Bodhi Animal Hospital, A Thrive Pet Healthcare Partner — Local services in San Diego

EDIT: I changed this from a 5 to a 3. I dropped my cat off for a neuter today that I have been under the impression I already paid for because I'm paying $144 more on his vet plan to have added the neuter, only to have them bring me a checklist of the $133 of items not included - which mistakenly included the $16 cone for post-op. I double-checked the plan I signed up for and saw the cone was included, so when I got home I called them to complain. So they took off the cone and then I asked more questions, because I signed a whole bunch of paperwork about my pet's potential death and it was freaking me out. When the tech came to my car for the added costs, she asked if I wanted to add the anti-nausea meds, but didn't tell me that there's potential for the cat to vomit under anesthesia and die - seriously, disclose the purpose of the medication and why I may need it, I'm not a vet and need to make informed decisions regarding my beloved pet. Anyway, when I called they said they give the pet the anti-nausea medication anyway and then bill you for it. They also give you pain meds anyway and bill you for it. If you're going to give both the pain meds and the anti-nausea meds anyway, then inflate the cost of your vet plan to include those, rather than surprising me with a bill of $101 that I didn't budget for because I was already under the impression that what was needed was covered. That just lacked so much integrity. Now to add another recent thing, in my first review, I mentioned the baby kitten that died and I had cremated with them. I wanted to name the kitten just as a sign of respect, so I gave him/her the name Kicsi (little in Hungarian). Lo and behold they add the dead kitten to a mailing list, and I was receiving wellness reminders for a dead baby kitten that traumatized me. I can't imagine the lack of consideration if you took a lifelong family pet to be euthanized, only to receive a notification from the vet that was there with you to bring in your deceased best friend for a wellness check - I know it's not but it feels like a cruel joke.

I think this is a great vet clinic. I have been taking my cats there for about a year. I started going there when my cats were about 4 weeks old, and one of my kittens I was worried was acting lethargic and maybe had a parasite. After being declined by the first clinic I called, Bodhi was able to see them same day for emergency check-up, and they even let me bring her sibling for moral support. A few months later the same kitten was teething, but I didn't know and it sounded like she was choking (clicking teeth and coughing) - they also took her in as an emergency and everything was ok. Now my kitten had 2 kittens, and one of them was a faded kitten and died shortly after being born. I could not just throw the baby in the garbage, so I called the vet and they were able to help me with cremating the dead baby kitten same day, even gave me a comfort room to say goodbye. I haven't had many issues with them, although my cat wouldn't have gotten pregnant if spays & neuters were considered essential during the COVID shutdown as I had tried to get a neuter for my male cat before the female went into heat, but those services were closed. I am definitely traumatized from the death of the baby kitten and keep checking on the one that lived to make sure it doesn't happen again. I am moving to Utah in a month and have recently rescued a 3rd kitten (feral) that I will start on a vet plan there, and after reading reviews of clinics in Utah, I will definitely miss Bodhi's willingness to see last minute, same-day...

6/1/21: Final edit. STAY AWAY from this place if you want good service and to not be ripped off. Scheduled an examination for teeth cleaning to see how much it would cost. The Dr never once touched on how much teeth cleaning would cost and instead chose to tell us that one of our dog’s teeth needed to be extracted, mind you, a year after they said the tooth was fine. Why are they just NOW saying this needed to be done, a year after his accident and not immediately after it happened? $$$ money-hungry and inept staff. We again had to BEG for our dog’s prescription after they refused to accept Chewy’s request for approval a month ago. Again, they want your money, not your loyalty. Now all of a sudden you have to PHYSICALLY GO and get the prescription. I spoke with Marina today and asked for it to be mailed. We’ll see if the request is done. Don’t waste your time with this incompetent, disorganized staff.

3/12/20: Out of desperation and not being able to find another vet we have continued to come to Bodhi. As my previous review states, the doctors are wonderful. The staff, again, is either overworked, they simply do not care, or both. We took our pup for a heart worm test on 2/29. That took maybe fifteen minutes, we were so happy. We asked for a prescription refill. We waited about twenty minutes and nothing. Ten minutes later someone tells us the doctor is too busy and cannot sign the prescription. We say its ok and if it can be mailed to our address. Person at the front desk says they cant. I asked for it to be emailed. They never did. The pup had an ear infection and again we go to bodhi on 3/6. Again the refill is asked for and it is not given to us. I call to see what is going on on 3/8 and they act as if they’ve done nothing wrong. I ask for the prescription to be mailed. They say yes (So why couldn’t they do it on 2/29?) Fast forward to today where we still don’t have the prescription with the wet signature. According to their “notes” the prescription was mailed on the sixth. With their history of not doing what is requested from them I doubt they’ll ever send us anything. I’m not sure if they do this on purpose so you have to buy from their pharmacy.

TLDR; Doctors are good, staff are not. If you want to give your money to people who frequently mess up, don’t bother to follow up with requests, and pretend they’ve done nothing wrong then this is perfect for you. Dropping from two stars to one. — Oct 16/19 Doctors that have seen our fur baby have been very polite, caring, and friendly. The staff not so much. I called in for a prescription refill and apparently they had recommended our pup get some type of exam. They allegedly called and left a message. We never got one. I call to confirm which number(s) they had on file and I was treated as if I was someone calling from the looney bin. They never called when the prescription was ready to be picked up. When I called to confirm it was ready, again they said they left a message- my partner and I never received one at all. But they’re set their “notes”...

I never write reviews, and especially stay from bad reviews, but this must be done. I have gone to Bodhi animal hospital for about 6 years now. In fact, how I found them was when I first moved to SD and needed a job. I worked briefly there as a receptionist. It was one of the worst jobs I have had with coworkers who were entitled, I received no help or training, and it wasn't the best work environment nor welcoming. I had a dog who I loved dearly and continued to go to Bodhi after my experience because he was established there, and I didn't want the hassle of finding a new vet. I often left upset, didn't understand what they were charging for and are not the best communicators. Forwarding to this year, my dog was very sick, weak, wouldn't eat, panting and bloated stomach. When I took my dog to Bodhi, they immediately diagnosed him by feeling his stomach and back area and diagnosed him with a slipped disk. Bodhi told me 2 weeks resting with 0 activity and muscle relaxers for his slipped disk. After two weeks, he was even worse than when I first brought him in. When I called Bodhi, I expressed my concerns and the urgency that he needed to be seen again because I believe he was misdiagnosed. They told me there was no openings and to go to another vet which they provided me numbers, I called the vets they recommended, and they were all closed. You would think if Bodhi doesnt have openings, they would keep their customers up to date on who can possibly see their pet and their hours of operations. I had to do research and I finally found another vet, All Day Pet Animal Hospital, where they took the time to listen to me and all the symptoms my dog had. I was right, Bodhi animal hospital did misdiagnose my dog, what he really had was a Tumor in his spleen and it was weeks away from exploding. Bodhi animal hospital never called back to check on my dog and I have yet to tell them he was misdiagnosed and has now passed. If Bodhi would have taken the time on our original appointment, things would have been different. Plus, how Bodhi reacted to my call after telling them that my dog was worse than before and telling me to go somewhere else then giving me phone numbers to all closed vets when I needed my dog to be seen that day. I am so upset with them; I will tell anyone and everyone who will listen NEVER TO GO THERE. Horrible customer service, lack of empathy and overall do not care about owners or their pets. I cannot say enough bad things...