Russell Ridge Animal Hospital

For the care they give our dogs (lab mix and and a GSD), they are a five star; BUT they are overpriced.
Here’s what makes them a two star. The front office staff can’t keep records to save thier lives. They insist on us getting our third heartworm test this year before they will write a prescription for our dogs. We had one done less than 3 months ago.

I’ve been to many different vets, and this is my all-​time favorite after 10 years of vet-​hopping.
Everyone here is so knowledgeable! The receptionists are super sweet, and often time they can answer my questions. They send adorable post card reminders in the mail so you don’t forget your appointment.
As soon as you walk in, you feel welcomed– you’re always greeted, and it doesn’t take many visits before they recognize you and your furbaby by name. The lobby is clean and cozy, and they offer free drinks on the right side, along with magazines to enjoy while you wait to be seen.
They have a grooming center IN the facility! I have never taken my spoiled lab Loki here, but my sister also takes her cat, Mason, to Russel Ridge and he came back clean and happy.
They carry all kinds of heartworm preventative, Sentinel being my favorite.
The check-​ups are always very thorough and vaccines are done in a separate room very quickly. You can choose which vaccinations you want your dog to get of course.
One thing I really appreciate about Russel Ridge is how the payments are done. I’m the kind of person who plans out every kind of bill, so I like to know exactly how much everything is going to cost before I get there. I can call up and get a very close if not exact estimate, and they won’t tack on random fees like a lot of vets do. If you can’t pull off a certain bill at that moment, they’ll do their best to work with you.
I think I’ve found my permanent vet!

Please, reconsider going to this vet — I wish I did!
My Story–
On Saturday morning 6÷13÷2015, I took my cat in to the Hamilton Ridge location, she was filling fine, but breathing heavy. The vet I saw at the Hamilton Ridge location gave her a shot of prednisone and took some blood. She told me, that the prednisone will last to Monday ⁶⁄₁₅ — that is when she will view the blood work then make her decision on how to treat her.
Well at 5:30pm Saturday (6÷13÷215) her breathing had gotten worst, so I took her to the Russell Ridge vet. There, the vet said «her blood work looked fine», so she decided to give my sweet little girl a stronger dose of prednisone. If the first shot of Prednisone didn’t work, why did the vet at Russel Ridge give her more?
Other vets have told me HEAVY BREATHING IS AN EMERGENCY SITUATION — NO MATER WHAT!
if the vet I saw a Russell Ridge on Saturday ⁶⁄₁₃ had instructed me to take my sweet little girl to the ER, would she have lived? I will never know, but I would have PEACE knowing that the vet had done the right thing. Now my little is dead, because Hamilton Ridge and Russell Ridge vets don’t know what they are doing — they are more concerned with making money than doing the right thing. My cat was fine when I took her in Saturday, 6÷13÷2015, mater-​of-​fact she was fine the week before Saturday ⁶⁄₈ −6÷12 she was eating, sleeping and drinking water etc. and dead on 6÷15÷2015. The prednisone made her breathing worst and HEAVY BREATHING IS AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
And on top if it all, I was told to get another vet (which I have), because I am no longer welcome there. Well if I had NEVER gone to either Hamilton Ridge and Russel Ridge vet — MY SWEET LITTLE GIRL WOULD BE ALIVE

So, I never write reviews and this one is a bit late in the grand scheme of things. BUT here are my issues with this vet.
My girlfriend and I got a puppy about 2 months ago and we took him to RRAH for the first 2 appointments and shots. The first time they were a bit spacey, but we assumed we had just come in on an off day and that can happen when you’ve got animals in the mix.
They answered all of our questions and actually got us in and out in a relatively QUICK time frame. The price was a bit high, but for our first visit I was thrilled to be in and out in less than an hour.
However, visit number two was a bit different. When my girlfriend took the puppy in this time, they were still just as quick but they recommended that we do way more than was required; more stool samples when everything had checked out a few weeks prior, a few shots that they had said during our first visit we wouldn’t need, and a price that astronomical again.
Let me back up a little and say that we asked for pricing during our first visit, they admitted that the first bill would be a bit high, but the second would be less and gave us a bit of an outline of what it would be. We’re new to the community, just bought our first house, and trying to plan out our purchases a bit. So this was a relief that we thought they had helped make easier. So you can see my issue with the 2^nd bill being just as high…
Lastly, (and this is the big one, & why I’m finally writing a review) we went to another vet for our 3^rd visit, my family got a discount for a referral and we got one for being «new clients» When we got to the new vet, we took our paperwork from our first 2 visits to make sure we didn’t double up on shots. The vet at this location told us that 1 – 2 of the shots that we had gotten BOTH times were a YEARLY shot, it was nothing that would HURT the dog. BUT it did add an extra $ 30-​$ 40 to my bill at RRAH.
I’m very displeased with the service at this location. If you go in, and it seems like they’re dragging you through the mud, they probably are. Be up front, and if you do decide to use this location. Go in with the mentality that this is YOUR dog, and they can’t do anything you don’t want them to do. We won’t be going back, even though it’s almost literally across the street.

RRAH fails when it comes to competitive pricing. We don’t always feel welcome because we are not allowed or even asked if we want to go with our dog during anything (shots, blood drawn etc.) This is absurd and needs to be fixed. VCA in Hawaii always allowed for this during every visit except for operations. It’s not like this is all some big secret. The owner of an animal should be allowed to escort during all visits to include when blood is drawn, shots, administered medicines, check-​ups and really includes every visit minus operations. VCA in Hawaii also had cheaper pricing and we always felt welcome. Due to us moving from the military to civilian life we now live in Georgia. In other words we are spoiled all of the way around and expect higher of an institution. Please set the bar higher!

This is such an amazing place! I have been to several vets and animal hospitals and I have never had my cats taken such good care of!
Dr Tanis was very thorough while still being cost conscious of how much tests and vaccines would be. She worked with me in turning a large bill into a manageable cost that worked for my cats needs. They had vaccines and tests that were ideal, but since it was 256 $ for all of it, they worked with me to bring the price down into a reasonable amount to pay and what reasonable for my cat.
The staff, technicians, and Dr Tanis were all very kind and caring. I never felt taken advantage of or as if they were pushing a product. The facility was clean and didn’t smell of the constant run of animals. They were all very good with my scared-​to-​death cat.
An amazing place that cares and takes care of your animals!
I will definitely be continuing my animal care there!

I absolutely LOVE Russell Ridge and in particular Dr. Miller.
When I first moved to the area, my then boyfriend and I were taking our dogs to a vet in Cumming. We thought all was ok until our English Bulldog started having eye problems. His eye was obviously bothering him and he couldn’t stop rubbing his face. The old vet in Cumming just gave us some ointment and sent us on our way. While it seemed to help a bit, the problem came back and they gave us some more ointment and sent us on our way again. We ended up going out of town and boarding our dogs (all 3 of them) with US Canine and upon our return the owner, Angie, mentioned a condition called Entropion, where the eyelid starts to curl in and eyelashes rub up against the eye. A VERY common condition, especially in the breed. She set us up an appt with Dr. Miller whom she had worked with in the past and we iheaded to his clinic. According to the print out she gave us, if not treated, can lead to blindness! Sure enough, as soon as we get there, he diagnosed our bulldog with entropian. I was fuming at our old vet. How could they not know something that was SO common that even the lady we board our dogs with could diagnose him before our own vet could? We immediately asked the receptionist at Russell Ridge to call up our old vet and transfer all our dogs records to them, and I can tell you it’s the best thing we’ve ever did.
Dr. Miller and his staff are so caring and gentle with our dogs. Back before I had kids, I use to volunteer at PAWS Atlanta and had foster dogs that needed vet care. While I could normally take the foster dogs to PAWS for some of their care, they were very far from where I lived and depending on the treatment, with PAWS permission I would bring them to Dr. Miller. Him and his staff would go over and beyond for my foster dogs. Dr. Miller has donated his time on more than one occassion for not only these foster animals, but my own too.
Dr. Miller is always realistic about procedures, surgeries, maintenance and I never feel like he’s trying to do extra to make more money as I have with other vets. If it’s not something my dogs need right then and there, he tells me. The few times when they have said it’s something that needs to be done, I never hesitate to take care of the issue because I know they are being honest.
His staff is very good about following up after procedures and are even helpful when I have my hands full with dogs and or babies, they generously have a staffer on hand to help me load up my car.
One day my husband and I plan on moving a bit further out from where we currently live, and I guarantee that I will make that extra drive to Russell Ridge. The service and love we get from Dr. Miller and his staff cannot be beat as far as I’m concerned.