Duarte Azusa Animal Hospital

I have been taking my dogs and my 22 year old cat to Dr. Z for years and I wouldn't go anywhere else. He and his staff are wonderful, polite and competent, things you don't find in most businesses anywhere these days, let alone a full-service animal hospital like Dr. Z's. Everyone is like family there. I don't think people realize that veternarians have to learn about the human body, as well as .... how many different varieties of animals from ounces to thousands of pounds??! Yet, the equipment used to diagnose (and he does all the labs and x-rays himself), perform surgery (and administer the anesthetic) and even the prescriptions are the same as for any human but it's all done right there in his office by him. I wish I could have had Dr. Z treat ME when I broke my ankle 2 years ago, being pushed from one part of the hospital to the next all day long, sitting and waiting, poked and prodded, seeing who knows how many different people it would make your head spin PLUS it cost me over $20,000 for the hospital alone (labs, surgery and anesthesia were separate) and I had lost my insurance, as have so many of us in California. No, it sounds like somebody is a cheapster who doesn't pay his bills. more

I went to the Duarte-Azusa Animal Hospital to refill a Heartgard prescription a few days ago and a very disagreeable man was there complaining about an estimate for services for an elderly dog. It is very easy to take shots at the veterinarian when you are unhappy about a possible bad diagnosis; or when more tests are needed or you find out the cost of taking care of your four footed family member is not free. Is that when your faithful companion becomes just a dog? If you are going to bitch about the price of keeping him healthy don?t have a dog. That dog will lay down his life for you and you will complain about the cost of a physical, or want the Heartgard by mail order to save three dollars? Unfortunately, when people are happy with the outcome they don?t come here and write kudos about Doctor Z and the staff. When they want to bitch about a price or they lost a pet and want someone to blame then they come here. I?ve gone to Dr. Z for years with furred family members and have always received excellent care and a very reasonable price. As a note I have had a dog and cat family members for my entire life; and used most vets in the area until I found and settled on Doctor Z. He is the best there is, and as far as rates go they are the most competitive anywhere. If you want quality care go to the Duarte Azusa Animal Hospital. You want free mail order Heartgard go somewhere else. more

My cat has been a patient of this hospital since 2007. Dr Z and his staff are very caring, competent and cordial. He always takes the time to explain the medical issues in layman terms and usually gives me several options depending on what needs to be done so I feel comfortable in handling the financial side of it. When times are tough, it's nice to have people who care more about your pet than your pocketbook. more

BL fails to mention that his pet in question is 12 years old, presented with hacking cough, for 2 months, (yhea, real concerned pet parent) not quite sure if you went to Veterinary School yourself, because have you had, you would know when an elderly patient presents with long term hacking cough it could obviously be related to a number of things, could very well be something as simple as Bronchittis, to somthing more complex as a heart condition. The most common and ethical treatment plan would be to treat as Bronchitis followed by a Heart work up if syptoms persisted. as stated ""My guess is that any good and honest veterinarian would have provided the same service."" is just that, your uneducated guess, you recieved an educated, honest response to your question of ""what is wrong with my dog"" "" he said it could be multiple issues"" this is axeactly what it could be ""multiple issues"". You did not recieve a refund for your office visit, because you did in fact recieve an office visit, as well as an educated response to your question regarding your dogs condition. As a veterinary Technician, I have full trust and respect for my Veterinarian. Calling to demand a refund of services recieved and further THREATENING the practice with slander will not further your cause! more

BEWARE! This veterinarian is either (A) less-than-adequate or (B) attempts to take advantage of his clients. Here's why... We knew our dog (a Pomeranian) was having some health issues and just wanted some confirmation or resolution. So we took our dog to see Dr. Z for the first time, because it was a local office. Here's the short, but accurate, version: 1. After the exam, Dr. Z was not able to diagnose the problem; he said it could be multiple issues. 2. He recommended giving our dog antibiotics, then returning in 7 days for a follow-up. 3. If the problem persists after 7 days, perform more procedures: x-ray, blood and urine samples, etc. 4. The total of all procedures was close to $500.00. 5. I paid $40 for this exam, which resulted in the above diagnosis (aka nothing). The next day, I took my dog to another veterinarian for a second opinion. Within 2 minutes, this veterinarian was able to determine the cause of the health issue and justified the diagnosis based on the all present symptoms and the conditions of our dog. My guess is that any good and honest veterinarian would have provided the same service. This leads me to believe my first statement: This veterinarian is (A) trying to suck our wallets for money or (B) needs to study-up on his profession. If you're reading this and deciding if you should go here, DON'T! If you can, I strongly urge you to use another animal hospital. And if you're a current patient, I'm sorry. No amount of perceived kindness expressed by this facility will outweigh the underlying problems with this place: a veterinarian that is either inept or a crook. Good luck. more

I think all pet owners who really care for their pets fear the words ""put down"" but we had to put our first dog of 18 years down at this hosp. because she was suffering. she was so strong, never whined or cried at all when she was at home. i really admired her for her strength but we couldn't let her suffer anymore so we put her down. after it was over, I had to pay the bills. doing that duration of paying the bills, i couldnt help but hear the assistant (he helped chk our dog with the doc) whistling a happy tune as he walked past us. Now okay, i get it that its a normal routine for animal hospitals to do the put downs, but to hear this guy whistling while my family & i are crying and trying to pay the bills of our now dead dog. its RUDE. i had to stare at him just to point out that ""hey my dogs dead, dont you think what youre doing is rude?"" & he stopped. we got a card a week later saying ""we are sorry for your loss."" it was a nice gesture, but the whistling, it made things more horrible than it already was.. more

I took my 14 year old cat here for a check up and had a few routine lab test done to make sure everything was ok. I work in the medical field and when you have a test done we will tell the patient ""no news is good news"" when it comes to the results but if there is an issue or concern we will call the patient right away. Anyway, I never heard back from the office so I assume everything was ok. I took her in again to get groomed and I mentioned that I have never heard back about the lab results and the person helping me said she would look it up for me. I come to find out she has been SUFFERING with severe liver failure! This was the results for a test taken 6 months ago! god knows how much worse off she is now. I already have an appointment with another vet today. If you have already established a good relationship with this vet I certainly hope they give you better attention then what my pet received. I have taken all my pets here and I am now taking them all somewhere else. Even if this is not common in this office, I only have to experience it once to know there is a possibility it can happen again but certainly not to my pets! more