them when I wasn’t at all ready or consenting and expressed my concerns multiple times? I was told she would be sedated first. I wasn’t even granted the time to say goodbye to her, as they just took her away and told me to see myself out.

When I spoke to management, it took weeks to get a detached response of essentially “it's not our fault, blame the vet as an individual. ” While it was absolutely the veterinarian’s fault, it is the practice owner’s responsibility to stand behind the services that she and her staff provide. All I asked for was my money back for a euthanasia experience which was anything but humane. Your practice did not meet the standards of care for my pet and now I have to live with that horrible memory for the rest of my life, and my sincere regret for having trusted your practice in the first place. If you’re considering Russell Lake Vet, just know that to the practice owner, business will always trump patient care.

When my vet retired I went to Russell Lake Animal Hospital. During the time there I only saw a vet once but was frequently in the clinic because I ordered my pet’s food via their online store. I never felt that any of the office staff were overly friendly or welcoming. In trying to shorten the story I will just say that I felt I was treated very disrespectfully and unprofessionally by the office staff there. I may be using the wrong term in office staff but I mean it was not by one of the veterinarians. The girl said to me, “You better back up” and I have no words. My mind could not absorb the tone or the words she said to me. In the end it escalated to the point that she said to someone that must have been beside her or near her, “oh great, she effing hung up on me. ” Then she hung up.
Of course I did not hang up on her and called right back to say what had happened. The girl I got that time was great and listened. In the end it was this coupled with the feeling of the clinic not being very welcoming that I just said enough. What amazed me more is that no one ever called me back about this. It was like they were fine with it. I can’t imagine investing in a business and allowing my staff to speak to someone that way. So for me, that was the deal breaker.
I would rather leave this on a good note though and why I had a hard time with the star rating. The vet that I did see the one time I did bring my kitty in was absolutely fantastic. She was great at figuring out what to give my very high strung cat to sedate her effectively in preparation for her impending visit. She was also very friendly, welcoming and professional. I think of my experience there from time to time and wonder why it wasn’t important enough to them.why they would let their staff treat clients like that.

HUGE thank you to Russell Lake Animal Hospital and their absolutely amazing team for squeezing my boy Kastro in last minute over the Labor Day long weekend. I had exhausted all of my options and some how managed to get through to Russell Lake an hour before closing and although they were at full capacity they couldn’t let him suffer another day without treatment. The team at Russell Lake are phenomenal! So kind, helpful and compassionate. Would absolutely recommend

First visit to the vets since moving back to NS. Great clinic and staff are professional as well as personal. Thank You for taking Vimy and I on.

I can't say enough great things about this vet clinic! From the moment I walked in, I was greeted by the friendly staff who made us feel very welcomed. The clinic is clean, modern and well-equipped with the latest technology. The veterinarians are knowledgeable, compassionate and truly care about the well-being of their patients. They took the time to answer all of my questions and concerns, and the questions from my 6 year old son as well! They have always provided me with clear and concise explanations about my fluffy butts health. Overall, I'm extremely impressed with this vet clinic and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for top-notch veterinary care for their furry friends!

Very nice and genuine people that care about your animal as much as you do! They have made any experience as least stressful as possible for everyone.

To call them crooks would be a terrible insult to crooks.
After 2 years of providing disorganization and chaos, you managed to provide nearly no value for money and always seemed to ask for more. You charge well over your competitors prices for goods. After spending well over $10 000 with you, you still wanted more than an emergency vet for a visit to get a $40 script. Gross. Get your act together and stop ripping people off. Oh and get your " brand new" computer/intra office/pos system fixed.it's been 2 years. I assume the faulty system you cant/wont get fixed is not apathy? And is responsible for the incomplete records you forwarded to my new vet.

Amazing staff. I ran out of my kittens food and Katherine at the front desk answered all my questions. She was patient with me and helped me pick out the best food for her. Great service. The next time my kitten needs care I will definitely be brining her here!

I'm leaving this review on behalf of my mother and her dog, which had to be put down. Her dog was not feeling well this summer and he had a couple vet visits, including an emergency vet clinic for an "unknown" infection. Vets said they were not concerned about cancer and sent my family home with five days of antibiotics for said "unknown" infection. Considering she paid $2500, you'd think you'd want to know the infection for proper treatment. In September 2022 he was still not well, not eating and lethargic. My mom called this clinic for more medications. They said they would call her back- they did not call her back. After day three of calling she finally talked to someone who appears to have "passed on the message". It's absolutely ridiculous that it took my mom calling for 4 straight days to get an answer. Every time they said they'd call her back and they didn't. What poor service. Absolutely ridiculous. They told her to bring the dog in for more "investigations". Today, after trying a new clinic, it was discovered her dog has cancer and has a mass the size of a baseball. Thanks to this other clinic for finding it but unfortunately as we speak, the dog is being put down. If you're looking for customer service and proper animal care, find another clinic other than Russell Lake. This is the worst clinic I've seen my family deal with. Now my mother is grieving the loss of her pet, after finally getting a proper answer from another vet. Russell Lake staff did not seem to care, didn't care to pass a message along, and somehow missed this baseball mass. Absolutely absurd. Save your money and go elsewhere. Oh, and lastly to add, my mom had to actually go to this clinic after day 3 of them not calling her back and they said to "look at her concern" she would need to pay a $20 fee to have the vet look at her concern. What? What kind of business is run like this? These people are in it for the money and they're not about helping poor, sick animals. Abysmal. Shame on this clinic.

Have been taking our pets (cat & dog) here for about a year and a half since losing our long term Dr to another town. Every staff member we have come into contact with has been fantastic! Recently saw Dr. Samm for our cat and she was amazing. My first time seeing her but I'll request her again for sure! She spent plenty of time answering all of my questions and I felt confident in her recommendations.

The staff is wonderful ànd loves the work they do. Thank you for everything all the staff has done for us, especially Dr. Amanda, Jessica, Dr Barkai.
Love Oliver and family

My past experience with this business was horrible. The office manager actually lied in her response to my review. This is a money hungry location. It is not a place that puts their love of animals first. I actually purchased a product on line for a third of the cost that they were selling it in the office. To the vet who left a sponge inside a poor pub, that was disgusting and simply unacceptable. They are only interested in money….

Sad day for our family have let go of our family member after 14 years was handled very professionally and thanks much for your compassion qt this trying time

Staff is friendly. The reason for the low review is wait time. Everytime I've had an appointment for one of my cats I've had to wait at least 15/20 minutes for someone to even come in the room. A quick appointment ends up being an hour.

Was a customer for over five years. They handled two of my dogs. However I voiced my dissatisfaction recently and was told by the owner to look for another vet.
They refused to calculate my refund and prescribed me urinary food that my dog was allergic to (she’s allergic to chicken and they have been told this). They said they were too busy to calculate my refund, didn’t know when they could. Surprisingly they sent me a letter and email within 24 hours saying my cheque was in the mail and to find a new vet.
VERY unprofessional. Guess they have too much business….

We have a new puppy. Staff was friendly, attentive and helpful
Very knowledgable and we will definitely be staying with them for our pups care. Thank you

Great service. Kind staff. The doctor was very responsive and the price point was much lower than my regular vet.

I was on a road trip through Canada, just before heading home my pups ear was split open from playing with another dog. Russell Lake got us in ASAP, his ear stitched up, and ready to go. The staff is super welcoming and friendly. I highly recommend using as either a regular vet or emergency

The only reason this isn't 5 stars is that the specialist was not available atless than 4 days' notice. If there had been something seriously wrong with my avian pet, I don't know how I'd have felt about this.
Nonetheless the service was spot-on and the specialist is incredibly knowledgeable. I have no further observations.

Very knowledgeable and friendly. Follow-up very professional. Excellent app as well for service and information.

Russell Lake Animal Hospital and the Team has exceeded my expectations and went the extra mile thus far

I had a very poor experience with Russel Lake Animal Hospital the day that my pup passed. I would not recommend them as a vet, despite the other glowing reviews on this site. As a result, I am moving my remaining pet to another vet.

Excellent service, knowledgeable front-end staff and the vets are very friendly and patient explaining things.

Everyone at Russell lake animal hospital are very compassionate and caring. It is evident they love what they do and always ensure the best care for your pet. We recently had to put our 17 year old dog down which was very hard. The girls were very caring and compassionate during this very difficult time.

I wasn’t sure if I would find a vet in the city to exam my 1 year old chicken, Joey, after noticing her in distress. Luckily, I got an appointment with Dr. Samm the same afternoon I called, all of the staff Russell Lake Animal Hospital were super friendly, helpful and greeted Joey with delight! Dr. Samm was very thorough and when examining Joey, she was very knowledgeable, and explained everything to me! I definitely trust Russell Lake Animal Hospital and Dr. Samm with my chickens in the event they require future vet care!

Dr. Barkai answered all of my many questions during the many phone calls! My cat stayed overnight and I felt comfortable with that after one more call to Dr. Barkai. I highly recommend this clinic.

When we moved back to Halifax, Russell Lake was one of the most highly recommended vets to us. We've taken our dog there twice now, and we were not disappointed! I was nervous about bringing my dog to a brand new vet during the quarantine as I wouldn't be able to go in with her, I was worried communication would be tricky. However, Russell Lake has been absolutely incredible. I've spent multiple hours on the phone discussing my concerns about my dog, and talking through assessment possibilities, the results of those assessments, and a strategy to move forward. They've been so patient, and kind, spending as much times as I felt I needed to ask as many questions as I wanted, and get the answers I needed.

I cannot recommend Russell Lake enough to anyone looking for in-depth, compassionate care. They truly do go above and beyond. They also have extremely reasonable prices, I've paid a lot more for worse care.

If it says anything I drive from Timberlea to this Vet. Dr. Samm is great as are all the staff. I feel not only are our kitties well cared you can genuinely feel their passion for all animals.

Friendly caring staff that put your pets needs first. I love that they are Low Stress Handling Certified!

By Far The Best Vet Experience! Dr. Samm and all the staff are amazing! We have 3 kitties 8 months, 12 years and 19 years old. Dr. Samm has met them all and has cared for them like her own. We won;t go anywhere else.

I take my pets there when they have problems they are a good place to take your pets I was there getting a special dog food for my dog I buy it there once a month.

Thank you for being compassionate and taking care of Zeke. He had a good life thanks to you for helping him out with his teeth a few years ago.

Great staff and great experience every time we go. It's about the animals not about how much money they can get from you.
I highly recommend!

I have been bringing my fur babies here for several years.great staff.very caring and knowledgeable.

All staff from reception to doctors are so caring and work with you to help find the best care and what works best for you and your fur baby. They love my cat like he is their own.