Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service - Solihull Reviews 

Are the staff on sales targets? Even a routine visit turns into advice on a number of serious pet ailments and scaremongering owners into diagnostic tests and treatments. The sales pitch looses pace once they know you are not insured.

We attended in crisis but despite it being a large hospital, we experienced the most wonderful support from everyone. The staff showed a genuine warmth and compassion towards us and the animals they were looking after. We were lucky enough to have the expertise of neuro specialist Tom whom our reactive Dachshund fell in love with but all who treated Claude demonstrated a knowledge, understanding and care not always evident in other veterinary practices. Special shout out to Holly, Emma and Rhiannon who updated us every day and were never too busy to talk. Luckily our insurance covered the costs which was professionally dealt with by the polite and helpful reception team. However, the prices were very competitive with exceptional hospitalisation packages available. Highly recommended!

My Blue had a melting eye ulcer , they operated on Blue , at a cost of £6000 it completely failed 😞, I was so upset I took him back to my vets and had his eye removed, the worse thing was they said it was healing well at the aftercare appointments, then said it failed , then wanting to operate again at a cost of £2000… if you don’t get it correct the first time don’t try again, disgusting

I took my dog to Willows for a CT scan, which cost £3,000. For that kind of money, I trusted he would be looked after with the highest level of care.

When I collected him just 5 hours later, I was heartbroken to see the state he was in. His hair was already cut short before the scan, yet the shaving had still cut his skin in several places, leaving him bleeding. There was absolutely no reason for this—he was sedated at the time, so it’s not like he was moving around. To me, it felt like pure lack of care.

Since coming home he has been absolutely traumatised and in a lot of discomfort. He’s normally such a happy, gentle boy, and to see him so unsettled after his visit has been really upsetting.

The only positive I can mention is that the results were available fairly quickly, but that doesn’t come close to making up for the way he was treated.

I expected better from such a practice, and I truly hope Willows take this feedback seriously so no other dog has to go through the same.

I bought two dogs that had been chipped and vaccinated by this company, absolutely no details on the record card, and now I have to repeat the process again as the 4 deadline has passed

Update, I have taken The dogs to a proper vet’s, and it turns out they didn’t even chip one of the dogs, but charged the breeder, I would totally avoid this vets if the can’t even get the basics right !!

The late night Vet was incredible. Unfortunately, in the early hours of Thursday my cat had to be put to sleep. The staff made this experience so comfortable for my cat. She was treated with such dignity and grace. We can’t thank them enough.

Further to my earlier post my dog has now had to be put to sleep because the drugs appear to have been incorrectly given and the stress of the pain he was in night after night resulted in his total breakdown and exhaustion.. he was a healthy dog and in a week ended up having to be pts... shocking I don't want Willows replying in an apparent attempt to appear sympathetic... he came home stinking of urine I hope everyone reads how many bad reviews they get..this was a healthy dog who swallowed a stone and is now gone despite clear bloods:scans but what you can't measure is the pain and stress of that pain due to lack of appropriate painkillers either Willows vet removing them resulting in losing my dog....

We went for an emergency consultant with a neurospecalist due to my feline having restricted ability to walk. The initial checkup and blood tests cost almost £1000. With that, he was quite pushy with getting us MRI scans and a lumbar puncture and we refused. He told us there was nothing we can do apart from give our cat a loving and caring home until he passes in a few weeks from FIP. From there, I reached out online for help and we had to resort to facebook to push for antiviral treatment. When I requested it, he gave us the most expensive options until I managed to get him to prescribe the cheaper brand of medication due to knowledge from the facebook group. If I hadn't reached out online, our cat would be having very expensive injections currently. We moved our treatment back to our local vets and now he is doing well on anti-viral treatment thanks to the people on social media - not thanks to Willows who tried to scam us.

Extremely professional & kind Helped lessen the loss of Jinx

Mark and his team cared for my beautiful dog Maddi for almost a year, through the final stage of her life. She had complex conditions, including diabetes and IBD, but she never lost her playful nature or determination. Thanks to Mark’s exceptional care, she was able to continue living her life fully—chasing her ball, staying strong-willed, and enjoying every moment—until her final day at nearly 15 years old.

Throughout her care, Mark and the team at Willows never treated Maddi as “just an older dog.” His care plan was tailored to her unique needs. He saw her spirit, her personality, and her will to live—and treated her with the dignity and dedication she deserved. Beyond his extraordinary professionalism, he brought a quiet compassion that made an incredibly difficult time more bearable. His consistency, empathy, and ability to truly see her made a profound difference.
Mark supported us not only with his clinical knowledge but with a presence that brought calm and reassurance when it was most needed.

He is a testament to the very best of humanity. I will always be grateful that Maddi was under his care at Willows.
Because of Mark, she lived with quality, comfort, and joy until the very end, spending her final day sitting in the sun, chasing her ball, with the wind blowing through her beautiful fur. That is a rare gift.

I have written a complaint one day under 3 weeks ago of the treatment I received at Shirley willow branch
Unfortunately I had to put my baby to sleep at 1am on a Sunday night
we was with her while they put her to sleep very upsetting and both in bits we was then taken to reception to pay once paid we was told me to wait there and someone would be out to sort out the cremation details then left me and my daughter in the waiting room

even though 3 staff members knew we was sat there
after an hour my daughter called the phone line to ask how long they would be as it was 3am in the morning we was upset and wanted to go home over 10mins later someone came out they openly admitted they had forgot we was still sat there waiting
10 mins more while she went to look for a brochure which she never found then again another 10mins to get a price which
I later found out they had over charged

I asked for two paw prints to be taken for my children one each she stated she was told I didn’t want anything I said the vet never asked but can they do them as my daughter had asked for a set I was promised this would be done

they then called me back to collect her ashes it was a completely different box to what I’d ordered and paid for.
Her name spelt wrong and no paw prints. When I called to say have I got the right ashes as wrong box and asked where the paw prints was I was told nothing they could do about it now.
They then told me they could order the right box and I could transfer her ashes if I wanted to. Really !!! How unprofessional and lack of empathy I asked to speak to a manager at around 3pm that day
I was told someone would ring me back I called again about 4.30 and was told they had all left for the day I asked the next day and still no return call
Later that week I had a set of some dogs prints in the post may I add I know they was not my babies as she had a growths on her paws very large and my own vet wouldn’t remove them as she was 17and would not come though the anaesthetic. so no idea who’s dog prints I have but have photos of the lumps on my dogs feet that wouldn’t print the same as the ones they sent me I have photos to prove their not my dog prints (just heartbreaking they would do this)
After putting a complaint in 20 days ago in writing I had an email back the next morning stateing they would Amie to be in touch with in 14 days. I’m still waiting for a reply no phone call of apology no letter of an apology no explanation
the lack of care we’ve received just shocks me I don’t think I have my baby I think I just had a box of someone’s pets ashes I definitely don’t have my babies prints
Unfortunately nothing they say will matter now but I just hope this review saves the heart aches of someone else
Never again will I have anything good to say about willows no compassion no respect of my baby’s ashes definitely no duty of care I don’t like giving bad reviews as I think it just damages business but the no respect of my baby’s ashes and the lack of no response I feel I have no choice

We had never used Willows before but we needed an emergency vet as our labrador became unwell during the night. The person on the phone was very helpful and my husband took her in and she was seen quickly. She was diagnosed with vestibular disease (eyes rolling, unable to walk and shaking) and was at the vets for 6 nights. We went to visit her every day and were very happy with the care they provided and they rang us every morning for an update. Sophie and Francisco were extremely caring and we cannot thank them enough. She is recovering well. Thankfully our pet insurance covered most of her treatment and everything was sorted out efficiently.

Very happy with Willows. They have taken good care of both our cats for 14 years. Very professional very caring and overall very good.

Absolute rip off.

My pet was still covered in piss stains when I collected him, after being told 'He'd be washed and well looked after'.

The complaints procedure was rude and extremely unhelpful. I ended up requesting a DSAR, and only half of my calls were sent to me. Crucial evidence and over 1 hour long phone calls they mysteriously had lost record of...
I raised 2 detailed complaints, explaining how disappointed I was with the whole service, and was completely fobbed off both times.
No sympathy whatsoever or reasonable resolution offered for a GENUINE complaint. Threatened to take me all the way to court for not paying an obscenely large bill, despite not being what was agreed verbally or in the contract and when I checked my pet in.

A horrible scare tactic to be forced under duress to pay full price for a service I was extremely unhappy with. Pay everything or they'll issue a CCJ against you. No middle agreement; they want to rinse you for every single penny they can.

I'm absolutely baffled how they get away with these extortionate prices; I've seen lots of similar reviews now looking into it more.
I paid thousands more with another vet company, and paid every single penny happily, because the service and level of care was incredible! But here, it was a horrific experience. Never again. Obscene profit mark up on services and definitely the most useless and unsympathetic handling of a complaint I've ever experienced.

We was recommended this clinic as we needed urgent attention for my pet Tilly. From the moment I walked in, the staff was welcoming, kind, and professional.

The clinic is clean, well-organized, and clearly focused on providing the best care possible for pets. As soon as we arrived by the looks of the facilities I felt at ease.

Even more so when introduced to Dr. Henrik Durieux he was incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and compassionate, taking the time to explain everything in detail and making sure I felt comfortable with the treatment plan. His dedication and genuine care for animals truly set him apart. His approach was calm and relating this put my anxiety about the situation to rest.

Thanks to the amazing team at Willows, my pet is happy and healthy. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with their care. Highly recommend!

We were referred here by our vet's to this practice. being from a small town on the Welsh border we were overwhelmed by the size of the building. But we were so well looked after we soon felt at easy, they soon started treatment on our pet and the Vet Tom was brilliant and kept us informed all through our dog's treatment .

Thanks you Alba for your kindness and support with jasper to the end really appreciate your understanding and support thank you

Absolutely gutted & upset that our cat was taken here from the Cattery while we were on our Honeymoon.
Unfortunately she was so poorly that the decision was made by the vets to put her to sleep.
This was upsetting enough when we returned home but we were promised her paw print & some fur. We have been chasing this since December & have today been informed they were posted 1st Class by normal delivery over the busy Christmas period & the result is we have not received them so it appears they are lost. We would happily have paid for Recorded Delivery if informed they would be posted out via normal post.
I am absolutely lost for words & disgusted that our last chance of a memento of our dear cat has now gone forever...
I sincerely hope they learn from this & change their posting process in the future so no one else goes through this

Max went in for a dental in early November 2024 and he suffered for 1+ month before he passed away. He had 14 teeth extracted (we weren't notified) and Willows initially gave him painkillers but forgot about the antibiotics. My family took him in for several follow-ups and his meds were changed a few times. We were told that they had never seen this happened before but the vets weren't curious to find out the root cause and just kept changing his meds to "try". Max passed away next to me in the middle of the night. Because of the holidays, Max had to be stored at Willows and I met with Isobell, the vet who performed the dental and she said she might have done something wrong. Later on, when my mom and I visited Max, we considered having a post-mortem and asked a receptionist if there was a vet available to discuss, she was arsey and asked if I had an appointment and said she would put a note on the record (she didn't even bother to check or ask around). In addition, the senior vet asked us to exit from the back door afterwards. Max was a cheerful and loyal dog. Seeing him wither totally broke my heart and I will never forgive Willows for this!!

I have sent Willows an email to file a formal complaint and request a proper investigation.

What can I say…. Our dog Narla was admitted with life threatening complications from sepsis, the team were incredible with her and us the family, and 11 days after she has been able to come home to us. Their exceptional care and support has been exemplary and we can’t thank them all enough. So glad we made the decision to entrust her with you all.