Village West Veterinary - Chicago, Illinois

Katie Lavery

Village West is hands down the best vet experience I've had in the 13 years of owning my dog. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and always very friendly to myself and my pet. They take appointments on time and give an itemized list of pricing before starting any treatment. I've met with 4 of their vets and each one was better than the last. I never thought I would say that I'm sad I will have to be transferring to another vet since moving out of the city.

Peyton Johnson (pazuzu)

Took my healthy older cat in because of what looked like a cyst on her paw. They refused treatment and said they aren’t going to do any labs or remove it because my cat wasn’t worth saving because of her age. I was appalled that they said such a thing and they were completely unphased by what they said. During her exam they were very rough with her and she tried to bite back— she isn’t a biter and she tends to love people. I do not recommend this vet clinic. I don’t remember the name of the vet of who I saw but they were terrible. Go to BLVD Logan Square instead— they actually care about your pets.

Sarah M

My normal vet was not available, so I called Village West and got a same day appointment for my cat. She became suddenly ill and was the most lethargic I had ever seen her. I was pleased with the kind service by everyone from the front desk, to the vet tech, to the veterinarian. Dr. Konishi and the vet tech (I apologize for not remembering the tech's name) were thorough and sent us home after some diagnostic testing and treatment. Since it was a Friday, I was given instructions to monitor and bring to an emergency room if my cat's condition worsened. Unfortunately, my little nugget passed yesterday, but I appreciate Village West's attempt to minimize her discomfort. I had a senior cat with kidney disease, and while I have a lot of grief, I think my experience with Dr. Konishi has helped minimize the guilt that comes with saying goodbye.

Armando Cornaglia

If you're looking for veterinarians and staff who care as much about the animal members of your family as you do. Village West Veterinary couldn't come higher recommended from me. Dr. Silverman has been there to give comprehensive and appropriate care to our love ones and fosters.

Connor Schroyer

I’ve been an established patient here with my animal for 2+ years. When I called to schedule an appointment because my cat was sick (Thursday) they said they didn’t have openings for the rest of this week or the following.
This was crazy to me being a medical professional myself telling someone to wait 10+ days for an urgent care visit?
Switched vets so quick after that conversation! Got my cat treated elsewhere this morning (Friday) as it should have been done!
Decent staff and facility. Don’t expect much from them though unless they learn how to better manage and prioritize scheduling.

Stephanie Lose

Would rate zero stars.
My dog was stung by a bee and showing signs of a severe allergic reaction. Without having a car, and being in a panic, I figured the fastest way I could get my dog medical attention would be by carrying him to the nearest vet. I start to tell the front desk I think my dog is having an allergic reaction, only for the receptionist to lean over her desk, glance at my dog wrapped in my arms, and say “we have no appointments available, and it looks like he’s is breathing okay”. She did not try to ask anyone else, a tech, a vet, someone with the medical credentials to be making those types of calls on if my dog was breathing properly or not. I found it to be incredibly cruel and insensitive, not to mention inappropriate and unprofessional that the receptionist did not even attempt to talk to a doctor. Thank GOD I got my dog to another vet on time, as he was diagnosed in anaphylactic shock. I am incredibly appalled by the experience I had with the front desk as this was clearly a very time sensitive and urgent situation. Appointments don’t matter, the lives of animals do. Do not give them your business.

Williamv Vinet

Just had a horrible experience there after I told the doctor my dog doesn't like her ears touch. She did not take the proper precautions after messing with her ears and my dog bit her cuz she put her face right in front of my dogs face when her ears were back clearly she was upset being touched. On top of me being overcharged after I was told I would see the rate before I would be charged now they want me to pay for the doctor to come see my dog everyday because she bit her or the city's going to take her. Nice place threatening me after I told them I have my dog for medical reasons. Be careful taking your dog there

Nick Makinster

We had been taking our dog to Village West Vet since we first got him at 8 weeks old (he's 2.5 years old now) but recently switched vets because the quality of care had declined so greatly that it put our dog's health in danger during a health emergency.
Last winter our dog developed a cough and we brought him to VWV since we had heard of the severe respiratory illness affecting a lot of dogs nationally. VWV did x-rays and said that while he clearly had a rough cough, they didn't think antibiotics were necessary. Within two weeks our dog was at the VEG emergency vet struggling to breathe with pneumonia.

As a follow-up to our emergency visit we returned to Village West Vet and were greeted by the first in a revolving door of new doctors who we had never seen before. The first doctor we met requested updated x-rays to check whether the antibiotics prescribed at VEG had had any effect. He told us that the nasal discharge of our dog "wasn't that bad" and that he "had seen much worse." He reviewed new x-rays and said there was no sign of pneumonia - we were told to finish the course of antibiotics. Within a week our dog was back at VEG emergency vets, again struggling to breathe

After our second emergency vet visit we again visited Village West Vet for a follow-up. Immediately upon entering the room with our dog, a new doctor who we had never seen before asked to muzzle our dog because he barked and jumped up to greet him. Our dog had been visiting the practice literally his entire life and had never been aggressive or difficult at any time, yet this doctor wasn't willing to deal with a dog who acted like a dog. We were watching our puppy slowly asphyxiate to death and this vet showed absolutely zero empathy. The vet tech asked if he'd been muzzled before and I explained that no, in the 2 years we had been going there he'd never needed a muzzle, and the appointment went on though the doctor was clearly unhappy that we hadn't listened to him. In no vet/grooming/boarding experience before or after this has our dog ever been muzzled, or has anyone requested a muzzle.

After that experience we had lost so much faith in VWV that we scheduled an appointment with North Avenue Animal hospital for two days later. During that appointment NAAH took x-rays of our dog and showed us the actual x-rays (which VWV never did) indicating that our dog's pneumonia was not gone but had in fact gotten worse. They told us that we needed to admit our dog to a hospital with an internal medicine specialist for several days so that they could provide a mega-dose of powerful antibiotics while keeping him on oxygen, and were able to call MedVet and coordinate our dog being admitted through the Emergency Department, bypassing a several-week wait to see an internal medicine specialist there. This advice was the same thing we had been told by VEG emergency vets. After being admitted our dog immediately improved - all because we finally saw a vet who recognized how serious our dog's condition was. This ordeal cost us over $11,000 - if we had seen a vet who had properly read x-rays and escalated care appropriately, our cost would have been significantly lower, and our dog wouldn't have had 6 weeks of emotional damage from quarantine and repeated vet visits.

During all this, VWV was very unhelpful in providing updated medical records or being reachable at all during business hours. Phones are never answered, and e-mails and voicemails are returned days later. When our new vet requested all x-rays from VWV, VWV were unable to locate the second set of x-rays they had taken, which were the ones supposedly showing that there was no more pneumonia present. While I don't think they just charged us over $400 and never took the x-rays, they might as well have if they couldn't locate them for comparison during treatment.

I have no doubt that VWV was at one point a fantastic vet office, and many of the older reviews reflect this, but that's not the case anymore. If you are new to the area or looking for a new vet, do not bring your pet here.