Animal Cove Pet Hospital

Went to this Vet based on a recommendation and the fact it was closer to the house, "WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE". Completely unprofessional office, can you believe the office staff had no ability to email clients? I believe most the staff are students or interns. Isn't this 2011? Hit or miss if Dr.Cowing will be in that day, seems like he takes a lot of vacations or is at some meeting, whatever.... Not the main issue though. Brought one of are dogs in for weight gain, losing hair and a bladder issue. We literally spent a year and thousands of dollars trying to correct this problem. Test, including full scans, different meds, by the way this office does not have the ability to preform MRI's or other scans, they bring in an outside Vet and it needs to be scheduled. So after a year of zero improvement and piling up bills I pulled the plug and her records and went to Bayshore and VMS. WOW, within 30 days weight loss, hair grew back and what a professional office, staff and environment. more

Went to this Vet based on a recommendation and the fact it was closer to the house, "WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE". Completely unprofessional office, can you believe the office staff had no ability to email clients? I believe most the staff are students or interns. Isn't this 2011? Hit or miss if Dr.Cowing will be in that day, seems like he takes a lot of vacations or is at some meeting, whatever.... Not the main issue though. Brought one of are dogs in for weight gain, losing hair and a bladder issue. We literally spent a year and thousands of dollars trying to correct this problem. Test, including full scans, different meds, by the way this office does not have the ability to preform MRI's or other scans, they bring in an outside Vet and it needs to be scheduled. So after a year of zero improvement and piling up bills I pulled the plug and her records and went to Bayshore and VMS. WOW, within 30 days weight loss, hair grew back and what a professional office, staff and environment. more

Went to this Vet based on a recommendation and the fact it was closer to the house, "WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE". Completely unprofessional office, can you believe the office staff had no ability to email clients? They don't even computorize records, isn't this 2011? I believe most the front office staff are students or summer interns, completely unprofessional and at times down right rude. Hit or miss if Dr.Cowing will be in that day, seemed to me that he likes to take a lot of vacations or is at some meeting. In my opinion it seemed as though every time I went in there the Dr. Cowing had no idea who I was or who my dog was, although we had been going there for the past year!!! Not the main issue though. Brought one of are dogs in for weight gain, losing hair and a bladder issue. We literally spent a year and thousands of dollars trying to correct this problem. Test, including full scans, different meds, by the way this office does not have the ability to perform MRI's or other scans, they bring in an outside Vet and it needs to be scheduled. So after a year of zero improvement and piling up bills I pulled the plug and her records and went to Bayshore and VMS. WOW, within 30 days weight loss, hair grew back and what a professional office, staff and environment. Sure the upfront cost me a few extra dollars, but less expensive over all because they fix the issue in a month. Here's the kicker. I was so frustrated with Animal Cove. I call and told then I was done with them, they said I had a balance and that if I return the medications that didn't work they would tear up the invoice. I mailed it in but they say they never receive it. Can you believe that after 2 years they are still contacting me for money for medications that didn't work? I just finally gave up and paid the 300.00 bill, again for meds that were useless. All I can say is if you love your pet as much as I loved mine "she past away 3 months ago" don't be cheap, give your pet the best and don't go to this Vet. My recommendation is Bayshore/VMS in San Mateo....what a world of difference. more

My favorite thing about Dr. Cowing is that he takes the time to explain the reasons for his diagnosis, let's you know when he's not sure, and enables you to make informed decisions about what kind of care is best for your pet. Our cat has a habit of eating things he shouldn't, so I am happy to say that Dr. Cowing has already saved his life twice. Dr. Cowing has also saved our cat's life from a massive internal infection that had his entire abdomen swollen (required major surgery to clear infection). While our cat was there recovering, I would visit him the kennels. Not only was it clean & warm, but all of the technicians go into the back room regularly and talk to, comfort & check on the pets, just because they enjoy playing with the animals. It's a small office, and they do their best to make time to see you quickly; allowing you to drop your pet off for the day if you have to go to work, but need urgent care. more

My favorite thing about Dr. Cowing is that he takes the time to explain the reasons for his diagnosis, let's you know when he's not sure, and enables you to make informed decisions about what kind of care is best for your pet. Our cat has a habit of eating things he shouldn't, so I am happy to say that Dr. Cowing has already saved his life twice. Dr. Cowing has also saved our cat's life from a massive internal infection that had his entire abdomen swollen (required major surgery to clear infection). While our cat was there recovering, I would visit him the kennels. Not only was it clean & warm, but all of the technicians go into the back room regularly and talk to, comfort & check on the pets, just because they enjoy playing with the animals. It's a small office, and they do their best to make time to see you quickly; allowing you to drop your pet off for the day if you have to go to work, but need urgent care. more

My favorite thing about Dr. Cowing is that he takes the time to explain the reasons for his diagnosis, let's you know when he's not sure, and enables you to make informed decisions about what kind of care is best for your pet. Pros: Compassionate, Informative, Straightforward more

Extremely compassionate service is what I received from the beginning phone calls with Kimmy who squeezed me into a fully booked Saturday calendar to meeting with Dr. Cowing who was equally compassionate and extremely generous with his time before putting our pet lab Summer to sleep. Kimmy allowed me to stay in my air conditioned car instead of the normal waiting room until the private room was ready for me......very considerate. I highly recommend Animal Cove and found their fees to be very reasonable. Thank you Dr. Cowing, Kimmy and staff. Pros: Excellent Service Cons: none more

At first I found Dr. Cowing to be compassionate but I soon discovered he is only interested in making lots of money.Having limited resources I wanted to use PetMeds to save some money and he made this impossible for me. His only interest should be what is best for the pet-not so in this case!!! more

At first I found Dr. Cowing to be compassionate but I soon discovered he is only interested in making lots of money.Having limited resources I wanted to use PetMeds to save some money and he made this impossible for me. His only interest should be what is best for the pet-not so in this case!!! more

I continue to take my cat to Dr. Cowing years after I moved away from the area, where the trip is now a good half hour or so each way. Dr. Cowing is friendly, understanding, and professional. He doesn't try to milk you for all your money, and he engages you to work with him to solve your pets' problems. My cat loves him, too. PROS: Friendly, caring staff, intelligent doctor. CONS: Small office, limited hours, limited kennel space. more

I continue to take my cat to Dr. Cowing years after I moved away from the area, where the trip is now a good half hour or so each way. Dr. Cowing is friendly, understanding, and professional. He doesn't try to milk you for all your money, and he engages you to work with him to solve your pets' problems. My cat loves him, too. PROS: Friendly, caring staff, intelligent doctor. CONS: Small office, limited hours, limited kennel space. more

I can't recommend Dr. Cowing highly enough. I lived in San Mateo for six months, and during this time, I brought my cat into Animal Cove twice. His prices were more than reasonable, given how thorough his examinations are. The first time we brought her in, Dr. Cowing diagnosed a cataract that my cat had apparently been born with (and was slightly affecting her depth perception) that had never been diagnosed by the expensive cat hospital that we used (several times) back in Boston. Dr. Cowing is also very friendly and easygoing, reminding me somewhat of Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald from the Animal Planet show Emergency Vets. We were sad to have to leave him behind when we moved away from the bay area, but we're definitely using him as a standard by which to measure our potential veterinarians in Chicago. Pros: thorough exams, friendly office, reasonable prices Cons: none more

Our puppy was really sick so I took him in. He went in and out of the hospital for days and spent the night in the emergency room. Dr. Wolf was great, and was shocked they hadnt given him an IV since he was dehydrated. Took him back to Animal Cove and they did x-ays, barium studies, and convinced me that surgery was now needed. I got the call that after surgery, and found nothing after flushing him 3 times. The doc joked that sometimes they just need to be aired out- not funny! They didnt send him home w/any pain meds, which cost me another trip back. Then we went to get his stitches taken out, the receptionist was the only one who remembered us. The doc didn't even come in to see how he was doing. Umm I spent $2200 I think you can ask how hes doing!!! Pros: Receptionist, Receptionist, Receptionist Cons: Insensitive, Expensive more