VCA Animal Specialty Group

My dachshund received the best care at Animal Specialty group this last week. He was attacked by an unknown animal in our backyard that caused severe puncture wounds and internal damage. Dr. Bilbrey did exploratory surgery and removed a bit of liver that was damaged as well as repaired all lacerations. Riley (my dog) spent almost a week at ASG following surgery. I received daily calls from the attending vets on his status. They were all very kind when I visited Riley daily. Yes, it was expensive but I would pay it again to get the exceptional service that ASG provided. The vets and attendees care about animals and it shows. Riley is now home healing with over 45 staples. He has bounced back beautifully and I believe that the care ASG had a lot to do with it. more

The night my dog was brought in to ASG for potential anti-freeze ingestion I was told they did not have the anti-freeze antidote on hand. They called around but could not find anyone with it, so they started the 2nd treatment of choice. That morning my sister called around only to find that the ASG told another hospital that they had 2 vials on hand. She called ASG to confirm and was told yes, they had the 2 vials. She had to inform the ASG staff that my dog was there and needed the antidote. RIDICULOUS- they said someone had misplaced the 2 vials and the staff found it that morning. HOW DID THEY NOT START THE TREATMENT OF CHOICE RIGHT AWAY? It took my sisters prompting to get the job done. Then, they lied to my sister and told her that my dog was showing neurological problems- I found out that anti-freeze DOES NOT present itself with any neurological problems what-so-ever: this information coming from an antifreeze SPECIALIST. The staff was always kind to us but did not seem to want to answer our questions. They were kind to my dog. However, having researched the situation after the fact I can not help but feel taken advantage of. They tried to scare my sister when she was there the first night. They charged an IN HOUSE Dr. referral fee of $115 in addition to their $35 Dr. Exam/Prof fee. (WHICH, btw, I was charged TWICE.) They give you a low and a high estimate and you have to pay the middle- which is OK, BUT if they have t do a second estimate for other potential treatments you have to pay the middle AGAIN even if you have over $1,000 in credit. They only have 1 office manager who can process your refund and if that person is on vacation you WILL NOT get your credit until that person comes back. I was told my credit would go through the day- 9 days and I am still waiting. I am extremely angry at the ASG- I understand that health care costs a lot (I work in a pharmacy)- but it really seems like they are just after your money. They even charged me $16 for one of those cone/collar things that my dog did not need- upon picking up my dog they told us it was not needed but since we were charged for it we might at well keep it. HOW ABOUT NOT CHARGING ME FOR IT OR REFUNDING ME FOR IT? They did a poor job from the beginning- if my sister did not take the initiate to call, who knows if they would have ever told us they had the antidote after all. BTW- My dog tested negative for the antifreeze- we did the treatments anyway because the first MD scared us with the talk of the neurological problems. I'll let you all know when my refund finally comes through. Pros: kind front staff, certain vets are very nice Cons: lies and unorganized more

Amazing facility. great experience. Tons of compassion & care from the doctors and the staff. Everyone recognized my dog in follow-up appointments, calling him by name & showing him such affection! Very knowledgeable & helpful, great communication between the hospital & me as well as the hospital and my regular vet. staffed with doctors 24/7 - what a relief! Everyone loves animals & obviously loves their work. Pros: 24/7 staff, beautiful facility & very competent, pet friendly doctors and staff Cons: what's not to like? more

My cat, unfortunately for me, seems to get deathly ill only after hours, leaving me no choice but emergency care. This is incredibly expensive. That said, he has received excellent care at ASG. I've had to take him in 4 times and they've been wonderful every time. I haven't experienced any of the rudeness I've read about in other posts. I'm sure experiences vary, especially when one is under the stress of a pet's illness, but for emergency situations, I'm grateful to ASG. They've saved my cat's life more than once. However, the price tag precludes my using them for non-emergency services. more

As a vet tech myself, i learned to appreciate good service when i get it.. the vet techs that helped me when my dog was attacked by a dog were very knowledgeable, they helped me quickly and efficiently. The doctors are wonderful!! Dr. Andreas Andreaou was great as was Dr. Brian Young and Dr. Emily Coddon!! great doctors... great staff :D Yea it was expensive, but when you get to an emergency hospital i know the doctors want to have a buffer for "just in case" and for those people who dont get this or understand they really shouldnt have an animal... for humans the costs of diagnostics alone is astronomical and to think that just because its veterinary medicine the prices should be drastically different, and yet still get the latest diagnostics and treatment... just seems to be asking for too much... you pay what you get for and i got a lot :D\r \r jcb more

I have had four cats treated at ASG, two for emergency care and two for specialty care. I have never had a bad experience there, either with the doctors or the front office staff, so I'm surprised to read of some others' experiences. I think I've seen six different vets in my many visits to ASG and found each one to be competent, caring and thorough. more

We took our 10week old English Pointer puppy to ASG after he broke his femur. Yes the initial surgery was expensive but nearly all subsequent visits were free including suture removal, brace adjustments, etc. The doctors are very knowledgeable (ours was Dr. Hubert) and answered all our questions and would call back if we had concerns between visits. I can not recommend them enough. It has been 9 weeks since the break and our puppy is on his way to a complete recovery! more

SCAMMERS SPECIALTY GROUP!\r Whoah! These people charge 7 times what other vets charge & provide less service.\r If I am paying premium prices for specialists, I want to talk to the specialis, not their intern.\r I also expect results delivered at times comparible to their competitors or sooner, given the price. Not!\r \r Avoid at all costs! you'll thank me. Pros: cleanliness Cons: service more

I took my kitty there for a cancerous tumor on her neck. Dr. Sabhlok and Dr. Ayl worked on the case. They encouraged us to do the surgery, and I think it was more for their own research on the kind of cancer she had, which was rare in cats. They did not inform us fully that the likelihood of the cancer returning was high due to the tumor being on the lymph node of the neck. We trusted them. the surgery went well....which was great.... expensive though- $4000 - and within 2 months the cancer was back. They didn't get it all as apparently there are many lymph nodes in the neck and it is nearly impossible to know if it is all removed. I can say that they did an excellent job on the surgery, given that our kitty only had one kidney and was 11 years old. I just wish we had been fully informed of the likelihood of the cancer returning.....we put our kitty through so much in the last 3 months of her life. Overall, I have mixed feelings about this place. I see what others have said a more

My dog Prince and I desperately needed help after a year of struggling with an unsuccessful TPLO surgery at another hospital. Thankfully we found Dr. Wendelburg through a referral by friends. Dr. Wendelburg and staff provided excellent expert care for my dog when clearly no other vets we consulted knew what to do. We are so thankful for the expertise and care we received at Animal Specialty Group. Everyone there, the receptionsts, the techs. and the doctors, are all great. The expense is high but commensurate with the level of professional care and competency. more

Animal Specialty Group saved my dogs life after being hit by a car. They are fantastic. Everyone was very caring and worked really hard to help make her better. They cared about getting her home quickly, and even about how much pain she might be in. They even let our regular vet know how she was doing. I highly recommend them for emergency and specialty care. I read some of the negative reviews, but I didn't feel that way at all. They are a bit pricey but they were worth it. more

I credit the wonderful team at A.S.G. with saving my dog's life.. after being diagnosed with a terrible pleural effusion (the chest cavity fills with bacterial fluid caused by a foreign object, possibly a foxtail, crushing the lungs), our regular vet immediately sent us to A.S.G.. the doctors, Dr. Fleming/Dr.Hwang/Dr.Clark, were so kind and caring with her that I knew we were at the right place! I had to make the painstaking decision between choosing a highly invasive surgical technique (which has a statistically better outcome, but a difficult recovery in such a young and active dog) and the medical treatment (putting her on chest tubes and flushing out the fluid over a period of days, combined with heavy i.v. antibiotics). I chose the medical treatment, and Dr. Fleming was so honest, caring, and reassuring about my choice that she helped not only my dog go through this terrible ordeal, but myself as well. After the initial diagnosis and treatment decision I then mostly dealt with Dr. more

I too was referred to Dr. Ayl by Dr. Bleifer here in Woodland Hills. He's very thorough and made sure we understood what our options were. No bones about it, it was expensive. Dr. Bilbrey was the surgeon who removed the tumor and I felt confident after speaking with him. Then the chemo was administered. From my understanding it's the same as the one they use in human oncology. My dog is currently in remission. \r \r cons: parking lot gets full. Had to walk my ailing dog from down the street.\r lethargic reception area. whole lot of cackling going on back there.\r \r pros: my dog is cancer free! In remission for the past year. Very good doctors. more

My experience was fortunately a good one with ASG. It's too bad that some of the reviewers received poor service because my pet was treated with great care. I even had Dr. Sabhlok, who seems to be both maligned AND loved on this board. She was very knowledgeable and took her time with us. She always returned our phone calls, albeit at the end of the day...no different from any other doctor. My dog lived another 2 good years. So I'm very much perplexed by the negative comments below. Although, seeing my pet deteriorate at the end was very difficult and at the time I guess I was overly sensitive and emotional as well. In short, ASG (Dr. Sabhlok in particular) came highly recommended by our trusted veterinarian. That was the best advice our vet had given us to date. Getting the first appointment takes a while because they get so many referrals and they have to fit you in, but I'm so glad I waited. BTW, I didn't care for the receptionists either. more

Dr. Ayl is a wonderful caring veterinarian who treats his patients like his own. Our dog had cancer and recieved a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. Dr. Ayl had tried a novel approach to combating the cancer with different meds and therapies because of how far the cancer had progressed. So far so good as the nodules have gone away. There's no stopping a bad cancer but Dr. Ayl has given us more quality time with our happy dog. As the previous poster had mentioned, the front desk is slow which can be very irritating. Especially when caring for a sick animal. All I can say is, go for the doctors, not the receptionists. more

When our beautiful Pitbull, Mestiza, was diagnosed with cancer that had metastasized to her lungs we were broken. My girlfriend, who works at Animal Surgical and Emergency Center (ASEC) in West L.A. as a vet tech, asked the surgeons who we should turn to. There was an overwhelming consensus...Doctors Ayl and Sabhlok. No question. They're the doctor's doctors. We were already informed that the cancer our dog had was aggressive and realistically, there was little hope. Because of Dr. Sabhlok, Mestiza was able to live an additional YEAR AND A HALF from the time she was diagnosed with the soft tissue sarcoma. Dr. Sabhlok and vet-tech Robert were so supportive and non-judgemental. In retrospect, we were so unwilling and selfish to let go of our beloved family member. They let us make the the most difficult decision of when it was time to let go. They prolonged Mestiza's life so unbelievalbly long that her case was going to be published in an oncology journal. Wow! When it was time to let her go, Dr. Sabhlok and Robert were both there, not because we requested them to be there, but because they wanted to be there. All of us cried, hugged, and commiserated for a good ten to fifteen minutes. Dr. Sabhlok wrote in her file that if we had come in to put Mestiza to sleep in the middle of the night, that the staff should call her no matter what time so she can be there to administer euthanasia. We lost a member of our family on July 13, 2005. We gained two more in Dr. Sabhlok and Robert that day. Thanks to ASG and all their wonderful and caring staff. Also, a big thanks to ASEC in West LA for recommending the best vet oncology center that's experienced at treating aggressive cancers. Pros: Experienced and caring vet oncologists. Staff was excellent. more

When our beautiful Pit bull, Mestiza, was diagnosed with cancer that had metastasized to her lungs we were broken. My girlfriend, who works at Animal Surgical and Emergency Center (ASEC) in West L.A. as a vet tech, asked the surgeons who we should turn to. There was an overwhelming consensus...Doctors Ayl and Sabhlok. No question. They're the doctor's doctors. We were already informed that the cancer our dog had was aggressive and realistically, there was little hope. Because of Dr. Sabhlok, Mestiza was able to live an additional YEAR AND A HALF from the time she was diagnosed with the soft tissue sarcoma. Dr. Sabhlok and vet-tech Robert were so supportive and non-judgemental. In retrospect, we were so unwilling and selfish to let go of our beloved family member. They let us make the the most difficult decision of when it was time to let go. They prolonged Mestiza's life so unbelievalbly long that her case was going to be published in an oncology journal. Wow! When it was time to let h more

ASG is a first-rate facility. My experience was with oncology vet Aarti Sabhlok who is fantastic. Staff is considerate and compassionate; physicians provide care that is consistently top-notch. Chemo for dogs with cancer is administered with dog's quality of life as primary driver of care. Our 10-year-old dog lived 2 glorious, unexpected years after being diagnosed with lymphoma and exhibited minimal side effects to treatment. I would recommend ASG to anyone with a pet in need of special care. Fees are commensurate with general vet services, and in some cases, lower than a gp. more

I have had to use this facility as both an emergency facility and a specialty group. Both experiences were very positive and I left feeling my animals were in the best care possible. Usually, for the specialist part of the clinic you need a referral from a vet. If you need after hours care or overnight, this place is well staffed, has professional and knowledgable doctors. It's not cheap, but I've found most good vets aren't. I highly recommend that you put this # in your book in case of emergencies. more

ASG is a great hospital and Dr. Sabhlok is a wonderful vet - she's both smart and compassionate. The staff is very caring. more