Huron Veterinary Hospital

We’ve been bringing our little guy, Rocky, to Huron for nearly two years now. This year we had a bit of a scare with respect to his health; however we always felt confident that Dr Ulrich knew exactly what to consider and trial, and today Rocky is doing so well! What’s even better is seeing how all the staff interact with Rocky; they clearly love animals! Thanks for all of your help!

The only issue I have with this vet is the front desk. I’ve ordered special food to pick up and they’ve forgotten about it. They don’t always return voice mail, or call with results when they say they will. Sometimes they forget to give you a prescription when you check out. The customer service is hit or miss — sometimes you get someone nice at the front desk, sometimes they have an attitude and barely look at you. Sometimes they make you wait to check out for ten minutes while they’re playing with another client’s puppy.
BUT! The doctors here, both Dr. Ullrich and Dr. Leef, are AMAZING. I am 100% satisfied with them and I feel that they truly care about my pets. They are extremely skilled, but also have the most wonderful «bedside manner». Definitely the best vets I have ever had.

I got all excited that Huron’s web site no longer said they weren’t accepting new clients, so I called in and spent ten minutes on hold only to find out that… they still aren’t accepting new clients. I’m sure they’re still a good vet, but making me spend my time calling in for no reason is rude.

I adopted my cat and she was sick prior to me becoming her mom. Both Dr’s at HVH have been unbelievably wonderful with her. Soothing her during visits and being frank and honest with me and the care she needs. I feel confident that they care for each pet they treat.

I don’t know who hates going to the vet more: me or my cat. It’s usually traumatic for the both of us. Not at Huron, though. Dr. Ulrich was so kind and caring to both of us, it was almost surreal. My cat normally hates strangers, but Dr. Ulrich cuddled her and talked pretty to her straight away, got her to trust him. He was exceptionally thorough in his understanding of her lifestyle and home environment, and let that impact his diagnosis and recommendations. For the first time in the many, many years I’ve had cats, I felt that I could trust him and his nurses with my furry little family member.
Oh, and when we got home, my cat bounced right back to her usual energetic self. None of her usual traumatized hiding or acting like her shots made her sick. This was an amazing experience, and I’m glad that we have Dr. Ulrich and his team looking after us.

I’ve been taking my cat and dog to Huron Veterinary Hospital for nearly 4 years now, and every time I go I am reminded how much I love this place. Everyone who works there, from the front desk staff to the techs to the vets are caring, compassionate, and genuinely love and care about my animals. My dog is nervous and the staff always spends time feeding her treats, petting her and playing with her to make her feel more comfortable before they proceed with an exam. Both my pets have seen both Dr. Leef and Dr. Ulrich and I highly recommend them both. They provide excellent medical care and advice and always take the time to listen to me about my concerns and answer all my questions and they never make me feel rushed. They always call the next day with lab results too. Highly recommended!

I’m something of a crazy cat lady. You need to be when you have a high maintenance handicapped cat. In his seven years, my cat has seen over a dozen vets of varying quality from here to Alaska. How does Dr. Ulrich rank? Well, let’s just say I am 99.9% certain that he is a cat god personified. I would follow that man anywhere, although my cat may feel differently about a longer trek.
Dr. Ulrich is incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, compassionate, and just plain nuts about animals. Out of all my cat’s former vets, only Dr. Ulrich recommended not vaccinating him in his healthy back legs in order to avoid possible injection site tumors. It was a relatively simple-​sounding idea that had a lot of thought behind it. There may come a time when I’ll have to make some important medical decisions on my cat’s behalf, and I can’t tell you how relieved I am that I’ll have Dr. Ulrich to guide me. I completely trust his judgment.
Given the popularity of the practice, they could charge just about anything they wanted and people would still pay. However, their prices are insanely reasonable. My cat has had two dental cleanings thus far which are typically spendy. Not at Huron! He had one in 2012 without extractions ($ 302) and another in 2014 with extractions ($ 394). And he once spent an entire day there for testing and monitoring as he was having trouble urinating ($ 155). I always end up spending less than I anticipated.
They are also fantastic about getting your pet in quickly when an issue arises. Thankfully it’s only happened a few times with my cat, but each time I called first thing in the morning and I was able to bring him in almost immediately. This is immensely important to me as one of my cat’s former vets could not fit him in when he had a urine blockage, and I had to take him to an expensive emergency hospital instead.
Thus concludes my review which has been over three years in the making. I would encourage anyone and everyone to switch vets immediately, but unfortunately, Huron rarely accepts new patients. But definitely keep on trying! Dr. Ulrich and the Huron team are in a category all their own, and I doubt another practice in Greater Boston could ever eclipse them.

Our Standard Schnauzer Harry goes to Dr. Leaf. We also saw Dr. Ulrich once. We have been to three vaccination visits and he has also been neutered. I guess it’s a sign that he is in good hands when our six-​month old pup runs in there and is totally happy to leave us. They all seem to really like interacting with the dogs and they really show impressive skills dealing with our little rascal. They have been taking very good care of him. They are easy to deal with and communicate well. They are available to give advice and help with decisions. Probably not the cheapest place around but you get what you pay for and this is quality through and through.

Three words: best vet ever. We had dr. olrich and wish he also saw people because he was that amazing. The entire staff was exceptionally friendly and knowledgable. They took their time, and there wasn’t a single second I felt rushed during my hour appointment. My cat usually won’t go near new people but this time he immediately fell in love with the doctor! My dog also fell in love! The nurse was also very courteous.
In the end it was a bit pricy but worth every single penny. Bring your pets here pronto!

The puppy stars must have aligned because the month I got my mini labradoodle, Huron Vet had a few openings for new clients. The timing couldn’t have been better and I couldn’t be happier with how well my little Pumbaa the Wartdog is taken care of.
Dr. Leef and Dr. Ulrich took the time to answer all my questions (and I mean all of them). The techs are all so friendly. Out of excitement/​fright, Pumbaa peed on one of them and she didn’t even bat an eye. You can genuinely tell everyone who works here absolutely loves dogs.
The pricing is very reasonable. One thing to beware — make sure your dog does his #1 and #2 outside before coming into the office. They will charge a $ 3 professional fee for cleanup, which is understandable as I’m sure it incentivizes owners in making sure their pet takes care of their business beforehand.

I find them irritatingly unaccommodating. Since they are a small, boutique operation, and one that touts exceptional service, I would think that they would be more agile and be willing to make things work, but alas, their service feels similar to that of Sears or Best Buy. It’s a shame when a small business carries a «we’re better than you» attitude.

I can’t say enough about how wonderful Huron is. They have gone above and beyond, going out of their way to help. I can’t imagine going anywhere else and am thankful I found them.

Since the names of various Huron vets have been dropped in reviews, I thought I’d chime in with an «FYI.» As of this summer the clinic is again a 2-​vet practice. Dr Leef is the «associate veterinarian» and Dr Ulrich is still at the helm. The only down side to this is, they’ve had to bring out the dreaded Waiting List again.
Two successors to the Queen Mother — a now-​former stray and one of her daughters — adopted me later in 2012. With them the Huron tradition is continuing. Dr Leef is a worthy relatively-​new addition to the clinic indeed. She’s had the dubious pleasure of seeing the daughter cat, who retains «feral» instincts and is high-​strung. On one occasion this cat gained a reputation as a «bolter» for charging out of the exam room and giving herself a literal running tour of most of the building. Another time, she’d peed herself (and soaked the towel in the carrier) on the way over. Dr Leef was laughingly unfazed in both incidences. As alluded to at the end of my previous long-​winded review, piss happens too.
Whenever I’ve made an appointment it’s always been asked whether it would be OK if the cat in question were seen by the vet who happened to be free (with name provided.) It’s awesome to be able to say, «Of course!» no matter which one it is. The techs have always been excellent too — special «ups» to Polina, who’s been with the practice «forever.»

I love love love Huron Vet! When we rescued Bruce Wayne 4 years ago, we wanted to get him checked out right quick. Lucky for us, we were able to get an appointment with Dr. Ulrich’s practice right quick. (As I’ve seen on their website as of late, they are not currently accepting new patients! Too bad!)
With the help of Dr. Ulrich, Bruce was able to go from a 16lbs bruiser to 12lbs in one year! Dr. Ulrich gave us strict food guidelines and Bruce exercised his way to perfection.
Bruce checked in today for a dental appointment and while he was cool as a cucumber, I was really nervous. Everything was explained to me in detail when I dropped him off. And I promptly received a call once the procedures were complete from Dr. Leaf. Dr. Leaf walked me through all the procedures and all the after-​care instructions. I am happy to have my little guy home and he seems to be no worse for the wear.
I have had nothing but excellent service from all the members of the Huron Vet family. They all really love Bruce and, although going to the vet is not his favorite thing, he loves all the extra attention he gets from everyone there! So glad to have found this place!

Brought Patrick in for a follow up visit with Dr. Leaf this AM for his ear. All is good, for the most part. She is a wonderful addition to Dr. Ulrich’s practice, as is Dr. Mc.Gee.
However, it breaks my heart to even rate Huron Veterinary anything less than 5 Stars. Why? Because I was told by Dr. Leaf that ALL FOLLOW UP CARE and any medications would be covered, which is okay by me. The Front Office and Vet Techs are claiming that’s not the case, and I left there after Patrick’s Appointment without scheduling another follow up, I was that upset. I think somebody somewhere is trying to double-​dip me. I hope it’s not the case, because if it is, then the City of Somerville and The State WILL BE GETTING INVOLVED.

We have been taking our cat, Lasagna, to Huron Vet for the past two years (as soon as we adopted him)! I cannot say enough about how wonderfully compassionate, knowledgeable and caring the staff/​vets are. From the vet techs, front desk associates and the vets themselves– all are helpful, welcoming and absolutely love animals.
Our cat is a male and recently experienced a urinary track obstruction– an event which was scary, and also potentially life threatening for the cat as well. Dr. Ulrich and Dr. Leef went ABOVE and BEYOND to ensure he had the best care possible. They answered all our questions, took Lasagna in and cared for him. They continued to follow-​up with us with phone calls to ensure he was doing ok, and on the road to recovery. They not only treated our cat, helping him through this illness, they supported us, the owners, and made us feel confident in all aspects of his care and well being.
Please bring your pets here! They are the best best best!

This review is not for their care of living animals, but for their compassion for people.
Our beloved cat died in September after a brief illness. We brought her remains here for an individual cremation service. The receptionist I spoke with on the phone and the one my husband met in person were exceptionally kind and sympathetic, even though they no doubt have to go through this situation often.
We got our sweet Isabelle back a week later in a beautiful wooden box, complete with sympathy card, seeds, a poem… it was extremely touching and very meaningful for all of us, especially our 7-​year-​old daughter who loved her kitty so very much.
I wish they were accepting new patients, as we are looking for a new vet for our other cat. Hopefully soon!

Dr. Ulrich and the vet techs are amazing. They love our little French Bulldog and offer care and ample time to explain what is right or wrong with her.
In a year’s experience (about 6 visits and 8 calls) I have never found the receptionist to be anything but businesslike and friendly, on phone or in person — often asking some very pertinent questions in advance of having a tech call me back to advise a course of action. I hope this means that a problem employee who inspired complaint in other reviewers has moved on to annoy people elsewhere.
If they are unable to accommodate your new pet, I hope you can find another place without injured feelings. Unilocal readers should understand why there might be a lack of capacity at this place… they do very good work.

Haven’t tried them yet and will update my review once i have. I just wanted folks to know not to get your hopes up because the first available appointment for new patients is 6 weeks from now, in September. So if your pet needs more than a checkup, its best to look elsewhere. I hope they hire more vets, its surprisingly hard to find good vets in this town!
IN CASE THE CLINIC READS THIS: if you have to turn away pet owners it would instill more loyalty if you could tell the person answering the phone to recommend another clinic rather then just say «good luck» when their pet is sick. I know it doesnt seem like the best business practice, but it will build an even more loyal client base in the long run, setting you above the others and that you care, even about non-​client pets.

They love your cats, even when they jump out windows…
We got a new boy Emmett in May, that I brought in with my other cat that loves …*cough* tolerates *cough* him… just for a check up. I thought Dr. Ulrich was going to STEAL him. He gushed about his man ‘Jowels’ which apparently is a technical term for the long fuzzy pieces that stick out from the sides of his chin. In all seriousness, he was also knowledgable about the place where we got him from (which apparently they are not his favorite rescue) and explained his ‘pee pee’ (spraying) issues were probably related to being neutered so close to adoption, and assured me that would stop soon. (it did)
He also addressed our concerns about our girl Roxy, and said that we should continue to keep an eye on her dropping weight.
Fast forward a few weeks: Roxy keeps barfing, losing weight. I end up seeing Dr Beale with Roxy. She was completely amazing and took blood from her without Roxy so much as flinching. Turns out she has Hyperthyroidism (overactive) and she walked me through the med she would need, and also told me to purchase over the counter Pepcid for her upset tummy.
And then, my cat leapt out a window. Yup. That happened. Upon seeing a stray pee on our porch door, our protective Emmett launched himself OUT THE SCREEN. We only knew when our neighbor knocked on our door, and we found a scared cat covered in blood! (fortunately for him it was the other cats blood). I called the next day and Dr. Beale was able to see him, give him a rabies booster and check his fuzzy highness for boo-​boos.
I’m going to start going here for MY check-​ups.