In my experience in going to this facility at various times over the last 12 years, I have found reception and staff to be rude and uncaring and I have found at least one doctor, Dr. Costin (Jr.) to... More

In my experience in going to this facility at various times over the last 12 years, I have found reception and staff to be rude and uncaring and I have found at least one doctor, Dr. Costin (Jr.) to be inept if not incapable of performing his job.  In my most recent visit, I took my cat in due to swelling in the rear legs.  Dr. Costin (Jr.), indicated that he was unable to find any reason for the swelling and actually said he had no idea what the problem could be.  He advised me to go home and see if the swelling went down.  It did not.  After a month I went back to his office and saw another doctor who brought out xrays from the previous visit with Dr. Costin (Jr.) and pointed out a sub lumbar mass that is not only visibly clear but even noted in Dr. Costin's notes.  He actually noted that there was a sub lumbar mass, and then came in and told us that he had no idea what the problem could be.  As it turns out it is a fatal form of lymphatic cancer that if treated at the time of our original appointment with Dr. Costin might have been successfully eradicated.  Being that is an aggressive form of cancer the month that we were misled into waiting was a death sentence to our cat.  I believe Dr. Costin did this in order to bilk us for more money.  What other explanation could there be?
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My girlfriend took our cat here when we suspected a bladder infection (she is a Registered Nurse.) She said she was treated very badly from the beginning. She told me the doctor told her that she... More

My girlfriend took our cat here when we suspected a bladder infection (she is a Registered Nurse.) She said she was treated very badly from the beginning. She told me the doctor told her that she probably does not take care of the cat and was scolding her. I thought that perhaps she was exaggerating. We take VERY good care of our pet. 6 months later, I brought the cat back when I noticed some peculiar behavior and thought it best to be preventative. I went in and the doctor starts yelling at me. He was terribly accusatory. I just got there and he had nothing to base this on. I was on my way out of town in an hour, so I wanted to leave the cat for observation. He told me (in the first few minutes, after just feeling the cats bladder without doing any tests, and without noticing any irregularity with the bladder) that he might have to operate. I told him to do an observation and run any tests and that he could call and let me know. He started getting rude and that he would not stand by while I was out of town if he had to cut the cat open and have surgery and could not get a hold of me. I got stern and said, "You can at least TRY calling my cell phone, first." He kept talking about surgery and was not going to let the cat suffer because I was out of town. I would have walked out with my cat if I was not on the way to the airport. Anyway, in the end, there was absolutely NOTHING wrong after a two day observation. The bill was $350, that is after I complained about he $500 initial bill. I never ONCE had the impression that they even cared about the pet, or the outcome of the pet. The people I dealt with were rude and bitter and seem to not care about the welfare of the animals. Why suggest “probably” surgery without any information, testing or observation. Shame on Los Feliz Small Animal Hospital. Maybe people are pressured into subjecting their pets on to unnecessary procedures from scare tactics. Go somewhere else if you care about your pet (and your wallet.)
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When I first got my puppy ,I took my pug there for a nail that was partially broken off afraid that I would hurt his paw if I clipped it off at the break. They charged me $150.00 for it and wrapped... More

When I first got my puppy ,I took my pug there for a nail that was partially broken off afraid that I would hurt his paw if I clipped it off at the break. They charged me $150.00 for it and wrapped it in a special 30.00 splint. Now I realize that sometimes happens and when it does you can get a powder from the pet store that immediately stops bleeding for less than $10.00. I boarded them once there in an emergency and they questioned everything my other vet , who has a fabulous reputation, was doing. Without calling and verifying a pet record that was missing and they should have noticed upon check in, they without authorization prescribed shots and an emergency flea shot as well as put advantage on the pug with a severe history of skin irritations after he had already had his dose of advantage that month, which was very unhealthy to over prescribe to a special needs dog. They accused me of not taking care of him which made me feel terrible seeing my dogs are at the vet every other month for something ,and jumped to conclusions because of his itching, not knowing that he had a skin condition . If they would have called his primary vet or me first, they would have seen that he had been in several times that year for his skin condition, hardly neglect. I was repulsed by their behavior and would highly recommend anyone to go anywhere other than there, if its not an emergency. They prefer over billing to quality animal care.
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