Pet Medical Center

Devastated is about the only feeling I have right now - outside of shock and grief. But I do want to take a moment to express gratitude to Dr. Linda Jackson for gently assisting my beloved Yuki to the Bridge on Friday at 6pm and for understanding what she meant to me.\r \r A dog's life is so short because they give so much. All they have and all they are. And no one ever wants to say goodbye.\r \r In the last months of my beautiful boxer Yuki's journey through degenerative myelopathy, I could not have found a more compassionate or understanding doctor than Dr. Jackson. Her words of wisdom, her kindness and guidance gave me the answers I needed to search my soul. And when it was time to say goodbye, she could not have made it easier for me -- she felt my pain, she knew my grief. She was the calm in the midst of the worst day of my life. The whole hospital was compassionate and treated Yuki as though she was my only family member, which, sadly, she was and is.\r \r In the end, we defeated degenerative myelopathy; you terrible disease, you were not victorious over us or our undying love and devotion for each other.\r \r Thank you Yuki for giving me your all. You gave me more than your all. You would have gone on and on and on just for my own sake. And thank you Dr. Jackson for being the one to help me out of her plight. I will never, ever forget Yuki and I won't soon forget Dr. Jackson's compassion and gentle guidance. Her recommendation of S.O.P.H.I.E. (LA Pet Memorial Park) and my experience there helped immensely. It brought more dignity to the process than I have seen with some humans. In less than 24 hours after I said goodbye, I got to see her again, lay flowers at her feet and read and leave a letter of love for my beautiful, breathtaking companion.\r \r Goodnight my beautiful snow girl, Yukiko. ""Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow; bloom and grow forever.""\r \r Classy's Snowball aka Yuki Louise Smith, America's Next Top Dog Model. June 8, 2003 - April 3, 2015. My life will never be the same. more

Worth noting, is that I'm writing this review for services rendered at Chatoak from April 20, 2013 and it's now September 2013 - that's exactly how long I've remained upset at the experience. Don't get me wrong - my dog is alive and well. He's actually better than ever. The problem is simply that I was literally preyed on for my lack of knowledge about veterinary medicine (specifically, bloat) and due to the love of my dog. I came in on a Saturday during business hours at the request of my regular vet because an x-ray showed that my dog had an excessive amount of water in his stomach. She wanted to rule out bloat and sent me to Chatoak for an opinion. Within 15 minutes, the vet at Chatoak told me that my dog would need a $6000 surgery or he would die. When I explained that I didn't have $6000 and asked more questions, the vet told me they could pump his stomach for an estimate of $1665.50 - 2289.55 (yes, I have all the original paperwork still) and while this procedure would relieve him, a dog subject to bloat would definitely bloat again if I didn't have his stomach sewn to his ribcage immediately. I left him to the vet to perform the emergency stomach pumping. When I called to check on him, another vet got on the phone and said he couldn't be released because even though the stomach pumping was done, his stomach HAD TURNED and therefore it was inevitable that his stomach will twist again and he will surely die unless I immediately get the $6000 surgery. I argued and said no (by now I've done a lot of emotionally charged research). She confirmed that YES, his stomach had twisted (LIES!) and that if I take him out she would need to know where he was being transferred to and would leave the catheter in since he needed emergency care. I took him out anyway (very forcefully and angry as all hell). Their final bill and medical records chart indicated ZERO x-rays or other diagnostic tests that would indicate bloat and ZERO tests or confirmations that would indicate any kind of stomach twisting or untwisting. All they did was charge me a fortune for a stomach pumping (water was the only thing dispelled as indicated in the records). I took him to Malibu vet the next day and for $388, they did a CT Scan, x-rays, blood work, fecal test and found absolutely nothing wrong. I paid $388 and both vets looked at me like I was absolutely crazy and making up this story about what happened and what I was told about my dog. DO NOT GO TO A VET THAT PREYS ON YOU FOR LOVING YOUR DOG. Feel free to contact me for all of the documentation proof. I'm more than willing to spend my free time saving another family from this emotional and monetary heartbreak. The vet actually let me think I was going to have to put my dog to sleep in a effort to get me to pay for unnecessary surgery. Sickening. more

This is one of the worst veterinarian practices I have ever been to. It began with my first appointment that I had scheduled for my dogs routine check-up, booster shots and worming which was discussed with the vet office staff. My son took the dogs to the appointment and came back with charges that were more than double the discussed fees. After several discussions with the staff supervisor, it was agreed that there was a miscommunication between office staff and the veterinarian and I was able to get credit for the services that were not previously discussed. Subsequently I had scheduled two more routine appointments, a month in advance, only to show up and the vet was a no show and the office staff making excuses saying they tried to call me for a week to reschedule and had my phone number wrong. Yet they have a website which I filled out my page with the correct phone numbers and an e-mail address. I am writing this review to forewarn pet lovers to avoid this clinic. THEY DO more

This is one of the worst veterinarian practices I have ever been to. There is miscommunication between office staff and veterinarians, lack of respect for your time and they overcharge for services that are not needed. I've scheduled appointments for routine check-ups, booster shots and worming only to have the vet not show up for the appointments and be overcharged. The office staff is clearly not organized and there is miscommunication between office staff and veterinarians. There is a lack of respect for your time and THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR PETS, THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT YOUR MONEY. I have since gone to another veterinarian practice that has shown respect and courtesy for my time and my pets needs. more

I have had dogs all my life and been to a lot of different vets over the years. A couple of years ago, the vet I had been using had run some standard tests on my nine year old Setter, said the results were all normal but the liver enzymes were a bit high. He reassured me it wasn?t a big deal and said we should keep an eye on it, which we did, for over a year. I?d been going to him for a long time and never had a problem, so I trusted him. Then one of my other dogs was injured late at night and I took him to Chatoak emergency. Dr. Senta Edesa was on call and I was so impressed by her care and thoroughness that I decided to try her as my regular vet. I wanted to do x-rays and a senior wellness check on my older dog, the one with the elevated liver enzymes, but Dr. Edesa suggested I do an ultrasound instead of an x-ray because it would show more. Long story short, the ultrasound found a large mass on my dog?s liver, something an x-ray would not have seen. I took him to a specialist for the complicated surgery and they removed a tumor the size of a cantaloupe. Had Dr. Edesa not recommended the ultrasound, my dog would have died, so as far as I?m concerned, she saved his life and I will be forever grateful to her. This was two years ago and my nearly eleven year old boy continues to thrive and acts like he?s eight years younger. Needless to say, Dr. Edesa (now Belding) has taken care of him ever since. She obviously loves the dogs and spends as much time as is necessary with each one, explains everything in great detail, listens to all my concerns, tries to keep costs down...I could go on and on! She?s the best I?ve found in forty years and I would never go anywhere else. I recommend her constantly to everyone I meet. more

I live in Valencia, but drive to Chatoak for the care of my dog. I have an 11 year old miniature schnauzer that has been diagnosed with lymphoma. The care that our dog received from Dr. Ram at Chatoak was excellent. Dr. Ram provides top quality care but also keeps in mind that vet care can be very expensive. I appreciate him so much that he knows our dog is a family member and needs care but that we don't have to break the bank to do it. more

I have gone here for years and while I've seen many faces, Dr. Jackson is by far the best Vet in all the land. There isn't a soul with more compassion than this fine lady. On top of that, her staff is on it. Chrissy and Sarah are always helpful and have save my peace of mind over and over again just by talking on the phone. You don't get service like it anywhere. They always go out of their way for me. These people really care not just about my pet, but about me as well. Thank you Chatoak! more

I finally made a difficult decision to euthanize my old dog which stopped eating. In my attempt to minimize the stress of my dog, I wanted to spend least amount of time at the vet doing paperwork while my dog was there. I went to the Pet med ctr w/o my dog to check out the price and make the appointment as well as completing the paperwork. while I was there, the person at the front desk quoted me a price which was acceptable. the next day, I came with my dog to the office only to find that they couldn't find my paper work so I had to re do them again. If that wasn't bad enough, the total price they wanted jumped 3x more then what they originally quoted me. unbelievable! when I asked to speak with the manager, the lady at the front desk tells me she was the manager. Honestly, I didn't want to waste my time talking to these people. when I asked around other vets for the quote, this place was by far the most unreasonably expensive place ever! more

I have been using this facility for over 15 years. Although prices at times may be a bit higher than avg the service is top notch. Dr.s Jackson, Miller, Florio, Wurtenberger and others have cared for all 6 of my dogs, The office and supporting staff is compassionate and caring. The 24 hr availability is a plus. They have in house specialists for ACL, diabetes, and others. I would recommend this facility over all others in the valley. If they can't perform the task they readily provide referral to reputable alternate as was done for my dog with Cancer. more

I have mixed feelings about Chatoak Pet Clinic, I have been there several times with sick kitties and getting my dog his immunizations. Their service is inconsistent, sometimes they are personable and sometimes they are very put off and even rude. The Veterinarians are knowledgeable and will do what they can do for your sick animal and when my kitty had to be put down they were caring. more

My family has been coming to Chatoak for over 20 years and have never once been disappointed. All of their 12+ doctors are very knowledgeable and compassionate as is their entire support staff. We've watched as their facility has more than doubled in size and they are on the cutting edge when it comes to their sophisticated diagnostic equipment. When our pets need to be hospitalized, we are comforted to know they have staff and a doctor on all night long. It seems our pets always have issues beyond regular working hours so we are glad to know that they are available for walk-in emergencies everyday from 7:00am until midnight and no matter how busy they are, we are always greeted with a smile. Last year, our dog Baily was hit by a car and severely broke his leg. We rushed him to Chatoak and we were so happy to learn that they have a Board Certified Surgeon on staff who immediately took Baily into surgery. To this day he is still running around like a puppy! We highly recommend them to e more

Was quoted $4000 for emergency surgery. Picked up my dog and was presented with an $8000 bill! I have had dozens of dogs and a few that had emergency surgeries, cancer treatments, and many complications...never have I had a bill double to the tune of $8000 for 4 days of care. I'm still in shock. more

The only vet anyone should ever use there is Dr Jackson. She is wonderful, the other vets I've seen in there were horrible. They tend to make you think in an emergency that your dog is going to die. I wonder how many dogs have been put down due to their EXTREMELY high estimates. They also have no compassion. Dr Jackson is wonderful at explaining what's going on and what all your options are and the possibilities for your animal. She makes you feel comfortable during one of the most confusing, frustrating, scary times in your life. The people at the front desk are very unorganized and seem to forget what they're doing right in the middle of doing it. more

My dog went in and was diagnosed with kidney failure, first recommendation was euthanasia! My dog is doing much much better almost 6 months later with my hard work. Biggest problem is staff and prefferential treatment. If you are not friends with staff be prepared to get bumped! Vets do not return calls and they charge you double to squeeze you in and make you wait forever. Vets are non responsive to problems with practice / front desk. more

I drive the extra miles to go here. I have rarely found vets who are willing to spend so much time educating the owner. There are enough vets here to find one that is a match for you and your pet's specific problem -- there are several that I am very comfortable with treating my dogs, and some who are exceptionally compassionate. This place has always been very clean. I wish they had 24 hour emergency care. If I had to make one suggestion... the front desk could be a bit more organized. more

My dog went to the doctor because of lethargy. The ex-rays showed that he had a mass in his abdomen. Before the biopsies returned a NEGATIVE result for cancer, my dog died becasue the underlying cause of his lethargy was pancreatitis. I feel as though the doctors were so concerned about cancer, they missed all the signs of a treatable illness. My husband and I have no kids - that dog was all we had. PROS: Dr. Miller is an exceptional doctor CONS: All of the other doctors we saw were only so-so more

Pet Medical Center Chatoak was my golden retriever's main clinic and we have encountered wonderful vets and horrible ones. When my golden was diagnosed with cancer, a vet recommended euthanasia that very day. We requested other options and the medicine she recommended, after our own research, turned out to kill our dog faster had we used it! I brought my golden to a different vet in Manhattan Beach and received options and treatments from xrays, ultrasounds, steroids, to pain killers. During medical crisis, it is important to have an experience vet who will lay out all the options for a most comfortable and humane treatment. I was very disappointment with the lack of empathy and treatment I received from that particular vet in Chatoak, although the entire clinic shouldn't be blamed for her practice. more