I would not recommend this emergency vet. We brought in our cat for some pretty worrisome symptoms. She is a very old cat and we feared the worst. After almost 2 hours of waiting and exams, we were told that her health complications were quite extensive and we would make decisions regarding her potential euthanasia with our family vet. Obviously that isn't pleasant news to receive. Nonetheless we were thankful for their honesty. The doctor concluded the meeting by saying "we'll get you your take home instructions and get you home so you can talk about it and she doesn't need to be stressed out here." About and hour later we still hadn't heard anything. After asking the receptionist we were told "she's just typing up those instructions, it won't be much longer". About 30 minutes later we still heard nothing and we asked again. Once again we were told "she's typing those instructions up right now". About 15 minutes later the doctor came out and asked if she could email us this instructions. She hadn't typed them up at all and had us wait two hours for absolutely nothing. They could've easily offered to email the instructions either of the two times we asked if we could take our cat home. There were 3 other families in the waiting room with the exact same story. I can understand if they are honestly busy, but it just seemed that no one really knew what was going on and no one was actually being helped. I wished I had just waited until my regular vet was open.

First off, I have called the emergency vet a few times after hours and I am always glad that there is someone there to answer my questions and help me make the judgement call on weather or not I am overreacting to whatever malady my pet is suffering from in the middle of the night. That being said both of the times that I actually went to the vet I left feeling very disappointed. The first time was with my previous german shepherd dog. After getting her rabies shot and her combination shot earlier in the day she began breathing heavy. By the end of the night she was keeping me awake and struggling to keep going and I was worried so I called up Lakeshore and they setup an appointment for me. We got there and they took her in the back, we were not allowed back there. They took x-rays and told us that she had hip displasia (which we already knew) and that she was in pain. They focused on her hips because since earlier in the day she also seemed to have no strength in her legs. Their official diagnosis was that she was old and in pain from her hips. They said that it could be an allergic reaction but doubted it and suggested benedryl as had by vet earlier in the day. She died shortly after our appointment. My second trip to the vet involved our dogs gluttony. Upon arriving home from dinner we found our new german shepherd (about a year old) laying on his side with labored breathing. I gave his side a thump and sure enough he sounded a bit hollow. Sure, puppies usually don't get bloat, but I wasn't taking a chance. Called the emergency vet and they said they were ready for me so I drove down to Port Washington with him. Again, took him to the back and left me in the front. By the time I got down there he was much better and galloped into the building. They x-rayed his stomach. As this procedure was going on my wife called from home to tell me that his dog food bag had been torn into and upon weighing it (a new bag) she figured 8 lbs of food was missing. So of course the x-ray showed that his stomach was full of food. I said that I was aware of that now and that I wasn't worried any more but the vet took me into a side room and had me sit down. He put up on x-ray of his stomach and explained that when a dog eats too much it can press on his veins/arteries and restrict blood flow making them very uncomfortable. For about $1000 he recommended keeping him overnight on IV fluids and pain killers. My thought was why should he get IV fluids and pain killers for eating too much food? By this point he seemed completely recovered to me so I declined and the vet insisted to me that if I cared about my dog I would reconsider. I thought on it and again declined so the vet offered for a reduced price to keep him overnight on IV fluids with no pain killers. After declining that he became somewhat upset with me and rushed me out. I understood what he was saying, that there was a possibility that if he ate enough it could impede blood flow, however he was actin his old self and I weighed that with the information he gave and apparently in his eyes came to the wrong conclusion. The vet is not cheap but that is the price you pay for 24 hour availability. I wish that my local vets still had a loose affiliation to keep the lamp burning 24 hours as if it was a real emergency I would hate to drive the 30 miles to get there. I am glad they exist but so far my experiences with actually going to the emergency vet have been very poor (misdiagnosed on the one hand and trying to guilt me into services on the other).

My cat had a growth on his neck about the size of a raquetteball and it had doubled in size in about 3 months. My vet said the growth was something he would not touch because he suspected it was anchored to the jugular vein. We were just waiting for Reiley's time but it was too difficult for me to make the "call" so my vet suggested a consult with a surgeon to help with the decision or find another outcome. He suggested Lakeshore Specialists. I didn't know what to expect but I knew I had to give it a try. Dr. Brian Teunissen evaluated Reiley and agreed with my vet’s suspicion. Being that Reiley was also a very BIG boy there was a concern about surgery but my boy was only 7 years old and Dr. Brian had thought he would have a pretty good chance of reducing it but removing the entire growth is what he was after. Dr Brian explained the risks of having to remove the entire jugular and carotid from that side and said cats can live well with out it. We decided we didn't want any heroic measures taken but to TRY to remove it was something we HAD to do. I remember thinking as we left this could be the last time I see Reiley. Payment is expected up front and I fully understand why. We had no problem with that because if this were a human being and they needed hospital services and passed away the surgical items and time still need to be compensated. I read a horrible review before we went that said they were SO upset that their 'baby" died anyway and they complained about the cost. I tell you that even if Reiley had passed I would gladly pay Dr. Brian for his care, skill and concern. Please people remember these Doctors spent their studies learning how to SAVE animals not to purposely make them pass. Also when you are coming to a surgeon or an Emergency Hospital, your pet is already on death's doorstep. The whole hospital was so very supportive and understood the difficult decision we were facing. Reiley's surgery went VERY well. Dr Brian got it "all" without removing anything. We just got the pathology back and we told this was an unusual growth for a cat but it tested out to be a "fat" tumor and should not reoccur! Both Dr. Brian and myself took a deep breath of relief. As for Reilly, well he's got another week to go with the stitches which by the way look like he had a face lift (lol) but he is truly a different cat. So happy and full of life... almost like having a kitten again. I am SO grateful for Dr. Brian and his upfront truth and compassion with our decision. And the entire Hospital staff… from the receptionist to the technicians… all seem to have compassion that is hard to find today. The follow up phone calls by Kari came at the right times. I would HIGHLY recommend this Hospital for needed surgeries and emergencies. They have my FULL confidence and I have 2 dogs and 4 cats so I think I have HIGH expectations for their care and I wouldn't hesitate to take them over if they needed it.

While on vacation in Oostburg, my little dog started vomiting and acting like her stomach was hurting very badly. Of course, this was a Friday night after hours, and I was so thankful to find Lakeshore animal hospital. We took her in and they did x-rays and found she had a blocked intestine from sand she had eaten on the beach. Worst case scenario would be surgery! She stayed overnight and all the next day on IV to see if they could dislodge it that way and not have to do surgery. Fortunately, it worked and she was able to come home Saturday night. The people at the clinic were extremely nice, offering us things to drink, keeping us updated, chatting with us. One of the best customer services I have ever had. The vet was very knowledgeable and caring, answered all our questions and hoped to not have to do surgery. They kept us updated by phone several times that night and all the next day. They were completely upfront about how much it would cost, gave us a lowest to highest cost estimate. We paid the lowest cost estimate up front, and the rest when we picked her up. Yes, it was expensive, but I doubt anywhere else would have been a whole lot cheaper, and she had top of the line care, in my opinion. They didn't just leave her in a cage all night and barely checked on her like other places might have done. The vet was there all night, techs checking in on her, giving her an enema, pain medication, taking her for walks to help the sand pass. They even called my vet to keep her updated and she will have access to all the x-rays and info. The day after, they called just to see how Stella was doing. Above and beyond the call of duty!!! I would high recommend them to anyone with a pet emergency (and I am currently looking into pet insurance now!)