Hartmut Fischer Tierarzt

I recently moved from a different country to Saarbruecken with my doggie. She had a few problems with her tummy, so we went to Dr Fischer. He is an absolutely wonderful doctor and he genuinely cared about her. He did a thorough examination, listened carefully to the symptoms, and gave me detailed instructions on what I should do to help my dog recover. He also gave us the medication we needed. Meanwhile, he was very gentle and sweet with my doggie. As a person, he is genuinely polite and friendly. He will definitely be our doctor from now on and I would highly recommend him.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this veterinary practice. The way my pet was handled seemed insensitive and rushed. My questions were barely addressed, and I felt I wasn't being taken seriously. The examination appeared superficial. Overall, I felt poorly advised and would not visit this practice again.

I hesitated for several days before writing this review because the situation is very emotionally draining, and my cat died just a few hours after my visit to the emergency clinic. It's important for me to emphasize that this is my personal experience from this single appointment and is not intended as a general assessment of the entire practice. My cat was almost 17 years old and had serious pre-existing conditions. Among other things, she had heart, kidney, and thyroid problems and was under constant veterinary care and medication. Despite her age, according to my regular veterinary clinic, she had remained stable for extended periods as long as her symptoms were closely monitored and any acute deteriorations were taken seriously. Since my regular veterinary clinic is located further away, and I live in Saarbrücken, I had to seek emergency care in my immediate vicinity during this critical situation. The reason wasn't simply "an old cat," but a significant deterioration in her condition. She had fluid in her chest cavity, was breathing heavily, was severely weakened, and despite showing signs of hunger, was no longer able to eat properly. I had all previous findings and diagnoses printed out and with me, and I explained several times that I was concerned the breathing problem might be the primary acute issue. The veterinarian was friendly. Nevertheless, during the consultation, I often felt like we were talking past each other. I had to repeat some information even though it was already in writing. At times, I had the impression that symptoms and medications were being interpreted differently than documented. From my perspective, the focus was more on my cat's teeth and on her needing to drink more, even though I had repeatedly explained that she already drinks a lot and that my main concerns were her breathing and her lack of appetite despite being hungry. I'm aware that I'm not a veterinarian myself. However, given her history, I felt that further measures might be necessary, such as an X-ray to assess the fluid accumulation or possibly a referral to a veterinary clinic with more advanced resources. I was also very concerned about whether the breathing problem was caused by the fluid in her chest cavity and whether decompression would be beneficial. Medications were administered via injection, including an antibiotic and a thirst stimulant. What further troubles me is a comment from the veterinarian that he thought I was worrying too much and that things would only become truly critical if her mucous membranes turned blue. This statement, in particular, made me feel insecure because I had the impression that the situation was already serious, and I wanted to avoid even the possibility of her developing acute respiratory distress. What also troubles me is that no further diagnostic tests were performed, and I wasn't specifically advised to go directly to an animal hospital, even though I asked several times if this would be advisable. Since the veterinarian was alone and there was no assistant present, I also had the impression that certain procedures might not have been feasible there, either logistically or practically. However, this wasn't openly discussed. Of course, no one can say for sure whether my cat would have survived despite other measures. She was old and seriously ill. Nevertheless, I'm left with the feeling that the situation may have been more acute than it was assessed, and that a veterinary clinic might have been the more appropriate place to go in this particular case. I'm not writing this review to attack or assign blame. My only goal is to share my experience so that other pet owners in complex emergencies can consider whether they should go directly to a veterinary clinic.

I took my cat to the emergency vet today; he examined the cat very carefully and reassured me with what he said and did. In my opinion, he was very competent!

I absolutely do not recommend this vet. He is very aggressive and has no empathy whatsoever when dealing with animals. He was very aggressive and irritable, and I didn't know what to do, so I withdrew and left.