PETS Referral Center Berkeley, California

Perfect experience. Everyone - both vets, reception, techs were so kind and caring. My puppy is doing great after an ultrasound and endoscope to remove something she swallowed.

I had my shitzu baby in pain and since it was Christmas, we found this clinic open and all the employees were very kind and helped us a lot thanks

Very busy but super nice staff and doctors! They took great care of my dog! Update: my dog was so sick he almost died. He is now back to normal. Healthy and happy. Thanks to everyone at Pets Referral. AnnaLisa is especially great!

I was told when I called that it’d be a 3 hour wait to see a doctor. Waited 3 hours to be seen in triage. An hour later, they told us our dog, who is in a lot of pain, was next to see the doctor. Kept saying we were next for 4 more hours. It’s now been 8 and a half hours and they’re telling us we will see a doctor in one to three more hours. What a terrible way to treat clients.

Was told it’d be 3 hours to see a vet, had to give up after 9 hours with no end in sight

Had a interesting experience here. My little dog suffered a fall on his neck and was instantly paralyzed. I rushed him to the hospital and they immediately took him in. When you go in, they require a deposit of $600. WHAT BOTHERED ME: -They wanted to charge me 1K to keep him overnight. -They insisted his recovery would be unlikely and that if I couldn’t afford a very expensive surgery I should euthanize my dog!! Fast forward a week, my baby is walking again and is recovering little by little from rest. He was in a lot of neck pain the first four days, but now doesn’t even need his pain medicine! I am taking him to a Hollisitic vet rehab center in Oakland to help him recover. BOTTOM LINE: Don’t feel pressured into euthanizing your pet!! If I wouldn’t have insisted of taking him home myself, maybe my baby wouldn’t have been given the chance to recover. Trust your gut and don’t be manipulated by the financial cost to let your baby go. They really made me think my baby would never recover, but a week later his is doing SO much better! That was one of the darkest nights of my life but I am glad to have my baby still by my side ???????????? I am giving 3 stars because they did see him right away and the receptionist was super kind, comforting and professional (I wish I got his name).

How in the would you are rated four stars is beyond me . To be kind I would rate you a one star . You people were very disappointing . Never again .

I have been here 3xs. The first two times were great, but the third time was not at all. I understand it is an emergency vet and animals are not seen in order. But, after waiting six hours I noticed a lot. People had the option to be called to go in instead of waiting in the lobby. I was not given that option. I was given the option to see my vet basically. But, making an appointment to the vet is like making a dmv appt and my dog keeps me up every night with his issue and it won't stop growing. I needed my dog seen. I was being ignored. No one told me they could not help me at all. If they could not help me at all, I would have left and found someone else instead of waiting for six hours. I was just in the lobby while everyone else came and went. I was willing to wait longer, but acknowledge people after awhile. Ask if the animal needs water, etc. I was upset I was not given the options for a call or an internal medicine appt. at least. Something. Anything. The young lady in the front was great. She handled herself well in such a stressful situation. I apologize for raising my voice at her like that. She did not deserve that at all. The gentleman in the front was nice too. I would have done the same as he did. I apologize to him too. I just wanted to be treated like everyone else. I saw other employees hide and listen and watch instead of coming out and at least try to help the situation. Never let anything go that far with clients, always help your coworkers. Talk to your clients. I was not treated like everyone else and that was what upset me. Treat everyone the same. It is a great place to go to, but I will not be going there anymore. Thank you for the first two visits. But, this third one, I have never gone through that at any hospital. Not that. Can't deny the great care that is offered though. Thanks.

I usually don't write reviews, but unfortunately my experience at the Berkeley Pet Referral Center was so frustrating I thought it was worth sharing. We brought our dog into the referral center in order to ascertain whether he needed emergency medical services after eating a package that may have contained macadamia nuts. After waiting 3 hours and spending 500 dollars, we were finally told our pet was absolutely fine and we could take him home. They were unable to induce vomiting with one injection and then gave our dog a second injection, which we did not authorize. After still not being able to induce vomiting, they instructed us to contact the ASPCA poison control line. After spending 45 minutes on the phone with poison control, and being told that our pet was probably not in any danger, the vet insisted on contacting poison control himself. We were then forced to wait another hour until the vet was able to speak with the toxicologist and receive the same information we had received an hour ago. Why the vet did not contact the poison control line initially, is beyond me. During all this we did not have the opportunity to speak with the vet, and only received brief updates from a nurse. If we had been able to speak with a vet initially, we could have made the decision to go home within the first hour. I understand that the staff was busy, but frankly i felt taken advantage of. It really felt as if they were holding our dog hostage in the backroom until they were able to squeeze every last penny from us. I do take some responsibility, as a I never should have brought my dog into the center, however, I expected some honesty from the staff as to whether the situation constituted an emergency in the first place.

We had a great experience with PETS, our dog hurt his back and was unable to be seen right away by our regular vet and we were referred to PETS. The staff was very kind and helpful. The vet tech was great with our dog and very clear about costs and how long it would take for our dog to be seen since he was stable. The vet was able to see him sooner than expected and called me with a very logical treatment plan. I liked her approach to rule one thing out at a time, rather than running every test under the sun. I'm hoping we don't need to come back, but if we do, we'll be coming to PETS.

The PETS team is amazing! We’ve been bringing a long string of animals here for emergency, urgent, and cancer care. The Docs are always compassionate and knowledgeable. The techs and front desk team do an amazing job of communicating and letting us know what’s going on and how our pet is doing during each visit.

The best emergency vet in the area. Great staff and reasonable prices.

This is a great place to be if your pet needs emergency care. Amazing experience both times we have been with our dog. They are professional and sweet and always take great care of their patients. They are also nice enough to provide follow up advice when we call with questions during the healing process.

The vet was able to make quick and accurate decisions regarding emergency care. I appreciate the compassionate and thorough communication.

We’ve unfortunately have had to bring our pup here multiple times. However, we cannot thank the staff here enough for taking such fantastic care of our fur baby. He is a reactive pup and the staff are always so patient with him. Having to take him in during pandemic times, we appreciate how communicative the staff are during the whole experience. D says his thanks as well!

The care from Dr. M. Barlia and staff was fantastic. As a veterinarian myself, I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again for urgent care!

The doctors and nurses are so loving and caring. It's always a wonderful experience.

I was referred here when my dog was found to have both a mammary tumor and a lung nodule by another vet through X-ray. They did an ultrasound, then referred me elsewhere for a CT scan. Dr Siedlecki struck me as caring, knowledgeable and compassionate. She, as well as the doctor at Oakvet, gave me the impression that my dogs lung nodule was most likely metastatic cancer, with a probable survival rate of one to three months. She did say that the CT scan was not a diagnosis, and if a later X-ray showed no change, this would call into question the apparent prognosis. The overall tone of the message, though, was pessimistic. I was devastated. Follow up X-rays months later have shown the lung nodule has not changed, and the mammary tumor was the least aggressive type of cancer. I don’t share this to discredit her in any way. I’m sure she was following correct protocol, and I’m sure she would be happy to hear that my dog is still running along the beach, flirting with other dogs and fixated by cats and squirrels. I do want to say though that experts can make mistakes. The doctor at Oakvet also gave a dire perspective on my dogs prognosis, and he struck me as equally caring and competent. Other vets later, however, pointed out that the radiology report was entirely inconclusive. I only want to convey that it is always best to seek out another opinion—no one, however experienced and competent, is in a position to know.

Waited here for six hours to get my sick dog seen only to be told to go home or try other places because they’re busy.

I've been there twice, once to put a cat down, and once for my dog's hurt foot. They were professional and caring each time, they clearly know what they are doing. Happy to recommend.

Understanding that there is a shortage of vets affecting the volume of people accessing PETS referral center, it would have been better if someone had told me one, two even three hours into waiting "we probably won't see you today because we have determined that your pet's condition isn't critical". I don't think staff was super honest with me. I waited five hours to get seen by a vet and finally went home. Turns out there's only one vet there at any given time. You could have been more up front earlier on. My cat sat in her carrying case for all that time.

Spent over a thousand dollars only to have to take my cat to my normal vet. Wasted about 5 hours of my time as well. I would avoid this place and just go to your normal vet if possible. Edit: my cat is only better because I took him to my normal vet a couple of days later when they had an opening.

The staff at PETS Referral Center is professional and courteous. We appreciate the care that was taken and are thankful to have had a positive outcome for our dog. I continued to receive excellent service even when calling a few days later with follow-up questions.

I spent 12 hours waiting to see a Vet & was repeatedly told I was 2nd in line way too many times before I finally walked out. I was the fifth person who walked out in frustration during that time. Poorly run business but these pet ER’s have a corner on the market. If possible avoid at all costs .

I brought my dog in thinking he would maybe just need some fluid to help pass a blockage. He ended up having a wood chip in his small intestine. They took great care of him and got him into surgery right away. I got calls updating me on my dog’s condition from the doctors themselves, not just someone at the front desk. Thanks to them my best friend is alive.

This place is amazing. They have saved my fur baby’s life multiple times. The staff is attentive, caring, and communicates what is needed/different options in a clear and compassionate manner. They sent pictures when requested.

Our 14 lb. Yorkie mix was severely bitten by another dog and when we brought him to PETS, he was taken to the back right away. Dr. Nario was able to take care of his wounds and sew him back up. We were very happy with the service we received and would highly recommend this emergency hospital.

Worse than no help at all! Called several times, all equally unhelpful and disimissive of my and my dog's pain - how dare he step on a foxtail on a Sunday! Not a gunshot or life threatening so no help. Don't bother calling them!

I can not say enough about Dr. Cecile Siedlecki and her team! Our French Bulldog Georgia was diagnosed with lymphoma while we were travelling away from home. It was not an option for us to return home right away to seek treatment. Dr Cecile agreed to see Georgia and start treatment on very short notice (hours). Her care gave us the time to get Georgia home to continue her treatment. I credit Dr. Cecile and her team on the positive outcome we are experiencing. Many other clinics turned us away and did not give a second thought to the welfare of our dog...it was very disheartening. So encouraging to find a clinic that actually puts your pet first and is not run like a corporation driven by the bottom line. Much love to Dr. Cecile and her Team! Samantha Johnson

We were very happy with our experience at PETS Referral Center. The people on the phone were friendly and kind. The vet techs who came out to pick up our dog on the gurney were gentle, professional and empathetic. Dr. Thomas was informative and provided clear details. It made what was kind of a scary night for us, much more manageable. Thank you!