Mar Vista Animal Medical Center Los Angeles, California

Looking forward to taking my puppies there in a couple weeks

I've been going here for 25 years. Good quality care with great doctors. Reasonable prices.

They accommodated our dog's leptospirosis vaccine pretty quickly for the first appointment which I appreciate because I know how booked up they are. They offer text messaging which is great for convenience. Deduction of 1 star because my husband texted during open hours days ago and they still haven't texted back. They responded to all other messages the same day and within minutes mostly.

Really live Ty and Sue. The vet is super helpful and they got me in to get my puppy a lepto shot. They're the best!

This is where you go if you cannot afford to take good care of your animal. The staff is not organized, they never pick up their phone and the place itself looks like it’s falling apart

Good care for our kitties

EDIT: In response to the unprofessional team that wants to lie. I'm going to address each lie. The person responding wants to try and say were upset because we had to pay. No it was how you treated us once we mentioned the voucher. It was your behavior which you're exhibiting now that was upsetting. Your team was completely dismissive and rude. I don't care if I wasn't there my animal was and your business was lousy. "All our patients, including your cat, get a full exam with a 40-minute appointment and a full page of medical notes" -We did not receive that. The exam was less than 4 minutes. "our cat's veterinarian today is board-certified in feline practice with more training and more experience than 90% of other veterinarians and helps train other veterinarians, so your cat's exam was not lacking in any way." -Another sad lie, Embarrassing you even say this. Simply not true but ok go off sis. The vet was off, scrambled and far from what you described. -If you participate with the shelters it is part of your job to know what they are saying you offer and what they are giving vouchers for. We had a voucher that did cover treatments which were said by the shelter so another mistake of yours. Doesn't seem like you bunch can take responsibility. You just gaslight customers. You guys are the rudest, silliest, most unprofessional animal medical office and I will never be returning. You weren't even my choice. the Shelter that you participate with referred you with the vouchers. Original Review: Worst animal medical center ever. DON'T TAKE YOUR ANIMAL HERE. Front desk is a joke. No one seems to want to work or know what they are doing. Vet knowledge/skills are embarrassing. Our cat didnt even get a full check up. They were bothered by the fact that we adopted our cat and received a free medical checkup voucher from the animal shelter. They were rude and condescending because the free voucher i guess? Trying to make us feel bad for it? Just a joke of a business and a bunch of sad, lazy, pathetic people inside.

I saw all of the negative reviews prior to going here but I thought maybe it was just a personality conflict and gave them a chance. I should have known by the way the clinic manager has replied to all of these complaints, basically calling people liars and taking no accountability. Lack of Professionalism and Not Responsive 1. Rude receptionist (if you can ever get her or anyone else on the phone). The first time I came here I was waiting and calling for at least 10 minutes before a lady walked up from the outside with a dog and didn't acknowledge me at all. I asked if she worked there and she said "yeah, what's up?". Ummm I have an appt and I'm here with my dog, that's what's up. *I will say that there is a different woman (young, African American) who sometimes assists with front desk and she is lovely, professional and she should find a better place to work. 2. Any time I have an appt I call when I arrive and no one answers the phone. So I text, sill no response. I have always had to wait at least 20-30 min before anyone even comes out to get him. So I asked last time if they prefer that I call, text, email, to let them know I'm here since no one answers the phone, and was told that they don't see the texts unless they're in front of the phone/computer so it doesn't matter which I do. They don't ask which car you're in, where you're parked (they only have two spaces available so you usually park on the street at a meter) how long it will be until someone comes out, so it's really a guessing game for everyone. And true to history, I am actually calling as I write this because no one has sent me my records that I requested via email two weeks ago and no one has picked up the phone, and it's been 15 minutes, at 3:30 on a Friday. 3. My dog was neutered here and had a tooth extracted at the same time (I didn't receive a reminder text/call or instructions on not feeding him so I called to ask if he was scheduled the night before) and no one bothered to call me to let me know how he was doing. I received a text at 5:00 that said he's doing fine and you can pick him up tomorrow. I replied that I wanted to speak to a vet and was told that the vet was too busy so to send my question along. I replied that I wanted the vet to call me and so she (Dr. Brooks) finally did, but was extremely rude, not helpful and very annoyed that she had to call me. I have owned more than 7 cats and dogs over the past 10 ten years and I've never experienced the lack of professionalism from a vet's office like I have here. It's honestly not shocking at all that the receptionist is so rude and they don't care because the vet was just as rude. Company culture all starts from the top, and this is certainly true here. The next day I asked again that the vet call me to discuss the aftercare of his neuter and extraction and they told me no, send a text and Dr. Brooks would reply by end of day. I expected that someone would go over aftercare with me via phone or when I picked him up, but no one did. The vet tech brought him out and said here's his pain medication. No one told me he shouldn't run, the incision shouldn't get wet, to bring him back if it looked infected or torn, etc. They said NOTHING, so I'm glad I had google to tell me how to care for my puppy. 4. The records from his neuter had his weight from months before so I asked that the records be updated and they just sent me a text of his weight. His vaccination records had the wrong expiration year listed, so I've had to request multiple times that they update this so that I can get him into daycare and training classes. I have requested records via email on at least two occasions and no one responds. 6. I was told that they would submit records to insurance and that never happened after one of my visits. I realized this after a month so I submitted them on my own rather than deal with the unprofessional receptionist, who would likely not reply to my email anyway. The prices are low here, but my patience and time are more valuable than a discount.

Good & useful information on website

[Updated 3/5/21: This is in response to the comment that this business left below my negative review. Your practice has never, ever, ever called me on the phone or contacted me in any manner about anything related to this incident, despite numerous calls and messages left by me to your practice, and despite what you allege in your response to this review. Rather than leaving a reply that takes zero responsibility, blames the rescue groups, & suggests that I call your practice (why would I leave you a message if my complaint is that you are completely unresponsive to messages?) you could have just, I don't know, taken 5 seconds to call me and apologize for the mixup? But alas.] Unbelievably bad. Based on my experience I can't believe this vet maintains its license. We rescued a dog and picked her up from this animal hospital in March. Mar Vista assured us that our dog had been spayed. Four weeks later our dog begins to bleed. The rescue spent weeks calling Mar Vista to verify whether the dog had actually been spayed or not, and Mar Vista was completely unresponsive and would not respond to any communication. Meanwhile our supposedly spayed dog continues to bleed, and we proceed under the assumption that she was never spayed. Eventually after the rescue tried for 2+ weeks, Mar Vista sent over a signed certificate verifying that the dog had been spayed, a certificate that was signed and dated earlier that day (???). No examination, no time spent verifying that an actual operation had occurred, just a signed piece of paper that is supposed to pacify us and make us go away (is this even legal?). We took her to another vet shortly thereafter who verified via bloodwork that our dog still has her ovaries and no spay was ever performed. So just to summarize, Mar Vista failed to perform the spay they were supposed to, dodged any accountability for that miss, and then doubled-down on that miss by lying to us with a fake spay certificate. Absolutely unreal. My advice to anyone reading is to avoid this business at all costs.

Would not recommend this place for regular check-ups or senior dog care. We started taking our senior dog here for check-ups and flea/tick/heart worm just because we live close by. 3mo later we decided to start getting our Revolution meds from Chewy.com since it was cheaper. Vets need to approve prescriptions on Chewy. This vet approved the prescription because they had just seen our dog for nails/anal gland, etc. Another 3mo go by and we need a refill for Revolution. Chewy isn’t filling the order so we call them. They said this vet hasn’t approved the prescription. We call Mar Vista and are told “the prescription is on the vet’s desk, just waiting for them to sign off on it”. 2 weeks go by and we call Mar Vista clinic again and get the same response. Now our dog is off her flea/tick/heart worm meds and we still don’t have the prescription filled. We call Mar Vista a third time and now they say that we need to bring our dog in for a check up before filling the prescription. There was absolutely no reason for this as our dog doesn’t have many health problems and they saw her less than 3mo ago. Either way, we need the prescription filled so we take her in and they finally fill the prescription (why didn’t they tell us they needed to see her the first time we called)? All of this is too late because we found out in the 2-3 weeks our dog was off her Revolution, she got hook worms and had been vomiting off and on for most of January. Another vet diagnosed this and prescribed us something to take care of this. All of this could’ve been prevented if Mar Vista Animal Clinic acted and responded in a responsible manner. I understand COVID changes the way we all operate, but their blatant attempt to use our situation to profit is very careless, dishonest, and irresponsible especially considering our dog’s age. It shouldn’t be this difficult to fill a prescription for flea/tick medication. I have no issue pinning the amount of time, money, worry, and frustration we’ve had in January trying to diagnose the issue on Mar Vista Animal Clinic directly. Please do yourself a favor and find a different clinic.

Mar Vista Animal Medical Center is a great place to bring your furbabies. They've taken such good care of my kids. Even during this pandemic...I had to put one of my babies down...they let me be with him in his last moments. I am forever grateful for the kindness they showed me and my baby Rexel Rose. I will continue to bring my other furbaby here for all his medical needs.

Horrible experience and service. We came in for a second opinion on our dogs Distemper that has been confirmed. They took her in called us to confirm it is distemper without a doubt. Then went on to say this doctor has never treated it so has no idea anything she can do and has never seen it. She didn’t even know about the medical articles on their website regarding this disease and treatments. We got a call at pick up asking if we would like to run a $200+ dollar test to confirm distemper which she just confirmed minutes earlier. Awful way to take advantage of a hopeless situation and dog owners that are just trying to help their dog. Would NOT recommend.

They have cared for 5 of our dogs over the years. They are compassionate and do their very best to keep your loved ones healthy.

Covid 19 never got to go inside

The front desk women is extremely rude and unhelpful, I don’t understand why she’s works in customer service if she hates people. I have called multiple times with very simple requests and questions and when eventually the phone is answered she is condescending and makes a very simple task very stressful. I have now moved vets as the service here is not worth the convenience for how close I live, and I discovered that they have been prescribing my dog (who has a history of Heartworm) Trifexis, without providing a Heartworm test, which every other vet requires. I do not understand why this vets is not required, or why they did not explain that maybe they don’t require it but it’s recommended and give me the choice to pay. Because, of course, I would have paid for her to get tested. Do not use this vets, there are plenty of other good, caring and trustworthy vets out there.

Incredibly Bad. A couple of months back I called Mar Vista AMC to get a quote on a spaying for my puppy. The office manager, Debra, quoted me $236 with the LA city voucher. I agree and she tells me to send my dog's medical records. I email them to her on the Thursday before my appointment and I get a response via email Saturday afternoon saying "Thank you, is this for an upcoming appointment?" - They have my name and my pets name so I truly don't know why else I would be sending this information? At no point in this correspondence is anything mentioned about required vaccinations or additional charges. So I drop my puppy off at Mar Vista Animal Medical Center for a Spay around 8:30 am Sunday morning 8/16. A friendly young lady named Taisha (sorry sp?) brings out paperwork and kindly explains they have a monitored anesthesia for an additional amount. This wasn't mentioned on the phone, but I agree because I love my dog. This was 8:30 am. Taisha calls me back around 1:00pm saying i need to authorize a $49 (strangely close to the LA City voucher amount) "canine influenza vaccine." I told them I’d call them back in 5 minutes after I spoke with my dog's vet. They call me back in 2 mins saying they need an answer soon because they “actually close early on Sundays and if I don't authorize they won't proceed with the operation.” WHOSE FAULT IS THAT? - You're calling me, pressuring me to authorize a vaccination and charge, minutes before my dog is supposed to go into surgery. AND, if I don't authorize or come get her, my puppy is locked in the facility over night for no reason?!? Not today, Satan! I tell them that I do not authorize the shot and I will come get her immediately. Taisha tells me there's just a bandage on her arm because they shaved her to prep her for the IV. When I call to tell them I am outside to pick up my puppy, the office manager tells me my "balance is $0 because they didn't do anything to her." The guy who walked my puppy out to me said the bandage can come off in about an hour, but no mention of the pre-med to calm her. I get her in the car to come home and my dog is HIGH AF. I call back to find out what they gave her and how much and they finally hand me over to the vet (didn't get her name because I was so panicked after seeing my dog stare at a coffee cup for the last 10 minutes) and she tells me they actually gave my dog Torbugesic (sp?) a pre-med to help her anxiety and that "it's actually better that my dog got it to help calm her down." Thanks lady, I understand what the drug does but what I don't understand is: WHY DID THEY DRUG MY DOG IF THEY WEREN'T AUTHORIZED TO PROCEED WITH THE OPERATION? What kind of shady establishment is this - trying to squeeze out 50 bucks for a DOG FLU VACCINE from a worried owner??? Mar Vista Animal Medical Center MUST be investigated because this is not only grossly unprofessional, it is downright negligent. Furthermore, a flu vaccine is NOT required for this procedure. You don't drug a dog without having all of your paperwork in order and then call the owner asking for more money. And you sure as hell don't "forget to mention" you drugged my dog after they told me "we didn't do anything today." Now my puppy is not spayed, I had to book another appointment for September (with someone who doesn't keep dogs overnight and doesn't require a bogus dog flu vaccine) yet now I run the risk of her getting knocked up or bleeding all over my home all because these people don't know what they're doing. Someone needs to look at Mar Vista AMC's operations and ethics. If Debra is too incompetent to collect all information and disclose all requirements prior to THE HOUR of the operation via phone or email, then there should have been failsafes during the intake procedure to catch these missed "requirements". If this is all a part of an operational plan to get more money, then Debra or whoever the office manager is needs to be fired immediately and the doctor investigated for ethics violations. As mentioned in previous reviews, it is clear these people just want your money.

Can’t weigh your pet accurately and unfriendly receptionist The people here are mostly nice but don’t seem to be able to accurately weigh your pet. Over 4 years ago, I was told my cat was borderline obese by Dr. Brooks, so weight measurements are particularly important to me. When I picked up my cat on 12/2/2020 I was told his weight was 14.13 lbs. The clinician pointed to the invoice listing the weight. When I picked up my cat on 12/3/2020 I was told his weight was 15.3 lbs. “I weighed him myself,” the clinician said. “But the invoice says 14.13 lbs.” I said. He said they must have forgotten to update it. Turns out the weight on my last 4 invoices has said 14.13 lbs. My previous visit was on 10/10/2020, invoice said 14.13 lbs. but I was told 13.2 lbs. by one clinician and 13.5 lbs. by another. So I guess my cat gained 2 pounds from October to December. Really? His diet or activity level hasn't changed. Now to the receptionist. I know we’re in a pandemic, but it seems to me all the more important to exercise good customer service. On 12/2/2020 I called the Center a few minutes after 8am to drop off my cat. The receptionist said nobody was available to pick up the cat even though I had seen at least 3 employees enter the Center during the last few minutes. Even if there wasn’t any help available one should say “We’ll be out as soon as we can” or something. On 12/3/2020 I received a text that my cat was ready to be picked up. I was driving so didn’t respond for 10 minutes. After at least another 10 minutes and receiving no response, I called the Center. The same receptionist took my credit card info to settle the bill. After that, I asked if my cat could be weighed again and to make sure he was given his pain pill. “You’re not going home with any medication today,” she said. “I know, but this morning when I dropped off my cat, I gave the person 2 pills and asked her to give them to the cat.” “Well, I don’t know anything about that. There’s nothing here,” she curtly said. She was very abrupt and acted like she was going to end the call and I quickly said, “Also, there’s some gel that’s supposed to be applied to his chin.” She said, “There’s nothing in the notes about any . . .“ “Dr. Moore applied the gel yesterday and I asked the person this morning to apply it again,” I said. “Dr. Moore isn’t here today,” she blurted out. “There’s nothing in the notes. I’ll have to see if . . .” her voice trailed off. When I write it, it doesn’t sound that bad, but it was the tone of her voice, like she was a schoolteacher scolding an unruly child or something, not a loyal customer, and anything but helpful. Whatever . . .

Dr Brooks was willing to stay late, when I had a question re my foster kittens. This place rocks!!!

Been going here for years! Wonderful doctors and nurses and good prices

Dr. Brooks, Dr. Moore, and Elena are professional and great! I have recommended this small place to many of my friends who adopted new pets. However, I am not going to do this anymore. The entire experience is ruined by the receptionist, like others' reviews, why she works in customer service if she hates people. The medical center should check the phone record and get her FIRED. Seriously, what professional receptionist will CURSE to GOD? I understand COVID makes everything hard but she should get rested if she is not qualified and prepared for this new challenge (someone else could be). It was hard to write this review to my favorite vet, and I hope this could help them realize they need to reform and modernize their system. Otherwise, more loyal customers will turn to other choices.

Not too expensive, didn't take too long and Dr. Wendy was very helpful.

We came here when we first got out kitten, and were not given basic and important information regarding appropriate care for our cat, even though we asked several times for this information. For example, we were not told when vaccinations were due, when our next appointment should be, or even when she should be spayed. Several times the vet was unresponsive and did not call during appointments like we were told they would. One of the receptionists in particular was extremely rude and condescending whenever we asked for additional information, tried to schedule appointments, or requested to speak to the vet. I am concerned that this office does not keep track of or assess important information regarding pet health, and would not recommend this vet to others.

Very caring staff, and friendly!

I have been bringing all my pets here since i was a little girl. The staff here has always been so nice and friendly. They are very helpful, they answer all you questions and help you better understand any doubts you might have. They do have parking spots. There are to different doors to this place one for felines and one for canines. Their prices are very afordable compared to fancier vets or hospitals. They also have a low cost vaccination program every sunday.

They have taken very good care of my pets.

I've been going here for over 20 years and two different cats. Dr Wendy Brooks is awesome as is the rest of the staff.

One of the best Vets in the Westside. I live in the Southbay area now and still drive over.

Doctor was great. I have a 2 month old Kitten Killer and this was our first visit. We made our appointment and when we saw the doctor she was quick to answer all our questions on our kitten's needs. This will be our Killer's lifetime Vet. Thanks

I CALLED THESE PEOPLE AT 545PM WITH CLOSING TIME AT 600PM AND THEY STILL TOOK ME IN SAME DAY. THIS IS SERVICE WITH A SMILE AND LAUGHTER. THEY ARE GREAT. I'VE BEEN TO MANY VETS OVER THE YEARS, AND THESE FOLKS ARE THE BEST. BEST PRICE IN TOWN, ESPECIALLY FOR THE WEST SIDE. THEY EVEN HAVE ON SUNDAY, A CHEAPER THAN USUAL LOW COST SHOTS FOR YOUR DOG OR CAT! THE STAFF ARE FRIENDLY LIKE YOU CANNOT BELIEVE. THEY ARE AMAZING. THEY CARE ABOUT YOUR PET LIKE NO OTHER, BETTER THAN ANY OTHER ROUND HERE FOR SURE. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH YOU ARE THE BEST!