Animal Clinic of Benicia

Reviews 5

KI

Kim Rollo Emanuel

Be very cautious here! I am very unhappy with the Animal Clinic of Benicia. For starters I was not pleased with the vet Dr Vance; she was scattered. Then she prescribed a 2 week schedule of 2 antibiotics for my cat. The first was filled properly (14 tablets 1/2 to be given every 12 hours ... no problem) and the second was a suspension that was only 1/3 sufficient to meet the 2 week schedule. When I called they gave me a refill with the comment that it was odd it only lasted 5 days. Then when I got home I checked the refill I noticed it was this time only 1/2 full. Here are the versions of the explanations I have been given: Story 1. Oh, there should have been 2 bottles initially. (this by the way is what Dr Vance initially indicated). I waited on hold while she checked with the technician. Story 2. I was told the technician was directed by Dr Vance told to only fill one of the prescriptions for 7 days pending a reschedule (this is not what Dr Vance told me). But they filled it anyway without the reschedule. "Again there was no mention to me by Dr Vance or any member of the staff that I would have to refill pending a reschedule visit and if that was the case they should have not filled the prescription without the reschedule". "and why would they fill the pills for 14 days without a reschedule requirement and not the suspension?" Story 3. I drove to the office and the office manager claimed they never make mistakes and I must have administered the wrong dosage and they could not have possibly made a mistake. "Right!" Story 4. Then the office manager said the reason they only gave 1/2 was to prevent spoilage, but the expiration date indicates the suspension is good for 14 days and the office manager acknowledged this. My concern is NOT the additional cost of the prescription, my concern is a very arrogant attitude and the dismissed possibility that an error was made and I am now concerned that my kitty has been prescribed proper dosages. But one has to wonder: The suspension is good for 14 days but if they fill it twice the price doubles! Fishy) I have 3 cats and a dog and have had kitties and doggies my whole life and have been seeing vets for many years with all of my pets. This is the first time I have ever had any questions with the integrity of a vet. Again, caution here. Kim

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Luz Frausto

I took my dog for L eye tearing x 3 weeks and we saw Dr. Sandhu. I took in the eye drops my dog had already been on for a week without relief. Dr. Sandhu spent 2 minutes in the room, and only 3 seconds just pulling the eyelid down saying "it doesnt look that bad." There was no thorough exam done, he didnt even bother to check pupil constriction, or an exam to see if my dog had a foreign object. Dr. Sandhu prescribed me the same treatment my dog had been taking the week prior, only difference was ointment vs solution and hydrocortisone vs dexamethasone. They are both steroids which work the same! The medication also had the same antibiotics the solution had (Neomycin and Polymyxin)! When I asked him during exam what he thought my dog may be having he said "he may have scratched his eye" so he wouldnt give me an antibiotic as there was no infection- however he did give me antibiotics along w the steroid. His eye is not any better, still tearing and it is still itchy. When I called the office they tried to convince me that he had prescribed a different treatment (and not the one he had already been on)- however a steroid is a steroid regardless of it being dexamethasone vs hydrocortisone- the treatment was the same and was charged $$$ for a lazy 3 second exam. Im sorry, but this doctor doesnt know medicine if he is prescribing the same treatment. Dont waste your time here, there was no justification to his treatment other than "he probably scratched his eye" without any thorough exam- if you think its not an infection why prescribe me something with antibiotics?! Makes no sense! Take your money and time somewhere else.

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Angela Allberry

Not actually bad, but so so. Beloved Dr. Laurie has retired and sold her practice!!!! I LOVED Dr. Laurie. She was (and is) a great vet - who now lives in Florida. So this review is of the new vets who bought her practice. I saw the new lady vet. My cat, Coco Puff, has stomatitis, which Dr. Laurie treated by prednisone shots. The only other treatment is to have all the cats teeth pulled - and she is only 4 years old. I went in, expecting to pay $42 for a prednisone shot, which has worked in the past. Instead I was told I needed to have the cats teeth cleaned, many of her teeth removed, and the bill (low end) was over $600. I was told the cat had gum disease, and they would not know how many teeth needed to be pulled until she was anesthetized. I asked the new vet why she was recommending something Dr. Laurie had recommended against. She seemed surprised that I might dare question her. She said the quoted price was only good for a few days. I shuddered, returned my cat to her carrier and fled, never to return. In fairness, when I look at veterinary sites on the Internet, they say that the standard treatment for stomatitis is to have the cats teeth all removed. So the new vet was not out of line with common veterinary practice.Were her prices out of line with veterinarians prices in the area? Probably not. It is just that Dr. Laurie was inexpensive. This new vet is NOT Dr. Laurie. She does not demonstrate the feeling of caring and trust that Dr. Laurie did. I will not go back. Does anybody know a good veterinarian?

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A

A Private User

Being new to town, I was apprehensive to just pop into any vet all "willy-nilly" . Our cat is diabetic and is on two drugs, so finding a vet with the experience was key. My wife chose a vet which was closer to our house and had many positive reviews here on Yelp. I decided to have a look on that review page and did a word search for the word "cat". Unfortunately, all the hits on that page fell directly in to blazingly negative reviews. I decided to do some searching here in town and was please to find that my first call revealed that Animal Clinic of Benicia wasnt only an amicable group of professionals, but also, had first hand experience with diabetic cats, having one in-house as well as two others owned by staffers there. Doctor Jimenez was also very empathic and treated our cat Muughi with care and love, calling him a very sweet animal and even giving the little guy a kiss on the forehead during the examination. I have never seen Muughi in such a comfortable state at a vet and he didnt even "yowl" in the care on the way home Over all, I am impressed with Animal Clinic of Benicia and should recommend them to all the Cat owners here in town!

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A Private User

Ive been taking my pets to the Animal Clinic for years now. Dr. Laurie and her team are the most caring and ethical and understanding group of vet health-care providers that youre going to find. They provide top-notch care and are always willing to help owners make the best decisions for their pet (and pocket-book). The techs and Dr. Laurie, herself, treat every animal-patient with respect, affection, and a keen eye for doing everything they can to make the pets visit relaxing and non-stressful, and they are always willing to provide and/or discuss every possible treatment for a given case (and are always interested in trying the option that costs the owner the least before moving on to more expensive treatment options). After years of dealing with apathetic vets with an eye only for their cash and packing in as many appointments as they can in a day, I will never again take my pets to anyone else. I notice that the complaints and low ratings below have NOTHING to do with the quality of care provided by this expert vet clinic. Only quibbling over ridiculous elements of personal tastes. Makes one wonder why these people complained in the first place.

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