CityVets (Exeter) Ltd

Easy accessible, helpful veterinary service and will try and keep the cost down if you tell them your financial situation. Have used all the city vets over the years in Exeter. Very good experience with them at very sad times sometimes when elderly pets have needed to be put to sleep but the staff are very compassionate and sympathetic during this time.

Unfortunately the service i received was extremely negative with this branch. I enquired about bringing in a small, wild animal in that sadly was unable to be helped and was in need of euthanasia. Whoever I spoke to on the phone to ask if they would be able to help me sounded unbothered during the call but I had no other options so brought it to them. I was greeted by a young, blonde haired girl and without going into conversation specifics, off the bat she was incredibly incentivise about this animal, appearing annoyed that I’d brought it and wasted her time. That attitude is completely unprofessional and made me reluctant to want to leave the poor guy with them. I even asked if she had any recommendations of alternative places to help certain wild animals so I wouldn’t burden them again and she basically said there aren’t many places because no one really cares. I myself have volunteered with wildlife trusts and animal rescue centres my whole life and one thing that should be a given is that when you work with animals you respect ALL animals wether they are pets or not. I’m sure the centre itself has its positives but this needs to be displayed towards all situations. Please try and do better in the future.

We have been with city vets a few years now and every time my dog has an issue it’s resolved really quickly. Having a nervous dog is not easy but Faye makes him feel so settled and welcome. She’s always so understanding and willing to listen and help. I’ve never had to wait for an appointment, it’s always been same day. Faye is so lovely and we wouldn’t want to see anyone or go anywhere else.

Probably in the top 2 vets I have used over 20+ years of having pets as an adult. The staff are always so kind and understanding of my pug's needs. My dog is always greeted by name, everything is explained clearly. My Ozzy has had 2 procedures done that required a GA. Both times I knew he was in good hands. I trust them with my pug. Would recommend them every time.

I have always found this vets incredibly kind, caring and the most experienced staff I've come across. I have had all of my animals registered here. I don't think there are any other vets I would feel so confident with. Thank you.

Two different vet practices including my normal one said I should take my rabbit who had a serious problem to City Vets as they had an exotic pet specialist (yes, rabbits are complicated and are classed as exotic pets). Stephen (exotic specialist vet) was brilliant. Thanks to Stephen and his wonderful team Toffee (my rabbit !) is happily hopping around now.

It has taken me many months to write this review as I have been too traumatised to revisit what could’ve happened to my beautiful Labrador. It is a long story so I will keep as concise as possible. We went to City Vets (our vet at the time) because our dog had yelped in pain whilst brushing her teeth. We suspected something along the lines of a tooth abscess - they found nothing. A few weeks later our dog developed a swollen eye on same side as the previous tooth pain. They suspected a bee sting so we got sent away with an anti-histamine. The swelling continued. We returned and got sent anyway with another anti histamine injection as they still could not find a cause. A few days later our dog’s eye had completely swelled and her eyelid was now protruding and starting to cover her eyeball. We rushed to the vets (Saturday) and were told that our dog would be sedated to investigate and bloods would be taken. We returned to pick her up to be informed that not only could they not find a cause, but bloods had not been taken. I also remember the vet we saw (Fay) saying a CT scan would be helpful but she did not know how to use the scanner so it couldn’t be done until the Monday. We were sent home. My dogs eye continue to swell, she turned into a different dog overnight. We went back to City Vets who eventually identified a retrobulbar abscess that had progressed very far. They were going to try and drain it, meaning she had to be sedated for the third time. The draining didn’t work and she was sent home. My healthy 2 year old baby was sent home with no pain relief, she sat in her bed lifeless with her eye protruding out of her head. I thought she was going to die in my arms. I rushed her back to the vets yet again to then be told to prepare for her to either be blind in that eye or to have to have her eye removed due to the damage the abscess had caused. Luckily, the abscess was drained and after 6 long weeks of antibiotics and recovery my beautiful dog got better. However, we now have a formerly happy-go-lucky dog who is traumatised of professional care because of the experiences she had at City Vets. They failed to recognise the abscess despite returning 4 times over the course of some weeks. We saw many different vets and none of them were able to identify the issue until it was too late. I’d also like to add that the initial tooth pain was an early sign of the abscess and a Google search would tell you that. All in all, the treatment cost £5000 and we even had to consider rehoming our beautiful girl due to worries in how we would afford any additional costs. We were broken. Luckily our insurance just about covered it. If I could afford it I would be suing City Vets for negligence. Safe to say we are no longer registered with them and to this day, I believe they still don’t realise the impact their failings have had on our mental health and the long lasting effects this trauma has had on our baby. I have attached pictures of her during this time, as well as one of her normally to show the difference.

First time using City Vets. Very friendly, very welcoming. They cared so much about our dog and listening to what we had to say. The actual vet was so professional, and caring. She explained things very clearly and with compassion. Very knowledgeable vet. After seeing our previous vet a few times and spending thousands still not knowing what was wrong and being nonchalant to my concerns. To come here for a second opinion , here they realised just how sick my beautiful Ella is. Started treatment right away and more tests today. Thank you everyone. Would take a long time to meet a vets so good. After 40 years of dog rescues and meeting with many vets over the years, we can honestly say these are among the best.

THANK YOU Heavitree Vets! Our dog absconded this morning through the open garden gate. The gate is usually closed, but yesterday was so sunny, that we’ve done some urgently needed car-care… and left the gate open at night, forgot all about it. When I came down for my morning coffee (day off), I just opened the door to the garden, as usual, Snoop went out on his blanket, as usual, and I sat in the living room having my cuppa. 45 minutes later, my son calls, Snoop had obviously left his blanket, and the garden, got adventurous and made his way down the road, ending up near Heavitree Vets. Whoever found & brought him to the vets… a massive THANK YOU! Especially, because he’s a sweet, but quite strong dog & very vocal. Not everybody would have picked him up! You did ❤️! THANK YOU! again, to Heavitree Vets, for immediately calling us! And we’ve got to be more careful❗️