Conference misery::feline_v1

    Sorry - I used to live in Westford , but  I didn't like the
    choices either so I stayed with my vet in Lowell that was
    beside the Lowell Humane Society.  Try Dr. Carlson - he 
    sounds new - maybe he will be good - if you don't like
    him, you can try someone in either Chelmsford or Lowell.
    
    Elaine

    I used to go to Dr. Carlson many years ago when I lived in the Maynard
    area, I had found him to be very competent but a little high in
    price. He had just completed a new house and a seperate vet clinic
    so I figured that was the reason.

    Mary,  please check out the note on veterinarians and look
    for comments on the Stow Animal Hospital, I believe there are
    some in there. 
    
    Donna

    
    I currently take my puppy to the Stow Animal Hospital (which is
    now called Apple Country Animal Hospital). When I mention my
    choice of Animal Hospital to other people who have pets, they
    usually launch into a tirade against Dr. Carlson for his high
    fees and "pretentiousness", although I've never heard a negative
    comment about his abilities. Please realize, this is NOT first-hand
    experience, but I have been advised by several other people that
    Dr. Carlson is expensive.
    
    As an aside, if anyone out there lives in the Stow area, but avoided
    the Stow Animal Hospital because of a dislike for Dr. Carlson, you
    might want to give it another try. I like the new vet, Dr. Schaeffer,
    very much, and it is obvious that she and her staff love and are
    concerned about their patients.
    

	 Dr. Smith  at Great Road Animal Hospital in Acton is real nice,
     (and  a  lot  closer  than 35 miles!!) Even Becky, who is afraid of
     men, likes him!

    
    
    	I don't know Dr Carlson, but I used to work for Dr Schaeffer
    and she is *wonderful*. In fact, she left to have a baby, and I
    lost touch of her until now (thank you!). She had many clients
    who would see only her, even if they had to wait a couple of weeks
    to get an appointment!
    

    Thanks for all your comments.  Dr. Carlson sold his practice in
    Stow because, according to the technician, it was the best time
    to get the highest price for the practice and the land involved.
    I questioned what his fees were, based on 3 cats getting full check
    ups (including FeLV, rabies, and distemper shots) and he was around
    the same price as Slade Vet Hospital.  He is also offering an "HMO"
    for pets and for cats it costs $90 a year per cat.  This includes
    the yearly checkup and shots, 2 free visits, and subsequent visits,
    regardless of what the problem is, would cost $10 per visit.  That's
    not too bad if you have a pet in chronic need of a vet's attention,
    but for me, it's not worth it.  I think I'll be keeping with Slade
    for all my boys normal stuff and will continue to check area vets
    for emergency situations.
    
    Mary
    
    

    
    I used to go to Stow Animal Hospital and had Dr. Carlson on a couple
    of ocassions.  One of the reasons I changed was the high fees (someone
    has to pay for the big new hospital/office), and with two dogs and a
    cat it was getting *very* expensive.  Another reason for changing was 
    Dr. Carlson, he's very competent, but could use some work on his
    "bedside manner".  He has a definite attitude of "I'M the DOCTOR
    around here, not YOU and I don't care what you think, what I say
    goes!"  He treats the animals very well, better than he treats the
    owners.  If I have a question I'm paying him to give me an answer, 
    not to ignore me as if I wasn't there.  Whenever I called for an
    appointment I tried to get Carlson's associate, Dr. Peduzzi (I think, 
    I'm terrible with names) who was a sweetheart.  The office also seemed 
    to have a habit of losing charts - I must have filled out the new
    patient cards at least three times.
    
    So because of the scheduling difficulties and the prices, we switched
    to Nashoba Vet Hospital in Westford and have been very pleased.
    It's a small office (looks a little wierd because I think it used
    to be a service station) where the vets and techs there are wonderful, 
    don't mind phone calls, have never lost our charts, take time to
    answer all your questions and make sure you understand everything
    that's going on.
    
    Conni
    

    Conni -
    Thanks for the comment on Nashoba Vet.  That's where I normally
    by my C/D and they do seem nice.  My neighbors also go there and
    like them, and their daughter will be doing some part time volunteer
    work there.  The reason I hadn't gone there, though, was the appearance
    (although I know that shouldn't matter).  I've just been SO happy
    with Slade Vet Hospital that changing vets is hard, but as I said
    in my original note, I need someone close by in case of an emergency.
    I guess Nashoba will be it since they will take the time to explain
    matters and treat the pets and owners well. 
    
    Mary
    

    I very much recommend Dr. Carlson. I have brought my four furry
    friends (two dogs and two cats) to him for three years when I lived
    in the United States and can only report positive experiences with
    his treatment of my animals. He is competent and open minded as
    the following shows. My dog (Roy) had had some serious health problems.
    Dr. Carlson diagnosed the illness and informed me what in his opinion
    the best treatment was. I disliked the suggested treatment (castration)
    for various reasons and told him so. He immediately suggested himself
    that if I wanted to get a second opinion he would be glad to make
    appointments for me at Tufts with the appropriate specialists. Which
    he did. The two specialists at Tufts not only confirmed the diagnosis
    Dr. Carlson made, but also the treatment as the most efficient.
    (Please note that Roy did not have a simple prostate problem or
    such, but a combination of prostate, blood desease, etc. problems
    which Dr. Carlson all diagnosed). Dr. Carlson had at one time
    one of his help stay at his hospital - again for Roy - all night
    to apply compresses, and make sure he was ok. Every time I called
    Dr. Carlson for an appointment for something which seemed urgent
    to me (for any of my four animals) the answer was: "ok, bring him
    down right now and we'll fit him in to have a look at him". When
    I left the United  States to move to Europe Dr. Carlson found out
    for me from the Department of Agriculture what papers/shots etc.
    my animals needed and then promptly delivered the papers (health
    certificates, vaccination certificates, etc.) and administered the
    appropriate shots. I could go on and on with examples.
    As far as price is concerned, I do not know whether or not he
    was more expensive than other vets. I was very happy with his service
    - hence never looked to go somewhere else. 
    His "bedside" manners may be a bit "rough". Never with the animal
    he treats, though, he is gentle with them. Sometimes he is a bit
    short/abrupt when talking to the owners. He, however, in his being
    "short" does not withhold important information from the owners,
    just factually reports them without any "frills". I got along fine
    with him, by cracking a joke when he became a little abrupt.
    Again, I very much recommend Dr. Carlson based on many experiences
    I had with four animals over three years.
    Martha
    

    I have taken many of my animals, both dogs and cats, to Dr. Carlson
    while he was in Stow.  He saved a couple of them a number of times.
    I would recommend him highly...very, very competent and personal.
    In my opinion, you certainly would not be making a mistake by going
    to him.
    

    RE:  .11
    Now that I have read all the other replies, I am still of the same
    opinion.  He may be a little high (no higher than the vet I use
    now as we moved to the Sterling Area)but he diagnosed things that
    others were unable to.
    
    Again take it for what it is worth...I feel I would still go to
    him if I lived in the area.
    

    When I lived in Maynard area a few years back, I brought my dogs
    and cats to him at his practice in Acton, Mass. (near Rt. 2).  That
    was Dr. Vance Carlson so I don't think he's the same one as in Stow,
    Mass.  Dr. Vance Carlson moved his practice to NH and is presently
    practicing with another Vet in the Nashua, NH area.
    
    

    There are two Carlson brothers who were both practicing vetinary
    medicine in the Stow Chelmsford area 10 years ago, but I don't
    think that Vance was one of their names.
    
    Bonnie

    We've been going to the Stow/Apple Country Animal Hospital
    for about 6 years and the clinic has had several changes 
    of staff.  Dr. Carlson was initially in practice with Dr. Peduzzi
    and another doctor whose name I can't recall.  In addition to
    the clinic in Stow, they also owned one in Hudson.  Apparently,
    they had a falling out and the practice was split up: Dr. Peduzzi
    and the other associate took the Hudson office; Dr. Carlson kept
    the Stow office.  I preferred the other vets to Dr. Carlson for
    the same reason that some of the other folks who contributed did:
    he was a bit difficult to get information from and sometimes did
    not answer direct questions until you repeated them.  I found
    the other doctors in the practice more talkative;  when my cats
    were really sick or injured, I needed more information from them,
    not only because I am paying them $$$ for their expertise, but
    also because I was worried.  
    
    At any rate, sometime after the split, Dr. Carlson sold his practice
    (rumor has it that there was a divorce involved).   I've been taking
    my pets to Dr. Schaeffer at the same location and things have been
    going well.
    
    Re: the other Dr. Carlson.  One time I brought my pets to Stow on
    a Saturday and Dr. Carlson's brother (also Dr. Carlson!) was 
    substituting for him.  He had apparently had had a vet practice and
    had given it up to go into construction in Chelmsford (quite a switch).
    
    I will say that the assistants working for Dr. Carlson were excellent.
    They handled the animals very well and were very knowledgeable and
    professional.  They were often the default source of information
    when I couldn't get the answers I needed from the doctor himself.
    I don't know whether these assistants are still with him in Westford.
    
    Also, the HMO plan was excellent!  I have four cats and saved quite
    a lot of money by signing them all up.  The new vet decided not
    to continue the HMO program.  
    
    Re: emergency treatment.  There's an emergency animal hospital on
    Rte. 2A in Acton (near the rental storage facility) that is open
    at night and on Sundays.  I've taken my pets there a couple of
    times when the vet's office was closed.
    
    Re: Dr. Migday.  Wasn't she the host of the pet care show that aired
    last year on Channel 2?  I was really impressed with her!
    
    Diane
    

                Yes, Dr. Migday did do a series on Channel 2 called Cats
        and Dogs (I think). I also thought that it was well done.
                
                /s/     Bob

    I've been taking my cats to Dr. Carlson since we moved to Maynard
    in 1976.  I found him to very competitent and very compasionate.
     When my Babyface died of a heart disease, he took the time to explain
    exactly what had happend and how.  I also received a very nice
    condolense card from the hospital.  When the Princess was hit by
    a car she had a broken pelvis.  Dr. Carlson kept her one night and
    recommended I bring her home because she was such a family cat that
    they couldn't give the amount of attention she was used to.  He
    explained that if it were almost any other cat he would keep her
    at least 2-3 more days, and gave very explicit instructions on how
    to care for her at home.  After she recovered he recommended we
    watch her weight closely as she might develop arthritis where the
    fracture had been.  She's 13 now and trim and healthy.  One other
    thing I liked about him was he would allow me to schedule all the
    booster shots at one time.  I would bring in all 3 critters and
    pay for all the shots, but for only one office visit.
    
    Dr. Piduzzi is also a good person as well as a good vet.  I took
    my pets to him in Hudson when Dr. Carlson moved, but I'm taking
    them back to Stow now since it is closer.
    
    My opinion -- they're both great vets.
    

    As an update to anyone reading this...I brought my 8 week old kitten to
    him based on a "coupon" I had received in the mail for grooming
    services.  Instead I got a checkup and was billed for a normal office
    visit.  This was ok with me since I am a new owner and was curious to
    see how he treated Carly versus her regular vet in Carlisle.  Dr.
    Carlson diagnosed her acne and gave me a soap to remedy it, but
    was rather vague on all my other questions (food, gas, growing
    patterns, behavioral patterns).  He may have been annoyed that he was
    not her primary doctor, but he handled her very gently and I would
    certainly bring her back to him if the vet close to home weren't
    around.