Simi Valley Animal Hospital

Reviews 4

JE

Jeff Linville

ALWAYS get a quote for treatment from here. And even then you will most likely see an added charge on your bill. This place seems to nickel and dime you for every little thing. Example 1)My dog needed a wart removed. They required me to drop her off in the morning and pick her up that evening allowing them to do it in between patients. They charged me a $20 "Day Stay" fee even though they requested I leave her there for the day. Example 2) After paying $209.60 for the above mentioned procedure, they charged me an additional $6.07 "suture removal" fee 2 weeks later. Shouldnt a suture removal be included in the initial fee? I thought all Post operative care is a FOLLOW UP to the initial procedure. Example 3) My dog had a lesion on her paw. I was faxed a quote at work and went over everything I wanted to have done that day. My boyfriend picked her up and showed me the itemized bill. I was shocked to see that not only did they add something I had not approved for $18 but it was Diphenydramine (which is the main ingredient in Benadryl) that I could have paid $2.47 for at the local grocery store. $18 may not seem like a lot but this seems to happen every time at this place and since December 2008 I have spent $1800 on my dog here. Any advice from them at this point on saving money would have been helpful and much appreciated. Example 4) 10 days after taking her for the above mentioned ailment (paw lesion) she started to walk funny and limp. My boyfriend got her in on an "Emergency" basis (they were open but didnt have any available appointments) and they diagnosed a shoulder sprain and gave her a shot of a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory. Also, her paw wasnt looking better so they explored it for a foreign body and changed her antibiotic. This diagnosis seems fairly straight forward. Here is what it cost us for them to get to that conclusion: Emergency Exam $95 Local Anesthesia $58 Foxtail Exploration $33.06 Blood Collection $22.50 Hazardous Waste Disposal $5.81 Basic Profile $108.81 Urine Collection $25.00 Urinalysis (in-house) $52.16 Metacam injection $56.45 Metacam(take-home) $43.50 Clavamox 375mg x28pills $112.84 They called my boyfriend at 11:58 to pick her up. When we arrived, there was a women their with her dog and she was checking out as well. We asked to speak to someone about the cost of our current and previous visits. A man came over and I explained that I was upset over some previous charges and that we felt we were being nickel and dimed. He was patient and listened to my concerns. As I was still talking to him Dr Stirewalt. came up and started reviewing the medications and dosages for my dog. As she was walking away she overheard the man at the front desk offering to refund us the $18 for the generic Benadryl paid for at a previous visit but she interupted and started to get really snotty and rude stating that she had taken care of my dog and that they closed 1/2 ago etc, I explained to her that I didnt feel she was exhibiting good customer service. Isnt treating animal emergencies what a vet does and I understand that they closed earlier but they were still checking out another patient and had 5 employees standing around. We had picked up our dog as soon as we got the phone call from their office. I paid the $595.13 and informed her we would not be back and she replied with "Fine". The following day my dog had an allergic reaction and we took her in to a 24 Hour Pet Emergency Clinic and couldnt believe they only charged $75 for an emergency visit. This reinforced my belief that Simi Valley Animal Hospital overcharges. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND choosing another office for your pets needs.

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A

A Private User

complete rip off. She tried to get every penny out of us. She slammed us with a 600+ bill when it was suppose to be LESS THEN 200!! (Its like going to a mechanic) Not only that, but we paid extra to get a straight answer from a professional lab and we are left with questions if my dog has cancer or not. Cancer can be found from the tiniest cell and they cant give me a straight answer from blood samples from a lump. I will NEVER recommend this vet to anyone! BEWARE!! I can only talk great about one person and it was a vet assistant who was extremely friendly, great and sympathetic with my dogs (I dont remember her name but shes young and has dark hair).

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A

A Private User

I’m not going to give one star, because frankly, she is a VERY clever physician. She’s also very, very expensive, and for routine care, like shots and physicals, that’s pretty unacceptable. One thing I did not like, either, is that she is one of those people that made me feel like a bad PET OWNER because I didn’t want to pay a gazillion dollars for a work up for some benign, asymptomatic conditions my dog was experiencing. But, her deductive abilities are very good, and if money isn’t so much an object and you value an intelligent doctor, you may want to consider this.

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KA

Katrina Burns

Great service and they love animals. However, I agree with most other reviews on one point, this place is very expensive. I do feel my dog is getting the best care. I strongly recommend them for any problems that others have been unable to find. This would be 5 star if the prices were anywhere near what we paid our last vet!

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