The Pet Mechanic

Dr. Frank and Jen are awesome! They provide such personalized care for me and my dog and we always have a positive experience. I recommend The Pet Mechanic to all of my friends with pets!

I adopted a dog from Saved Me. Her pre-​adoption exam and spay were performed by The Pet Mechanic. Her exam was reported as normal, aside from two 4 cm «swellings» in her mammary glands (looking at the handwritten note attached to the printed record, it appears that 4 cm should have been entered as «less than» 1 cm, given that the masses were not the size of Ritz crackers. I’m guessing a receptionist misread the less than symbol as the front of a 4. The «swellings» were rock hard nodules that felt like large pebbles in her mammary glands.
I was a veterinary technician for several years and knew the masses were likely benign (my dog is very young and the masses were in the topmost glands). I was surprised by how the medical record characterized the masses as «swellings,» but was not dissuaded from adopting the dog.
I adopted my dog the day after her spay. She had obvious kennel cough (which became pneumonia within 24 hours and required hospitalization and two weeks of multi-​antibiotic therapy) and pyoderma along her spay incision and torso, which had several scabs. To mitigate her skin infection, we had to shield her spay incision with waterproof bandage tape and plastic sheeting to bathe her. She was absolutely filthy: covered in a pungent, oily film of urine, dirt, and enough residual flea debris to tint her bath water reddish brown. I couldn’t not believe she wasn’t bathed prior to her spay, given how filthy she was.
After her pneumonia resolved, we had her «swellings» removed and sent for biopsy. The masses were multifocal chronic sclerosing galactophoritis with cysts and granulomatous mastitis. Thankfully benign, but certainly not mere swellings.
I know corners have to be cut in shelter medicine, but I am not impressed by my dog’s pre-​adoption care.

Ask for Dr. Frank, she works Thursday and Friday. She is the absolute best vet we have encountered. Thorough, friendly, sweet, truly cares, and is extremely knowledgeable! We have the utmost trust and faith in her abilities and love that we have found her.

Took aged dog for dental cleaning. First the office messed up appointment. They didn’t have him scheduled. They agreed to see him. But after he sat in a cage for 3 hours, they put him under anesthesia and only then realized the electric scaler wasn’t working. They didn’t call me. i called them and asked if he could just clean with hand instruments since he is an old dog and i don’t want him under general anesthesia again. They said vet didn’t have any hand instruments and would have to reschedule. The vet never apologized, nor accepted any responsibility. I will never go back again.

The quality of care your animal receives varies greatly based on which Doctor you see. I went quite a few times with my three cats for checkups and was satisfied, even though I felt they were a bit overpriced.
However, I took one cat when he was very sick for an evaluation and he was misdiagnosed and the doctor never called me with he results of the tests that were done (which I later learned clearly indicated he had been misdiagnosed). When he became sick again a month later, I took him elsewhere and he is now being properly treated for a pretty strait forward condition.
The incompetence of the one doctor at the practice nearly cost my cat his life. While the other doctors may be fine, this experience was horrible and I do not recommend you take cats there.

We recently adopted a sweet black lab mix from Saved Me, which is right next door and which uses the Pet Mechanic for treatments/​exams, so we figured we’d take her to a place she’d been before. I loved the vet on our first visit, who answered all of our questions, gave suggestions, and got down on the floor and very lovingly checked out our girl. It was a great first impression. Whenever we have a question or need something quickly they make sure to fit us in and help us out. It’s so nice to have the Pet Mechanic right in our neighborhood!

This is for the new Pet Mechanic clinic on South Street. I love them and am so happy to have them in my neighborhood.
I recently came home late one Saturday night to realize that my one of my cats had taken a clawed swat to the eye from his brother and was definitely in some pain. I had seen the new clinic on South Street and googled to see when it opened Monday (vs. making a trip to the ER) to realize that they had SUNDAY hours — what?! They had availability and were happy to see us that morning.
From the front desk to the exam room, and all along the way, I experienced very positive energy, a happy, caring staff and a pristine clinic.
Dr. Heartsfield was wonderful, so, so kind and good with my cat. She fixed him right up and sent us home with medication and the dreaded cone.
After using the antibiotic ointment for his eye for the week required, unfortunately his eye, to me, didn’t look much better. A follow up was needed.
Second experience, on a Saturday morning this time, was just as good as the first. This time I saw Dr. Pella who broke it down for me in terms I really understood, the trauma inflicted and the healing process of the eye. Made a lot of sense and eased my concern that he wasn’t healing. Prescribed another form of the same medication that may «stick» better — so far, so good.
So, it wasn’t as much about the actual diagnosis or treatment protocol as much as it was the level of knowledge and attention given to my cat, genuine care and concern for him, a great environment and hours that really are amazing.
Oh, and last, but not least, the costs were more than reasonable — good stuff.

I like all the vets here, quite frankly I have nothing bad to say and never left an appointment feeling like my questions weren’t answered and the needs of my pets weren’t met. I call Dr. Frank & Dr. Lamont the cat ladies although I’m sure they are fantastic with dogs too. It just so happens they are the ones there when I bring my cats. Dr. Lamont did an excellent job handling my semi-​feral cat Momo and worked quickly and efficiently to get everything done before she got distressed. Dr. Frank is so calm and compassionate, she had excellent additional suggestions for my cats with urinary issues.
Dr. Heartsfield cleaned my adopted Pomeranian’s teeth, he needed six pulled and there wasn’t a single hitch, some of which were molars. She did an excellent job and you can tell she is genuine about your pet and what needs to be done. She is a kind person. My female pomeranian broke a tooth and she advised that nothing needed to be done based on how it broke and overall teeth. I feel that there are other vets out there that may have taken advantage and pulled it anyway for profit — sadly.
The prices are good and now that they have Saturday hours we can go here exclusively instead of the other vet I saw on occasion because of weekends. The other vet was nice, prices were higher but I just didn’t feel the connection I do with the ladies here. There was one receptionist /​tech here that I HATED, needless to say she did not work there at that long. It didn’t completely ruin going here the couple times she was employed, but it defiantly was something I complained about how she handled people.

Very nice, sensible people at this vet. We’ve taken our dog here several times for routine and minor procedures. Luna (the dog) is generally distrustful of vets and always gives them a hard time, but the people who work at Pet Mechanic are nevertheless so sweet to her. It’s also very easy to book an appointment here — I wish it were only this easy to schedule my own doctor’s appointments — and they never push for expensive procedures or medications. We’re appreciative of the care Luna has received there and see Pet Mechanic as our neighborhood vet!

Brought our cat in to Pet Mechanic on the advice of a vet friend. From the booking phone call on, everyone was extremely helpful, knowledgable, and friendly. Dr. LaMan and Nicole saw us for a same day appointment and were great with our little guy, and they handled his vet anxiety calmly and in stride. We got some not great news, and they quickly set us up with a same-​day ultrasound appointment at VESC, and were even able to take us back for a follow-​up visit at the end of the day (6:30 at this point) to write prescriptions and demonstrate follow-​up care (and save us the expense of seeing a second specialist at VESC, which can be pricey). So grateful for all they did for us, and to have found such a great vet practice.

I had to put my cat to sleep and was struggling with the decision. Dr. Frank made me feel ok about our decision and was wonderful as I went through it. She was frankly amazing and even sent me a card after the fact. If you are facing this tough decision yourself, I recommend Dr. Frank.

So my puppy (do I call him a dog now? He’s a year and three months) had an accident this summer… he got hit by a car and ended up with a broken toe and road rash/​wounds all over his hind leg. Though the Pet Mechanic didn’t initially treat his injury, we brought him here for aftercare. Every 3 days he needed to get his bandages changed and both blonde vet techs did a GREAT job caring for him. He’s healed now and doing well.
Pet Mechanic seems affordable– $ 35 for well visits… but like every other vet, the extras add up. Dr. Frank is great, I think she only works on Fridays. If you can get an appointment with her, try to do so.

I can not even begin to express my gratitude to every one at The Pet Mechanic. The doctors were very good with my cat and their suggestions made much more sense than previous places I have gone.
Their prices are extremely reasonable and it will definitely be our neighborhood vet for years to come after such a positive experience.

Dr Frank is great. She knows her stuff and truly cares. I feel comfortable bringing my pharaoh hound in as she has experience with the rare breed. Wonderful care at a very afforadable price. You are not told that you are required to have an exam or this or that to be seen on top of what you are already going in for. You tell them what you need, and they help you and charge you for that ONE thing that you came in for. I did not feel I was being swindled into paying for anything other than WHAT I FELT was necessary. This is how it should be everywhere. You can’t beat it in this city. I’ve been around to know.

I have brought my puppy here for 6 months, in that time she received a spay, wellness visits & a GI issue. They have been nothing but accommodating and friendly, and answer all my crazy puppy mom questions. The vet techs are great, Nikki deserves some props as well for being extra helpful and nice, I even stopped her in the street one day to ask how the spay incision looks. Its very convenient to my apt in Nolibs and I will continue bringing my pup here!

Took my sick 14 year old pitbull to The Pet Mechanic recently… he was not well AT ALL… and I knew the diagnosis would not be good. The staff could not have been nicer and more compassionate. The Dr palpiatated the dogs stomach and found a mass on his spleen… and unfortunately I knew at that point what needed to be done. She told me my options and was VERY compassionate and caring about the whole situation (which is really what you want in that kind of situation). I sadly made the decision to put my pup down… the Dr told me everything that could happen and exactly how everything would go. When the time came, it couldnt have been calmer… and the vet and tech were so very caring. Although the situation was so sad… I was so glad that i chose a place where i didnt feel rushed and could be comforted by such a caring group of people.

I brought my 9-​year-​old beagle in for a check up. They had reviewed all of our old vet records before we got there (I just moved here). She’s had a lot of health issues and the doc was all read up! Had a great manor to her, definitely helped quell my worries about her getting older, and was straight with me about the pricing and timing needed for a dental cleaning that I’ll have to schedule later this year.
Maya is a PAIN with getting her nails cut, but the vet tech had it all under control!

We’ve been taking our two pups here for the last year, and so far things have gone really well. My main complaint at the beginning was that their hours were really inconvenient for those of us with normal adult jobs, but it is my understanding that they now have a vet present Monday-​Friday and they also have extended hours on Monday afternoon/​evening.
We adopted one of our dogs from Operation Ava and she had a really bad respiratory infection, and Pet Mechanic was extremely thorough and understanding. I’m not a hypochondriac but I definitely freak out about my pets sometimes since they are basically my furry children. Regardless, they were very understanding and were willing to explain as much to me as possible. I really appreciated the service.

I took my cat to a new veterinarian since my last review. When I arrived, I discovered that The Pet Mechanic had still not faxed my cats’ records to the new veterinarian’s office (two weeks later). I had to call them from the new clinic. They then faxed some of the records, not all. I had to call again. Turns out they trashed the records I’d hand-​delivered to them from my cat’s former vet back in the fall.
The new veterinarian did not make me get more blood work for my cat. He used her prior records to hypothesize that she’d do well on a slightly stronger dose of thyroid medication. Now, my cat is doing great and she exhibits no further signs of hyperthyroidism. Rather than having to pay for more blood work before and after her change in dosage (as The Pet Mechanic ordered), I’ll only pay once, after the adjustment in dosage.
My cat’s new vet seemed surprised that The Pet Mechanic had prescribed an expensive food special for cats with hyperthryroidism since I have a two-​pet household. Even Society Hill Veterinary Hospital said it’s poor practice to prescribe this food to multiple-​cat households. It’s quite difficult keeping my cats separated when they eat, and both are grazers. In addition, the prescribed food, he said, has been getting mixed reviews in his profession, leading him to feel it’s not worth the cost.

I have had fine service, but I agree that they make you feel pressured into getting shots and meds. Additionally, they only have a doctor on premises Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.