Southpaw Vet — Attraction in San Diego

Scam. Adds extra things you don't need and really pushes for it if you question anything.

Typical money grab type of vet... unfortunately, they care more about money than they do the animals.

edit The owner calls me minutes after posting the review and justifies his reasoning of his employees frequently adding extra unnecessary things to the vet bill due to the state of California requiring a rabies shot which my dog already received years ago. That's just one example. The approach that him and his employees make toward customers is really the issue. They would go as far as guilt tripping my girlfriend on multiple occasions in order to turn a larger profit. It's the equivalent of a mechanic taking advantage of and overly pushing a customer to buy things they don't need.

I know I'm not the only customer that feels this way but I will communicate it here gladly.

Stop manipulating people for money over their dogs they love. It's disgusting.

edit/response to owner To say I was ever rude to you would be a lie and for a business owner to make up a story to defend their business isn't a very good look. Perhaps you should have waited on the reply before emotionally retaliating and lying about me storming out and being rude. I'm simply reviewing what the truth is. Sometimes the truth hurts unfortunately. You can play the victim card of a small business owner all that you want but the fact of the matter is, you do manipulate people in order to turn profit. I have seen it first hand and have avoided it with push back multiple times and so has my girl friend. I have no incentive to make things up on google reviews for no reason. I am calling you out and you don't like it. Understandable. I like the truth, plain and simple, and I am providing that here. Just because you convinced others that they need extra services/meds and they are happy doesn't mean my points are not valid.

Lastly, for you to make this a character argument about me is pretty telling alone. Shows you how much context you know about my other reviews....nothing. Perhaps you should self reflect. It is pretty valuable.

**There is no nastiness occurring Mr. Yonas. I'm free to edit my review and respond to you as I see fit, just like you just did. The only difference is I am telling the truth and not making up stories. No idea what you are talking about in regards to "financial discounts in return for falsified reviews". Another failed attempt to diminish my character. It seems as though Mr. Yonas simply is not happy with a truthful review and tries to paint a picture that I am somehow this vulgar/nasty person in order to invalidate my points. It is very obvious what your intentions are in response to my truthful review. You have not once countered any of the claims that I have made. Instead you insist on attacking me which only makes you look worse and extremely unprofessional. I have found another vet already and they are not even close to as pushy in terms of adding unnecessary things...

After moving to San Diego from Canada, we were on the search for a new vet. After reading some reviews, we chose Southpaw, and for good reason. Our vet, Dr. Rebecca Mayne, was extremely knowledgeable, kind, and compassionate, as our dog Aspen has major hospital anxiety. The facility itself is clean, modern, rooms are private and spacious, and the ladies at the front desk are easy to talk too and friendly. The staff was always incredibly accommodating, as Aspen tends to be reactive with other dogs while on leash and they made sure she was in the hallway or open areas without other dogs present.

Months later, Aspen accidently fractured a tooth and needed a dental procedure done to extract the tooth. Booking appointments was very easy and after the initial assessment, they were able to fit Aspen in the following week for the surgery. On the day of surgery, it was a swift process and we got phone call updates during the procedure so we knew exactly what was going on with her and the things they were finding during the surgery. They recognized that Aspen was extremely nervous post op and Dr. Mayne asked if it was possible for us to pick her up sooner, as they thought Aspen would do better with us at home. They kept Aspen post op for an appropriate amount of time for monitoring and we picked her up when it was safe to do so. The whole experience was a 10/10.

Cost wise, the clinic is fairly priced. It's definitely not the cheapest vet out there so it's understandable that due to the location and the clinic itself, their prices would be slightly elevated. They don't have hidden fees and with every appointment we've had, pricing is upfront so you know exactly what to expect. We had received an estimate for the dental procedure which contained a lower end and a high end, and we were pleasantly surprised that Aspen's procedure was roughly $200 cheaper than the lower end of the estimate. They do not direct bill insurance companies, so after appointments/procedures they have been providing detailed receipts and medical records so we can submit our claims with no issues. Since we've had such a positive experience here, we will...

I hate leaving a negative review for this place, because every visit (3 or 4 times) prior to my most recent one has only been a positive experience with professional staff and trustworthy vets.

However, I think it is important to call out what happened on my last visit, which was a follow-up on an ear infection for our almost 7-year old dog. This time I was helped by a vet I never met before.

The vet asked if he is on flee/tick/heartworm meds and I said “no” and that we had taken him off because we believed it had been causing hair loss on his back, leaving hairless spots, which have since resolved since taking him off.

I could tell she did not approve of this response, and proceeded to look at his fur and within a few seconds of examination proclaimed “oh, I found a flea. You need to put him back on the flea/tick/heartworm meds. That’s probably what’s causing the ear infections.” She then proceeded to recommend their very pricy medication to purchase directly from them.

I believe she LIED about this. We have never been able to find a flea on our dog, there is no evidence of flea bite marks, excessive scratching, visual confirmation of fleas on our end, EVER. I asked the vet assistant to find one and show me after the vet left (I was too confused and the vet left too quick for me to ask her to show me directly) and the vet assistant could not find any.

To say that this is what is causing his ear infections, which directly contradicts what prior vets have told us the causes of his ear infections, (he has had prior ear infections while ON The meds no less) is extremely unprofessional and misleading.

In the event she was NOT lying, and he actually has fleas, she offered NO direction on how to handle the flea infestation besides “put him back on meds”. No recommendations for who to handle, cleaning him, managing an infestation, etc.

VERY disappointed with this place which sucks because I liked it a lot before this experience. For a place that charges a very high rate vs. competitors I would...