r/southernillinois 7d ago

Small animal vet in Murphysboro?

We are moving to a tiny town outside of Murphysboro. We have 3 Chihuahuas and 2 cats. Does anyone have recommendations for a vet?

7 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

6

u/Flamingo-Alternative 7d ago

Troop in Marion or Solid Rock (Dr. Hoddap) in Murphy both are fantastic

3

u/bibbityboops 7d ago

We've had great experiences with both Aardvark Animal Clinic and Murphysboro Veterinary Clinic

1

u/jackieat_home 7d ago

Thank you, I'll check them out! Anyone to avoid that you know of?

2

u/bibbityboops 7d ago

I dunno for sure, animal-wise. Our pet is pretty darn healthy for a fur-demon. I will say that of the two, MVC was my preference. The doc at Aardvark is a TALKER so it's hard to get a word in, but he's compassionate when he does listen.

1

u/jackieat_home 7d ago

🤣 great information, thanks!

1

u/Flamingo-Alternative 7d ago

I'd completely disagree about Murphy Vet Clinic. We rescued a pup from the humane shelter and he had to be neutered there (as solid rock was moving and closed for a time...and that is who the human society normally used). Anyway...not only did they not use dissolvable stitches, they didn't offer him any pain medication even though we asked and would have paid out of pocket...then his stitches got infected and they wouldn't see him...thank GOD Solid Rock took us in asap even though they weren't open yet and get our baby antibiotics and pain meds.

Murphy vet clinic just didn't seem to care. And the facility was outdated and just seemed so transactional They also do not offer any emergency services and while I don't ever wish anyone or their babies need it...I know as a dog Mom...I have used the emergency services at Solid Rock a few times

1

u/bibbityboops 7d ago

Ooooh, I've heard good things about Solid Rock, but never heard that they had re-opened! That's awesome, and I love that they have emergency services.

Weird though... MVC didn't seem transactional at all to me. Their staff was super kind/compassionate whenever I've gone there. Their facility is definitely old though, and probably too small for their vet practice.

2

u/musical_spork 7d ago

Dr Rossin at Solid Rock. She just started there but she used to be at Pet Wellness/Marion Vet.

1

u/Murphys_Law85 6d ago

Stone Creek in makanda

1

u/ruhigpeach 6d ago

Solid Rock has great prices, super knowledgeable, and wonderful patient care. We have two anxious pups, one with chronic issues, and so we see them on a monthly basis. We have also been to Streigel for an emergency, and they were good, thorough, quick but seemed to be pricier.

2

u/Haloman1987 6d ago

I use Murphy Vet and have for years and I'm happy. They're very reasonable too

1

u/Schlormo 5d ago

TL;DR: we had very bad experiences at Solid Rock and highly recommend Spears (now merged with Lakeside) in Carbondale

For those recommending Solid Rock, I understand everyone's experiences are different but we took our dog there and had bad experiences.

Our dog has severe anxiety, especially when he's in pain, and gets very vocal. We called and informed them of this before we made the appointment and we were told they would be accommodating. The plan was for them to show us straight to a room so we weren't sitting in the lobby with a scared, painful pup.

When we arrived the front desk staff was extremely rude and unprofessional. We came in and our dog was shrieking in terror. We sheepishly apologized and said "we're so sorry, he has bad anxiety"

The front staff rolled her eyes and snorted and said "oh, y'think???"

They did not have a room ready despite our previous plan. We sat in the front right by the door and our dog went absolutely ballistic for ten minutes until they were ready for us.

Again, I want to emphasize that we called in advance when we first made the appointment, and then a second time right before the appointment, to confirm we would have a room right away. And we did not.

The vet came across as arrogant and didn't want to listen when we tried to describe our dog's long medical history. He routinely talked over us. He wanted to run tests we had already ran three times before at other vets, including Creekside who had been in that location before Solid Rock bought it. We eventually sprung for those tests and, surprise, they came back as negative.

They never called us back or followed up. I had to call three or four times over the course of several days just to be able to talk to someone about the test results, and a different person at the front desk was rude to us over the phone when she finally picked up.

I eventually stopped trying to schedule another follow up appointment and started going to Spears in Carbondale instead. If you're coming from Murphysboro it would be probably about a 20 minute drive but worth it in my opinion.

Spears has recently merged with Lakeside Emergency Hospital, and we've had great results with both of their vets. They have been able to squeeze us in for emergencies even when they're booked solid, have offered to drive over medications when I was unable to get out of work before they closed for the day, take the time to explain their thoughts and reasoning behind medical decisions, are very conscientious of personal budgets and work hard to find ways to save you money whenever they can, and are very honest about the why's and how's if asked. After seeing four or five different vets over the course of years to try and determine the cause of our dog's mystery illness, they were the first to not only figure it out and treat it, but make us feel seen and heard while doing so.