Animal Outpatient Surgery of San Diego and Blue Sky Veterinary Services, Inc. — Local services in San Diego

I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Farrell and the team at Animal Outpatient Surgery of San Diego and Blue Sky Veterinary. I'm so grateful that the amazing (and deserved) reviews here allowed me to find them, and led me to decide to go with them for my beloved dog Honey's successful TPLO surgery. Honey needed surgery after a full rupture of her CCL - the canine equivalent of the ACL. Since this is a specialized surgery, I was devastated to discover that my trusted vet could not perform it, and I was left to my own research to quickly find someone I could trust to help my dog. Let me start by saying that my decision to with Dr. Farrell and the team at Animal Outpatient had NOTHING to do with the incredible price they offer. Yes, they charge far less than the big hospitals, but what is more important to me is the care, skill and value that they deliver. Honestly for me, the fact that so many of the reviews here were about how much less they charge was the only concern for me, as I wasn't looking for the best deal possible, I was looking for the best care possible, as soon as possible, and the best outcome possible. Fortunately, this is exactly what I found. I was relieved when I contacted them and they could get her in for surgery far faster than anyone else we contacted. This was key, as I did not want Honey to have to suffer and wait longer than necessary for surgery for her debilitating injury, and I suspected that the longer she waited, the more damage she could do to her knee. When I called to schedule her surgery, the staff was kind, caring and attentive on the phone, and I felt hopeful we made the right choice. They were also the ONLY clinic I called who actually instructed us to keep Honey resting and doing as little as possible to avoid further damage. You'd hope that this kind of thing would be standard practice, but unfortunately, with big hospitals much falls through the cracks and the result can be disastrous. After this first scheduling call, I felt confident we had made the right choice. When we met Dr. Farrell at the consult appointment, my confidence that we had made the right choice was confirmed. Dr Farrell was kind, caring, and obviously a master of his field. He took the time to explain everything, which is important to me. I'm the kind of person who does a lot of research and has specific questions, and it is important to me that any doctor I choose - whether for people or pets - be able and willing to answer my questions. Dr. Farrell outperformed my hopes and expectations in his ability and willingness to answer my questions. If you have a smaller dog who would be a candidate for the less-costly surgery alternative to the TPLO, Dr. Farrell will go over the pros and cons of each surgery, and leave the decision truly up to you (as long as the pre-op x-rays confirm your dog is physiologically a good candidate for the alternative). Honey's surgery went perfectly, and she came home the same day. Being able to bring her home the same day rather than her spending the night in the hospital was another important factor for us. Keep in mind this is likely one of the ways they are able to get the cost down - by not forcing unnecessary treatments that incur additional expenses. Honey was putting weight on her leg within a day, and started treating it like a normal leg very, very quickly. At the 8 week follow up, she was fully healed and ready to get back to living normal life! She traveled to Europe 2 days later, and has already been enjoying 3-5 mile hikes, which might be the longest she has ever even done! (Maybe because she's so happy to be enjoying life again!) I am so grateful for Dr. Farrell, the team, and the primary surgeon who handled the TPLO (Dr. Farrell assisted). They gave Honey her life back, and gave me my sanity through the process. If you are looking for the best possible care for your best friend, and with the added benefit of the best possible price, look no further - you have found...

I would love to share the experience that I had with Blue Sky Veterinary services. My boy Dakota had be diagnosed with a torn ccl. My primary veterinarian said that we had to seek out an orthopedic vet. I was worried about everything from visits, costs, to how Dakota would react to a new facility. Tina was the first person I got in contact with and she helped to settle my worries. We coordinated our first visit and walked through every question and concern that a pet parent could have. Dr. Farell was amazing with Dakota. Dakota is not usually comfortable with new surrounding and/or new people. But, by the end of our consultation Dakota and I felt like family. By luck, or by the skills of Tina the Great! I was able to secure a surgical date for the following Friday. Tina sent me a text the day before our appointment, in case I had any questions and to remind me when Dakota was to stop eating and drinking. The staff opened the facility early and again reassured me that Dakota would be okay. I was given a text when Dakota was finally ready to be picked up. When I arrived I was a bundle of nerves, as I am sure all parents are. Dr. Farell walked me through everything that they found during the surgery and the repair. He showed me step for step the medications and the recovery needs. He then handed me everything we talked about for recovery on a pamphlet. I was able to discuss restrictions for Dakota, in order to ensure a smooth transition from surgical anesthesia to oral medication. Finally I was able to go over and see my boy. I was simply amazed at how terrific he looked. No doubt that he was under the influence and super calm, but his surgical site was amazing. The Staff helped me get Dakota comfortably to my car. The next day, Tina gave me a text to see how Dakota was doing. By the beginning of the week Dr. Farell had contacted me to follow up on Dakota. He reminded me that we had a four week follow up and an eight week follow up appointment to schedule. It would seem that they were with me every step of the way. On my first follow-up appointment I was having some issues with my pet insurance provider and they were able to offer spectacular advice. On the next appointment I was worried that Dakota had suffered a set back. Again the staff and Dr. Farell were available to give me realistic expectations and answers. Also I would like to send a Big Thank you to Christopher the RVT, I know you are a big part of why and how successful this whole experience is. I will share that the coordination of this during a pandemic from a healthcare worker to this facility, I loved every bit of this experience. I would trust you to do...

We had a great experience with Animal Outpatient Surgery of San Diego. They came highly recommended while we were in search of ACL surgery for our dog Cleo. First, l want to say we had interviewed 2 other doctors before we went with Animal Outpatient Surgery. The first was a nightmare. We had a phone interview with a contracted Vet surgeon in the parking lot of our local vet in El Cajon because of Covid. No problem with that except he was in his car right behind us and showed absolutely zero compassion nor did he know anything about our dog including which leg or her name. He would not let you talk and just had a bad approach. I felt like we were interviewing a cheesy mechanic. He kept referring to the procedure as the fancy expensive surgery and was demanding we follow his wife's services after or else. If you have spoken with this guy then you know who I am talking about. Next, we interviewed a Vet in Poway. The location is not that desirable for morning appointments. We had to deal with a trendy bagel shop next door producing non-stop traffic for Cleo and the Vet who met with us in the parking lot. The doctor was nice and compassionate and the price was fair. We were told it would be a couple of months out because of how busy they were. The wait time and the location were a deal-breaker. We then received a referral to Dr. Paul Pharrell and Outpatient Surgery. It was a Friday when I called them and we had an appointment the following Monday morning for a consultation. The first meeting was awesome with an in person greeting and a much better interview than the others. Everything just got elevated in a good way. We were invited into the building and were able to see everything behind the scenes. That was huge for me. I never knew what happen to my dog once they are taken to the back at different vets. We were given a tour of their small but perfect facility. These guys are a small animal hospital with everything needed. The transparency was great and we started to see why they came so highly recommended. They offered the perfect mix of compassion, professionalism, and experience. We were instructed on what the process was and what to expect over the next 6 months. The procedure was scheduled a week later and went perfectly. We picked up our Cleo the same day. Our family trusted and followed the process resulting in a complete success and full recovery. The experience was the absolute best you could hope for and I want to say thank you to Dr. Pharrell and his entire staff. If your pet needs ACL surgery I highly recommend Animal Outpatient Surgery. They went over above our expectations and Cleo is back to normal...