Watson Road Veterinary Clinic

I have been to Watson Road with at least 3 dogs (one puppy shots/​neuter, checkups, shots, flea/​tick/​heartworm prevention, one emergency tummy issue, one torn ACL, other random maladies), a cat (thyroid problems), and a bearded dragon (kidney failure — leading to euthanasia), and seen at least 4 different doctors. Every experience was outstanding.
The staff is very helpful with questions both over the phone and in person.
They are extremely reasonably priced compared to other vets I’ve used in the area. I’m EXTREMELY happy that they now accept CareCredit! This makes budgeting so much easier. Although they have always been sensitive to the fact that I have limited means. When I’ve not been able to afford a certain treatment they’ve never made me feel guilty or pressured.
One highlight of many: After Dr. King euthanized our bearded dragon, he sent us a handwritten sympathy card, even though that was the only time I’d brought the lizard in and I hadn’t seen Dr. King with any of my other animals, we’d just met.
You can tell that each and every doctor and staff member really loves animals and understands your love for your animal. I couldn’t be more pleased with the treatment we’ve received here.

I love this place, the staff is very very very nice the veterinarians are the best. We always use Dr King only go here we bring our chickens to him he knows more about Chicken and anybody I’ve ever met. Every time I’ve gone here its always been a very pleasurable experience the animals are sweet and fun to watch and everybody loves to see our chickens. If you do have a place to go that’s fine but if you need a new veterinarian or just a basic check up this is the place to go.

Watson Road Animal Hospital is a great place to bring your furry family members! I have two dogs and a cat, but I’ve also seen people bringing in hamsters and other animals in also. If you do happen to have a houseful of non-​humans, this place is easy on the check book with their 3+ pet discount! I’ve been going back here for several years, since moving to the area, and have seen several of the doctors. They are ALL GREAT! The staff and the techs are also very friendly and caring to the patients.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone!

Update: I’ve lowered my review to 2 stars. This experience has been extremely disappointing. Watson Road doesn’t give you an appointment to get stitches removed after surgery and tell you just to bring them in any time. Often this is hard with my schedule because I have to either take off work (for which I need an appointment) or rush to get there before close. Today, I called to tell them I was on my way and was going to be cutting it close to 7 to see if someone would still remove her stitches and their response was well, we leave at 7 (with no offer to stay even a minute after). Working in health care or any customer service industry, I can tell you this is not how it works. Be a little considerate of and flexible your customers, especially if you can’t give me an appointment and scheduled time to go along with the surgery I already paid for.
We have been taking our two dogs, who are mostly healthy and now 4 and 8 years old, to this vet clinic for the past 3 years. We have been mostly very happy with the staff and the vets for routine check-​ups and shots. It is easy to get an appointment, reasonably priced, and we have always had positive interactions with Dr. McCartney.
However, if you need more than that the care is sub-​par. We decided to have our 8-​year dogs teeth cleaned and a growth removed from her shoulder. This was the first operation we have needed to have had performed on either of our dogs (they were spayed at the shelter).
When you make an appointment for a surgery, they say that you can drop your dog off at 8:30am and pick them up in the afternoon and that is the extent of the information. When you get there that morning, 10 other owners are there with their animal to get them checked in, so you better get there before 8:30 to get in line. They should stagger the appointments, even 5 minutes to get pets checked in for the day.
However, the thing that was most disappointing about this experience was when I picked up my dog. I came in and said I was there to pick up Lily and the girl behind the counter, without saying a word, went to the back for a while, presumably to get my dog. When she returned with Lily, she brought her out to me without any more information. When I asked if there was anything I should know, she said «No, I mean she didn’t need any teeth pulled or anything,» completely ignoring the 3 inch incision on her shoulder. When I asked about care of the incision, she looked confused and looked to another receptionist. The other receptionist then took over an explained the medication that the doctor had prescribed (which, the original person did not even allude to!) and how to care for her post-​op, with feeding, water, and being careful of stairs. When she was done, she moved onto the next customer and I had to ask if I owed anything before anyone would even take my money.
The biggest downside: I’m still not positive I got all the information I would have liked to properly take care of my pet after surgery.
The positive: price for the whole thing was pretty reasonable, less than $ 300 for teeth cleaning and growth removal.

We love all the doctors and staff at Watson Rd! They are so knowledgeable and great with both the animals and their humans :)

I had great experiences here until the last two visits. One was to get my dog’s teeth cleaned and the next was a visit because my dog was sick. Both experiences were with Dr. McCartney. In the past I never cared who saw my dog because everyone was great. I especially like Dr. King. When my dog had his teeth cleaned the receptionist told me a price over the phone. When my husband went to pick up my dog it was considerably more. When I called they said it was bc he filled out the lab paperwork to include more labs than were needed. No one guided him through it or questioned it when he turned it in. How the heck is the non-​vet dog owner supposed to know what labs they need for the procedure??? Maybe just tell us what he needs and ask if we want more. Strike one. Strike two was when we were told that there were no teeth extracted and our dog came home with most of his bottom front teeth missing. When I asked about it, his file had no indication of teeth extraction and no explanation for why he was missing most of his front bottom teeth. Strike two.
A couple of weeks ago we brought our dog in for an array of symptoms. Dr. McCartney prescribed meds for 10 days and said if he’s not better to call and bring him in for x-​rays. The meds didn’t work and in the meantime I did a little online research based upon the symptoms. Even the worldwide web told me that my dog didn’t have what Dr. McCartney was treating. When I called after a week, I was told that they were too busy, but I could come in and wait. I can’t just sit in a vet waiting room with my nervous dog waiting to be seen when they can squeeze me in. Now that I know what my dog has and after explaining his symptoms to the people over the phone, I’m so disappointed that they just blew me off. My dog was dying and they didn’t really seem to care.
I ended up taking him to Webster Groves Animal Hospital and saw Dr. Hendrickson who was WONDERFUL! She immediately saw the gigantic tumor on the roof of his mouth – the tumor Dr. McCartney didn’t see bc he never put my dog on the table and really examined him. He had a nasal tumor that had spread. Two days after Webster Groves told me what I pretty much figured what was wrong, we had to put our dog to sleep. No x-​rays were needed – just a good old fashioned examination. I feel like Watson Rd has become a revolving door and never really felt like they cared the last few times we were there. Which is a real shame bc we used to be so happy with them.
If something is really wrong with your dog, make sure you do your homework BEFORE the appointment bc you can’t trust that they will do their job to really get to the root of the problem, I’m sorry to say.

We’re huge fans of Kingsbury Animal Hospital, but when they quoted us over $ 500 (!!!) to have our 7-​lb. dog neutered, we thought that was crazy. After doing some research, we decided to take our little guy to Watson Road (a much more reasonable $ 125). I guess you get what you pay for…
When I scheduled the appointment, the guy who answered the phone was probably around 16 years old. He provided absolutely no information about the procedure or pre-​op instructions and when I asked him some questions, he told me that they would tell me about it when I got there.
When I got there, the place was overrun with people and their animals. As I was waiting in line to check in, a large dog peed all over the floor and the staff left it sitting there for at least ten minutes (it should be noted that the irresponsible owner didn’t make any efforts to clean it up either). I almost turned around and left, because I was concerned about cleanliness standards, but the girl who checked me in was friendly and very sweet to my pup, so I apprehensively let him go.
I was told I would get a phone call around 3 when he was ready. By 4, I still hadn’t gotten a call, so I phoned and they said he was finished. When I picked him up, I told the receptionist (a different one from the morning) that I was there to pick up my dog and she looked confused, repeatedly saying his name and checking the appointment book, like she didn’t think he was there. She finally found his record and brought him out.
The surgery seemed to go ok (he was definitely out of it), but what killed me was that they refused to give him pain medication. I told this to several people who were dog owners and they had never heard of a vet refusing to give pain medication after a surgery. Additionally, they told me to come back in 7 – 10 days to get his sutures removed, but wouldn’t give me an appointment to do that. I mean, I have a job – I can’t just sit around a vet’s office for an unknown amount of time, waiting to be seen. Luckily, my husband is a doctor so he was able to remove the dog’s stitches at home, but Watson Road never called to follow up to see 1. how the dog was doing or 2. whether he had his sutures removed.
This place operates like a factory. They are all about seeing as many animals as possible and I didn’t see any evidence that they actually cared about any of them. I never met a doctor or nurse, and the receptionist clearly wasn’t interested in giving me any sort of post-​op instructions. Bottom line: I’ll be saving my money to ensure my dog gets proper care next time.

We have been bringing several generations of dogs as well as our cat to this office since we moved to Saint Louis. We really feel like we hit the jackpot when we met Dr. McCartney. Our animals can sense his laid back kindness and it is obvious that he is caring and competent.

I used to bring my lizard to Dr. King, who is very knowledgeable about reptiles and their care. I always felt like we were in good hands. I found Dr. King by reading reptile forums for recommendations on reptile vets in Saint Louis. A lot of people agree he is the best.

Dr. Jay King has been my primary veterinarian for about 10 years now… at least. He has treated all of my zoo from parrots to rats to dogs and cats. I highly recommend him and I love the personal treatment that I’ve received from all of the staff.
This is a smaller office and they have evening hours now.

This is the 3^rd vet clinic I’ve been to and this is by far the best. One of my cats was extremely ill and had kidney failure. After having taken him to the ER and spending hundreds already, I wasn’t satisfied with their evaluations and proposal (to spend thousands on keeping my cat their over night on IV and meds for a slim chance of saving him. It was ridiculously expensive). The next day took him to the closest place I could find and was surprised by the perfect score on Google. Dr. McCartney gave me the worse and best case scenarios and at least gave me some hope while helping me remain realistic. I went home with more meds and he suggested how to keep my cat hydrated while he was going through this kidney problem (he had stopped eating and drinking). He also gave me IV to take home in case I needed to do it myself. It was a long week but my cat got better. He was patient and attentive, despite how emotionally distraught I was. The other places were a little cold and didn’t build rapport at all. They try their best to squeeze you in for a visit if you call at the last minute and its an emergency. The wait is always quick and they are efficient. The staff is always so friendly and they genuinely care about the animals they see. They seem like they love what they do and that’s why I know I’m in good hands. Also, they have the best prices in town based on personal experience and phone inquiries. I thought all clinics were the same and had settled for awhile. I’m so glad that I found this place.