FIRST Regional Animal Hospital

I have been a client at First Regional Animal Hospital for 13 years and counting and have received nothing but the most stellar care from well-informed doctors and technicians. First Regional is top-notch when it comes to both regular day-to-day care and emergency care. I have also grown to adore the front office staff who has ""seen it all"" and can handle any situation, including the most difficult, to which I was most grateful. \r \r I first sought out First Regional when I moved to AZ in 2000, mainly for well-exams for my two cats. We saw Dr. Joyner for years who is always up to date on the latest treatments and I have been especially impressed with his knowledge of more homeopathic remedies. Dr. Joyner takes a ""less-is-more"" approach except when he is certain that additional tests are needed or has information that leads him to believe that more tests/treatments are necessary.\r \r That brings our journey to internal medicine, where I believe I have seen the number one specialist in veterinary medicine. Dr. Babyak is ""second to no one"" in her knowledge in treating complex diseases and her bedside manner with both my ""babies"" and this baby (me!) is amazing. It was so nice to know that an expert in complex treatment was right there and that Dr. Joyner could consult with her and pass me over to her when the time was right.\r \r I must say I have had some pretty stressful times as my two cats aged and were terminally ill. It's scary and sad and I wanted to make certain that I did the right thing but not put them through too much for too long for my own benefit. Dr. Babyak and Dr. Joyner both were caring advisers, assuring that I understood exactly what was necessary or maybe when it was becoming too much but still leaving the decision to say goodbye with me. \r \r The techs......AMAZING! I have met so many as the visits became frequent at the end. Elana, Dr. Babyak's lead tech is unbelievably good at what she does and is so knowledgeable. She has worked with Dr. Babyak for so long she is almost like an extended limb which is so comforting. Dr. Joyner's techs are equally good and have also been with First Regional for as long as I can remember.\r \r Ultimately I ended up putting both of my babies down in late '08 at the age of 14. Dr. Babyak was right there with me and the staff was so gracious knowing how incredibly hard that was for me (I was a basket case). They sent me a card after the passing of each of my boys and all signed it with a note to me that I still have on my desk today. They also sent along two little cards that they put together for me with their paw prints.....so special.\r \r Recently (2010) I adopted two elderly cats from Friends For Life with the purpose of giving two older and less adoptable cats the ""best rest of their life possible"". They ultimately have both developed illnesses....diabetes and a pretty major lymphatic gastritis. Dr. Joyner continues to treat my diabetic cat and Dr. Babyak is now treating the other. \r \r What I do know is that I could not provide them the ""best rest of their life"" with any other vet than First Regional. I say this from my heart. They are hands-down the absolute best choice in veterinary care......without question! more

What a traumatic experience for me! I WILL NEVER go back there! I brought my dog in Friday 03/16/2012 around 10:00 or 10:30 PM. My dog was dying. We were taken back right away the Vet Tech (blonde lady) came in and took his temp, she stated that he was cold and wanted to take him in the back to warm him. I asked that I go to, she stated "no, there is too much going on back there". I told her that I know my dog is dying and I want to be with him, and I also told her that I wanted the Vet to put him down because he was suffering. She rolled her eyes at me and left the room, she came back with a blanket and said the Vet would be tight in. That is the last we ever saw her and never saw the Vet. My dog laid there for 40 minutes suffered and died. I had to go out to the reception desk and tell them my dog had died . She was shocked and asked if anyone had gone in the room? I told her no. She sent two techs in the room, (by the way I never saw the blonde tech again) the other 2 came in checked Elija's vitals and said they were sorry. They asked if I wanted CPR. They said that the blonde tech would come in and explain my options... well.... we sat there with a dead dog for another 20 minutes,,, NO TECH! It is traumatizing enough to watch your beloved companion die in front of you, and VERY unproffessional of your staff! I am so dissappointed in the reaction and lack of concern of your vet tech! Once I mentioned putting him down, I felt judged by her! She gave me the impression that I was a bad person for making the decision to put my dog down, he was suffering!! Completley paralized and could only breathe. He laid there and died.... I had to go out to the receptionist and tell her I already knew my options and just wanted to go home. What a horrible experience for anyone to go through! I understand that you are busy but MY GOSH!! Hire more staff so someone else does not go through what I did!!! I JUST READ THIS!!!!!!!! This statement comes from a person that worked there! HOW TRUE!!! MY DOG WAS IGNORED!! "The staff is varied from highly experienced to horrible. Unfortunately, the management just doesn't seem to care and turns a blind eye to it. I have seen pets completely ignored and die from lack of care or compassion." Pros: null Cons: null more

I took my puppy in for her first set of vaccinations today. It has been a long time since I have had a puppy. The doctor spent a lot of time educating me on vaccine protocol, behavior, and answered all of my questions. They offered me a puppy plan that included everything at a pretty reasonable price, my puppy is now set up for everything she will need for the next year. I really appreciate how nice everyone was and the time that the doctor spent with me. Thank You! more

On two occassions I have had to take my young dog in for emergency care in the middle of the night. In both instances my pup was quickly taken care of, tests were run to identify the problems, and during hospitalization he was well cared for. I really appreciated them letting me have visits including bringing his brother in for a visit to help lift both of their spirits. The hospital treatments are pricey but since I have had to have emergency treatment in the middle of the night and hospitalization, I understand the costs. Finally, when I checked my dog out of the hospital they provided me with a list of literally every action/medication provided for my dog during his stay (including noting the time of my every visit) and they shared the entire treatment regiment with my veterarian very quickly. I found the staff to be professional, courteous, and highly skilled. I have complete confidence in the technicians and doctors who have cared for my pets. more

They are close to my house but I wish they had doctors that understood what I was talking about more often. When I took my sister's dog in, they told me I could take him home, but then on the paper said that he needed to be hospitalized. They never told me that. They need to make sure they tell their clients every option possible and what they recommend while in the exam room and not just on a piece of paper. more

Although I am a long-time client of this hospital for emergencies and have taken my pets there for non-emergency visits, I no longer wish to use this hospital in such situations. They are unable to care for exotic pets in case of emergency, even if just to administer fluids to get my pet by until an exotic veterinarian is available. For a hospital that used to tell everyone it cares for exotic pets, this is quite a sad change. more

After calling with concerns about our kitty acting out of sorts, we were told that it could be a "life-threatening" situation and to bring him in immediately. Having been to emergency vets before, we knew just an exam would be at least $100. The triage and initial exam went fairly quickly. The vet said that this wasn't a "typical case" because the cat wasn't exhibiting being in severe pain and that it could be stress related. In fact, by the time the vet came in, kitty was walking around wanting to be petted and purring. He recommened doing x-rays to help determine what the problem may be. When the desk clerk came in with the estimate, it was going to be from $335 to $486. No matter how much we love our kitty, that money is just not doable--in times like these, it was literally choosing between a roof over our heads or exploratory x-rays for our cat. We told her we couldn't do it and got ready to leave. She told us the vet wanted to go over home care instructions before we left. We waited another half hour, the vet called us back into the exam room and said, "How about just doing one x-ray for $100? Or I can stick a needle in him free of charge?" WHAT?!? If those were options why weren't they presented in the first place? Where was that "free of charge" a half an hour before? If he was truly concerned about the health of our cat, all the options would have been presented initially. Appauled at this, we told him we understood the possible risk and that if the cat seemed to worsen we would act immediately. The vet literally stormed out of the room while I was in mid-sentence! Obviously the health of our pets is of paramount importance. We could have waited to go to our regular vet the next day (for the same exam that would have been less than half the price) but instead we sought emergency attention. The vet threw out numbers like a used car salesman and had a fit when we didn't buy. PS: Kitty is doing great--eating, drinking, playing as normal. Pros: 24 hrs Cons: Staff more concerned about making a buck then the health of pet more

I don't like writing bad reviews, but unfortunately I had a few bad experiences taking my rabbit here. It wasn't so much the vet himself as it was the assistant. Either the gal was unqualified, or was in the wrong business. Hopefully the other assitants are more animal savvy. Although the vet did help somewhat, I wouldn not recommend them as my first choice. more