Parkersburg Veterinary Hospital: Stalnaker Nicole DVM

Sep 2023

I've taken my pets to PVH for over 20 years. I have had to have several put to sleep. Under the circumstances I was always happy that I was able to hug them and tell them that they are a good boy/girl. They would be sedated and relaxed then when I was ready they'd be given the medicine and they'd slip away peacefully. I took my little 15 year old dog recently to be put to sleep. Her body was worn out with several issues but her mind was still very alert. She cried out 4 times while the IV line was inserted and that broke my heart enough but I knew she was dehydrated. The vet comes into the room and realized that the IV line was not screwed on but instead of getting one she proceeded to grab a hold of the IV which pinched her skin because it was so close to her skin and bandaged. She cried out again. The doctor did not use a medication to relax her. Instead she just began trying to insert the syringe into the IV. I wasn't ready for that. She didn't give the medicine that relaxes the dog. I panicked and asked is this the medication that kills her and not the sedation. She answered yes, this is the one that will make her die. Instead of stepping back and regrouping it all was out of hand. My little dog was trying to get away, crying out and terrified. I was unable to comfort her. Without the sedation it takes a lot longer than I realized for her to die. My heart is broken and we were robbed of a peaceful moment. It may be something that the doctor does on a regular basis but I don't and I'm very disappointed. It's difficult enough to lose a pet let alone in this way.

Sep 2023

Turned my dog away because it was too late in the day. Wouldn't even let me say explain her symptoms despite them still being open for 10 mins. Just handed me a paper and said good luck

Apr 2023

The doctor kept asking us if we were happy with our Siberian Husky as if there was something wrong with having a Husky (this is our 3rd one). Some Huskys are real drama queens like mine but they didn't know how to handle her. They should have asked me to help but didn't. Instead she was terrorized. They have grooming on site which was part of the reason we went there (we're new to the area). After getting her shots we made an appointment for grooming and they told us they wouldn't allow grooming unless she got an unnecessary flue shot which I refused to allow. They just wanted to pad their bill. Apparently the groomer got wind of what happened and quit the same day. We found out because the groomer heard our dogs name at the pet store (several miles away) and told us what happened. We were supposed to go back for another flea/tick shot but I was so disgusted we won't be going back. I really miss my vet in Florida.