WESTSIDE VETERINARY HOSPITAL

Absolutely the worst customer service experience ever from a vet during this COVID-19 pandemic. We decided to take our 6 month old Mini Aussie to Westside to save money on the cost of a neuter. We scheduled the appointment a couple weeks prior and were told over the phone that they would call our current vet for our puppy's vaccination records. My wife and I decide to go in late to work today in order to drop off our puppy at 7:30 AM. We gave them a call from our car, as instructed from their front door sign, and the front desk woman appeared completely baffled with my name and scheduled appointment. She asked if this was my first time there, which I confirmed, and she brought out paperwork for me to fill out. Word to the wise, save your customer about 5 minutes and send them the paperwork beforehand to fill out. We fill out the paperwork and she asks if we have his Rabies record, to which I replied no. She literally snaps at me saying that they will have to give him a Rabies shot then. I said, he already had one and was told they would call our vet and get his records. The woman seriously argues with me saying my vet has been closed for weeks. This is false, as they are open, but close periodically during the week for sanitation purposes. Also, we have been activity picking up prescription insulin for our senior dog from our vet. I told the woman I wish someone told me they were unable to contact my vet and to bring his paperwork today. The woman did not apologize, but rather said one word, "alright". I asked for the next steps, and she said well he just needs a Rabies shot and we can give it to him. I repeated he already had one and does not need a second dose. The woman was rude and nasty, which was obvious to my wife and I, and we decided to leave and said we would call them back with a reschedule. This customer service was completely unacceptable and as a result, we will NOT be taking our puppy there for neuter. I cannot speak to the clinic staff, but the front desk staff needs serious education with customer service!

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He is walking around and healthy and they took very good care of him. He was hemorrhaging and he is better now and they took good care of him. They took care of me because I was so worried. The reason I got to them is because they are real close and I am real happy with them. He was working alone for a long time and he was so overwhelmed because is good. So he has bought a new building where the other building was and they way he has it set up make so much sense. It has a waiting room for dogs, a waiting room for cats. He has a couple of assistants now, we have seen them both and we like them all. We like everything that has ever happened there. He has taken very good care of our animals. The appointment time is pretty much honored, so they are just as good as they can be in punctuality. Considering the type of business they have, I don’t have any complaints about that. My other dog’s treatment was always good. We have been to other vets and the prices are certainly comparable and I am getting a better quality service. The waiting room is immaculate. I have never had an unpleasant experience there.

Surgery went well.
My main issue with this veterinary practice is the reception area and the wait time. When I first originally started to use them, I had no problems but this past year has been awful. This past experience I had was the straw that broke the camels' back. I had 10:20 appt. Got there at 10:15 and was greeted by a line at the door. I finally got to the reception desk to check in at 10:30! A 15 min wait in line is ridiculous. My past several visits, even though I had an appt I've had to wait at least 30 mins. I don't always expect to get in on time, but as I've mentioned this past year has had long wait times. The drs and the people that work there are wonderful but they definitely need more help and organization!! My advice, they should not take walk-ins!

I use this vet exclusively as they constantly provide exceptional service to both my dogs. I recommend them to everyone! They try to find low cost alternatives for me and never do things they do not need to do. They are all about the health of the dog, not making money so you can trust what they say. I will continue using this vet as they have taken excellent care of my two dogs.

Front office is very inefficient. Waited over 1 hour after my appointment time but Dr Ames gave excellent care. This is the only vet in the area that uses a freezing tool to remove canine warts-- no anesthetic or surgery is needed. Took 2 treatments but it worked.

My dog got out from our fenced backyard and got hit by a car on Blackstock road. No one stopped for her and animal control found her, called us and brought her to our house.
I got her in my car and rushed over to Westside Animal Hospital where she has seen Dr. Ames before. I couldn't get her out of the car and a wonderful vet tech came out to the car and helped me bring her in. Dr. Ames was not there but a Dr. Hernandez took care of her. She ended up with a deep laceration on her right arm that needed staples to close, a broken pelvis, a broken hip, a broken rib, a pneumothorax (punctured lung), a huge lump on the side of her face and she was going into shock.
They talked to me after taking her back right away and giving her an exam. They talked to me about what they saw and whether I wanted to do x-rays and what the cost would be. The dog stayed overnight.
The next day no one called to tell me what was going on or when/if she could come home. I had to call a couple of times before they told me she could come home. When I picked her up they gave us pain medication, anti-inflamatories and antibiotics and told us they would see us Monday for hip surgery. My husband and I were uncomfortable with that and wanted to wait to talk to a Dr. We waited and then Dr. Ames came to talk to us. Dr. Ames is a fabulous Dr. and answered all our questions and even confirmed she should have had some eye drops for her swollen eyes. He also confirmed that she really needed the surgery and that sooner would be better. (This was a Wed)
The follow Monday, we dropped the dog off at 8:30am for surgery that day. I had to ask when the surgery was and when I could pick her up again. I was told that surgeries where done in the afternoon and someone would call me and let me know how it went and when she could come home. No one called me by 5:30 so I called them. The person I talked to said she was doing ok and she would need to spend the night. The next day, no one called AGAIN. I called around 4pm and they said we could pick her up.
Today, it has been 1 week, the suture site only got 6 stitches and of the original 6, 4 have fallen out. I watch her closely all day and am pretty sure she has not been tugging on them. When I brought her in to have the first 2 that fell out replaced, the vet tech dragged the poor thing into the back, put in staples and gave her back to me. I didn't get to talk to a Dr or anything.
oday I took her in at 8am (they open at 7:30am) to get 2 new stitches added. The site is red and swollen and I wanted to talk to a Dr. about the problem. I was told the Dr.'s don't show up till 9am but I could leave her there. It is now 1:50 pm, I've had to call 2x to see what is going on and was told that they hadn't gotten to her yet.
BOTTOM LINE ---- My experiences show that they are great everyday Dr's. And react wonderfully to true emergencies. BUT if you will need to constantly call and follow up with them. We feel like a number to them and not like family.
We will see how they proceed with my pups injury since they did the surgery but if after today we still have a problem we are going to a new vet.

They are great. They have easy access and friendly staff. It has been a very good experience. Their price is also comparable to other places.

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