Testimonials

02/26/2008

We, unfortunately, got the opportunity to meet with their Oncologist, Dr. Rodriguez.

I was so completely impressed with him. He is smart and has a good bedside manner. He gave us the clinical information, and the options and then he did what the other oncologist was afraid to do - he gave us his opinion about what we should do.

After discussing it with my husband we decided to follow his course of action. It's been a year now and my dog is cancer free.

Even if he would have been wrong, and we knew that was a possibility - he had the balls to give an opinion.

Kristin G., San Mateo, California

 

02/21/2008

I have used the SFVS Emergency Services for my dog and was really impressed. The staff is efficient and friendly and provided excellent customer service and medical care.

But really what I love about SFVS is Ella Woods. She has helped our 11 year old dog tremendously. Ella is a Chinese Medicine Practitioner- highly knowledgeable and skilled in acupuncture and herbal medicine. Ella is great with animals- my dog really enjoys seeing her.

Ella has helped my dog with a pulled muscle in her neck that kept her limping for days. After Ella's treatments, she recovered completely. As my dog is developing some arthritis in her lower back and hind legs, Ella's combination of acupuncture and herbs have made a big difference. My dog is no longer walking with her tail down and is able to walk and run. I have sent other friend's dogs to Ella's, and they have all improved in their conditions- Kidney and bladder issues, as well as dizziness caused by vestibular syndrome.

Ella is an excellent choice for an alternative approach to conventional veterinary medicine. Although she is not a vet, Ella works with vets and knows when conventional medicine is needed for an integrative approach.

Daniela F., San Francisco, California

 

01/31/2008

If you love your pet more than you ever thought was possible, this is the place to take them if they're ill and require more expertise than your regular vet can provide. The docs are first rate, the staff friendly, helpful, and most of all compassionate. We are more neurotic than most pet owners and never do I feel that anyone there thinks that we are overreacting.

Dr. Alan Stewart is one in a billion (Our cat's Internist). Our cat is high stress (as are we) and he does everything that is humanly possible to keep her calm including hugging and nuzzling her as if she were his own cat. We never feel rushed or that Dr S. has not examined every aspect of the situation. Moreover, he does all he can to keep us calm and purring.

The same is true of Dr. Carlo Vitale who (our cat's allergist) who has such a love of what he does that it just shows through every time we see him.

One last thing. Gaby, the office manager, is someone that I truly respect and admire. She sets the tone for the rest of the desk staff so that pet owners such as myself and my wife know that no matter what is happening with our cat, or how upset we get, the staff is there to help in any way that is humanly possible.

David K., San Francisco, California

 

10/29/2007

This place is amazing. The staff at the front desk are punctual, knowledgeable, polite, and very sympathetic when you come in with an injured animal. The doctors were super gentle with my dog (who is pretty shy around strangers), talked to him before touching him to calm him down, explained everything to us very thoroughly, answered all our questions with no complaints, never seemed rushed with us (even though we were definitely not the only people in the emergency section with an injured pet) and did a great job with my dog. They all truly seem to love animals and I think that makes a big difference in vet care. I have no idea what their other departments are like (all the holistic health specialists, etc) but I can say that there is nowhere else in the city I'd rather take my dog for emergency care. They made a horrible experience much easier to deal with. Actually, we've had to go twice, for two different incidents, and we've been really happy with them both times. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Holly B., Daly City, California

 

09/04/2007

Wow, Susan our house cat has made a major change after just one visit with Betsey Carpenter (not the cat you see in the photo here, that was me petting a cheetah at a zoo in Africa...i know, not the smartest thing to do but really fun). After a neurological exam at UC Davis, we thought we were destined for an expensive back surgery. We discovered that Betsey Carpentar is an animal chiropractor at SFVS and we went to her not knowing what to expect. She did marvelous work on our cat easing our cats back spasms (that we didn't know about). She really took her time, and gently gave our cat tremedous attention. Our cat can walk again when before his back legs were giving out and could barely get around. I'd recommend her without a doubt.

Accupuncturist and DMV Dr Fong is a kind and gentle man who produces results with his work. I did all the tests I could at UC Davis and eventually got a diagnosis of a spinal lesion in my cat. The problem was there was no treatment option at UC Davis. SFVS is a good place though I wish they had a neurologist on staff.

I was recommened to Dr Fong by chiropractor Betsy Carpenter. He always takes the time to discuss with me where our cat is at physically and emotionally and what possibly can happen with our treatment. He offers our boy named Sue Accupuncture and Hemotoxicology (chinese medicine with vitamins) into the body. It's helped quite a bit. He is really calm and precise with these accupunture needles.

Ella Woods is quite good as well, especially with herbal advice. She has a nice personality which didn't quite match up with my grumbly cat, (who usually has a great personality but was seriously constipated and mad about it). She sincerely cares and wants the best for your pet.

I haven't used hardly any of the vets at the hospital other than Dr. Fong who is both a vet and an accupunturist. When asked he ran a full blood panel for Sue without hesitation.

The front staff is generally nice. If you are in a crisis the most helpful thing to do I think is call. The will tell you if it is a good time to come in. I'd rather keep my pet at home than wait a long time for a vet when they are doing rounds or when the waiting room is full.

Denise D., San Francisco, California

 

08/03/2007

One of our cats, who is about 12, was catapulted out of the second story of our house in a freak accident and broke his back. Our local vet sedated and x-rayed him and sent us up to SFVS. I was at work when this happened, and started pulling down the reviews, and asked for another recommendation, but our vet strongly recommended that we go straight to SFVS. I got there before my partner did and started filling out forms, but as soon as he got there with our cat, they jumped into action. They knew exactly what to do, how fast they could do it and were honest about the fact that they didn't know what the outcome would be.

Dr. Watt and Andy were the two people we were primarily working with. We were given several updates over the next 24 hours as they tried to stabilize his condition and we always felt informed. Yes, it was very expensive, and the cost did go past the high end of the estimate. Follow up visits aren't included, so if your pet has something that will require multiple follow-ups you will pay for those. It is worth it if you have an injured animal and you want good care - I expect this type of care to be expensive, and I suspect that Dr. Watt should be one of the higher paid animal specialists around - you pay for that kind of expertise.

Our cat was treated successfully (entire recovery was about three months), and the outcome was better than anyone could have imagined with such an injury - he is able to walk and has a happy life again. I don't think anyone else could have pulled him through - certainly a local vet doesn't have these surgical capabilities, and probably very few places are even in a position to attempt it. The staff at the front desk were always nice, sometimes they don't understand that you need a different kind of appointment than they normally set up, but you can usually explain and get what you need. I think this was just a fantastic place for an emergency surgical situation.

Laura R., San Francisco, California

 

03/30/2007

I learned that my 2 and 1/2 year old dog had chronic renal failure. I took my little guy to Dr. Craig Maretzki who examined him with great care and understanding. He calmly informed me what to expect and answered all my questions. I was quite emotional and his matter of fact manner helped me keep my tears in check. He called me promptly with test results, answered all my additional questions and suggested some alternative courses of action. He talked to Charlie in a calm manner and handled him very gently (even gave him a couple of kisses).

The front desk staff was very organized. When we walked in for our second visit, they knew who Charlie was, greeted him by name, and cooed and gushed all over him. All the vet techs were extremely efficient, caring, sensitive, and knowledgeable. They treated my little guy with great care and love.

While I was waiting for Charlie to emerge from his blood tests, I had an opportunity to watch other vet techs and the front staff interact with dogs, cats, and nervous human companions. Every person was treated with respect and each pet was treated gently and lovingly.

I am extremely confident in Dr. Maretzki's treatment of Charlie and pleased that he listens to my questions on all the research I've done about chronic renal failure and some alternative treatments to follow. The front desk staff is efficient and very pleasant on the phone. Yes, this place is a business and some people seem to feel it's not "touchy-feely" enough or too expensive. All I can say is I know Charlie and I are in for a long haul with his illness and I feel he's getting the best treatment possible.

Laura M., San Francisco, California