VCA Hermosa Animal Hospital — Attraction in Hermosa Beach

Hermosa Animal Hospital has been taking advantage of my 79 year old mother who has Alzheimer's Disease for unnecessary doctors visits, procedures and medication for a healthy old dog. They were informed of her disease yet showed no regard for her inability in decision making, using scare techniques and making my mother cry.

I reached out the them over 1 month ago and they have not responded.

Below is the actual Time/Date/Email sent that was received, email below

Tue 11/6/2018, 3:33 PM Dear Hermosa Animal Hospital,

I am writing to you for 3 reasons:

1. To request a full print out history of my mother Christina Pliner's dog Flora veterinary visits with HAH, showing charges, procedures etc
2. For upper management/owners to review this history based on below facts
3. Issue appropriate refund based on findings

Facts:

My mother has Alzheimer's disease which effects her memory, logic, judgments and she distorts facts. She used to take Flora to the Redondo Veterinary Medical Center (RVMC) all the time, calling and visiting, as the convenience of them being down the street. Finally one day they requested to meet with me. They told me that they would no longer assist my mom and Flora, because "we are just taking your mothers money, there is nothing wrong with the dog, just old age".

Flora one day had the slight Chihuahua cough and my mom wanted to take her to HAH. We went there, got some medicine and also scheduled a follow up appointment. I told the nurse my mother had Alzheimer's Disease and about the prior experience at RVMC. The nurse was over the top empathetic, friendly and even offered to pick up my mom at her home for her appointment to bring her and Flora in so she would not forget. I gave the nurse my card, what a great nurse. And she even called me to follow up if my mom needed a ride the day of her follow up appointment!

Since that time, the majority of assistance my mother gets is from her roommate. He alerted me recently that he thought the visits, medications, procedures where getting out of control. I asked my mother and she was also very confused, she though her dog was healthy, but now has $600 worth of recent vet bills from you folks. She has print outs of Chronic Degenerative Valve Disease and medication, all of which are not necessary and based on my mothers Alzheimers, it only looks like Hermosa Animal Hospital is taking advantage of her.

I would bet the original nurse didn't make notes on my mothers Alzheimer's Disease condition, my conversation with her, or what we went through with RVMC. If this is the case, this would explain and show why HAH just keeps on taking my mothers money. If you folks had a big alert on my moms account that she has Alzheimer's Disease and that she will do and pay anything you suggest, perhaps you might have been more careful with what type of care you where billing her for, or contacting me if there might have been any confusion.

So, I ask someone look into this, take responsibility, explanation, offer a solution and refund. I have power of attorney for assisting my mother and all concordance should go through me. The refund check can be made out to my mother and I will be able to deposit into her account.

If not resolved to my satisfaction, I will go to extreme measures for resolution and prevention of others being taken advantage of, not limited legal, social media reviews, but also assistance of the wonderful investigative journalists we have in Los...

UPDATE: The office refunded the $41. I have been a client for several years and brought my dog here with an inflamed ear on 7/11. He was diagnosed with a yeast infection and prescribed a course of antibiotics. I paid $260 for the exam, ear swab, in-office cleaning and treatment, and take-home meds. Shortly after the antibiotics were finished, the ear became inflamed again. I returned to the vet and paid $41 for another course of antibiotics. Two days after finishing those, the ear became inflamed again. I brought my dog back to the office this morning, where his ear was swabbed again. The vet, Dr. Liebl, who is also the hospital owner, diagnosed yeast again, but said he didn't know why my dog was previously prescribed an antibiotic, as the preferred treatment for yeast is not an antibiotic, but an anti-yeast. I asked why that would have happened and he said he didn't know, but that the prescribing vet was a relief vet. My dog was given an in-office treatment and we were finally sent home with the correct medication. When I checked out, I asked to speak with the office manager; I was concerned that my dog was twice prescribed the incorrect treatment, and as a result, suffered unnecessarily. I was also charged for two courses of antibiotics my dog didn't need. The office manager was not available, and the staff member went to the back and spoke to the owner. She came out and offered to reimburse me $41 for the cost of the second course of antibiotics, but said I would be charged $212 for today's visit. I said that seemed unfair, as today's visit would not have been necessary had my dog been prescribed the correct treatment during the first visit. She went into the back again, came out and said the owner had agreed to refund the cost of the original visit ($260) and instead charge me for today's visit ($212). She said she needed the office manager to help with the refund and would take my debit card number and call me later to reimburse. When she called later, she said she would reimburse the $260 and charge $212 instead, but that the cost of the second course of antibiotics would not be reimbursed. So I paid $41 for antibiotics my dog didn't need and he suffered unnecessarily with a painful ear twice because the wrong medication was prescribed and re-prescribed. I'm disappointed in the care my dog received, as well as the customer service. I should not have had to negotiate to have the office make things right, and I still feel I paid for something I should not have had to pay for. I've requested that my dog's chart be sent to another hospital, as I will not be returning. Disappointing, as the office is a 5 minute drive...

I am so sad to post this, but I feel that it is important for new clients to see this. I brought my 15 year old black lab here previously before she passed 2 years ago, and they were very good. Fast forward to today and things have changed dramatically. I rescued another lab one year ago and brought him in for a yearly visit and to get some flea meds. The tech that brought me into the room was very nice, but came across as extremely unknowledgeable. I am thinking she was new, so maybe just needed a little more training and product knowledge. After a bit of a wait, Dr Yao came in for my pups exam. She was very off putting, not friendly or professional, and my sweet boy was actually afraid of her (he is a lab AND I have never seen this from him, ever!) This was my rescue's first time in an exam room, so he may have been nervous, but any good doc would reassure the pet, this doc did not do that at all. She was very dismissive when I asked about the differences in the flea meds they offered AND she tried TO SELL A HOME FLEA SERVICE TO ME!!! Seriously?! When the tech came back in, I told her that I had gotten a really bad vibe and she sent a gentleman in who was better at explaining products and apologized for the experience thus far. We went over the different meds and I decided on a 3 in 1. I went out and after waiting at least 15 minutes, he came out and told me a heartworm test would be required for the med. Why this wasn't mentioned to me while I was in the exam room is beyond me, and, to be honest, it felt like an up-sell. Did I mention that my chart was there, in the exam room, the entire time as well? Just really not a good experience at all. There has definitely been a shift in level of care/service than my past experience. It seems as if they do not really want any new clients, which is fine, but that should've been expressed before my $60 visit for less than 10 minutes spent with the veterinarian. For anyone considering becoming a new client here or bringing a new family pet here,honestly, I would look elsewhere. UPDATE: The office manager never called, I was told she would, and the flea meds they gave...