Kingwood

I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Ericka Gillette and the entire team at CityVet Kingwood.

Bowie started vomiting throughout Saturday night and clearly wasn’t himself Sunday morning. We have a regular veterinarian we’ve used for years, but Bowie needed urgent care, so I pulled into CityVet a few minutes before they opened at 8:30 Sunday morning.

From the moment they unlocked the doors and let us inside, I knew we were in good hands.

The vet techs immediately got Bowie into a room and began preparing everything so they could start figuring out what was wrong as soon as Dr. Gillette arrived. Meanwhile, I was scared and crying through intake. They offered me water, went slowly, answered my questions, and never made me feel rushed. They even left our exam room door open while we waited, frequently walking by and checking on us. It was such a small thing, but it made me feel incredibly safe and cared for.

Dr. Gillette was wonderful. She explained why each test was necessary, what she was looking for, the expected timeline, and the cost. When Bowie’s labs came back, she explained them in normal, understandable language, including why certain abnormal numbers weren’t necessarily cause for alarm and which results actually mattered. Her attention to detail continued throughout Bowie’s treatment. She paid attention to his symptoms and recovery and adjusted his care accordingly.

What really captured the heart of this team, though, was how they treated my five-year-old daughter.

She was devastated that her Bowie was sick. Dr. Gillette took time out of her day to come back out and patiently explain to her how she was going to take care of Bowie. When we picked him up, the vet techs gave my daughter his food and medicine and explained how she could help take care of her dog. Then they went through everything again with the adults to make sure we had it covered. They didn’t have to include her that way, but it meant so much to both of us.

When we returned Monday, techs who weren’t even assigned to Bowie stopped by just to see him and love on him. The tech who had first let us inside Sunday morning came into our room simply because she wanted to see how he was doing. Bowie walked over, pushed his big head against her, and she sat there loving on him. While she was doing that, she noticed he felt warm and immediately checked his temperature.

That moment sums up our experience perfectly: genuine kindness paired with incredible attentiveness.

Over the next several days, they remembered us, greeted us by name, patiently answered my follow-up calls, and noticed the smallest signs that Bowie was feeling better. They even commented that his ears were “floppier and happier” because he looked more comfortable.

Nothing about our experience felt impersonal or overly clinical. It felt like being surrounded by genuinely good people who happen to also be exceptionally good at caring for animals. They treated Bowie like Bowie, not just another case of pancreatitis.

Most importantly, Bowie is doing GREAT and is back to his usual self.

Dr. Gillette and the CityVet team took excellent medical care of my dog, but they also took care of a scared dog mom and a five-year-old little girl who needed to know that the people caring for her Bowie cared about him too. They very clearly did.

We are incredibly thankful for Dr. Gillette and every member of the CityVet Kingwood team who cared for our boy.