Castle Veterinary Surgeons - Bishop Auckland

(Posting on behalf of Chris Cook and Beth the staffy)Thank you to everyone at castle vets St Helen’s for going above and beyond for Beth when she had her teeth removed. She is a very nervous dog due to mistreatment early in life so we were very concerned about her going for treatment and being without her humans. The vets and staff looked after her so well, we couldn’t be happier with the service.

I have to rate this a 1 star. I was quoted over £900 to have the dogs teeth cleaned, fluids and pain relief which was well over the £650 I was originally quoted. Original price was £1230 for teeth cleaned £650 and small lump removed £580 which was the original quote. We decided not to get the lump removed and our new price was £935 for teeth, when questioned I was told the price had gone up because fluids had been added which was optional and pain relief added. So the dog did not need fluids as she is under 8 years old and probably not needed so took that cost off and it was still over £800 that means we are being charged over £200 for pain relief.I have now cancelled the work and registered with another vets who are a lot cheaper. Please get a quote from another vet before going ahead with the work.Hopefully the company that own Castle vets will have a look at their pricing structure as it’s way higher than the other vets in the town

Breath of fresh air. The westies were seen by a lovely vet Emily who took the time to make friends with the 2 dogs. Quickly became obvious the vet was well clued up and a good diagnosis given on one of the dogs eyes that was missed by our previous vet. Very obvious the dogs were nowhere near as stressed as they had been at the last practice.

Easy parking, modern premises, clean and tidy, nice reception area with separate waiting areas for cats and dogs,pleasant staff and very professional,

Can’t get through on the phone, kept on hold forever. The receptionist doesn’t tell the truth, very poor service.

Lovely staff! I can't remember her name (rayanne maybe) but I think she's the vet with the springer. Our puppy was in and out very fast within 10 minutes and that's for a vaccine and nails clipped. She was very professional and gentle with our puppy - it was his second time at the vets and first time without one of us there for more than 1 minute and he was surprisingly calm when returned!

Very caring staff been with castle vets for 12yrs and I couldnt ask for a more caring veterinary service

Fantastic vet surgery, calm & professional staff who really cared & spent their valuable time to go that extra little bit to look after my elderly dog. Thank-you!!

Very good vets will definitely return and staff was very freindly too.

Edit: Since moving to their new premises the entire operation has gone downhill.- The receptionists used to be friendly but now seem put out to actually have to speak to anyone.- It takes ages for anyone to answer the phone (let it ring for 20+ times then gave up and rang back later....then finally got through near the end of the day)- When they first moved, I commented that I would not have renewed with the petplan had I known. Was told 'you received an email'. No, I didn't. Then was told, 'well, we don't have your email address.' Ok, how do I magically get an automated survey after each visit?! The audacity of their rudeness continued when I said it was inconvenient for me to get there as I don't drive. 'Most people do. Just take a taxi'- Very unhappy with the inconsistent information by various vets. One says the new medication is an all-in-one so much better and more convenient. The other says it still needs to be supplemented with an extra one every 3 months. Which is it?- Brought my dog in with an infected paw and she barely glanced at it before prescribing antibiotics and painkillers and telling me not to put a bandage on it and walk her home (2.5miles). Since then, another vet told me it should be bandaged and to keep her off the paw.- Brought her back a week later because the infection had become worse and I was given different antibiotics and told to just give her paracetamol. Needless to say that hasn't worked.- Just called for information to check the contraindications on the medicine, and they refused to answer.So, £200+ later and I have a dog who is worse than when I brought her in, and medicine that I don't know if I can use! FarcicalThere are lots of other veterinary options in the area. If you value your pet, DO NOT BRING YOUR PETS TO THIS PLACE. They are only interested in prescribing drugs and taking your money, not actually diagnosing what's wrong and treating the animals.Everyone was really friendly, and Emily (vet) went out of her way to make my little sausage dog comfortable during her first annual check up at a new vets. Definitely recommend them.