Associated Veterinary Specialists North

I don’t usually give one star, but I’ll make an exception for AVS.
Let me start by saying I had the misfortune of having to bring two of my cats to AVS. One for diagnosis of intestinal lymphoma (back in 2008) another for radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism (Dec 2015).
My first experience was with Dr. Wayne Hause. My cat was puking and loosing weight and my regular vet was suspecting IBD or intestine lymphoma. We basically just needed a confirmation. AVS did a whole battery of labs, EKG (since my cat had a murmur), and abd ultrasound, upper endoscopy with biopsy. Basically stick me with over $ 3000 dollars vet bill. I’m an cardiac ICU nurse, so did my cat need an EKG? No. He is NOT having heart problems. He is having GI problems. (some can argue that if the heart failure is bad enough you can have GI problems… But come on, there would be other symptoms). Does my cat need the endoscopy or biopsy just to differentiate intestine lymphoma? No. The end result and treatment is basically the same. Steroids. Basically they talked me into doing unnecessary tests and procedures on my poor kitty just to make money and to be «thorough».
For my second cat, me was also puking and loosing weight. Turns out he had some sort of GI bug as his became hypertyroid was getting worse (funny thing was, my regular vet had checked thyroid levels less than a year ago). This time we saw Dr. Christine Cocayne. Granted, we had brought my cat to AVS after hours as he was getting dehydrated (yes, I was tempted to fluid resuscitate him myself at home) and I had to work early next morning. The oncall vet that was there basically didn’t do much other than give my cat an IV and some fluids and waited until Dr. Cocayne got there in the morning. While she was professional and we had a couple conversation over the phone regarding diagnostics and treatment, she was appearently too busy to bother spending more than a few minutes talking to me when I picked up my cat. There was no followup what so ever. In fact, when my cat had recovered from his GI bug and I called back to schedule his radioactive iodine treatment, Dr. Cocayne did not even bother explaining anything to me. They repeatedly told me over the phone and when I drop him off about the cost for the treatment, making sure I knew how much it cost. During the 2 days my cat was there, I spoke to the nurse. When I pick up my cat, the receptionist basically asked for payment before I even got to see my cat. After she collected $ 1400 from me without giving me an itemized breakdown of my bill, she went over the discharge instruction with me, but don’t ask her any specific questions that’s not printed on the paper… Cause she doesn’t know the answer. The nurse just brought my cat out in his carrier. I tried to ask her specific questions (what to do about the dirty liter, exactly how radioactive is the waste, how radioactive is my cat, etc.) I basically got a lot of dodging. They don’t Geiger the cat waste… They are only required by law to do this and that… When I asked if they had a vet or manager I can talk to, she told me there wasn’t anyone. Granted, it is Christmas eve, but if one of my patient’s family ask for my manager, I contact my manager and ask them to contact the family, Christmas eve or not.
Bottom line, they don’t care about you or your pet. They just care about the money. Are they able to provide good medical care? Yes. But they have zero bedside manners.
So why do I bring my pets there? Because there are no other veterinary specialists, unless I want to drive hours to another facility in Columbia or Kansas City. They know they have the monopoly.

If you are low on funds, do not go to this vet. They will not work with you. Like a lot of people, I live pay check to pay check. And due to the trying economic times, I have a low credit score, so I do not have credit cards and do not qualify for the animal care credit card vets are always pushing on you. My 10 year old Diabetic cat, Tucker, stoped eating and drinking and in 2 days time, was severly dehydrated. I was able to get an appointment with my regular vet (Howdershell) on Thursday night and they agreed to hold my debit card until the next morning when my check was depositied. My vet examined him and the prognosis was not good. His temperature was low and she said most likely his kidneys were shuttng down or he had ketoacidosis. He was going to need tests but she couldn’t do them until the next morning and he was going to need fluid treatments throuout the night or he would die. She sent us to AVS and assured us they would hold our card until the next morning as well. Dr. Bergman at AVS examined him and presented us with a bill for over $ 1000 and demanded a downpayment right then. I had $ 40 on me. We explained the situation, that we would have money the next day and all he did was offer us a credit card application. He would not start treatmeant until after he had his money. Because we love him and didn’t want him to suffer, our only option was to put him down, but we didn’t even have enough money for that. We had another cat die ealier in the year from kidney failure and we chose not to put her down and it was horrible. She suffered terribly during the night and we didn’t want to see another loved one go through that again. We were going to take him home, and they offered us the option of a «humane euthenasia,» but they would not let us stay with him while they did it. Because we didn’t want him to suffer, we left him there and it was one of the hardest decisions of my life. I don’t know what they did to him. Was it something they didn’t want us to see? I don’t know if he was scared, or suffered, but he had to have wondered where his humans, who had faithfully served him all his life, had gone. I understand that AVS is a buisness and need to get paid and probably they have had problems with it in the past, times being what they are, but they showed little compasion for me or my cat in our time of need. They demonstrated to me, that money was more important to them then the needs and welfare of their clients. We have been to AVS before and never had a problem, until money was an issure, and despite the fact that we have a clearly established relationship with them as clients, they refused us comfort and care. I will not go there again, and I hope you think seriously about this before you go too.

AVS is not my normal vet, but we all know that our normal vets are not always available. In my situation, AVS was available and I am so very thankful that they were. I cannot give them a high enough rating for the way the entire staff bent over backward to assist me in what was an emotional, trying time for me where I was not able to think clearly.
If any of you have ever read any of my reviews, you know that my dog Skippy is such a big part of my life and my only lifeline since I moved to the St Louis area. His time is drawing near though and so Skippy’s reviews are going to be coming to an end really soon. However he is not done yet and he wanted me to make sure I went on Unilocal and told you my experience so you, too, can make a good decision when your vet may not be keeping office hours or you are looking for a new vet.
Without getting into it too much, Skippy has a heart problem and his heart is enlarged due to it. Lately he is getting worse and we visited our normal vet today — but this review is about AVS. I write this on a Saturday and after taking Skippy to his normal vet he was doing better but then that kind of went sideways on us and his vet was closed at that time. Skippy would not eat or drink, was breathing in a labored manner, and was visibly uncomfortable and I thought this was the end, that I was going to have to put my good boy down to ease his suffering. I called AVS after a Google search brought them to my attention. The angel on the other end of the phone was both empathetic and sympathetic and talked to me as a person and like a friend even though we never met. I was distraught and she knew that. She talked with me about whether or not I was just being panicky or whether Skippy needed to be seen. We had both come to the conclusion that he needed to be seen. I was going out of my mind with grief and she knew that. She made sure to give me very specific directions on how I could find their place coming from the direction I was coming — actually took the time to go over landmarks and how I would know if I went too far. I packed Skippy and all his medications up and we went there.
As I walked to the building, she saw me coming and mouthed to me through the window «I took your call» and she let me in and knew exactly who I was. I could not have been more impressed with her and she could have told me anything at this point and I would have followed any of her recommendations because I got the sense that she cared about Skippy and about me. To give credit where it is due, her name is Kathy (I hope I am spelling that correctly — if you are reading this Kathy or Cathy, feel free to correct me) and she is a fantastic, quality human being as well as whatever her title is at AVS, she is a fantastic one of those. She is what I will always remember about AVS and she is the face of AVS to me. She is more than just a qualified and competent professional, she is what every pet owner hopes their vet clinic is staffed with when they take their pets to them.
This is not to take anything away from Dr Bergman (I hope I am spelling that correctly as well). My dog even took a nip at him and he still treated my dog with a concern on par with my own, was thorough in explaining what he saw as my dog’s condition, and was mindful to keep the billing reasonable, not ordering unnecessary tests or procedures. He saw from the Vet Sheet I brought in from my earlier visit to my vet that I had Xrays done so he did not try to get me to pay for more, he simply listened to what I know I had repeatedly told him over and over because of being nervous and overly … everything! By the way, Dr Bergman, Skippy says he is sorry for nipping at you. He was having a bad day. Long story short, we did not put Skippy down but we did manage his condition and AVS taught me some more on how I can do that by personally instructing me and leaving their door open for me if I ever need a return visit which I am sure will happen.
I have gone on so long now, I do not want to belabor this any further. If you want my advice — YES — take your pet here and know they are just the best at what they do. If Skip were not so attached to his primary vet, I would make the switch in a second, but we love our other vet too. But after hours or when it is an emergency, AVS is my other vet now. I am impressed and grateful for all their help as is Skippy. He can continue being my good boy!
Skippy is going to pass soon, he knows it and I know it. No one was expecting miracles nor do I think AVS should be judged because they could not perform a miracle on my dog. They should be judged on the level of care and the ability they show in their job which is not only caring for your pet, but caring for the owner as well.
I cannot say it enough, thank you Dr Bergman, thank you Kathy, and thank you everyone at AVS (hanks to the girl with the broken arm as well! way to be a team player, coming to work with a broken arm!)

If your animal needs specialized or emergency care, I would highly recommend AVS and Dr. Hause. They gave us several more months with our precious dog, Aliyah, and helped me keep her quality of life better than it had been by being very accessible and informative about how to manage her diabetes. They also took very good care of our dogs, Rocky and Sam, when they had some digestive issues. I trust Dr. Hause completely with my animals and am forever grateful for their expertise and kindness.

These people are extra special. They saved my pups life and I can’t thank them enough. They are attentive and helpful

This review is directly for Dr. Robert Ulbricht who is the veterinary dentist at AVS. My dog, Gemma, broke one of her upper molars chewing on Nylabones (who knew?!) and it was discovered about a month ago. Our vet told us we could leave it alone but I didn’t want to risk an infection. We were referred to Dr. Ulbricht and I’m so glad we were. I am an internet reader so of course I had looked up the risks of anesthesia and pet dentistry. Dr. Ulbricht explained that she would need a root canal or her tooth pulled. In the hopes of keeping the function we opted for the more expensive root canal. He explained the entire procedure and the complications that could arise that would require the tooth to be pulled. He explained the risks of anesthesia and that process in full detail as well. I of course cried in the office but my girl is like my first kiddo so I was a wreck anyway. He dealt with me so nicely and professionally. During the procedure, Dr. Ulbricht called to explain that there was a lot of damage to the root and a root canal would only have a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance of working. He recommended having the tooth pulled. We ended up proceeding as such. Knowing that a doctor will not just perform a surgery because it costs more was comforting. We picked up Gemma that night and while she was upset and anxious, she was herself after all the drugs wore off. We had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend Dr. Ulbricht at AVS.

I can’t say enough about this place! Was referred to them by my amazing vet & friend after my kitty was suspected to have histoplasmosis in her lungs. This is a devastating fungal infection and had it not have been for Dr. Hause my kitty would probably not be here today. Top notch from the receptionist (Darla) to all of the nurses and staff who worked with us. I have referred my cousin and she has had the same experience. Truly the best in the area!

This review is a long time in coming, but it took a while for me to be able to relive this.
After a warning sign (a single pupil dilated while the other was not) sent me scrambling to vet emergency at 2am, my beloved feline was diagnosed with Lymphosarcomic Cancer. I opted for treatment instead of the (what I think is all-​too-​easy) option of putting her down. After a quickly needed surgery, the vet emergency advised me to find a cancer specialist.
My friend Kathy had taken her dog to Associated Veterinary Specialists and all I can say is ~thank God~ I went here. My kitty wasn’t the easiest animal to deal with in the doctor’s office, but Dr. Mike Slawienski was patient and careful with her on visits. I was pretty lost on cancer treatment & chemotherapy specifics, but everything was explained to me in minute detail so I knew exactly what was going on.
Thanks to treatment, my pet put weight back on and got her energy back. A long time later, when she eventually succumbed, I received heartfelt cards from both the vet office and from staff.
Thank you AVS. I hope I don’t need you again, but if it happens you’ll be the first ones I call.

Unfortunately, my dog had a rough incident trying to catch a bocce ball in her mouth (oops). After an emergency visit to the vet, we were immediately referred to Dr. Ulbricht at Associated Veterinary Specialists… who is a vet who specializes and has extensive experience and training in animal dentistry.
He took us in on short notice for an immediate root canal to prevent extensive soft palate issues upon removal of the canine that was broken in half. He was so easy to talk to and explained to me in detail the procedure, potential risks, and the cost. I signed a cost sheet and a waiver up front, and they led my pupster into the back. At about 2pm that day I got a call from Dr. Ulbricht, telling me how the procedure went, the follow-​up care, and when I could pick up my dog. She was a little doped up (understandably), but didn’t seem to experience any remnant pain.
On our follow-​up visit, where a crown needed to be put on to cap the tooth, we had the same experience. Very professional and thorough.
Hopefully your pet doesn’t have to experience the same thing that mine went through, but if so, Dr. Ulbricht at Associated Veterinary Specialists is the vet to see!