Merrillville Animal Hospital - Dr. Alicia Gustafson DVM

Dr. Gustafson has taken wonderful care of our pets in the past years. She is always honest with her recommendations on treatment; And from past positive experiences, we feel confident leaving our animals in her team's care if they have to be dropped off. Great asset to the neighborhood and would recommend her services to anyone with a fur baby.

I brought my cat in because he needed a tooth pulled. Had a very bad experience with a vet in Lake Station so my friend told me about MAH. Dr A was awesome. She showed me everything that was wrong with my cats mouth and after the surgery... she showed me pictures of the work she did... pictures!!!! Dude... what vet has ever showed you pictures ( kinda bloody and gross but still).
Dr A is my new vet. Hands down best in town. The pics are him with his snaggle tooth, him in a soft collar ( not happy lol) and him all healed.. chilling in his fav chair.

I cannot even begin to explain how grateful my family and I are that we found Merrillville Animal Hospital. We discovered them about a year, year and a half ago. Our sweet doggy girl, Leia, was a Great Dane and she faced many pestering health issues in her lifetime. Other vets in the area that we took her to completely gouged us for money just to simply give her repetitive medicine that she needed for recurring health issues. Immediately off the bat, Dr. Gustafson could see that the issues Leia was facing were no walk in the park. She truly cared for her with love in her heart. Unfortunately, last week we had to let our sweet girl cross the Rainbow Bridge. Dr. Gustafson was gracious, empathetic, and full of compassion and love during one of life's most difficult moments. I will never be able to thank her enough for how she cared for Leia. I can most assuredly say that her passion is for the true well-being of your fur babies. I would recommend and give more than 5 stars if I could. Thank you Dr. Gustafson and team. You are all making a difference in the world and I assure you it doesn't go unnoticed.

You will never find such a compassionate, caring, intelligent vet like Dr. Alicia. She took care of my elderly dog and cat with excellent care until it was time for them to head to heaven. She is personable and she spends lots of time with her patients explaining all your options as a pet owner. I just purchased a new Boston Terrier puppy so I will be returning to her practice.

Dr. G is a pet lover! She is not tring to nickel and dime you. She is not upselling products and services. She cares about you and your pets needs. I left my giant out of touch vet in Hobart for Dr. G and I've never looked back.

Dr. G knows her business and the staff are friendly and helpful. They have taken good care of all my fur babies. She explains things thoroughly and I never feel rushed. I've never had to wait any length of time to get in for my appointment. Highly recommended.

Dr. Alicia Gustafson and her staff demonstrated how much they care for animals when I took my two Rottweilers in for an exam. Both my dogs felt at ease and received gentle and loving care. I highly recommend the Merrillville Animal Hospital and Dr. Alicia Gustafson to everyone who has a pet.

We have been going to Dr. G since December and could not be happier. She is thorough, attentive, caring and compassionate. She takes whatever time is needed to address your concerns and never makes you feel rushed.

Our dog Penny needed a dental cleaning, but due to underlying kidney issues, our previous vet advised against it. Dr. G assured us that she would take special precautions to make sure that the procedure was safe. She has since undergone a second surgery to remove a small tumor and we know each time she is in great hands.

She is absolutely wonderful with our cats and gives them lots of hugs and kisses! My 79 year old mother also takes her cat there and she couldn't be happier. Dr. G and nurse Jessica spent over an hour and a 1/2 with my mother and I just last week while trouble shooting a variety of issues. Great doctor, great staff! Five stars is not enough!!!

In my experience the office runs on time, the staff is helpful and I can't say enough about Dr Gustafson. Estimates for service have been reasonable, transparent and provided prior to service. Most importantly, after my pet had a concerning medical event I was able to get an appointment within 24 hours. I feel so fortunate to have found this practice.

Dr. G is simply outstanding! Knowledgeable, thorough, and incredibly compassionate. She treats every animal like they’re her own children. We love bringing our “fur children” here. HIGHLY recommend her

We had such a GREAT experience during our first appointment. I have a corgi with some back issues (yaaaay long dogs) and we wanted to get her into a stable vet. She’d been seen at places with rotating doctors and it was important that we get her into a place where she saw the same doctor every time.

They got us in on time and the vet was SO patient and kind. She answered all my questions and didn’t make me feel rushed. She was compassionate and thorough, down-to-earth, and didn’t waste my time. She also didn’t make me feel stupid for worrying as much as I do. I just want to do right by my dog and Dr. Gustafson soothed my anxiety, validated my concerns, and pointed me in the right directions.

They kept me updated on prices the entire visit as well. Whenever anything would change they’d let me know beforehand so I wasn’t surprised financially, and their prices were fair. Overall, it was a great experience. It feels so nice finding a veterinarian that makes you feel “at home” and welcome in their clinic.

Thank you, Dr. Gustafson and all her staff. Scarlett and I had a great visit and look forward to our follow-ups.

Dr G & Staff are great people!! They are attentive, supportive and dedicated. Our Maggie tends to make a mess wherever she goes and the Staff was very understanding. We used MAH to get Maggie spayed. I recommend them to everyone.

I had to switch vets because the last vet labeled my Great Pyrenees ‘vicious’ because he got nervous and wouldn’t sit still for a nail trim and just sent me home with sedatives.
Complete opposite here! The assistant was so sweet with him and gave him lots of love and treats and really got to know him. I told them he gets nervous and she said we will take our time and if we need you, you can come in the back to help him. I could hear several girls in the back with him laughing and giving him love. I sat in the room with a big smile on my face. The vet and the assistant came back and said he did great. He was fine with getting his front nails clipped and she said he was nervous about the back and ‘didn’t want to break his trust’ so she said next time we will try, they aren’t that bad. They treated my lovely boy with compassion and everyone who works there is very nice and I never felt rushed.

Love Dr. Alicia Gustafson. She is super caring and very experienced. She found a tongue cancer when someone else missed it. She helped guide us until we had to make the most difficult decision. She is great caring for our other cat who happens to be diabetic. When we board him she keeps us informed of the progress/status. Couldn't be happier and recommend her to everyone highly - Update - It's now 2023. We lost our diabetic sweetheart as well to cancer. Wouldn't think of taking my fur babies anywhere but to Dr. Alicia Gustafson. We adopted 3 older cats and she was there for us every step of the way.

I had taken my five cats to another animal clinic for many years. All was well until one day my four-year-old cat had become very ill. He had been vomiting for a day and a half. I took him to my clinic’s emergency animal hospital. The veterinarian there examined him, took an x-ray, and gave him a shot for nausea. Over the course of the night, my cat had gotten worse. He was gagging because he was trying to vomit but couldn’t, and he had become extremely lethargic. I took him back to the clinic the next day. Another veterinarian examined him and told me that he was extremely dehydrated and would need to be hospitalized. I did not know why he was not hospitalized the night before because he had to be dehydrated then because he’d been vomiting so much. He ended up being hospitalized there for three days, and he was getting worse. I did not think he was going to make it. I was also told that someone on the staff would keep me updated daily on my cat’s status. That never happened. I had to call every day to see how my cat was doing. In the meantime, I had finally discovered that my cat had eaten a couple of lilies. I called and talked to a veterinarian at this clinic and told him about this. He told me that if my cat had eaten a lily, he would have not survived this long.

I told my sister about this, and she called the Merrillville Animal Clinic and talked to Dr. Gustafson’s assistant. My sister raves about Dr. Gustafson! One of Dr. Gustafson’s assistants said that Dr. Gustafson would squeeze him in to see him if I could go get him from the other clinic. I called this other clinic to let them know that I was coming to get my cat. Needless to say, they made me wait so long that it was too late to get my cat in to see Dr. Gustafson. When the veterinarians discovered that I would be taking my cat to the Merrillville Animal Hospital, (Three different veterinarians had seen my cat over the course of his stay at this other clinic.) they got busy and started doing some tests. My cat was starting to get better. The next day I had to wait again to get my cat even though I called to let them know that I was coming to get my cat.

I eventually made it to the Merrillville Animal Hospital. Everyone that I encountered at the Merrillville Animal Hospital was extremely compassionate and kind. I was so impressed that even though my cat was not a patient at this clinic, Dr. Gustafson was willing to squeeze my cat in to her already packed schedule.

Dr. Gustafson ran some more tests, which should’ve been done much earlier at the other. My cat would not be alive today if it had not been for Dr. Gustafson. She is an extremely competent, compassionate, and dedicated veterinarian. My cats now will only be taken to the Merrillville Animal Hospital. I live in Valparaiso, so it’s quite a commute for me, but having a veterinarian like Dr, Gustafson to take care of my cats makes the commute worthwhile.

Dr.Gustafson and her staff are wonderful, and I will always be so grateful to Dr. Gustafson for saving my cat’s life.

We have 5 fur babies! We've been going to Merrillville Animal Hospital for almost 20 years. We've always been treated with the utmost respect, care and sympathy when we've lost a fur baby. Dr. Gustafson has been nothing but amazing since she bought the establishment. We all love her. We lost our oldest, Stormy, this past summer he was a handful, he gave them a run for their money but they handled him with care and safety and always had his best interest at heart. I couldn't ask for better Dr's and assistants than we already have. Thank you everyone at Merrillville Animal Hospital! We're going to miss Dr. Smith who is retiring soon, he's been our vet for 20 years. Congratulations! I highly recommend Merrillville Animal Hospital. Their always improving their service as well as their customer service, which is already amazing.

I was looking for a new vet for my puppies. I made an appointment for my Kooper. He's a rambunctious 9 month Bossipoo. Needless to say, they are great with him. I now have a lahsa Apso Milo. He's a funny cute guy. He's got some medical issues Dr Alicia is taking care of. She is quite amazing. She explained everything to me, what her plan of action was an for that , I absolutely love her!!! Juanita... boy, this tech or whatever her title is , Is one heck of a dog gal!! My Milo wasn't happy at first. He seen her and he was on his best behavior! He loves her... Again, if your looking for a veterinarian that cares about your Animals like you do. Set an appointment you won't be disappointed!

Dr. Gustafson is pretty much the best vet we've ever experienced. She did surgery on my Bulldog when he was 3 months old, and we always loved how much she cared about him. We moved away and so we ended up going to a vet in CP, IN much closer to us. When he developed a skin issue - the vet near us just couldn't seem to get it under control. We tried SO many tests and medications. I knew I had to seek her out again, and despite the longer drive, it was beyond worth it. She identified almost immediately that the vet in my town was close, but no cigar on their suggestions and that my dog needed a higher dose than was we were giving him. Combine that with her affection to Oswald (my dog), and other suggestions she has made - my dog's skin is the best it's been in over 2 years. We thank you so much! Everyone should bring their pets to her.

Dr. G removed a huge sarcoma from my older Husky. (The sarcoma had been misdiagnosed as a cyst elsewhere) Over a year later, and so far no recurrence.

take all my cats here for care and any type of concerns for my cats health. staff is always kind and friendly , the Dr is amazing with the pets,she truly is the pet whisper , she always put your pets health as a top priority .