Rockcastle Veterinary Clinic

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I am terribly sorry to say that I no longer trust or respect Dr Chism. My family, friends, and myself have taken all of our pets to Dr. Chism for at least 15yrs. Recently my beloved dog Zoe had developed a cough. I assumed it was kennel since the neighbor dog was doing the same.So I planned to take her in on my next day off work. Sunday afternoon she began breathing as if she had been running, but was laying on the bed next to me. I called Dr Chism message service and he returned my call within the hour. I explained the cough and her breathing. I had some Prednisone left over from a previous visit. She was seen regularly, had skin issues. He told me to give her a prednisone and should be fine. Probably just a cough or irritation. Later she had what I believe to be a seizure or fainting. Lasted 2 seconds, eyes open. Scared me to death! I called his message service again and while awaiting his call I also called the Richmond ER. They advised me to bring her in. He called shortly after that call. I explained everything and said the breathing isn't better. Be said that I could take her to the ER, it was up to me. But, he said she will probably be more comfortable at home with me and should be okay til his office opens. Watch for a blue tongue. Her tongue never turned blue. I didn't leave her side and checked her tongue continually. At 4am she walked to the door looked up at me and sagged her tail, took a step and collapsed onto the floor and lots of bloody fluid come out her nose and mouth as she passed away. I cannot explain the agony and guilt that I have. However, this isn't why I lost respect and trust for him. The next day I called to deliver the heartbreaking news. I was devastated and confused. He treated Zoe for the better part of a decade. He knew that I was worried to death over her that night, yet he never offered to meet us at his office to take a look. I have yet to receive even a phone call from him to offer condolences. Seems he could have called and offered me some sort of closure. I began to research Zoe's symptoms, all seemingly pointed to congestive heart failure, pulmonary embolism. These things can be diagnosed in the early stages and treated. When I thI'll back to all of the visits Zoe had...I NEVER recall Dr Chism using his stethoscope to listen to her heart or lungs. Even though I told him that she seemed to breathe hard at times and her stomach seemed swollen at times. He only said that she is overweight. I took her in one time because she looked swollen and he said she had love handles! Gave her Hills prescrtion diet food. I trusted him! How I wish that I had taken her to another vet. Always get a second opinion if you think your pet isn't looking or behaving normally. He could have done more...did he simply not care? Now I have to live knowing that I didn't give her the best care that I could have. All because I trusted Dr. Chism. So hurt by this...

I like dr.chism and his staff.I recommend him to everyone

We think that Dr. Chism & his staff rank at the TOP in the south central Ky area. Numerous times we've encountered knowledgeable, caring, polite & efficient results....& friends report the same. (If one must wait on occasion, so what? 'Being kept waiting' by any good professional service provider usually happens for a valid reason. One can choose to view it as positive...for many reasons, least of them being that the Doctor is In Demand.

We have been taking our pets to Rockcastle Veterinary Clinic for 15 years. For the first 5 years we lived in Rockcastle Co but we moved to Richmond 10 years ago. We have continued to travel to Mt. Vernon for our veterinary care because of the excellent care our pets receive from Dr. Chism and his staff.

It is true that you may have to wait even in you have an appointment but it is also true that Doc will never try to rush you through when he is examining your animals. He takes the time to listen to any concerns and answer all questions.

Doc and his staff genuinely care about both the anminals and their owners. I highly recommend Rockcastle Vet Clinic!

I've been taking my vets to Doc Chism since I was a little girl. We make special trips from Columbus, OH just for his services. It's the only place we'll take our pets.

Use to trust him with all my animals. Not anymore. good for shots but not if you have an animal in trouble. Like that post before mine long wait and other then shots trail and error that for us have ended in death more then twice. Anyone know of a GREAT vet for our loved pets?

He saved my dog's life when another vet let her get close to dying with gangrenous mastitis. I took her in at the last minute on a Thursday night & he did emergency surgery on her. I firmly believe she would have been dead within 24 hours. Yet she saw the other vet at another office every day, Sunday through Thursday & was just getting worse every day! He has been the one & only doctor for my "kids" since that day. He's a very kind & caring person & you can tell he truly cares about the animals he takes care of. When my sister had to put her 15 yo dog down, he came to her house & sat with us as we were all torn to pieces. He waited patiently until she was ready & the offered to bury the dog for her. I've seen many vets but this is the only one I take my 5 dogs to now. He is the best! Yes, there can be a wait sometimes but that's because everyone wants him as their vet. I've waited an hour before & I've waited 10 minutes, just depends. He will work you in if needed & will rush to your side in an emergency. Therefore, sometimes you wait. That's the nature of his business. He's truly the very best.

I always make an appointment first, and still end up waiting . Alot of the time an hour or more. They were fine for shot maintance. But for something serious they always were trial and erro. Let's try this wait and see what happens. My dog's and cats are like my children I don't want to take chances. I want them healed. If you can't do it tell me up front. They were always looking at putting them down instead of curing them. The were fine for maintaning there shots and Flea protection.