San Diego Veterinary Urgent Care — Local services in San Diego

WORST VETERINARY EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. My dog had a leg issue and I was referred here by my primary vet. They told me that he probably had a broken leg. They forgot to take my payment information and called me when I got home saying they were waiting to give him painkiller until they got payment.

They proceeded to keep my dog for 6.5 hours. I waited in parking lot for my dog for 45 minutes after they called and told me to come get him. The vet even messed up dog’s gender when talking to me.

I definitely felt like my baby was the last priority here. I know California animal urgent care is overloaded, but this was relentless. Near the end of it I honestly didn’t trust them with my animal and just wanted him back.

I was charged $400 more than agreed upon and treated very poorly when my card was declined due to being charged way more than I planned for. A “vet tech” waited in the parking lot and stared at my car while I anxiously scrambled for another credit card to pay the unplanned for and exorbitant fees. Nothing was resolved for my dog, no splint. He had no broken leg. I was charged a total of $950 for an abusive and demeaning veterinary experience. I was given a bottle of painkilllers and told to call my vet if he wasn’t better in 3 days. I literally did not feel like my pet was safe at this vet. When waiting in the parking lot at 11 pm for them to release my animal with a large “vet tech” staring into my window I didn’t feel like I was safe, either. Please, keep your beloved pets, and your finances, and yourself, safe and go elsewhere.

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Update 3/3/24

After seeing the response to my review, posted over a years after the traumatic event, I’d like to reiterate that this was by far the worst veterinary experience of my life. I will never forget the terror, trauma, and fear for my dogs well being that visiting this establishment induced, nor will I change my review due to this being a small business. I write about the retail industry for a living, I’m aware of the impact of reviews and I HOPE that more people aren’t subjected to the treatment I endured.

In closing, the only reason I mentioned the physical stature of the tech is that it was late at night and the tech was standing by my car door, demanding more money and blocking me from my dog. I can assure you that it wasn’t his physicality alone that led to this description, but the terror that physicality was used to induce. Perhaps your technicians should be trained to present a different vibe than “threatening slumlord” when dealing with traumatized single female pet parents late at night?

Anyway, I would accept the “apology,” but what I just received over a year after the event in this public forum is not...

Wow. Where do I start- To begin, I was quoted near $1800 for my cats initial exam. After discussing my budget, that was dropped down to near $1200 and some less important or time sensitive services were removed. My cat was in critical condition. I then received a call stating I would need to hospitalize my cat, costing $3000-$5000. When I said I could not afford this, I was met with 0 compassion, 0 empathy, I was told to either pay it and get him help, put him down, or take him home and “he won’t last long” is what they said. When I stated I would take him to a vet in Tijuana, I was met with passive aggressiveness, with them calling it “The Mexican Vet”. It was crystal clear I would need all of his medical documentation to take to the next doctor. After days of waiting on results for my cat (paying $147 in TJ for what would have costed $5000 in the USA), the TJ vet told me the documentation I gave them was incomplete. I was not given the bloodwork results, or the radiograph that I paid for. This is $520 in services at a time that they knew I spent my last cent with them to save my cat, and they neglected to even provide it. When I called them, I was told it should have been given to me and they would write up the employee who didn’t give them to me. Nothing was said about a refund. The vet then sent me the urinalysis and I had to call AGAIN to request the bloodwork. I then called again, to be sent FIVE BLANK EMAILS. I was told they were having a problem with their new lab testing program and that they’d scan the documents and send them over. When sent, they sent me incomplete bloodwork, duplicating part of the report and leaving out an entire half. When I called back to discuss my frustration and ask for a refund given I needed to now pay for all of this again, I was met with a shouting receptionist calling me disrespectful (when I’m obviously in a moment of distress scrambling to get my cat the help he needs), told that I should be appreciative of them helping me when I couldn’t afford it (they did something free) and I was hung up on. DO NOT GO TO THIS VET. They are only interested in your money, and to top it off, they were going to have me put him down due to me not being able to afford their RIDICULOUS pricing. 520$ total for bloodwork and a radiograph, and neither one was delivered, but I get hung up on as my cat is dying in front of me? Now they won’t answer my calls. I have filed a dispute with my bank as well as making a report with the California Veterinary Medical Board.

The attached documents show the several failed emails, and the amount of attempts it took just for me to receive incomplete bloodwork documents-...

If I could give this location 0 stars, I would. I recently called this location to see if they could help my cat who may potentially have a urinary blockage. I realize that blockages are fatal for male cats, so I wanted to see if this location could see him. I mentioned finances to the woman on the phone to start a conversation around what could be done for someone who isn’t in an ideal financial position. Note: with me bringing up finances, I was NOT saying I’m going to ignore this issue. But, the woman on the phone assumed that’s what I was saying and didn’t allow me to get a word in. Rather than being empathetic, the woman literally jumped down my throat saying I need to relinquish my cat because this is fatal. Again, I realize this is fatal which is why I CALLED immediately. She was literally raising her tone at me over the phone while I’m freaking out about my cat dying. Again for extra clarification, I will do anything to protect my cat but the woman didn’t let me speak or explain my situation and assumed. I would do anything to protect my baby. To top it all off, the woman hung up on me because I acknowledged that she probably shouldn’t be talking to someone in the way that she was talking to me about my issue. I now am at the VCA, where the employees are KIND. You would hope that employees working with ANIMALS would be kind humans, but I guess not. This location needs better training and people who are empathetic and know...