Shelter Island Veterinary Hospital — Local services in San Diego

We brought our elderly cat here who has anxiety when leaving the house. We needed some bloodwork done as well as a routine check up. Upon arriving, a nice assistant escorted us to the waiting room where he performed some basic tests without issue. He said he would tell the doctor we’re ready and left the room.

Shortly upon leaving, we heard commotion out in the hallway. He was being reamed by the doctor for something or the other. It was very unprofessional, since we could hear their whole conversation. The doctor seemed agitated and unfair towards the assistant. She then enters the room and introduces herself.

The doctor seemed okay at first. For taking blood, Simba had to be taken into another room where we could not monitor his wellbeing. Moments later we could hear him screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs for almost 10 minutes! I regret not leaving the room to go save him from whatever they were trying to do to him. It’s like there was no care being taken at all for his well being. They were just trying to power through with getting blood at any cost.

At the end of it all, our poor Simba was brought back into the room with a stick and collar attached to him like a wild animal. Not only was he completely broken mentally, but they did not even manage to get blood. They should have changed their method or suggested sedation instead of literally torturing him for 10 minutes!

Simba never bounced back. He was in a healthy and strong state before then and this appointment was the beginning of his sharp decline. These guys even had the audacity to pester me on a near daily basis asking about when we wanted to come back. Even now, 3 months after we were there they are still trying to schedule.

Our beautiful boy passed two days ago on August 27th. Three months following the dreadful appointment with Shelter Island Vet. I credit them with his ultimate demise and have massive regrets for not saving him from that room. He had so much life left in him.

Note to vet- please do not respond to this. Nothing you say will remove the pain nor absolve you of your...

The first time I brought my cat here they took her in the back to get shots, and she wound up sick a couple days later (spreading then to my other cat)….so I wasn’t super happy. But I gave them another chance and brought my dog for dental work. When they took us in the back at pickup, the dirtiness of the space explained why my cat got sick—blood on the floor, just generally not clean. The last straw came when we requested a prescription refill for dog food for sensitive skin on a Monday—on THURSDAY it still had not been filled, and when we called they were super rude and told us we’d need to come in for an appt/pay to get it refilled, even though we’d just been in FOR THIS ISSUE 2 months prior. When we told them that was ridiculous (I mean, what a scam), Dr. Darnell wrote us a crazy rude/childish email telling us we should have been better prepared, and that if we came in and apologized for being rude to her front desk guy, she’d sign a prescription. Thinking about reporting her to the vet board—I’m sure they don’t condone holding prescriptions hostage for things in return. She was a nightmare, and the whole place is dirty and unprofessional—avoid...

If you're searching for an exceptional veterinarian for your beloved pet, look no further than Shelter Island! I've had the pleasure of working with many vets over the years due to frequent moves, but Dr. Nancy is a uniquely fantastic vet. She has provided the best possible care for my cat Rosilyn, and has treated us both with respect and comfort every step of the way.

Dr. Nancy is an outstanding communicator and does an excellent job of explaining what she's doing with your pet. She's incredibly patient, answering all of my questions, and guiding me through every detail of my cat's care. When Rosilyn's X-ray revealed a growth during surgery, Dr. Nancy called me immediately to let me know and even called in a specialist to assist. She then performed surgery to remove the tumor, doing her absolute best given the circumstances.

Overall, I cannot recommend Dr. Nancy and Shelter Island enough. She's an incredibly skilled and compassionate veterinarian who truly cares about her patients' well-being. Thank you, Dr. Nancy and Shelter Island Veterinary Hospital, for all...