Donaldsonsvets Reviews 

Had our beloved dog euthanized last May ,she was very poorly,When it was done I wanted just a couple of private minutes to say goodbye but she was whisked away within two minutes,the vet was running late at the time,not much compassion at all.
He did however paw prints and fur for us,I asked if he was bringing her back so we could say our goodbyes he just said no.
We had her communally cremated ,at PCS Leyland through the Donaldsons vets which they use ,l later found out most of the communal ashes from there go to landfill ,I am devastated .

Donaldsons please inform your clients what happens to their beloved pets communal ashes ,it’s heartbreaking 💔

Not impressed so far. A phone call to ask if I could book our 10 month old dog into be neutered. "No book on the app" was the response, We did, we got there, told they won't do that anymore... that will be £48 consultation fee ..... less than 5mins in the surgery...

Having recently had our Guinea Pig ‘Eddy’ in for surgery to remove a large lump, and having just received a positive post op review, I can only offer praise to Donaldsons staff for all their care and help over the last few years, and particular mention to Matt for his caring and professional manner with our Guineas.

Always found Donaldsons very thorough, and they do have an emergency 24/7 hospital, its expensive no doubt , but they use a lot of non invasive diagnosis techniques, medication is expensive, but , they will give you a prescription if your pet needs regular medication and you can get it much cheaper at “pet drugs online”

Donaldsons vets in Halifax, and Huddersfield, West yorkshire
My sons dog went in for speying, came home same day and started bleeding badly. The vets refused to take her back unless it was paid upfront, i was shocked. We paid. They then sent her home again and she lost weight dramatically. We took her back and they said they have to operate again as she has an abscess. A speying cost three times the amount. Went in a very fit dog, there should be an ombudsman for vets. They can do and charge whatever they want and get away with it.

Been going to Donaldson's Somerset road since April 2024 as my cat had suspected hyperthyroidism. They ran tests, the vet ran the tests out of house to save us money and checked her organs to make sure there was no damage. Compared to a previous vet they have been amazing, all the staff are lovely and very helpful, receptionists always helpful and very friendly. We go occasionally for blood tests for my hyperthyroid cat. Only issue we ever had was one time the blood test machine malfunctioned, and the sample was lost to the machine. They were incredibly apologetic and got her in again the following week free of charge, really recommend this branch of Donaldsons!

Avoid this group of vets

Like someone else said, people believe the over-cooked Yorkshire Vet hype. It's far from the truth. Took our hyperactive cat in after it appeared one morning unable to put weight on the leg. On emergency visit was told cat had a skin infection. I explained I'm a qualified accountant and even I could see his leg was broken. I was ignored and we were sent away with medicines relating to a skin infection.

No improvement after nearly a week, at which point I demanded to see the xrays and someone in authority. That got their attention and we got a call advising that the leg was indeed broken. Implied promises that everything would be sorted FOC everytime we asked about fees (they had sounded embarrassed due to their mistake). Fast forward several weeks (and following an intensive operation that we were neither insured for, nor had the funds for), we were slapped with a bill for over £2000. When we stated we wouldn't pay the full amount (as the injury was aggravated by the delay in diagnosis) and due to their errors, but we would pay something, we just got hit with demands and threats...culminating with an extra £700 'admin' charge on the bill that no one could explain or advise how calculated.

They took us to court for the whole lot, used a solicitor, then a barrister. We won twice (first time and again on their appeal) due to them not gaining informed consent (an RCVS requisite). Don't be bullied by these people.

As we needed some Metacam, we asked the vets for a prescription so we could order online. When we attended the surgery to collect the prescription letter, we were asked for over £32 (for an item that they only charge £24.00 for). Effectively, that £24 Metacam bottle would cost over £55 because of their fee

We refused as we felt that this was a blatant attempt to prevent the use of online pharmacies and retain the profit for themselves.

Rather than take the opportunity to explain their fee, Donaldson’s wrote to us stating that they would refuse to treat both of our pets going forward and advising us to go elsewhere.

Please ignore the Yorkshire Vet romanticism - this lot are interested in money above all else.

They have refused to engage with us re the above

I would not recommend sheply Donaldson vet this is the second lot of vaccinations in two years been in pain. We took our dog Friday 8th March the vet that saw our dog had no care or compassion knowing my dog was nervous dragged her across the floor didn't pick her up to calm her. I thought my dog was OK when we left the vets but on the saturday was crying out in pain. I didn't want to call reception as the receptionist on Friday wasn't friendly felt uncomfortable! I shall be taking my dog to another vet.

I cannot recommend Shepley division of Donaldsons vets highly enough . They have looked after my dog from early in his life to the end💔
Genuine, kind, full of empathy… have to call out Chris and Ritchie in particular, but have never had a vet that didn’t support both me and my adored dog in the most kind, professional and knowledgeable way. The front desk staff are so kind and caring too . Thank you so much guys!

Very rude receptionist at Donaldson Shepley. I advised that I no longer have the last dose of a 3 month supply of flea and worming treatment and was basically told I must have messed up and I will have to pay for the next dose. Couldn't have been more patronising.

Easy to get appointments . Staff are always lovely. The price is always given before treatment so no unexpected bills. I generally just bob in for flea and worming treatment without an appointment. When our 15 year old dog had kidney failure, they were honest and said there's no point doing tests etc. It was just his time.
I've used this vets for 24 years with different pets and always found them to be looking at the best options for our pets and to not be pushed into treatments for old pets.
One time with a hamster that had a lump, the vet was rolling him around in his hands, I said please put him down. The vet said "yes that's the kindest thing in my opinion", "nooo I meant stop manhandling the poor thing" Timmy the hamster was free range and used to go outside through the catflap. One night he must have been owl food. But there was no pressure to euthanise the hamster, and nature took its course.

We have just changed vets after years of using Donaldson's. We had very good animal care from Robert at Thongsbridge. When Shepley opened it was nearer. But we have noticed a big difference in how the business seems to have a financial priority at this branch. We are now fed up with it after they wanted to charge a consultation fee to get flea and tick prevention tablet. Because they had not seen the dog for 6 months. He's a healthy dog he only needs preventative flea and tick tablet.

Had to take my Labrador in on Friday night. Chris was amazing, as were all his team. Can’t thank you enough for keeping the cost down and saving my babies life

Andrew and the team at Mirfield have looked after our cat Poppy for over 15 years and we cannot fault the care and attention they have shown her during recent surgeries/visits. She was also recently admitted to Somerset Road out of hours - Rhona, Jamie and the team saved and extended her little life which we will be forever grateful for. Given the treatments, tests, medication and over night stays we felt the price was very reasonable.

I have been a customer of Donaldsons vets for years and currently use the Birchencliffe branch. My 13 year old husky suffered a fit out of the blue and lost the ability to walk on Christmas Day eve, Boxing Day morning I had to put her to sleep at the Somerset Road practice. They contacted me this week to say her ashes were ready to collect, they very kindly sent them over to the Birchencliffe practice the same day who rang to confirm they had arrived. On arrival there were 2 ladies on the desk, one dealing with a customer, I waited a few minutes then moved over to the other lady who continued to ignore me for quite some time before acknowledging me. After advising I had come to collect Kitas ashes she continued to ask my name, then my address then went into an office, put a box in a bag and handed it to me. There was no compassion, no care, nothing, I could have been collecting my shopping. I was so angry after leaving the practice and have been since. I won’t be visiting this practice again. I paid over £520 to lose my beautiful dog, I am heartbroken and I realise this must be a daily occurrence for them, but it isn’t for me 💔

You need to be ashamed at the prices you vets charge,you do your best to help animals,rip of Britain,its more rip of vets,that is why so many people are having to let go of there animals,times are hard for us all,but you vets don't help,you will probably have a happy Christmas with all the money you get,a happier one than all those poor animals with no home,very sad,adrian

Disgusting practice. I was called because my cat had been run over and someone had taken him to that vet. They scanned the chip and got my details. I wasn't available when called so had called them back and in that initial call there was no problem.
My problem was being called back within less than 30 minutes to discuss the cost and even having marketing thrown at me and I quote. 'So, will you be able to call me back today with your card details to pay for the cremation? Can we keep your details so that if you get another cat you might want to use our practice in the future'.
Trust me, should I decide to get another cat which is not something I want to think about the same day, sorry, I should say 30 minutes after being informed he was run over then rest assured I will be avoiding using your practice like the plague!!
You haven't even informed me where he was found or any details regarding what happened before discussing your costs!? Don't worry, you'll get your piddling fee but hopefully it will cost you loss of business in the future.

We took our cat in for treatment, they were really friendly and soft with him. The issue seemed better. But a few days later it returned so we went back and they did more work. Again seemed better but a few days later we returned again and they did more work. The issue has now returned again, As we had all ready paid twice for the issue resolving we rang up for further guidance as we cannot afford to keep paying for the same problem over and over. We were told to contact a charity as they cannot help without paying. My issue with this is that we paid for the issue fixing twice all-ready. In these hard Financial Times a little extra care wouldn’t go a miss. We now face a very tough decision about our beloved cat.

Two years ago I lost my Husky to diabetes after surviving cancer. My big big thanks is to all the staff but especially David Melleney he made each visit for my dog special that he wasn’t distressed each week again thank you all 🙏