Buffalo Mountain Animal Hospital

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No! No! No! If you are a local, or even visiting, please drive a few extra miles to another vet. I really wish I had trusted my intuition on this one.



I was spending a few days in the mountains from Denver, and my puppy broke a toenail, making it appear to be sideways and looking like a worse injury than what it ended up to be. It did bleed and I could tell it bothered her. So, I did some homework and wanted to see a vet, just in case. Unfortunately, I could not get into the Frisco Vet last minute and found this option, rather than driving home. I spoke to my vet at home, and they suggested to have them cut it down and assess if she needed a painkiller for a day or two.



When I got to Buffalo Mountain Animal Hospital, the staff (reception and vet tech) was great. However, when we saw Dr. Christine Murphy, it was not the most pleasant experience. In addition to her not being friendly at all, she was not thorough in inspecting my puppy's toenail. I'd call it more of a glance. Then she was quick to make suggestions of x-rays, anesthesia, and prefaced it with other things that could go wrong (mind you, those things were those note tended to properly upon injury like we were doing).



I immediately had a terrible gut-feeling that she either had no clue what she was talking about, was trying to pull a sly one on us, or just wanted to talk text-book about what I already knew could possibly go wrong with this 'injury' - that of which she didn't inspect thoroughly enough to know anything about to begin with. She wasted no time giving me a quote that was in the ballpark of over $380 - $415+.



I kindly said 'no thanks', asked for a painkiller that would hold her over until we got home in a day, and see our vet if we had a bigger injury than expected. Clearly, she was offended. Dr. Murphy was cold and basically wanted nothing to do with us, and was gone before I could turn around. No - 'thank you for coming in', 'hope she's going to be ok', etc. Almost $80 for a 2-minute visit with her that told me nothing, and some painmeds to keep her comfortable. It's not the cost of visit or meds that bothered me; it's the level of service and how I felt she was treating me.



Well, I just got home from my vet that I LOVE (Highlands Animal Clinic in Denver) a day and a half later. They saw me through a terrible sickness with my previous dog, so I know and trust them. Come to find out, the nail was not broken all the way to the base of the bed like Dr. Murphy stated, but rather about 1/2 way down the quick. My vet also said that her injured toe/toenail is one of the main digits for dogs, and if any bone was broken (which is what Dr. Murphy was saying could have happened, hence x-rays) or if she had more severe injury, that I would definitely know.



My vet cut her nail down a bit, visually showed me exactly what was going on (why her nail was sideways from the break), and let me know that it could definitely break off, be painful, and possibly need to be treated - and if that was the case, what to do, look for, that it's not emergency status, etc. They certainly did not feel as though she needed x-rays, etc., and explained when and why we could possibly have had that need, and indicators of needing it.



I am glad I trusted my gut feeling about spending nearly $400+ for nothing, and waited until we got home. I am less than impressed with Buffalo Mountain Animal Hospital and encourage you to do some homework on who is the best to care for your best friend, no matter the circumstance - check ups, sick, aging, injury.



I have spent thousands of dollars on pet care, wellness, and even treating a tumor at CSU, seeing nearly every doctor under their roof. I have had and know extraordinary vet care, and this certainly does not fit the bill in any way.



Don't go here just because it is convenient, a few miles closer in the valley, or maybe $50 cheaper.

My husband is a chiropractor so we do not like to do meds unless we have to. We went to see Dr. Cohen for our Old English Mastiff and he offered a range of options. We thought since it said "animal hospital" that it would be very expensive but it turned out to be the same price as the most reasonable that we use in Denver!

Dr Murphy usually takes care of our dog, but on the occasions where we've seen Dr. Cowan, he's been nothing but great. My wife and I recommend Buffalo Mountain to everyone and make the drive there from Blue River because we trust them with our pets more than anyone else in the county.

If you want to pay through the nose and like paying for Dr.Cowan's mistakes (he likes to "practice medicine" at your expense and your pets suffering.) Then by all means go to this vet.

If you do not mind paying through the nose & paying for Dr. Cowan's mistakes ( he likes to "practice" medicine @ your expense & your pets suffering.) Then by all means go to this vet.