Sierra Gateway Veterinary Clinic

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I definitely don't recommend this clinic. I just took my dog for her first appointment where she was treated poorly. No one attempted to greet or be kind to her before, during or after the visit. When the tech went to weigh her, my dog had half her body on the scale and we were giving her verbal commands to get her other half onto the platform. Instead, the tech roughly grabbed my dog's collar and dragged her onto the platform. We had only been at the scale about 10 seconds, and if I knew she was in that much in a hurry, I would have physically moved my dog myself.

At that point, I wanted to leave but felt like I needed to stay given that my dog might have an ear infection and it needed to get treated immediately.

When our dog was met by the vet, he asked us some questions and then roughly grabbed my dogs ears. My dog started whining and yelping in a way that I've never heard before... I asked why she was in pain, but I got no answer.

After that, the tech came back to do an ear wash. Throughout the process, my dog was howling and crying. My dog has had other procedures in which I was warned it might be painful and, even with that, she never made those kinds of noises.

I grabbed my dog to hold and pet her and asked the tech if she could stop for a bit. The tech looked at me with what seemed like annoyance and said no she couldn't stop. I took the clinic's word that ear washes are painful and that it couldn't be stopped at any point, but they should have told me what to expect. And given the painful experience, they showed no compassion or offered any kind words to our dog as it was all going on.

Besides all that, the office itself looks rundown and the exam room didn't appear sanitary. While waiting for the tech/vet, I kept dodging a cricket that was running rampant and wondering what the mystery brown liquid in the specimen container was on the counter. Not good.

Best Vet for miles around. Very reasonable fees too. He won't hype you to run up the bill either. Great guy, Dr Byerly.

I've know Doc for years! Alway been professional, courteous, and knowledgable! He's a great Dr. The only Dr I'll ever use!

I took my French Bulldog, Rutger, in for a nail clipping under sedation in March. Instead of waiting to sedate him, the technicians tried to clip his nails without sedative, which agitated him greatly. They were chasing him around with a blanket trying to catch him, which appalled me. But I was assured that this time they would be able to care for him properly and took him in for nail clipping on July 20th. Never was I advised on fasting before the sedation, but after the tragedy that occurred, the Dr said it "wasn't a concern" since the sedative is supposed to have a suppressant to keep the dog from vomiting. I put him in the car after the procedure, but noticed he was not well, so I brought him back in the office. My dog and I never got to see the doctor again. The receptionist went to speak with him, came back, and assured me Rutger was alright to go home. At home, Rutger was greatly agitated and having a difficult time breathing. He finally walked around, vomited a great deal, then walked a few more steps and collapsed. He was not breathing, so I rushed him back to the office. They could not get his heart beat back and he expired there. My daughter spoke to Dr. Byerly on the phone, who said that even though he hadn't eaten since breakfast it "was not a concern" since the sedative has a suppressant. But obviously they did not take enough precaution in the case of our Rutger. He told my daughter that Rutger walked out of the office just fine, but in reality I had to carry him out. I just don't understand why they let me take him home, even after I came back in and let them know he was not well. They didn't check any of his vital signs, and the Dr didn't want to see him. I feel Dr. Byerly could have saved Rutger's life if he had just taken a bit of time to check him out when I came back in, and kept him for a while to see him come off the sedation. On the phone, he told my daughter they might have been able to do something had they been there right away. She told him he should change his policies for sedating animals and not let them be taken home, to have them stay for supervision. This would probably have saved our little dog's life. My wife and I have both called and asked Dr. Byerly to call us today, but received no response. I want to ask him why he refused to check on Rutger when I was right there in his office, and why he doesn't keep sedated animals under supervision to make sure they are okay. Please do not take your pet here. This is the most shocking, painful experience we could imagine, and Dr. Byerly has given no answers to these questions. It's as if he didn't feel our dog was important enough or care about the risks involved and his welfare. Now Rutger's gone, no thanks to Dr. Byerly, his staff, and his policies. No one in the Ragsdale neighborhood has him as a vet, and now our family understands why in the worst way possible.