Pecos-Russell Animal Hospital - TEMPORARILY CLOSED

Jul 2023

This animal hospital was run by Dr. Paula Paetz and her staff, and was assisted by Dr. Zacagino for decades (until Dr. Z retired). The business has permanently closed as of April 2023. The sign on the door advises to check back when. It will reopen. Dr. Paetz' practice didn't charge nearly as much for services that other vets did. We have taken 6 dogs there, and always got wonderful car. We even stayed with PRAH once we moved to the northwest side of town. However, the last year or so, it was severely understaffed and wait times were very long. They were only open 3 days a week before they closed. Dr. Paetz wished to retire and told patients' pawrents mid-2022. She is/was attempting to sell the practice. Perhaps it will reopen lent a new owner someday. I will miss Dr. P and Dr. Z's wonderful manner with our fur babies over the years. It's sad when a long time business such as this closes, because for many years we got excellent care for our fur babies here.

May 2023

Most unfortunately I haven't been in a few years because I moved out of the area for the facility to be not only convenient but safe in an emergency for my pets BUTTTT I have as yet to find another Veterinarian as caring, as wonderful, as patient, as trustworthy. ... as ☆Dr Paula Paetz☆ is without a doubt, the very best ✨️We have: Boarded our pets here, had Surgical procedures for our pets here, had routine care & Vaccines & sadly even had to say goodbye to our pets here. ... AND ALWAYS had the very kindest of a relationship throughout the many years & knew our pets {because they were more than mere animals} were in the greatest of hands.Best place ♥️♡

Mar 2023

This is one of the hardest reviews that I have had to write. This is a review that I have had to delay for over three weeks. It deals with the last minutes of my dear cat Thumberlina that had lived with me since the summer of 2009. Thumberlina had been deteriorating. It was suddenly. When I wrote my Family Paw review last summer she was healthy. However, in the beginning of 2023, it was not if but when I would have to put her to sleep. She was 17 years old. Her condition got so concerning that I had made an appointment with the Animal Foundation for euthanasia in January. I canceled it with the optimism that she was going to improve. On February 3, she had deteriorated rapidly. I will never forget coming home from work and seeing my dear cat unable to get up from my kitchen floor. This was a Friday late afternoon, and it was obvious that if I didn't get her to an animal hospital right away that she would be suffering throughout the weekend when the majority of the Veterinarians were closed. Including the Pecos-Russell Animal Hospital,whom I called up. Dr. Paetz said that she was able to take her in. This is a small Veterinarian building on the northeast corner of Pecos Road and Patrick Street (not Russell). There are two entrances. One is for cats and the other for dogs. It is obvious that this Veterinarian practice that has been around for several years has seen better days. Dr. Paetz was the only person working here on Friday, February 3, and the days they are open have been reduced to three. The loyal customer that was chatting with me told me that Dr. Paetz will soon be retiring. Because it was understaffed, the office did seem a bit disorganized. The wait time was really slow. I was willing to be the last customer because I did not want to share the heartbreaking moment of separating from my dear cat forever in front of other customers. Additionally I wanted to get an opinion from Dr. Paetz if there was any hope for Thumberlina. In my mind I knew the sad truth that Thumberlina was very sick. The office has two dog and a cat resident. When the cat resident came up to Thumberlina's carrier, Thumberlina seemed indifferent to the cat. When I said how much of a good girl she is, Thumberlina barely made a sound. The main negative to this animal hospital are the long waits due to it being very short staffed. Because there is nobody at the desk, this extended the wait time greatly. I feel it also decreases the time that the Veterinarian can spend with the pet and customer. In this situation where the animal hospital is very short staffed and operating on greatly reduced hours, I think the priority should be solely on veterinarian services and leave the grooming services to recommending a groomer. The positives about the practice are the many years it has served the community and the affordable prices. They charged about half of what the majority of the Vets charge for euthanasia. Where the majority of the veterinarians wanted around $156 for euthanasia, here it costed $78. In the last moments of my ailing cat's life, she had plenty of company. There were a couple of friendly loyal customers that have taken their pets here for years that started talking to me. I'm sure that Thumberlina picked up the positive energy. Dr. Paetz was playing Elvis Presley songs. And the last song I remember hearing with my dear cat was "My Way," a touching and beautiful song. When it came to lighting up my life, Thumberlina did it her way. I was the last customer of the night when I asked Dr. Paetz about Thumberlina. She said that it was not going to get better. She said that she probably had a stroke or cancer. In the beginning stages of grieving for my cat, I charged the $78 to my credit card and this was the last time I saw Thumberlina. The Doctor placed her in a room to be put to sleep. She did not invite me to be with her on her last breath. Maybe, just maybe, she knew it would be too hard on my mental health. With more than three weeks passing since the passing of Thumberlina, I have reflected on the Pecos-Rus