Somers Veterinary Hospital

We have been taking out two knucklehead dogs to Dr. Hensen for years. I had previously taken our dogs to another local Vet, however, they ownership changed hands and the practice, as wonderful as it was, was bought out by a very large company. Many changes were made and I felt like it lost the personalized service it had previously. Although very sad to leave, Dr. Hensen was highly recommended by a close friend, and we decided to give it a shot. What a great decision! Dr. Hensen and staff are extremely accommodating and I feel like the personalization is what is their strong suit. I honestly cannot say enough good things. We are very happy with the care they give our family members. Thank you!

We brought our two cats and a dog to this vet a little over one year ago after losing our previous vet. We dealt most with a vet tech and a vet tech in-​training. There were very few questions asked and then we were told a list of vaccinations all of our animals needed. As they had not been to the vet in a few years, and it feels weird to say no to med care for your beloved animals, we agreed to SOME of the vaccinations given. We were pressed to purchase worming meds and more from the practice as well. Once home with the itemized bill ($ 630.00 for 3 animals) I was shocked. They had given our 10 pound dog 9 vaccinations/​meds in one visit. Including vacs and meds that we had NOT given our approval for. I immediately called the office when we got home to express my shock and displeasure. I gave at least two examples of meds I know that we did not approve to have our dog receive and the vet tech insisted that we agreed to all of them. My mom bred boxers and I know what Bordatella and Giardia are and I never would have said yes to these just based on my general knowledge. They insisted that we agreed to all of it and became snippy. They charged us the full consultation fee for each of our animals {no multi-​pet discount] and also $ 10.95 for each of our animals, so almost $ 30, for a «new patient record set-​up fee». I hung up the phone feeling so upset after the tech would not admit they had made a mistake and given our dog meds we did not ask for. I knew I would never take one of our animals there again.
When one of our cats got sick a few weeks after this visit, we brought her to a new vet River Road in Willington. I asked if there was a new patient fee and the tech said, «a what?» no they didn’t charge for new patients. And they did give multi-​pet discounts if you brought them in together. We were happy with the care there and promptly asked Somers to transfer all of our records to River Road. There is a long story with the record transfer too but let’s just say multiple phone calls were needed to get all of the records transferred.
Skip to today, when we brought our animals for their very first annual check up at River Road. I brought the itemized print out from Somers as I was never going to be caught unaware of vacs/​meds again. I had researched them all after the horrible experience last year so I knew what each were and if we needed them for the animals. I was kind of preparing for an argument from our new vet. Once we were all on the same page and caught up on the history {She saw the list from Somers} my new vet was shocked that Somers gave so many vacs/​meds to our little dog in one visit. She said she would never give so many at one time. She came in with our dog’s record ready to talk US out of giving so many vaccines! She also felt some of the meds given to our cats were unnecessary. After one year I finally felt vindicated that my gut feeling that this practice was slightly deceitful {or at least unwilling to admit mistakes were made} and more concerned about money than animals was spot on. The positive that I took away from this experience was EDUCATE yourself on your pets’ vaccines and medications. Don’t feel guilty or weird about asking questions and take the time to figure out if your pet needs what the vet wants to give.

I’m not disputing the level of care at this facility but my family has had a very negative experience with the staff. We switched to Somers Veterinary Hospital solely based on location when we moved to our new home. My dog’s first annual visit was simply ok and we left the appointment feeling conflicted (and really missing Tolland Veterinary Hospital!). We then get the reminder card a year later for our dog’s rabies shot (4 days before she was due!) and quickly made an appointment. We were a little concerned that we received the reminder card only 4 days prior to the expiration of her vaccination… what if we were out of town and weren’t able to bring her in so abruptly? We were immediately suspicious that this was done on purpose so we would possibly have to return a year later rather than three for the next vaccination, but we overlooked it. At the appointment the staff listed off several shots/​etc. our dog was due for and my husband (who was overwhelmed) ok’d all of it. Included in that list of items was a de-​worming medication that they were prescribing as a preventative prior to receiving any test results. The problem/​confusion stemmed from the fact that they didn’t ask my husband if he would like a preventative de-​wormer (like they had the year prior — which we declined), but simply told him she was due to have it. I don’t understand the need to give a de-​wormer to a dog that doesn’t have worms and have made the personal decision to not give my dog any unnecessary medications. In fact, the drug fact sheet for the medication prescribed actually states that the presence of parasites should be confirmed prior to administering the medication which only reinforced my decision. I spoke to one individual two separate times and both times was spoken to in a condescending and rude manner. My feelings and views were never taken into consideration and I was continuously being told to just give my dog the medication. When I stated that I was considering switching vets based on this experience, the woman couldn’t have cared less and told me I could pick up my dog’s records. They apparently didn’t care enough about my family’s business which leads me to believe that my animals would not get the best care at this facility. A customer/​client should never walk away from a conversation and feel belittled and be brought to tears but unfortunately that was how our experience with Somers Veterinary Hospital ended. We will not be returning and will never recommend this facility to friends and family solely based on our interactions with one staff member.

Dr. Hensen is the most competent and caring vet that we have had for our pets, I am very glad that we found her, I believe she has been key to extending their life and health. We trust her judgment and know that she is always available to answer our questions and discuss our concerns.

My beautiful 11 year old yellow lab is now on his death bed with mast cell cancer because of this place. 2 years ago he developed a cough that was asked about several times within the 2 years as it got worse. Dr Hensen insisted it was «old age» every time with no further concern, suggestions, or options to rule anything else out. Within the past couple of weeks, he had strange swelling on his paws, ears, violent vomiting, no appetite, and diarrhea. Every test imaginable was done with no abnormal results, and several trips back and fourth totaling well over $ 1,000.00 just within the past couple of weeks. Not once were x-​rays suggested. We were given several different medications. One that if you can believe it, made him worse. He had every side effect of this medication. So we took him off to get it out of his system. Brought him back and she was insistant on keeping him on these meds that made him even more violently ill. No way. After 2 weeks and well over $ 1,000.00 later with 0 progress, we woke up to find that he deficated on himself while laying on the floor. We finally brought him to a vet in West Hartford where we told them the symtoms and they knew almost immediatly just from describing the symtoms. X-​rays were taken and it was determined within an hour that he had mast cell cancer in his spleen that had spread to his chest. We are so devestated. As soon as I found out what it was I googled it. Seems that a cough is part of the spleen cancer. If we had caught this 2 years ago, he wouldn’t be in this position today. All I had to do was google the diagnosis to find out that a cough is one of the signs of this cancer. You would think a vet would have a clue since it is extremely common in labs. The amount of money that was given to this vet to basically send our dog to his death bed sickens me. On top of all of this, the meds that were given that had absolutly nothing to do with his sickness. He is well and comfortable for now, but there is no way to tell how much time we have left with him, and it sucks.