Veterinary Specialty Hospital - Sorrento Valley — Local services in San Diego

If you paid me $500K to say one nice thing about VSH, I could not consciously do that. Here's my story, and I encourage anyone who is looking at this group to read my review.

I was referred to this practice through my dog's physical therapist. This has been a 9-month ordeal where we have been to 5 different vets/specialists. We have had 2 sets of x-rays, a CT scan, an ultrasound, and an MRI. After all this, she was diagnosed with bicep tendonitis. This was her official diagnosis. After 9 full emotional month.

Because some of her tests were done in Mexico and relayed to me in Spanish, I wanted a second opinion from someone who speaks my language—just to make sure that I wasn't missing something. I asked VSH to look at Marley's entire history and all the knowledge that we have obtained in the last 9 months, and tell me their opinion on the MRI/CT scan. Basically, I just wanted to make sure she didn't have a tear in her affected tendon. That was all I asked for.

Kyle Chu saw Marley on August 29, 2024. Kyle Chu did not read or interpret the last 9 months of scans/reports/vet write-ups, literally anything. In fact, he told me he wasn't a radiologist and couldn't read any scans, to which I replied, "This is literally the only reason I am here."

I did not want or need Kyle Chu's unfounded opinion based on nothing. There were 9 months of data that Kyle Chu blatantly disregarded in an attempt to come to his own conclusion irrespective of the months of history that I had provided. And his conclusion was (this really is a direct quote that I wrote down during our visit)... "I don't know. She might need surgery. She could have elbow dysplasia. I don't think it's elbow dysplasia, but it could be. It could be medial shoulder instability. I'm not seeing a specific soft tissue injury. I just don't know."

Not knowing something is fine. But what Kyle Chu did was grossly irresponsible and disrespectful to the 9 months of data that I put in front of his face. Kyle Chu did not read the CT scan, the MRI report, or the ultrasound; he might have looked at a few x-rays. Kyle Chu is an inept narcissist. That is literally the only explanation for ignoring 9 months of history and then offering unsanctioned terrible advice.

I sat in Kyle Chu's office for 2 hours for him to thwart any progress that I have made in determining the path forward for Marley. He told me to cancel PT, he told me to cancel a Pallet Rich Plasma Injection which absolutely would have helped Marley. Now I have to wait several more months to take her to get her PSP.

When I made my appointment, the receptionists at VSH told me they would read my scans during the visit. Everyone was aligned that this was why I was requesting my appointment (screenshots attached). I personally didn't even want to bring Marley there. She has been through enough and they didn't need her - they had 9 months of data to work with. Not only did they not read my scans during my 2 hours in their office - they still have the hard discs of her CT and MRI!

Again, I don't care if Kyle Chu doesn't know what is going on. He's human, it's ok to say "I'm not the person for this diagnosis and I don't want to waste your time or your money." But that is not what happened. Kyle Chu threw 9 months of findings into question AND he told me cancel her existing care plan. This man couldn't even read a scan and is somehow telling me that her diagnosis isn't valid. Kyle Chu and the owners of VSH should be sued for gross neglegance.

It's been a week and I am still waiting for a manager to call me.

Attached: screenshots from my initial appointment, confirmation from the VSH asking me to come early so they can load the MRI/CT scan so they can read it during the appointment (which did not happen). Follow-up email telling me it's going to cost almost $2,000.

I deeply regret canceling Marley's PRP appointment at the insistance of Kyle Chu. I waited months for that appointment. Kyle Chu, you have hurt our family beyond belief through your gross negligence...

I have three dogs and two cats from time to time when they’re not feeling good and it’s usually late at night. I live in mira mesa so I would take them there if I felt something was wrong or if they looked sick a lot of the times it was something minor and a little bit of meds would fix the problem, this last time I visited My five month Pomeranian was was not pooping for the last few days while I was walking my dogs twice a day and I saw him throw up. My wife saw him threw up and then I found more throw up so he kept throwing up. I got concerned. I took him there to the hospital they did x-rays and told me they believe he had cloth or something stuck in a small intestines and they wanted to put them on an IV and that was gonna be 2000 to 2700 and then if he needed surgery if the IV didn’t work to push whatever was clogged through to his large intestines and if that didn’t work, then they needed surgery and that was going to be another 7 to 8000 and I simply told him I could not afford that I told the doctor I paid $1000 for my dog and they want me to spend 10,000. I said that’s 10 dogs hypothetically the doctor got offended that I said that I was simply speaking hypothetically, they gave me an attitude that they would tell me we will be a couple of minutes and it would be an hour and a half later and then they would give me the reasoning why and then again will be ten minutes to fifteen and an hour and a half later they would give me the reasons why and then when I told them I’m not going to do it with them because they were way too expensive they gave me an attitude, the doctor wouldn’t even come and see me after that I guess he was super busy. He was all alone dealing with emergencies so the next day I took him to grand pet hospital and they did the surgery for $2000. They found nothing in his small intestines the night before he never left my side. He never pooped. He never threw up. He did nothing because he was also sedated by the hospital the night before by the first hospital I still had to pay for the surgery yet there was nothing in his stomach other than chicken so I was very confused on the whole situation. Did they do something while not telling me simply because I told them I was not going to do it and they felt like I might do something wrong to my dog . Either way I will never ever go there even if I have to drive to Los Angeles. I will never go there again and they charge me $800 which I couldn’t afford, but I did anyways. and I had to pay 2500 at the other hospital and I have to see them for the next few days again to pay $300 for the next few visits each to make sure he gets liquids on an IV. I just don’t understand why I was told that the x-ray showed there was stuff stuck in his stomach yet there was nothing there, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they forced out but I was not informed about anything and my wife and daughter and I have seen the same rude attitudes from that hospital time and time again if you’re not happy with what you’re doing find something else to do I don’t know why but the foreigners in this country tend to do a better job and have more professionalism and concern don’t act so woke , like they do at the hospital in Sorrento Valley is very white and very Wolk and very obviously Democrat liberal. I don’t know what but let it be known just like all the things we have been dealing with in our country. It’s our own entitled enabled who are so unhappy with their lives that they push their unhappiness onto us and when there are no God or morals or family or culture involved, and there every day life you see the differences between foreigners who come from culture, family history, saying, proud of who they are where they come from their good name to a generation that hates their family has nothing but resentment and misery loves company....

On Saturday, 9/10/23, I found a large abscess on the anal gland of my four-year-old Boston Terrier. I immediately called her vet, who said to be booked for the day. The office suggested I seek care at the Sorrento Valley Veterinary Specialty Hospital because they would have longer hours to accommodate our needs. I immediately drove to the VS Hospital arriving at 2:30 pm. I was told there would be a 2-hour waiting period due to emergencies and weekend staff. I agreed with that and proceeded to find a corner in the waiting room with my dog. Around 5 pm I asked for a status on the waiting since I had seen a normal entering and leaving number of dogs while I was waiting. I was told there would be 2 dogs ahead of me. Around 6:30pm I asked again for the status of the waiting, and I was told there was 1 dog ahead of me. Unfortunately, the abscess burst while my dog was itching it, and the blood and a brown fluid got all over my dress. So now, after almost 5 hours of waiting to be seen by the doctor, I was smelling horrible and my dog was bleeding. The receptionist asked me to go to the bathroom and clean up until I got the chance to be seen by the doctor. I was infuriated with that scenario of me holding my dog in my arms while trying to clean her bloody rear and nobody... I mean N-O-B-O-D-Y came to help me or offered to take the dog inside for any assistance to do a better job. My dog started to shiver in pain, and I knew she would need to have antibiotics and painkillers anyway, so I asked again the receptionist if he could check with the doctor and how long more I would have to wait. I was in tears to see my dog suffering in the hospital after 6 hours of waiting to be seen by the doctor, and the change in scenarios with the abscess bursting on me (and leaving me with a stinky smell). At 8 pm I was told there was a room for me to wait with my dog. I stayed inside the room waiting for the doctor for an extra one hour. So, this is the service I got from this facility. After a long 7 hours of waiting in the hospital while everybody else seemed to be coming and going peacefully in the hospital, I had to leave my dog there for a procedure involving anesthesia I was finally released to eat/get proper clean clothes, and I had to return to the hospital around 1:30 am to pick her up. I asked if I could pick her up the next day and was told they would charge me a fee for overnight (a different doctor releasing my dog). I could not believe the treatment these people offer to their clients. I have a feeling that the triage assessment of my dog's situation when I arrived was placed at the lowest level of the emergencies; however, the staff failed to reassess the situation after almost 4 hours of waiting and the abscess burst on me. Then I had to wait almost another 4 hours to be seen. If I could give ZERO STARS, I would. The amount of waiting was above acceptable and the only reason I didn't leave that place earlier was that I had no other facility in mind ( or another nearby emergency business to see my pet). They need to improve the services, train the people, hire more staff, or sell this business to someone who knows how to run a business that deals with emotion, pain, and distress. This type of work is NOT for everybody.

PS: Customer service contacted me to apologize for my experience and promised to investigate and train the staff to be more compassionate with the clients and make new assessments...