Johnston Street Veterinary Clinic

Disappointed with the level of service. After misplacing my dog’s ear cream, I was told I’d need to book another appointment just to receive a replacement. This approach doesn’t feel customer-focused at all, rather just an attempt to make more money.

Friendly, professional staff who love animals. Knowledgeable and pragmatic vets who put your pet’s wellbeing at the centre of decision-making about their care.

I know there are a lot of good reviews but I am going to give an honest review based on our experience. Our cat received cryotherapy at this clinic about 9 months ago. It went well and our cat was well looked after during surgery. Sadly, we weren't provided any information on follow-up care post surgery - e.g. put sunscreen on his nose or keep him out of the sun. 9 months later, he needs cryotherapy again - we learn that this possibly could have been avoided if we had known and provided sun-smart follow-up care. This time, however, we are told he needs dental work done as well, plus thyroid medication. All of which are fine. However, we are told to do this all *at once* - which we later find out (from another vet who provided a second opinion) that it is dangerous to put a cat under surgery when they have an unhealthy thyroid. Therefore, it would be best to get his thyroid in a healthy state before proceeding with surgery. For this reason, plus the general vibe of the clinic, we don't really trust the vet had our cat's best interests in mind - as a good vet would prioritise the cat's health needs rather than do it all at once. Thus, it felt they were more interested in just getting money from us. This vet is also typically higher priced than other vets we've approached. I am sure they are great for some pets and pet owners. If it's working for you, great. However, this wasn't our experience and wanted people to be aware.

Here's a short story on why we gave them 5 stars. We were leaving on a trip to MEL with our dog Thor. He is on a special diet which part of is the Prime 100 crocodile and tapioca roll. Usually on trips we freeze portions, take them in an Eski and then freeze them on the other end. On this recent trip we were concerned as we had a stopover before reaching Melbourne. Once the roll goes off our dog would struggle without it. I rang the clinic to see if we could order a roll for our arrival into MEL. The lovely reception person was super helpful and called me back to conform a roll would be available for our arrival and where to pick them up from ( the groomer up the road ). We did this and we were so grateful we did as we needed it. Thank you team for being so helpful even though we are not your customers. If ever we so happen to live in MEL we know where our dog would go for his vet visits.

The Johnston Street Vet team are so patient and kind. My 40kg dog has really bad anxiety at the vet after a traumatic experience at an emergency vet hospital in 2020. Since then he's extremely difficult to manage in a vet setting due to his size and fear response. Sedation is required for really basic exams, and administering the sedation is a whole ordeal in itself. The team at Johnston St are SO accomodating and do the most to make sure my dog gets good quality care despite his challenges, sometimes performing examinations in the waiting room or even outside if that's where my dog wants to be. It can't be easy dealing with traumatised animals, but they go out of their way to help us both feel as calm as possible. Being an inner city vet, they're not the cheapest option available, but I find them so worthwhile and they don't push you to purchase their in-house products. They're thorough with aftercare and followup instructions and take the time to answer my questions and talk me through options. Their bedside manner with pets is great but also with their owners. They're compassionate and I feel so comfortable with all the staff members. Their flexibility extends to educating me on how to provide care to my dog where possible, which helps me feel autonomous despite my dog's limitations. I'm really looking forward to working with them to counter condition my dog when COVID permits.