Merrillville Animal Hospital – D R Marler DVM

Family has been taking our pets there for years. Prices are affordable, care is great, and easy to get an appointment. Front desk staff is always nice and good with my cat.

Been going there for years for our Shi-​Poo & Bouvier de Flanders
Very friendly, reasonable price, the doctor feels like your neighbor next door and everyone really loves your pets. We have had our dog neutered, used them for boarding, grooming, clipping, annual shots, and everything else and were more than pleased with the excellent service and care after tryng other «fancy hospitals» in more pretigious areas, we found this to be hometown, small town friendly, professional, and reasonable prices. There hours are convenient, you can drop off you dog for boarding or grooming first thing in the morning and pick them up at 6pm at no additional charge. They do a great job even on difficult pets like our rescue dog who other groomers said would nip them, they cut him with no problem beautifully.

We recently went to Merrillville Animal Hospital to get our puppy spayed. The location was convenient for us and the facility was relatively clean. The front desk ladies were very friendly as was the veterinary assistant. So why do I give them only 2 stars?
First of all, we were new clients there. Our regular vet no longer does the procedure so we had to find another vet. However Dr. Smith who was doing the spay NEVER once introduced himself… no «hello, I’m so-​and-​so and I’ll be doing the procedure» or even afterwards to just check in and say a quick «the procedure went well.» Working at a hospital myself, I know that a doctor’s bedside manner plays a huge difference on a patient’s overall experience. Yes, some people may say they’re ‘just dogs’ but as many pet owners know, our dogs are part of our family… and an animal hospital’s main client! The veterinary assistant tried, but couldn’t answer all my questions. I was especially concerned about making sure that no Acepromazine was used since many boxers have adverse reactions to it. However, she could not confirm which anesthesia was going to be used.
Second, was the price. My boyfriend was quoted $ 245 for the spay of our 33lb puppy. However, as I later found out this does not include the additional $ 40 for the post-​op pain meds (5 days worth). The price itself wouldn’t have been such a big issue but it didn’t even include a pre-​op physical exam or labs (they didn’t feel it was needed as long as the puppy was healthy… but how do they know that unless they screen for these things???). If I had the time, I would have cancelled the procedure and gone to Vale Park where for just an additional $ 50, they would have done a less invasive laparoscopic spay (and there they include the exam and cone).
Also, this hospital apparently doesn’t recommend giving a cone to prevent the dog from licking her wounds. This in addition to recommending neosporin. I know neosporin is great at healing wounds but it’s not meant to be ingested. Needless to say, I bought an ointment specific for dogs, but still spent the next few days constantly watching and stopping our puppy from licking her stitches. As for the stitches themselves, they’re somewhat crooked. Maybe I’m being too picky and comparing them to stitches a person would get at the hospital, but our puppy will definitely be left with a pretty big scar.
So would I recommend this place to other pet owners? I really don’t know. They’re definitely expensive for the services provided. The overall experience was just ok. Our puppy is healing fine, but that’s just because she’s the most AMAZING puppy ever :)