Southern California Veterinary

Bad hospital. As bad as Southern California Animal Medical Center in Los Angeles on Sepulveda and Pico. Here is what I have to say about them:\r \r I have been referred to this Hospital by Dr. Ray Dominguez in Pico Rivera, after I got home with my doggie girl paralyzed on her hind legs as a result of evaluation and treatment done at Animal Medical Center of Southern California in West LA. I got there around 5:30 pm, and alerted the front desk that there is an emergency and I need help to get the pet to be seen as she was in great pain. After waiting about 1/2 hour finally 2 techs came, who did not bring a muzzle to restrain the doggie, and she bit one of the techs. The tech dropped her on the ground and then put her back on the carrier. After a while, Dr. Hescket came and tried to convince me that my pet has disk disease which was not the case since she was all happy and playful until the Thursday Dec 7 when she lost the appetite and had fever, moment when I took her at AMC of SC. While discussing there, my pet got in cardiac arrest due to severe pain and the last injury from being dropped on the cement. I decided to let her go, and saw her for the last time. When I asked to take her home, Dr. Hescket told me that due to the fact that she bit the tech, they need to take her to the County for Rabbies verification (obviously this was a dog that was well taken care of and current on all her vaccines). She was incinerated against my will, and I haven't gotten back anything from her except her ashes (which I doubt were hers) in a box, that I did not request, and the paw print.(I doubt now about any validity in what they did and said). However, a few days later, when I asked to get back all the medical paper I brought in, I received in exchange a report from Dr. Pettigrew in which it was implying that my pet had multi-focal spinal disk disease. And to add insult to the injury, the report was faxed to a Dr. named Ray Tanaka at the AMC with whom I never had any contact during my pet illness. When I asked for the paper to be corrected, the receptionist said she would send it after the New Year, but neither I, nor my referring physician to whom I went to get a second opinion, and referred me here, RECEIVED ANY CORRECTED PAPER. This demonstrates the lack of care, professionalism, knowledge, laziness, and greed taken to the upper limit. My conclusion is that the vets can only do something for a pet when there are no major health issues, and even then they are interested only in their profit. Both my husband and I are still devastated, and our life will never be the same after this loss. more

Be careful. They lied to me about pricing. When I was in the waiting room, the veterinarian came out and told me the procedures that my dog needed. Dr. Cory told me it would cost around $200. After the procedures where done, I went to pay and surprise, $329. Dr. Cory, which I trusted (when quoting me), didn't have any idea of what she was talking. Why didn't she say, ""one second, let me check with the person that knows about pricing"". Instead she made numbers up and then I got a huge surprise.\r This doesn't end here. Afterwards I called management and of course it was Dr. Cory's word against mine. In most businesses that focus in providing outstanding customer service, the customer is always right. Well, this business doesn't follow this, they believed in what Dr. Cory ""Said"". Management didn't believe me and at the end of the day I had to pay the amount that I wasn't told. The owner even yelled at me on the phone. They really need to take some customer service courses. \r When you are paying a service or product, the customer has the full right to ask for a price and then make a decision. This is not what So Cal Veterinary follows.\r \r There are many veterinaries around. I would highly recommend to take your pet anywhere else, but to this one. Take your pet to a place that you can trust the employees and where they expectations are met. \r \r Aldo more

For the sake of your beloved pet, I urge you to avoid Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital/Irvine Regional Animal Emergency Hospital, and to please read this warning. I took my dog to this hospital for a routine examination by Dr. Christopher Eich, in which he subsequently recommended x-rays, ultra-sound and prostate tissue aspiration, which are routine tests. I gave authorization to proceed and gave Dr. Eich specific instructions, telling him 3 times for emphasis, to please be very gentle with my elderly dog as he was old and fragile. I left my dog in his and his assistant's ""care"" for approximately 5 hours for what I was assured were routine tests, and returned to the clinic later that day to pick him up and take him home. Later that evening, he developed stomach ""bloat"" as a result of being mistreated and mishandled while at this clinic. I had no idea what ""bloat"" was, and during our consultation, Dr. Eich never mentioned that this could potentially occur during his tests. I rushed my dog back to the hospital where Dr. Lara Ashbran ""de-bloated"" him (another traumatic procedure). Dr. Ashbran released him to me and failed to instruct me as to the seriousness and lethality of stomach bloat, and that he would likely ""re-bloat"" and die if he was not close to the clinic to be ""de-bloated"" again. Well, he re-bloated early the next morning and was rushed back to the hospital where hours later my dog suffered several heart attacks and died a very painful and traumatic death as a direct result of the bloating due to the traumatization he received at this hospital the previous day. I was devastated and very disappointed with the treatment my dog received by this hospital's staff, specifically Dr.'s Christopher Eich and Lara Ashbran, and urge anyone who cares for the well being of their pet to seek testing and treatment elsewhere. When you bring your pet to a veterinary hospital, you assume that your pet will be handled gently, and will receive expert care. That is after all what you're paying them for, and their professional duty as well. I've learned now that this should never be automatically assumed. Because of the errors, mistreatment and mishandling done by Dr. Eich, Dr. Ashbran, and the staff at this hospital, my dog suffered an unimaginably horrific, drawn-out and painful death. I'm still grieving more than 2 years later. Dr. Eich even later admitted to me that elderly, large-breed dogs such as my Chow are susceptible to bloating if flipped on their back as would occur during an x-ray or other type of exam, and that he should have recalled this prior to performing these tests on my dog. Still, he never apologized for this lethally catastrophic error of his. I wouldn't mind his arrogance if he had the comptency to back it up. However, in Dr. Eich's case, it's just arrogance masking gross incompetence. Oh, and don't be swayed by your general practitioner vet recommending this hospital for specialty treatment. Be aware that various forms of kick backs and ""quid pro quo"" are most likely pervasive. I urge everyone to take their pet elsewhere for veterinary care. I only wish I had known this before it was too late. more

Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital provided questionable care and horrible service compared to other critical care Animal Hospital our dog was treated at. The other hospital stabilized his condition, and he showed continued improvement during the three days they had him. Unfortunately, we were advised to transfer our dog to Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital for supposed “specialized” care, but after just 24 hours at Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital his condition worsened dramatically. The other hospital gave us constant updates on his condition, answered all our questions in great detail, gave us access to the doctor treating our dog anytime of the day or night, allowed us to view his treatments in the room where he was actually being treated, and gave us a seven page highly detailed report upon discharge. Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital hardly ever called us with updates, the doctor rarely returned our calls, they never allowed us to see where he was being treated, we had to call ahead and make appointments to see our dog, the staff was vague and evasive, and gave us a measly page and a half final report. While we were considering moving him back to the first hospital he died. We found Dr. Simpson to be rude and insulting to us throughout the two days he treated our dog, and he continued his rude attitude even after our dog’s death. We are currently considering filing a complaint with the California Veterinary Medical Board. Now we know why they have changed the name of this place a couple times, probably to cover up their poor track record. more