Animal Clinic of Rough & Ready

Jan 2018

My first review, which was very glowing, was for Dr. Fassino, the greatest vet I have ever known. Words can barely praise this man enough. This review concerns the current Animal Clinic of Rough and Ready, and the new owners/vets working there, Booth and Muehlenbein. . This place, now relocated, is totally the opposite in all ways. What happened? The moving of the old clinic to a new location, was handled most insensitively. Many loyal customers never got a notice in the mail. Questioning was met by curt rudeness. A decades old, solid vet business in a charming country spot was destroyed within a year. They never remember your name or your dogs. Animals are treated.....like animals. The one or two visits we had were the opposite of the caring & nurturing we had gotten used to and were blessed by. Dr. Fassino's loving methods were even mocked by Dr. Erick Muehlenbein. Of great concern was the last visit. A foxtail was misdiagnosed as "we couldn't see anything. Keep an eye on her". It took another vet (because I swiftly sought a 2nd opinion) elsewhere in Penn Valley to find the SERIOUS abscessed problem and remove them. 3 foxtails. This once loyal client has found a wonderful new vet clinic run by Dr. Mimi Vishoot, also in Penn Valley. You just know when you enter if the vibe is good. As a dog owner of decades Dr. Vishoot's business is %100 recommended and the real deal. Also friendliness and politeness of staff counts for a lot.

Nov 2017

I've been going to the Animal Clinic of Rough and Ready for going on 18 years. The Clinic was previously owned by Dr. Kevin Fassino. This is not a review on Dr. Fassino. It is a review on Dr Eric Muehlenbein and Dr. Laura Booth. First off, I love the staff, I have no complaints. I've always been treated with kindness and respect. It's the Dr's ... Every time I've taken my 2 1/2 year old Golden Retrievers in Dr. Muehlenbein orders X-ray's ... The last time I took her in she had Urinary Track Infection.. he did a urinalysis and it was positive.. then he said he'd like to do an X-ray .. so that was done and everything was fine. Visit cost us a little over 500.00 for a uinary track infection. I'm not complaining about the money.. I'd gladly spend any amount of money if it's warranted. I feel the almighty dollar is more important to these Dr's then the care of the pets.

Aug 2017

This review concerns the people who bought the practice from Dr. Fassino. Dr. Fassino was simply GREAT. If you are considering taking your pet to this vet, read the reviews that have posted AFTER Dr. Fassino sold his practice. My dog went blind, suddenly, over night. In a panic, I phoned the practice but got the answering service. They were very caring and said they'd fax over my information so I could go to the practice and be there when they opened. I did that, but the rude female person behind the counter said, "You can't just walk in here with your dog, you need to make an appointment". When I explained that I had spoken with the answering service and they were faxing over my information, she said that it wasn't there and why don't I take my dog to my 'regular' vet because I'll have to wait at least three hours before being seen, although there was only one other patient present. My explanation that this IS my regular vet, was met with silence. I waited probably 30 minutes until I was able to see the vet who then tried to joke and kid around about my newly blind border collie. Not funny at all and he continued until I began to cry. He had no idea why my dog was blind, but he prescribed a course of prednisone which restored her sight. Since that unfortunate experience, I've learned that ranch dogs, who are often exposed to Ivermectiin (a horse wormer), sometimes eat the Ivermectin and suffer severe neurological effects. My large animal vet knew all about this problem. Oddly,when I was at the Animal Clinic of Rough and Ready, the vet mentioned that he used to be a large animal vet. HUH? Then why didn't he know about Ivermectin and the problems caused by dogs eating it. OK, so he didn't know the dog ate Ivermectin, neither did I, but living in a rural environment, such as Nev. Co., and having a border collie, it's not much of a leap that the dog might live around horses who are wormed. Turns out, Ivermectin poisoning in dogs is not all that uncommon. The worse part of this whole thing is the cold rudeness of that awful woman behind the counter. She treated me like an unwanted intruder. I'm looking for a new vet.