Acacia Animal Health Center

We had our 6 year old chocolate lab 'Harley' in day camp for about a month. We were told the dog was snipping at other goods. Pros: null Cons: null more

I think it must be hard to weed through these reviews. I can imagine that some of these negative remarks are truly emotional and I hope people take that into account. Because this is a wonderful place for your pets. My dog and cat have no problem going to the vet, and in fact my dog can't wait to get in the door. more

The moment I walked in with my puppy they adored her. She was lavished upon by everyone there, but then who wouldn't love a golden/lab at 10 weeks old!?!! more

We adopted a new healthy dog and went there for a check up. The bill was $450 and the diagnosis was that the dog had distemper. They want us to come back in two weeks to repeat the tests. The BS like is that as a holistic vet he's sure he can cure the dog. THE DOG IS HEALTHY and the change in environment and food caused him to have loose stools. The dog came with recent blood work that was all negative but they ran new titers and heart worm with the same negative results. Watch your credit card but more importantly do not let them torture your animal. I'm sure they can cure any imaginative disease if you have enough money. more

6 months ago I took my kitten to this office. He had severe diarrhea. I asked the vet if he thought it was the food and if I should change his food. He assured me it was not his food since he was on such a high quality cat food. He did x-rays, and blood work and found nothing. Gave me antibiotics and sent me on my way. 10 days of antibiotics and my cat was still sick. his next course of action was to do surgery to open up his gut and take a look around. He wanted $1200 (low end estimate) for this "exploratory" surgery. I took my kitten to a second vet for a second opinion. Their FIRST suggestion was to change his cat food, to something that did not have chicken in it (since chicken was the main ingredient in his food), and within 24 hours my kitten no longer had severe bloody diarrhea. $900 later at Acacia, bad advice, and an attempt at unneeded surgery on my kitten, and it was simply a matter of changing his food because he's allergic to chicken of all things!!! Fast forward 6 months later, to today, April of 2011. I have another kitten. All evidence pointed to fact that my kitten chewed up a foam bath toy that belongs to my toddler. She's acting very sick, and throwing up all over the house, not eating or drinking. Because money is very tight right now, I decided to go back to Acacia because they take Care Credit, and are really close to me. I thought it would be OK as long as I saw a different vet. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The vet checked her stomach, did some x-rays, and said First of all, I found it weird that they sent me home while they did the x-rays. She called me 2 hours later and said "Oh yeah, I can see the bowel obstruction, I know right where it is. Sometimes you can do surgery and not find something, but that doesn't happen too often, and since I see where the obstruction is, I know right where to start." OK, fine and dandy. She presents me with an estimate of $3200. No way in hell can I afford that. I hang up and cry to my husband because surely with a bowl obstruction the kitten could not survive, so it was best to put her to sleep. My husband went into the office prepared to put my 6 month old kitten to sleep due to not being able to afford the surgery. My husband tried to negotiate the price, with zero luck. I was at home feeling more and more upset about this, and immediately called my husband and told him "DO NOT put her to sleep. Bring her home. I want to find a cheaper vet to do the surgery even if I have to drive hours away." He agreed and brought home my kitty. The next morning, today, I called a vet an hour away from me but suggested by a friend. First off, I had to argue with Acacia to get them to give me my x-rays. I finally got them, and took them to the other vet with me. My kitten has NO visible sign of a bowel obstruction on the x-rays. ZERO!!! She did see a lot of POOP! The vet gave my kitten an enema, and and some fluids. 1 hour later my kitten is running around the house, eating, and drinking, and doing GREAT!!!!! I'm LIVID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here I was prepared to put my kitten to sleep because the vet had me convinced that she needed major surgery that I could not afford. I would have put my perfectly healthy, kitten to sleep all because she was CONSTIPATED!!!!!! I am LIVID with Acacia in Escondido, and will NEVER, EVER go back, I'd like to add, that they charged me $65 for my first cats antibiotics. I have since found 3 other clinics that charge $22 for the same antibiotic. So not only are they extremely negligent in the care of the animals, and surgery pushers, they are extremely over priced. The $3200 quote for unnecessary bowel obstruction surgery would have only been $1200 at the vet I went to this morning. I am so disgusted with these people!!! more

Our parrot was in minor discomfort and we took her to see Dr. Gallerstein to get some medicine refilled. He commented that he saw a relatively healthy bird. He requested to pluck 4 feathers near her tail region so the topical medication would get on it better. This not only made the poor bird scream in pain but after we took her home she started self mutilating and was profusely bleeding. . By pulling the feathers out it actually drew attention to the area that was bothering her. I spoke with Gallerstein and he said "sometimes you're damned if you do..." The next 10 days our parrot almost bled out three different times and attacked herself so violently that we had no choice but to put her to sleep which devastated us. We'd had her 11 years and she was a big part of our lives. Bottom line: Stay away from Gallerstein and this hospital. We didn't want to give any stars but had to in order to publish this review. more

Everything was good, great looking office....BUT.\r I took my cat due to unknown cause of him biting through is own skin. The cat had somehow bitten through his skin and caused his jaw to be in the open position. By the time I got to the vet the cat freed himself. The vet looked and recommended antibiotics. The cat was otherwise fine when i arrive. When i got home and removed him from his cage, he couldn?t walk, one of his legs wouldn't support his weight. I cringe to think what could of happened in the backroom. The cat was fine, other than the jaw, before I rushed him to the vet. I don?t see how the cat could have broken his leg inside the carrier. I?m not accusing the vet, but it?s all so confusing to me. more

Excellent pet clinic. The entire staff is sweet and supportive. Waiting room is really homey and a nice atmosphere to wait, however , you won't wait long. They are very kinds to the animals. more

From the moment they whisked my pet away to ""triage"", to the lies about her temperature dropping and her being ""critical""(finding out from the tech it did not change from when I arrived) telling me my pet was ""possibly not going to make it through the night"", to having me sign a deposit contract without knowing whats wrong, using drama to work the client, to unneeded tests performed without ever being informed of the results, to the final bill being DOUBLE the initial quote, to finding out once we were home my pet was just dehydrated like we thought..... these people are all crooks.We did not have the kind of money they stole from us on this visit. Please tell everyone you know and do not go there ever. Pros: nice expensive building Cons: everything else more

Nice building, state-of-the-art facilities, friendly staff. But over-priced, and they have a habit of running what seem to be unnecessary tests. Poor follow-up as well - they convince you they need to perform all these tests, then never follow-up with the results. I think they're more interested in netting the $$$ from the tests than making sure my pet is healthy. more

I've been taking my dog and cat to Acacia for the past two years. I'll admit, I'm a very slow learner. I also know nothing about being a vet. I kept assuming that my pets actually needed all the "bloodwork" and "packages" that the vets push at every visit. After my most recent visit, I have finally realized that I'm apparently just a sucker. I took my 3 year-old (and quite healthy) dog in for her annual vet check. I walked out with a bill for about $500!..that was a 6 month supply of flea medicine and a bunch of testing to confirm what I already knew, that my dog was in good shape. I'm finally switching vets. DON'T BE LIKE ME, LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE & GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. more

I've been taking my dog and cat to Acacia for the past two years. I'll admit, I'm a very slow learner. I also know nothing about being a vet. I kept assuming that my pets actually needed all the "bloodwork" and "packages" that the vets push at every visit. After my most recent visit, I have finally realized that I'm apparently just a sucker. I took my 3 year-old (and quite healthy) dog in for her annual vet check. I walked out with a bill for about $500!..that was a 6 month supply of flea medicine and a bunch of testing to confirm what I already knew, that my dog was in good shape. I'm finally switching vets. DON'T BE LIKE ME, LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE & GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. Pros: Nice building, friendly staff Cons: WAY over-priced and constant over-testing more

I used to work at Acacia as a Vet Tech Assistant when they first moved into their new (present) facility. Everything was so exciting and started out smoothly. I was thrilled to be working at such a grand animal hospital in which part of the idea was to inspire even better care for our critter kids. It is definitely a state of the art facility with plenty of ground breaking new equipment & ideas. Unfortunately all that "special" equipment, cost of building the place & salaries added up quickly. We were not getting enough clientele to cover the cost so I started noticing a new not so compassionate trend. First they ended the senior citizen discount that had been going on for many years & that so many people living on pensions relied on. It was heartbreaking to see the shock & dismay in those long time loyal clients faces when we had to tell them the news. A lot of them ended up going to other hospitals because they were either too upset or couldn't afford the cost. The worst part was that the pet owners were not even updated about this until the procedures had already been performed & they were stuck with the new cost.....OUCH! Another nasty technique I witnessed Dr. Gallerstein doing himself time & time again was suggesting or actually insisting that pet owners have unnecessary tests, other procedures or be prescribed drugs that were very costly. (Yes they do charge outrageous prices for so many things that cost way less & are exactly the same elsewhere). After the Doc would leave the exam room, myself as well as a few other staff would then be left with the distressed clients as they tried desperately to figure out a way to sacrifice ANYTHING possible in order to somehow squeeze out enough money to save their pet's life. Sometimes we'd even mention to the clients, because we felt terrible & knew the truth, that they did not need to have all that had been pushed on them done to their pet. It was HORRIBLE seeing this go on. I'm so glad I don't work there & have to continue seeing people being ripped off left & right because they truly care for their animal children & put their trust in someone who should be doing the right thing.......saving lives because they TRULY care & not making a killing off the people who own those wonderful creatures we're so fortunate to share our lives with. Word of advice......ask around because word of mouth is the best way to find a TRULY GOOD & COMPASSIONATE vet or anything else for that matter. That's how I discovered Dr. Brian Loudis who is Board Certified by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in Avian Practice & IS NOT IN IT TO GET RICH! He is AWESOME! I have three parrots & two boxer dogs that he has always been so wonderful with. I totally trust him & he'll actually let you know when a procedure is REALLY necessary. The clinic is All Pets Animal Hospital located at 285 North El Camino Real, Suite 105 in Encinitas CA 92024. He can be reached for appointments at (760) 634-2022. I live in OB & he's SO worth the drive! Pros: Beautiful facility & great set up especially for exotics Cons: Regularly suggest (or push) needless procedures 4 more money more

This Animal Hospital and Veterinary office, offers great service and a clean and welcoming atmosphere. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable however, they are a bit on the expensive side more

The doctor didn't write us a prescription, he just charged us automatically for the medications for our pet. The look on my husband's face as we were leaving the facility--he looked like he had just been punched in the gut. I did not ask him how much it all cost until after we got home (I didn't think he'd let them charge us that much for 5 nutritional supplements they charged us $420--for when we could have bought the same nutritional supplements for under $100-- at Henry's grocery store or some other grocery store where they sell supplements). Pros: the place is very clean, staff is very nice Cons: it's a con, over priced, made us wait more

Wow I cannot believe how expensive this place is. At the appointment it seemed nice, building and all. They did not call back with test results when they said they would, so i was left trying to get ahold of them for a week. Not to mention they found something WRONG in my puppies test. Didn't even call? and when I was trying to call one of the gals gave my message to the wrong vet and that became their excuse for not calling me back, when they were supposed, even without the message, over a week ago! Dont go here, find a better office, especially for the money they charge. more

Check pricing with other vets before you spend the money here! Everyone is friendly, but prices are extremely high. Vet was supposed to take off some small skin tumors and only got some of them. A second opinion is always good. more

Acaia is a beautiful facility, great "looking" place. When I first went there I was impressed the moment I walked in. However, they obviously need to pay for their first class "resort" because they charge DOUBLE what most vet's charge, I was shocked! I was in wow over the environment and figured it to be a good place so I went ahead with my dogs procedure and can I just say, $525 for a puppy to be spayed. AND that was not giving her everything, we're talking I had to get down to the bare minimums. The vet assistant was wonderful but she was also a great salesman, she talked me into SO much (my fault). But after I left I felt as though I'd been ripped off (especially after talking to friends who'd had the same done for their dogs for $200 or less). I'd also like to mention that the overnight kennel is a rip off too! I called, was told $35 a night, but it's actually per day, even if it's a 5:00p.m. drop off (no biggie, a little high but not bad). Then it was additional $15 to feed her her own food (isn't it bad to switch a dog's food for three days then switch it back again... they didn't care, that was the policy, if the dog wanted to eat her own food it cost me extra). They'd only let her out 2 times a day or I could PAY EXTRA to let her out more and she could go to play time with other dogs. So what it came down to was 3 mights, 2 1/2 days, one dog... $200+ WOW!!! I went down the road to an equally nice place that even had a pool and water fun for my springer, it was $98 and that included everything above (yes, even the "free" bath). RIDICULOUS. In all honesty though, they are no better than my new vet who is much cheaper and equally as knowledgeable, if not more (checked out his credentials & compared him to my 2nd year vet that I saw at Acacia), just know that you will be "sold" on their services being "high quality" and different than 'regular' vets, they use "special" gas to put pets under, and all kinds of other "supposedly" unique, costly items. Pros: Beautiful place, new facility, great vet assistant Cons: EXPENSIVE, young vetrinarians more

I learned the hard way, took my dog there a few months ago for an ear infection and $1,300 later we left with a few medications. They ran all these cultures and tests to find out it was just a yeast infection!!! So all we need is otomax and ear wash. Then, stuoid me, a few days ago brought my other dog in for annual exam, the Dr. barely looked at my dog and was in the room for maybe 3 minutes. I really think this place is completely overpriced and the vet thinks he is too good for the healthy pet. The best thing about the place is the building. more

The staff is friendly and helpful, the day care facility is great and the Doctors are caring, knowledgeable and dedicated. They saved the life of our 10 year old terrier and took great care of our 110lb puppy! My favorite vet ever. more