I was a happy cat, loved by my family, until I saw "Dr." Rita Ryerson. Now I'm in heaven. I had a mild infection which my mommy took me in to treat. They charged her hundreds of dollars and promised her that I would be ok. When I went home I was stick sick. She called "Dr." Rita Ryerson back and she said she wasn't worried about me even though I was bleeding all over the floor. I wasn't bleeding before I went in. My mommy took me back in the next day. Again "Dr." Rita Ryerson said she wasn't worried about me and she charged my mommy again. The next day was really bad, I had trouble breathing. So the next day my mommy took me back to "Dr." Rita Ryerson. She wasn't there. The vet on call said I needed surgery immediately or I was going to die. My mommy told them there was something wrong from the beginning but they didn't listen and she already gave them all her money and charged what she couldn't pay that day to save my life. This time they said before they could save me they would need around $2000 to fix the infection they caused in the first place. Mommy cried and asked if there was a payment plan or if she could pay after surgery. They said no. They were the cause of my death and let me die when they could've saved me. Please don't end up like me. Save your pet, save your money, see ANY OTHER vet.

This is by far the worst animal clinic I have ever been to. You would be better off taking your pet anywhere else! All they care about is charging you an arm and a leg and once they've exhausted all your limbs after promising they'd save your pet they let them die. I took my cat in with a minor bite wound. As my cat was going into shock, they refused to help him until I payed them $500 on the spot. It took me about an hour to come up with money. They waited until then before doing anything. They don't care about their patients, just their pockets. Thinking they would clean out the wound, making sure it wasn't infected I agreed to the amount. They said they could save him. After bringing him home, I noticed he was dripping blood from the 1 staple. I called them immediately and they said that's normal, it would go away. It didn't and persisted the next day. I took him back for them to fix it where they hadn't the first time. They charged me for coming in and said they weren't worried about it. The next day things continued to get worse. I brought him first thing the next morning and they said they would have to do surgery immediately because of an infection. They said unless I paid $700 right then he would die, and that wasn't even including the charges for the surgery that would also have to be paid on the spot. I told them I didn't have that on me at the moment, but I probably could tomorrow. They sent me to an emergency clinic that said they could treat him. After rushing him to the clinic, 30 minutes away, they said they couldn't treat him, that they weren't experienced enough to perform that surgery which the vet told me they had called them beforehand and said that they could. That vet charged me 1/3 the amount to make him stable enough to transport to yet another vet. The vet also told me that this infection could have been treated Monday, which I thought had been done at their office. They also told me he was never given strong enough antibiotics. When I called the vet again to see if they could perform the surgery, they said they were all booked up that they could have earlier. I decided to take him to the trusted vet back home immediately. He died about 30 minutes later on the way. They can't treat minor infections. My pet had no internal bleeding, no broken bones. If I had taken him anywhere else he would have survived. If you love your pets don't take them there. Treat them at home yourself, you'd have a better chance of their survival. My aunt experienced a similar situation at the very same clinic. Her pet also died from a similar mild,easily treatable infection. They killed my best friend. I buried him at home today, in blood, sweat, and tears. He will be deeply missed. I hope this post will save someone else's pet.

Ever since moving to Columbia, IL (7 yrs. ago), we have had nothing but excellent care for our chocolate lab. He is 9 now, and has undergone 2 surgeries at Belson (knee & removal of tumors)...and recovered with gusto. We love our Dr. Rita and all of the staff!!! We would recommend them to everyone!!

Have been with Bellson for years. 3 weeks after routine surgery, it appears we are going to lose our dog that was previously healthy. Of course, they did nothing wrong and offered to see her 15 minutes after closing for a large fee. When I asked for my records back, they asked if I wanted records for all my dogs....seemed glad to get rid of our business. Very cold and uncaring. I will never return and will tell everyone to stay away.

Enough said. I won't get into details but my best friend died while in their care. Never again.....