The Links Road Animal & Bird Clinic - Toronto

Hi,

I know many of my fellow Torontonians (and neighbours outside of Toronto) see Dr. Munn, but I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the Links Road Clinic in Toronto (401/Yonge area).

It is very close to my home, and I am impressed with their website - but of course, you cannot judge quality of care on a website.

Are the staff friendly and knowledgable? Are their prices reasonable? Any other information you can provide about them is greatly appreciated!

- NeeNee

 

Bumping...anyone with any knowledge of this vet?

 

Heres the links to the 3 doctors at the clinic. One actually worked at the zoo for awhile apparently.
Dr. Axelson
http://thelinksroadanimalclinic.com/team/rick-axelson/

Dr. Mavromatis (this one worked at the zoo)
http://thelinksroadanimalclinic.com/team/evan-mavromatis/

Dr. Nur
http://thelinksroadanimalclinic.com/team/hanadie-nur/
There are mixed reviews, but I find that about most clinics, no matter their specialites.

 

They're recommended by vets but I've read a lot of scary accounts on other forums (for other species.) I had a horrible experience with them when I moved back to Toronto and tried to get my rat into see them. She developed pneumonia in the move and was very ill. They couldn't get in me in for 8 days (I have since found out they have an emergency clinic of sorts but they never offered me the option) nor would they recommend an alternative rat vet to me. The receptionist blamed me for waiting until it was an emergency to contact them and referred me to the emergency clinic, which didn't have a specialized vet. (I had just moved back to town and didn't have a vet in TO but my rats certainly had received regular vet care before we moved.)

My rat did not make it, I don't know if the result would have been different had they recommended another rat vet to me or if they'd fit her in but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth and I wouldn't go to them unless I had to.

My other issue with the clinic is the animal care articles they provide their clients on their site and sell to other clinics so they can do the same. They have some really questionable/outdated advice in them that only contributes to the misinformation about the care of exotics.

One example that sticks out is a rabbit article that says they need chew toys to keep their teeth trimmed and recommend boiled bones. There are a few issues with that advice, even if you put aside the fact rabbits are herbivores - 1) rabbits do need to eat hay to keep their molars trimmed but chewing on toys would only wear down their incisors, something they can do on their own; 2) if the rabbits happened to ingest some of the bones and absorbed the minerals, it could lead to health issues.

The articles are written by the owner/head vet and sold to many clinics across NA to make available for their patients. If you're tech savvy, you can figure out how to view them for free. I remember looking at several of them when I was looking for reliable species info and realizing how unreliable they were.

I too recommend Dr. Munn, I found him by accident after several months of searching for a good vet and wouldn't go anywhere else in Toronto.

 

I am very horrified to hear your experience, Victoria and to read the reviews left by so many exotic owners!!!! If I am in need of a vet, I shall make the extra trip to see Dr. Munn.

Too bad, since its so very close to me.

 

Thanks! Maybe I will try that...IF I need to see a vet...crossing fingers lol

 

If you go to Greenwood Park, make SURE to ask for Dr Munn, I accidentally saw their other vet, and was less then impressed with her. She was knowledgable, but negative and recommended things that were not necessary at all.

I am lucky that Dr Munn is actually my closest vet, but I think you are about the same distance (maybe a bit farther) then Lilspaz. Its not a bad commute, but no one likes to take a sick rat on transit. Best of luck! It is a good idea to try them out and make your own call and see how you get along with them.

 

I have been to this Clinic before. I work at Petsmart, and a couple years ago we had a customer return a few girls to be treated for URI's. Our Pet Care Manager was on holidays at the time, so me being the most rat knowledged employee, was asked to take the girls to the vet for this customer(we were footing the bill and doing treatment). I get that we were from Petsmart, but I found the vet very uncaring. He didn't say much to us. The receptionist was friendlier and talked to us more. He just sort of handled them quickly listened to lungs and put them back in the carrier. Wandered off for AB's.... We were at least given the proper AB for their age; Azithromycin, but it wasn't a combo at all.

I don't know which vet it was(neither names sound familiar which makes me think he either isnt there anymore or didnt even introduce himself to us), but after that, I would definitely not take my personal rats there.

 

I can drive to a clinic if need be, and Link's seems to be expensive. How much is an examination and antibiotics cost at dr. Munns? For example for an uri?

 

Not too mention I can't find too many good mentions of them

 

I pay about 150$. Their exams are 80, and its like 25 or so for every additional rat examined. Doxy and baytril run about 50$ for the pair, i think, maybe a little more cause i feel like I recall doxy being something like 40. But once you are a repeat customer, Munn does sometimes make ways to cut things off the bill even if its something small. I wouldnt say it's particularly cheaper than any other clinic, but Munn is definitely worth it, and will never push something on your or guilt you at all.

 

I disagree with all of these negative comments. I've had good experiences with Dr. Rick Axelson for both of my pairs of boys, who has some specialization in rats.

 

Always upper respiratory issues. When Gin and Tonic were very little, they were already showing serious symptoms. Dr. Axelson put them on azithromycin for I believe two weeks (it's been a while).

I brought them in again when they first started showing signs of mycoplasma URI issues when they were around 1.5 years. I expressed some concern about over-using antibiotics on them and he agreed, as their sniffles were pretty light but consistent. We started them on a couple of supplements instead, which surprisingly seemed to help. One was a liquid to be given orally in the water, but I don't remember the name.

When they were 2.5 I brought them in for mycoplasma/URI again and we put them on a standard combo of doxy and baytril for two weeks. Because they had never been treated with either, it worked wonders.

Yesterday I brought Tonic in, who was suffering a lot from URI and was so weak from working to breathe that I decided the best thing was for him to go to sleep. I was with Axelson when he did the procedure, and it was a very peaceful and sensitive moment. I am glad that the doctor was with me.

Axelson isn't perfect, but he definitely keeps the animal's best interests in mind. I suggested the possibility of doxycycline shots for Tonic yesterday. Dr. Axelson said that he could do it, and it might help him for a while, but they are weekly injections and a big deal for a rat, and there is a risk of negative reaction. I decided that wasn't fair to him.

Edit:
I also brought Gin in once for hind limb degeneration and Dr. Axelson was good at diagnosing and handling him. He pinched a toe on each back foot to determine if there was nerve damage. He also found a possible tumor in him but I didn't want to do an MRI on a 2.5 year old rat. He explained the righting reflex in the foot to me and showed how Gin didn't really have one due to the signal from his brain being week, but that there could be lots of reasons for that and it was up to me if we wanted to do diagnostic tests (we didn't).

 

First off I'm sorry you lost Tonic and I'm glad you got to be with him in his final moments.

Overall not bad but there are a couple of issues:
1) antibiotics should be given for more than 2 weeks just to be safe
2) you should never add any medications or supplements to an animals water supply
3) why did the URI get to the point of having to put your rattie to sleep - what meds had you tried?

 

1) Fair enough.
2) Why?

3) While the URI was mostly why I brought him in, he had other problems too. Had he been younger and happier, we would have done another round of antibiotics for four weeks. He had lost 12% of his body weight and had developed hind leg degeneration.

He stopped exploring puzzles and enrichment items after his brother died, stopped running on his wheel, and slowly came to dislike being handled and cuddled. I suppose I could have tried to introduce a younger rat to him, but he was a big bully on his brother and I was afraid that it would make the situation worse. He was spending his days sitting in his own urine, so I had to bathe him a lot more often than normal. He was not happy and it was my decision to let him go.

 

I just read the "Rats and Euthanasia" thread and would like to also mention that I was with Tonic when he was put to sleep. Links Road used to use a face mask to administer the gas to render the rat unconscious before the lethal injection. This was a real struggle with some rats, who don't like things being put on their face (it made putting Wink down a bit of a nightmare). Instead, Tonic was placed in a clear plastic box with the vents taped over. He seemed interested and confused by the smell of the gas ("what is that and can I eat it?"), but didn't seem to be in distress at all. He fell asleep. Gas continued to be given until he was in a very, very deep sleep. He was switched to a mask until his breathing was quite slow. The lethal injection was given directly into the heart. His heart stopped within ten seconds, and it seemed clear there was no pain.