Villagevets Avis 

A huge thank you to Sinead and Denise at Village Vets Ashbourne for their excellent care they gave to our dog Archie. Its was a scary experience of what happened with Archie but your professional approach and care given was above and beyond. We are eternally grateful for your skill and care which Archie was treated with and delighted to have him home with us.

We have two Hermann’s tortoises, they are now 16 years old, and male and female, they have been seen by VV Bray for beak trimming and deworming over the years. We have had them for 8 years, they definitely didn’t have the best start with their previous owners, but we have provided them with everything we can, big enclosed garden for the summer, as big a tortoise table as we can manage in our house, with heat mats, heat lamp and UV light. Also fresh leafy vegetables every day. We have a cat and dog who also visit VV Bray and Old Conna. My recent visit to Bray which cost €195 for the two torts was less than pleasant, it actually made me feel extremely inadequate, not actually worthy of owning them. I don’t complain, it’s not my thing, but honestly I felt completely demoralised by the attitude of the vet. Maybe she was having a bad day. She observed the shell deformity known as pyramiding, arising from inadequate diet, yes we know this, it’s on the system from when Bairbre OM saw them previously. They came to us like that unfortunately for them. They were each weighed, I asked and was told, they were growing, or words to that effect. No figures given. Yellow membranes, again a criticism that I can accept (but wasn’t shown), but I was told it was an extra €100 each for bloods. Beak trimmed on one of them and both given worming medication. Our female vomited on the way home in the car, all meds and everything in her stomach came up. White liquid and a lot of lettuce. I asked about hibernating them for the winter, the vet was pretty dismissive, offering no positive help or encouragement. In fact, I left feeling guilty for even owning them, when actually they are a happy responsive pair who produced four eggs this summer, for the first time. I don’t get the negative attitude to be honest. Criticising a punter who spends €195 on her pet tortoises, who also spent €88.30 on her pet cat who had a bite last month at that same practice. Who spends a fortune on a dog in VV Old Conna, including vaccinations and medicated food, which seems to increase in price every month. Experience in Old Conna has always been good. Negative experience in Bray and not inclined to go back there with these two tortoises. In my view it’s a pity the privately owned vet practices sold out to Village Vets. Poor customer service, lack of attention to care and high prices are not good for owners, their pets or, ultimately, business.

Thanks to Catarina, Rafaela, Justina and Brenda and I am sure all of the rest of the team in Grey Abbey, Shadow has changed from being terrified and having to be carried in and out of the clinic a couple of years ago to a very happy dog practically charging through the door with a waggy tail to see (and kiss!) everyone on her visits. Thank you to everyone for looking after her on her visits lately. Highly recommend to everyone.

I would also like to mention Katarini for the care she gave to Bruce over a couple of years before his passing. Both her and Catarina have shown extra care, effort, and compassion in different situations over the last few years with my dogs.

My dog underwent a laparoscopic spay arranged through Village Vets Celbridge and performed at the Village Vets Clondalkin branch on 20 July 2026. Within days, she developed ongoing urinary incontinence and fluid pockets and inflammation around the incision sites.
This has required repeated urgent and follow-up veterinary visits at Celbridge and GreyAbbey/Kildare Town. Different vets have seen her at different appointments, and despite repeated requests, I have struggled to obtain a single named person taking ownership of her case.
Front-of-house staff have been kind and apologetic. However, the practice initially declined to reimburse the costs of investigating and treating what appears to be a post-operative complication. The compensation issue has now been referred to its professional indemnity provider, while diagnostic testing and treatment remain ongoing.
I remain deeply concerned about the aftercare, continuity of communication and lack of clear ownership. I will update this review fairly when the matter is properly investigated and resolved.

Update: Unresolved after nearly a month, cost coverage refused
Following my earlier review: Village Vets has now declined to cover the cost of diagnosing an ongoing complication their own clinical notes linked to my dog's original surgery. She has been passed between four branches with no continuity of care throughout. I've now taken her to an independent vet at my own cost and cancelled my subscription with Village Vets. To be fair, individual staff at two of the branches were genuinely kind and tried to help — the failure here sits with the organisation's decision-making, not the people I dealt with day to day. Matter remains with their professional indemnity insurers.

One Star for the kindness of the girl we dealt with, nothing for the rest.

Our dog had respiratory issues and we attended village Vets for a scan, then a rhinoscopy and and a biospyall in the last few weeks. At that point we had paid over 3,000 euro just to get to the point of a diagnosis.

For the scan, we paid an extra 160 euro for same-day results to be sent to our vet. Two day's later our vet still hadn't received anything from them. We rang Village Vets and got them to send it on. I asked for a refund of the 160 and I was told someone would get back to me. They never did.

Yesterday our dog became very ill with fast laboured breathing. We had about 300 euro left between us and the lady on the reception phone said come to us (60km) as they might be able to set up a payment plan. I really believe this was a ploy to get our custom as the receptionist was answering detailed questions on the phone when we got there. She surely knew the policies of the company regarding payment.

Our dogs chest or lungs was filled with fluid. First there was the charge of 120 to talk to someone, then 200 for a blood test, 90 for a scan then more money for other a steroid injection and some mucuous-clearing medicine.

We were just about to leave when they said his temperature had gone to 40 degrees and he was critical. They said they can do a thoracocentesis (a chest tap) to relieve the fluid but that was another 500. We didn't have that kind of money so we asked if we could set up a direct debit, with the outstanding balance owed going into their account automatically, three days later.

The girl went out to a manager somewhere and came back and said "Sorry, we can't do that". We said we were getting 2,000 euro three days later if they could just give us two days. "Sorry no, we cant do that."

The girl seemed to go out to this manager unseen a few times, just to come back with no everytime. I don't know if draining his fluid would have saved him but to be denied that chance because you don't have half a grand on you there and then.....

So, I think we paid another 250 to put him to sleep. We are going to pay 358 for cremation. In total, to bring him there and have him put to sleep and get his remains in a box is going to cost 1,080 or there abouts.

My experience over three visits to this place is that it's a money printing factory. It's a boom industry, first and foremost and a vetinary practice second.

What hurts the most is, we could have gone to the emergency hospital assigned to our local vets. Things could have turned out so much better. It was the same distance. We might still have our dog with a simple direct debit set up to pay out 3 days later...

I'm stlll wrapping my head around their refusual to perform a potentially life saving procedure because they'd have to wait a few days for a guarenteed payment.....If that doesn't show this companies biggest priority then nothing does.

And when this gets the standard reply trying to justify their costs and how it covers all the staff involved....we dealt with that one very young girl and another very young girl held our other dog on a lead while we said goodbye to our dog. How much did that cost? I genuinely wonder if we were charged for the two or three pieces of tissue we were given for our grief.

The softly spoken young woman was really nice to us. I had to ask her name as she didn't give it as medical professionals are meant to do - that's the kind of feeling of ineptitude you get here.

Honestly, as nice as she was, she seemed like a child, way out of her depth to me. She spoke so quietly and softly, like teenagers do in adult situations. You'll find the staff are almost exclusively young women under the age of 25/30 which had us wondering about their competence in terms of experience.

The place has that feel of trainee doctors who are going to make a lot of fatal mistakes on animals. I can't say that they do, but it's perfectly normal for this to happen with junior medical professionals.

I just kept wondering where are the experienced middle aged men or women here? For these prices, you should be getting the best, and the best become the best after decades of experience.

I'm sure that these young doctors truly adore the animals they care for.

It's this manager level, that doesn't show it's face thats the greedy issue.

In closing, we are heart-broken, we are cleaned out of savings, but there's one thing I can do...advise people to check out other places before coming to Village Vets. Maybe it's as bad everywhere....but avoid this place.

I recently visited Village Vets and had a really positive experience from start to finish. The reception team were friendly and welcoming, and the vets and nurses were incredibly caring and professional with my pet. They took the time to explain everything clearly, answered all my questions, and made what could have been a stressful visit feel very reassuring.

"While the staff at Village Vets were kind, I was shocked by the cost—160 for a 20-minute visit some drops and pain killers. This is exactly why so many pets end up in shelters—people simply can’t afford the care. I hope they consider making their services more accessible in the future."
...........................

To clarify my concern about the pricing: the medication provided appears to retail for approximately €40–€45, likely less at wholesale cost. That means the remaining charge for a 20-minute consultation was around €115.

When broken down, that equates to roughly €345 per hour for the consultation alone, which I believe is extremely expensive and simply out of reach for many pet owners.

I fully appreciate that veterinary professionals deserve to be paid fairly for their expertise and care, but transparency and proportional pricing are also important.

I would strongly not recommend Ashbourne Village Vets based on my recent experience with their emergency service. My dog was admitted overnight with severe vomiting and bloody diarrhea and I was later told he was well enough to be discharged. However,as we were leaving the clinic,he immediately passed fresh bloody diarrhea and his condition rapidly deteriorated once home,forcing us to seek urgent emergency treatment elsewhere and pay for another overnight stay.

I find it unacceptable that he was discharged while still showing obvious signs of active gastrointestinal bleeding. The entire experience caused significant distress,avoidable additional expense and left me with serious concerns about the standard of care and clinical judgement. Sadly,the experience left me feeling the financial considerations were prioritized over my dogs welfare and the concerns I raised.

I'm shocked and sad to read so many negative reviews of Village Vets. What I've read does not reflect my experiences. I've always found them very good. However, their suppliers are appallingly unreliable. I ordered food on 1st May from VV Beaumont. It is now 12th May and VV still await the order from their suppliers. I have had to buy substitute pouches which I'm unhappy about given that I have been advised to introduce new foods slowly. Also my cat doesn't like the new pouches. I usually buy 3.5kg bag of dry food but had to buy a 1.5Kg bag which works out more expensive. I was told today that the food is available in Cabra if I want to go there to get it. That's really not acceptable. Whilst we await these suppliers to do their job, my cat is stuck with pouches that are not the prescribed ones and that she doesn't like and I am out of pocket. My previous order was also inexcusably late arriving. She either needs a prescription diet or she doesn't . If VV cannot source a reliable supplier I will have no choice but to identify a reliable alternative.

I don’t leave negative reviews lightly, which is why I feel it’s important to share my experience. Over the past two years, I attended this clinic with my dog on multiple occasions. While I want to believe the business aims to provide good care, my experience with the service and communication was consistently difficult. My dog was very anxious during visits, often requiring sedation for examinations. While I understand some dogs can be challenging, I frequently felt that this was not handled in a supportive or reassuring way, and it resulted in additional stress, time, and additional cost for medication to sedate him. On one occasion, after my dog received a kennel cough vaccination, I later contacted the clinic for confirmation and was told there was no record of the visit and was told I wasn't there! I had to follow up few times! and insist before the vaccination record was eventually located. This was a very stressful experience and undermined my confidence in their record-keeping and communication. To be honest I thought to change the vet after that and I do regret I didn't at the time. More recently, I brought my dog in with significant pain and difficulty walking. Based on that consultation, I was not advised that the situation could be urgent or potentially serious. Later that same day, my dog’s condition deteriorated rapidly and he required emergency care, surgery, and was ultimately lost. What has been most difficult is the feeling that the seriousness of his condition was not clearly communicated at the time, which meant I was not in a position to make informed decisions about seeking immediate care. Throughout my interactions, I often felt that concerns were met with defensiveness rather than a genuine effort to understand and support. I appreciate that veterinary care can be complex and not every outcome can be predicted. However, clear communication, transparency, and client support are essential and unfortunately, this was not my experience. For these reasons, I would not recommend this clinic based on my experience.

If I could give zero i would do so. Our male kitten went in for a simple neutering procedure in Dunshaughlin. Of course we were warned about anaesthetic etc and when we went to collect him , were told all was well even though we brought a red mark on the operation site to their attention. We asked if he needed a collar and were told no. Post op check , showed redness and we were given antibiotics, asked about a collar and again told no, if we had any worries we could go to ashbourne over the weekend, failing to tell us this would cost an additional €160 for visit. Had to bring him to emergency a few days later during to a huge lump on the operation site, nobody could tell us what it was, were given antiseptic wash, antibiotics and anti inflammatory medication. This time he was given a collar . With no improvement and no explanation as to why this occurred ( the vet couldnt even tell us what it was what had happened, in fact, he didn’t want to deal with us after we showed our upset over the mess up) the poor thing ended up having another operation, he had a cone on for 2 more weeks and ended up with a very sick stomach. He was given more medication for this.
The receptionist / practice manager was downright rude.
They are only interested in the money and do not take ownership of their failures. We definitely won’t be back and we will NEVER recommend them , in fact we would advise pet owners to AVOID this practice at all costs, and cost it will.
Our poor kitten still suffers from tummy issues which we believe were caused by all the medication

So many hidden cost 88 for a plaster change and eyedrops come on like, I have cancelled the health plan as I have been paying 25 a month with them for i dont know what, changed my vet to assisi clinic in swords which are amazing, the transparency of price just really annoys me, plus the plan is useless just pay 25 euro off insurance for them.village vets wanted over 500 for xray went to the vet in swords got 3 xrays and results for 250 including consolation. Plus their not flexible as its so hard to get appointment

The one star is for the 1 good vet they employ. Claire. Village vets kilmainham is where I have always taken my dog for veterinary care. Would not give me an appointment until 6 days later. possibly hoping the issue would worsen. Finally after 4 emails and 2 phone calls I got an appointment for 6:40pm I was 5 mins late as I had a long journey on foot with a sick and nervous dog. Actually I was in the parking area where reception could see me trying to coax him in put muzzle on etc. I walk in as reception took payment from last customer. She shouts to me is that ace,because he won’t be seen it’s almost 10 to 7. They close at 8 no other animals there. I told her I’d explained in the email this would happen and because of my working hours the only time I could get him seen! Well nope she said. It would have taken no more than 5 min to see him. I asked were they happy to let a sick animal get worse over the weekend to which she shrugged her shoulders. My dog is now worse thanks to village vets and believe me when I say this is not the end of the story for village vets kilmainham!! I will not continue to ignore the fact they refuse to help a sick animal. Especially when they clearly weren’t busy.

One star is way more than what they deserve.
After contacting one of the clinics to arrange an x-ray for my injured dog, I was given an estimate for €461. Not bad if it found the cause of the problem, so I booked her in. Got a call a few hours later to say xray was finished and she was doing fine. I was given a time to collect her, and discuss the findings. When I went down to the clinic they couldn't wait to relieve me of my money, but when they brought my dog out they said it could be about 3 days before I would get the results. What are supposed to do with a very lame dog while you wait days for results. Two days later I got an email to say that they got the results back and it was "possibly" a ruptured cruciate ligament, but that the orthopaedic specialist offered an appointment to go and discuss them and any recommended treatment. As I wanted someone to tell me what the xray showed up, because the clinic who did them hadn't a clue, I availed of the appointment. I sat as he explained the injury and the options I had to treat it, both surgical and non-surgical. He agreed to do me up some estimates and email them to me the following day. As I was about to leave the clinic the girl on the desk told me that there was a €120 charge for the consultation. I asked was there some kind of mistake, as I had already paid for the xrays, and for someone to report on them. She said no, that the results and treatment recommendations were separate to the x-ray. I thought she was joking, but no, the €461 apparently didn't cover me getting the results. That would cost another €120. I was stunned. Like everything else with village vets, there is always the surprise charge that they "fail" to tell you about, but this went above and beyond any of their other scams. Like, can you imagine bringing your car to a mechanic and paying him to give it a good check over, then when you go back to collect it he tells you it'll be another few hundred if you want to know what problems he found. It's so ridiculous it's almost laughable
So, will I be a client of village vets after today, No. Will I ever recommend them to anyone, No. Would I even trust them if I needed someone in the case of an animal emergency, No. Never again will I avail of, or recommend the services of village vets. They are a money making shambles, with more interest in €s and less interest in the animals.
If you want to see what village vets said in reply, come back next year, because it usually takes about 12-14 months for them to comment.

Refused to come out my dog down during COVID, he was too big and in pain to move, had to get another vet to do it.

They charge X5 the price of pain killers for dogs you can buy in the pharmacy down the road.

Waiting 15 minutes while being scheduled for a specific time? No problem. Being 5 minutes late and being made to reschedule the appointment. Village vets Tallaght logic. Very unprofessional behaviour. I came to a what I was told would be a 30 minute appointment with my kitten 5 minutes late. This was supposed to incorporate pre-neuter check up AND rabies vaccination. The very “friendly” girl at the reception told me that they actually put it in as a 15 minute appointment and because we are 5 minutes late that I will have to reschedule. This is the third pet that I have with these vets and overall, while the actual vets tend to be professional and friendly, the front staff tends to be extremely unprofessional. I would not recommend them at all as I have had too many bad experiences at this point.

My dog was diagnosed with (RCL )
Ruptured cruciate ligament in Monday .
Spoke to vet and was given estimate for surgery to repair .
Got a second opinion from an orthopaedic vet and was told the
CRUCIATE LIGAMENT isn’t the problem .
Charged me over over €600 for them to misdiagnose my dog .
I’m so glad I got a second opinion .
Would not use this place again

Village Vets Tallaght
Staff are amazing. They helped with our door when she passed away and they now look after Milo. Next week they will also be looking after Rosie. They always for us in and when Daisy passed away the treat us with empathy and compassion. Could not recommend them enough

I had an emergency case with my dog on Friday. I called this practice to ask for help as my own Vet was closed. My dog had collapsed out of nowhere was sick and was drooling.
It was about 6.45pm and they are supposed to be open until 8pm. I was told they were fully booked and that I should go to MEATH. I live local to Coolock.
Luckily I emailed my own Vet after this on the off chance that he was still at the practice and he rang me back.
Sadly they found a tumor and he had to be put to sleep.
The village vets in Coolock were so lacking in empathy. There should ALWAYS be room for an emergency case if you care about animals. Your practice is a disgrace.

I should add that this was AFTER I called your Beaumont practice. They were closing.

If I could give a lower rating I would.
For the last 3 months I have been in and out of Village Vets with my poor dog. She's been vomitting on and off. I was told
1) Its worms, despite giving her monthly treatments which we purchase with yourselves, and without any evidence of worms in her poo
2) It was her food, she'd food allergies, change to a different brand.
3) Its her food, give her antihestimines
4) Its her food, go back to Royal Canine
5) Took bloods - all clear
6) She then started to pass a lot of blood in her stool and you put her on anti sickness medication
7) A couple of days later, she passed all blood and we got an emergency appointment. At least we felt like she was been taken seriously. They examined her and told us she had pancreatitis', to stop all medication, and put her on a course of antibiotics and painkillers.
And she improved.
However, 24-48hrs after the medication stopped, she started to vomit again. At this stage I had enough and made an appointment to see a new vet. Unfortunately the night before she was due to see him, she couldn't walk, did projectile vomiting and started to shake. I called him out of hours and he seen her immediately. He examined her, gave her injections for pain and sickness and said to come back to our normal appointment the following morning. THAT WAS THE LAST TIME WE SEEN OUR DOG ALIVE !!!
He can bloods, Xrays and scans and something showed up in the intestines. He had to carry out emergency surgery on her, and unfortunately the CANCER had taken over and she took her last breaths on the operation table.
Shame on you! She seen so many different vets and if she had been seen and examined correctly from the first visit, she may just be still with us today.
I just can't believe this has happened. Though I shouldn't be surprised. A couple of years back you told us she had a gum disease and all her teeth needed to be removed. My dog minder said she wasn't accepting that and brought her to see her own vet, and guess what, there was nothing wrong with her teeth, her baby teeth hadn't fallen out, that was all.
I should have listened to her back then, and changed vets. And now that is something I now have to live with.
My dog died which could have been avoided. She hadn't reached her 7th birthday