Rascal Animal Hospital and Emergency Care

I would not recommend this practice. The vets are fine but 4 hours to be seen!!! It takes weeks to get an «appointment» so if you have an unplanned problem you are at the bottom of their list. The desk staff even knowing it will be hours says you have to stay there and wait. They have each been taught to say «I really can’t say how long it will be». After hearing the exact statement repeatedly I just became more frustrated.
I lost ½ a day at work so despite their reasonable prices it was a costly afternoon.
Why not be up front and tell you it will be hours and allow people to leave for part of the time? Instead you have an overflowing waiting area and irate customers posting on Unilocal while still waiting.

Update: so I went to medvet the morning after I took my dog in to rah — rah said his heart was fine and sent him home. The doctor at medvet used the X-​rays from rah to diagnose my dog with congenital heart failure. He said he could clearly see all of the signs in the X-​ray. The twist? My dog was currently in heart failure when I took him in to medvet. They had him on ivs and in an oxygen cage. It also took me a very long time to finally reach someone at rah by phone, then waited on hold for 15 minutes, then one really rude receptionist to get my dogs X-​rays sent to medvet. I would recommend going to rah for simple er issues, nothing that could potentially take your pets life.

The staff is professional and seem to know what they’re talking about, but the wait is ridiculous. Expect to wait anywhere from 2 – 6 hours to be even taken into a room (where you then wait at least another hour).

I could not have asked for a better place to have taken our dog! He was hit by a car when my 12 year old was walking him. When we got here they took him straight back and then came out and let us know how much it was going to cost for the test. The price was well within reason! I will say he is one lucky dog when we brought him in we knew he had a hurt leg and a small chunk out of his leg and some road rash but other wise he looked good. After the test they let us know it is his ACL. We knew this was not a good thing because we know what friends have paid. They brought us the price and we told them we could do the lower price but there is no way we could do the higher one. They keep us right on it! As for the staff they are great! I called regularly and he was only there three nights. We stopped and visited also. This staff never made us feel unwelcome or that we were taking up their time when they could have that room for someone else.

This place is a lifesaver.
Around Christmas, my cat found his way into my sewing kit and swallowed some thread. I was not aware of this at first, but I found the cause after a full day and a half of watching him throw up solids and liquids while I tried to nurse him back to health.
Let it be known that I am a full time student, so I’m low income. I looked at OSU emergency vet, but after hearing some of their pricing I got very upset thinking that my beloved pet would have to die because I was not wealthy. Luckily Google directed me to Rascal, and I decided it was the only option I could afford.
I came in with Cosmo in the late evening to drop him off. I left Rascal at around 10PM while Cosmo got testing and X-​rays and they called me back at around midnight saying that he had thread wrapped around the base of his tongue all the way through his colon and would need emergency surgery. I was in tears.
Although it was a rough night, Rascal kept me updated at every status change. Cosmo made it through! Something I particularly appreciated was that I was able to visit my cat while he was recovering, and I was always able to call and check on him to calm my nerves. When I would call they would give me report then say, «I’ll tell him you called. He is looking forward to seeing you.» This is a small thing, but it made me feel like he was being taken care of by people who see him the same way that I see him; like they understand him.
Their convenience, affordability, and love are the reason my sweet cat is alive today. I would definitely recommend Rascal to friends and family!

We had a WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE with Rascal Animal Hospital. I AM SO THANKFUL WE TOOK HER THERE! THEY SAVED US A TON OF MONEY AND A RISKY SURGERY THAT WASN’T EVEN NECESSARY! Our cat was acting very lethargic, stopped eating, and lost a lot of weight. I took her to our vet and they found an object in an x-​ray so they said she needed to go to MedVet. We took her to the ER at MedVet and they wanted to do surgery with a bill up to ~ 3K. We told them that was beyond our budget so they suggested Rascal (since they were cheaper). We took her there and they admitted her fairly quickly for us since we had been from one place to another all day. They reviewed her records/​x-​rays and gave us a min-​max estimate. I think the min was around $ 250 and the max was around 1.2K (MUCH more reasonable!). Due to the risks of surgery, the Vet suggested trying to get her rehydrated and try to get her to eat then re-​x-​ray to see if they can get the object moving. If moving, they can likely avoid surgery! No movement = surgery. They were able to get it (a button) moving and she passed it within 24 hours! NEXT TIME WE HAVE AN ANIMAL EMERGENCY, WE WILL GO STRAIGHT TO RASCAL FOR SURE.

Mostly do an ok job

My cat had been acting a little unusual for about a day. While she usually loves getting up on her cat tree, she refused to do it. When I got home from work and realized that she had been laying in one spot for the whole day, I was convinced something was wrong and took a closer look. I found an open wound near her tail. As it was a Saturday, I knew I couldn’t get into my vet. I headed into Rascal Animal Hospital and Emergency Care.
When I got there, there were only 2 people ahead of me on the list. I knew that there would be a wait, as I’d read all of the previous reviews. But as we were so far up on the list, I thought it’d be a little quicker.
We got there at 5:30 and weren’t seen for about 4 hours. I was worried, hungry, and agitated. We watched people who came in after us and didn’t seem to have very pressing medical concerns get waited on before us. One family brought their 4 kids in and spent the majority of the time we were in the waiting room screaming at them as they ran around, totally out of control. Why, might you ask, would I possibly give this experience 4 stars?
When we were finally waited on, it was explained that the wait was a little longer than normal because they had all kinds of emergencies come in, including a dog that had been hit by a car. Things had apparently been crazy all day. When our cat was seen, they were able to explain what had happened (she had an abscess near her tail that had probably ruptured) and how they would treat it. We had about another hour of waiting, but eventually someone came in, verified the initial diagnosis, and gave us an estimate.
When I saw the estimate, I was surprised. I knew the prices were low, but I was still shocked at just how low. My cat was going to be shaved, sedated, the wound cleaned and debridled, and given an antibiotic with pain meds and an e-​collar. She was going to have to stay overnight. The total cost? Less than $ 150. I am not at all exaggerating when I say that my vet would have probably charged me 10 times that, at the very least. We finally left the vet around 11 p.m. exhausted, but knowing that our cat was going to be feeling better very soon.
When we picked her up the next day, there was another hour of waiting. Still, our cat was clearly totally taken care of. Within a day or so, she was back to her normal self. About a week later, she’s still wearing her e-​collar and her wound is healing up well. I know that, if something didn’t look right, I could bring her into Rascal and have them take a look, but I don’t anticipate that happening.
Although the wait times were somewhat outrageous, I’d say it was worth saving hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars. I had the same quality care that I would expect from a more expensive vet, but it was a fraction of the price. I think, in the future, I might try to call ahead (I think that’s why some people got in ahead of us).
Before, when my other cat was getting neutered, I was comparing Rascal to SOS and decided to get him fixed at SOS after reading some of the bad reviews of Rascal. While I was very happy with SOS (and didn’t have to wait long at all), I don’t think it was fair of me to buy into the bad reviews of Rascal. My experience was not in line with any of the horror stories I read — I only interacted with people who clearly cared about my cat and her well-​being. I would definitely come back in a pinch and, to be honest, perhaps for my cat’s normal services — it’s going to be hard to go back to normal prices after this!

I just finished up an appointment for my dog who is limping. The staff was courteous and the doctor was very nice and compassionate. While the wait time was a bit long (two hours in and out) the entire visit price including exam, meds, and walk-​in fee was half the cost of the OSU emergency FEE (as in the fee you have to pay up front just to be seen). Very happy with the service and we will definitely utilize this establishment for weekend emergencies in the future.

I brought my cat in to be seen for sores in his ears and I waited for over two hours. I saw Dr. Ziegler and she told me my cat most likely had an ear infection but did nothing to confirm this. She prescribed me Otomax, but when I got home I saw on the paperwork it is for use in dogs only. I called them and the woman who answered the phone was very rude with me. She told me they knew prescribing this medication for cats was against the instructions and gave me no reasoning for why it should be acceptable. I called my regular vet to ask what they thought I should do for my cat and they were very confused as to why I was prescribed Otomax for a cat and said it should never be used on a cat. I am very unhappy with my visit to Rascal Animal Hospital and I will never return.

Great place. Great prices. The staff is awesome… except the witch at the front desk… (long black hair, portly, glasses) They still get 4 stars because of the prices and same day treatment.

No one likes the vet– especially in emergency situations.
That being said, I am so very thankful to have a place like Rascal available to me and my furry friends. I’ve had to utilize their services a few times now, and though there are things I wish I could change (like wait times, communication, etc) I know that it ultimately comes down to funding. And in order for them to keep their services so low-​cost, it has to be the way it is, and they are doing a damn good job.
I would say that in comparison to what I would pay at my vet for the same services, Rascal is charging about ¼ or less the cost of a full-​cost vet. And I won’t even go into how much the other emergency vet facility charges. I’ll just say I would never be able to afford it.
If you are in a spot where your pet requires immediate attention, don’t go anywhere else. Oh yeah, and donate to them if you can– it’s a worthy cause!

We had to take our dog here on a Saturday morning. We had quite a long wait, but this is an animal hospital. The pet clinical staff was excellent and really helped ease our minds of our little dogs illness/​symptoms. The only problem was the front desk staff were not very friendly. I’m sure they get a lot of flack about the long wait (we didn’t complain). Still they didn’t seem to have good customer service skills which is important. If they don’t want to be friendly, they should find a different job.

I’m not capable of finding words adequate to praise the Rascal Animal Hospital but I’ll do my best. If you happen to be sitting in the Rascal waiting room and you’re thinking of writing a negative review because your wait time has exceeded your expectaions and stressed your patience, I urge you to spend some of your wait time Googling the organization. Reading the results will help you pass the time and give you a better understanding of the type of people who will soon be caring for your four legged loved one. Keep in mind as you wait that this is an EMERGENCY clinic with AFFORDABLE prices! This type of service is very rare and very much needed. If you want to be seen at your exact appointment time and don’t mind paying at least double then please go somewhere else and keep your negative words to yourself. Dr G and the staff actually care about animals and and work tirelessly to improve the lives of ALL animals in the area, not just their clients. How many other veterinarians leave their clinic to rescue animals in need and provide low cost mobile services? The following is my experience with Rascal:
Travis, my 10 pound chihuahua mix broke his right front leg on July 2, 2014 at 11pm. He has long, thin legs and it’s a common injury. He spent that night at the OSU emergency clinic which cost $ 500. I was given an estimate of an additional $ 1800-​$ 2200 for surgical repair. I spent July 3^rd trying to raise the money because I had to pay up front but I was running out of time with the upcoming holiday weekend. By the end of the day on July 3^rd I was still a few hundred dollars short. The wonderful doctors at OSU referred me to Rascal as a more affordable alternative. I took my little guy to Rascal on July 4 and was given an estimate of $ 1200-​$ 1800 for surgical repair. Still a big chuck of change but I was going to be able to pay. The only problem was that it was a holiday weekend and the doctor not supposed to be in until July 8. The amazing, caring doctor came to the clinic on July 5 which was supposed to be her day off and performed the surgery so Travis didn’t have to wait. How many of you know ANY doctor who would do that and save you money in the process. I paid $ 1200 up front with the balance due when I picked him up a few days later. I was nervous as I came into the clinic that day because I wasn’t sure how much more I was going to owe. Imagine my amazement when I was refunded $ 350! I will be a forever loyal Rascal client. I’ll probably have to wait when I take my dogs there because of the nature of the practice and the fact that they take walk-​ins and emergencies but I’ll plan ahead when I go, making sure I can spare the time. I have included the Rascal mission statement below. You’ll find it on their Web site along with more information about the wonderful things they do for animals in the area.
Our mission is to provide high quality care to pets while providing affordable services so that we can help decrease the number of euthanasias due to financial limitations and help provide treatment options to caretakers with financial concerns.

They really care about the pets.
With my dogs– So far so good with this place. It’s half the price of all other vets and because of that they see a lot of traffic– aka they are pretty seasoned. At least it seems that way to me. The walk in fees after hours is 35 and during business hours is $ 15. I made an appointment and for annual check up and all shots it was $ 60.
There can be a wait — like hours — so may be a good idea to call to get an idea of wait time. If it’s an emergency they may help get you in quicker. They also let you visit your pet if they have to check in for an extended time. — my dog has stayed here multiple times for eating raisins and another time for pancreatitis. Those stays cost about $ 600 for 3 Days.

For those of you living under a rock, the cost of health care is obscene and is quickly reaching the status of über-​obscene. But if you are a pet owner, you know that animal health care has also been über-​obscene for quite some time. So when I got my dog Anya last year, I asked around for tips on the most reputable and least obscene clinics. The vote was almost unanimous: Rascal.
I can’t speak for RAH prior to 2013, but I can say that the few negative reviews on Unilocal completely contradict my experiences there. The care is top notch, the staff is friendly and accommodating, and best of all the prices are a fraction of what you are liable to pay anywhere else in Columbus, especially major work like surgical procedures.
There is one major caviat to this, however: be prepared to wait. This is a clinic setting and works on a first come first served basis. You can make an appointment, but often times their wait list is a month long so unless it’s preventative work, you may as well just show up and eat the $ 15 walk-​in fee. On top of it, this clinic operates on a skeleton crew, which I would guess is one of the biggest reasons they are able to keep their rates low. Techs are available for a lot of the routine issues, but I think there are only one or two doctors on staff at any one time, and they are often attending to surgical or emergency cases. So again, be prepared to wait, especially if you arrive during their rush period of 5 – 7 pm. Unless you arrive during their slower periods, accept the fact that you are going to surrender a few hours of your life. Bring a book, drop the entitled attitude and you should be just fine.
In a pinch, RAH is fully equipped to handle emergencies and are open 24 hours (I believe 7pm — 7am are considered emergency hours and you’ll pay a higher walk-​in fee). It’s nice to have that peace of mind just 15 mins from my house.

This place is… amazing. My Siberian Husky has cancer (a very large tumor attached to her ribs) and my vet basically told me that it was «game over». Wait it out, make her comfortable and enjoy the time we had left with her. To be fair, he did tell me that I could get an xray/​biopsy/​ultrasound at another location (he’s a small-​town vet without such equipment) if I wanted to, but he had very little hope for her. I wanted to, but when I called around for pricing… well, I knew I couldn’t afford it. A friend told me about Rascal Animal Hospital so I hopped on here and read some reviews (which were helpful, so thank you). I knew exactly what to expect when I went in so I was not surprised at the wait. Honestly, I was SO relieved at the thought of getting some answers… I would have waited all night and not said a word. From the second I walked in, everyone there was welcoming and helpful and I knew I had her in the right place. I could see the care and concern on the faces of all of the staff. They are truly doing this because the LOVE animals. I knew imediately that I had come to the right place.
The vet, spent OVER an hour talking to me. They examined my pup, took an xray and did a small biopsy. All for… wait for it…$ 140 total. That INCLUDES the walk-​in fee. I was shocked. Long story short, the testing confirmed that it was cancer. I was given an estimate to remove the mass…$ 600, and I jumped on it. She had surgery yesterday and did have some complications but she survived. She’s going to be there for a few days recovering ($ 10 charge per day… that’s all), but I can sleep at night knowing she is in caring, capable hands.
I cannot give the staff enough credit. They are just a group of special people. They certainly gave me and my family something more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving :)

I don’t get some of the negative reviews… This place is not filthy! I neutered my kitten here earlier today. Had an appointment and it took 15 minutes to meet with the vet technician (who was very friendly and answered all our questions). I was a bit skeptical after reading the bad reviews…
I left the kitten with the vet technician at 10 am and after a few hours I got a call that the surgery went ok and I can pick him up after 3:30.
They look very busy indeed and probably short staffed. The front desk girl was NOT helpful at all and answered my questions with «it depends– can’t tell you for sure-​it depends again» but I decided to take a sit and give it a chance. The whole procedure + microchip cost me $ 55. I had to wait after the surgery for the discharge papers and the microchip docs and that took around 45 minutes. I had stuff to read with me and it was worth the wait.
If you truly have an emergency it is annoying that you have to wait since 20 other people can have emergencies at the same time and the staff # is limited but hey ²⁴⁄₇ –weekends –holidays + cheap!

Not a bad option. Open ²⁴⁄₇ located in the strip mall by Best Buy on Britton Parkway. Doctor on call was nice. Warning: speedy service isn’t their thing. Keep in mind this is a discount service out of love for animals so while the rates are far lower than a MedVets or OSU MED with that comes slower service. Please be patient. Checked in around 720 pm and didn’t get out till almost 11 pm. On top of that I had to leave my dog overnight ($ 10) as the one vet on duty had two emergency surgeries and priorities are what they are… totally got it. Put down a deposit to cover services and promptly received my follow up call the next day on his condition.
Would we go back? Most likely. Understanding the process and knowing what to expects help. It’s a nice option just in case.

You have to know what you are buying into here — it is a low cost clinic. A low cost clinic with very high quality people, great care offerings, and caring people.
I do all my standard vetting here because the cost is at least 2/​3rds less than my normal vet’s office.
Vaccinations (the whole slew of ‘em, for about 3 years) will only set you back $ 30 or so. A heartworm test is only $ 15, flea prevention (not heartworm too) is only $ 2.50 a dose, $ 16 a monthly dose for the complete flea, tick, parasite, heartworm pill. It’s $ 22 a pill at three other places I’ve checked.
Xrays and sonograms are under $ 90 total.
Dentals, including full sedation are usually around $ 200 or less. Spays and neuters are by weight with some as low as $ 90 for a neuter.
Blood profiles are only $ 40 (two other places I’ve checked run from $ 80 — $ 140)
(*prices subject to change in relation to date of review).
Got an emergency? no huge after hours penalties here. Rascal Animal Hospital is open 24 hours with 1 vet on staff for the overnights. More vets are on duty during normal working hours.
That’s how they manage costs, so after 7:30 pm, if you don’t have a life threatening situation, you might wait while another little life is being saved. Don’t complain because you have to wait — know that you might have to wait before you make the decision to come here if your pet is not immediately severely injured or dying.
That said, if your pet is in bad shape, you are getting right in. It’s about the animal here — no hand holding or candy fluff to make people warm and fuzzy. No hot coffee or big couches, PADDED folding chairs and an A/C’d room is aces enough.
You’ll get good vet care and prices you can handle. They respect you, and they’ll respect you more if you do your homework and learn your breed, and ask intelligent questions.
Don’t bitch about a $ 10 walk in fee when your exam is well under $ 40 during normal biz hours. Remember, you’re at least able to be seen as a walk in. Appointments book far in advance. If you come in during the wee hours, you’ll pay a $ 35 emergency fee.
Don’t keep harassing the front desk lady when you are waiting a while and the vet is stabilizing a real emergency. The priorities are straight here and I am ok with waiting to see a fuzzball come out of a situation alive.
If you want to be in and out, go to MedVet — a good enough place, but about $ 150 to walk in the door right off the bat and double to triple the expense on everything else.
Yes, make your standard appointments well in advance (at least a month or two). Keep calling until you talk to someone. Be prepared to wait on the phone. They are BUSY. and it’s ok. IF you know what you are walking into. Can’t get an answer or something doesn’t make sense — keep calling or be willing to wait until someone can speak to you directly. Perseverance is the magic formula.
For me, it’s worth it. I am better able to allocate my funds across several rescue animals because I’m not paying $ 800 for a spay, sedation and blood panel like I did with my first pup at the «regular» vet.
PS: I drive 20 miles to get here and back — 40 miles round trip.
Oh — and if you have surgery done, you drop off at 8 am or earlier if you have to go to work and you can pick them up AFTER work — even if it’s later than the typical 6pm. A huge bonus for me.
I love these guys —
PPS: A woman founded this, including a mobile low-​cost unit that helps under-​served areas of Ohio, all under the age of 40. I am thrilled that A. Michelle Gonzalez-​Monska was named to Business First’s 40 Under 40 for 2011. Go Girl! (and thank you for helping me care for my rescue fur babies!)
Edit to add: Much of the clientele that uses Rascal really does *need* low, low cost vet care — but thank goodness they are doing the right thing by trying to care for their pet. The other half are usually good Samaritans with multiple rescues as a formal rescue, or simply people with big hearts who take strays in for spays/​neuters and find them homes once they are healed. This also means that there is usually more going on in the universe than the focused care of just one fuzzy for those specific folks — which can add to chaos in general.
Why do I say this? If you are an average Joe like me, you’ll see many walks of life. Some people, more than one might think, don’t come back to claim their pets — I’ve even seen one woman threatening to LEAVE her pet there over the cost of the $ 10 for walk-​in (I Kid you not…) Some don’t pay for cremation leading to Rascal offering every option and extended periods of time for people to claim their pets (keeping them until they are permitted to remove). It’s not an excuse for oversights, but it is an insight into some of the mix ups, etc. This also is not casting aspersions on another review — just some context for a unique, not-​so-​great situation.
It’s hard to tell who of the clients is serious and who is not — sad, but true.