Sunset Boulevard Animal Clinic - Houston

After being a loyal patient here for almost five years including being a member of their wellness plan I can no longer recommend this hospital and view them as negligent and having committed gross misconduct with regards misdiagnosing my beloved cat who is now suffering from a very serious and life threatening disease for the last several months. My pet was seen diligently by this hospital almost twice a month since the start of her problems this summer. During her rapid decline the past two weeks, she was continually seen by Sunset and mis-diagnosed till I demanded she be referred to specialists ... where she was finally after months of trial and error medicine practices at Sunset, properly diagnosed in the end stages of liver disease. Upon learning of the diagnoses - Sunset's only concern has been if I would report them for the errors and negligence. No compassion, no concern, no apologies for not properly documenting the diagnosis or the condition itself....no caring for my pet's life or inquiring of her current state or care. Just wanting to know if I would report them. If you love your pet, do not make the same mistake I made by trusting this hospital, a mistake which might have cost my pet her life. I am sure Sunset will rebuff this post or have an "explanation"; but the truth of the records speak for themselves and are now with the Texas Licensing Board. Please do not take your pet here

We don't have an appointment. I have a pig. They said they could see us and prescribed medication.

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I will never bring my pet here again. Sunset uses fear mongering and exploits your love for your pet to run up an outrageous bill. They are incompetent and cannot do a simple medical diagnosis. I brought our cat here twice over the course of two weeks, the first time after she had multiple seizures late one night. Our regular vet's office was closed at that hour and Sunset was the closest 24-hour facility. They gave her a shot of valium to stop the seizures and then handed me a estimate of $1,500 to keep her overnight for observation. For one night! This included a $200+ charge for bloodwork, which was completely unnecessary. She is an older cat and does have some health problems, all of which we are aware of and are treating through our regular vet. We didn't need bloodwork to tell us that she had a seizure or how to treat it. When I balked at the amount of the estimate, the vet essentially told me that he had made it very high in order to make it clear that we should euthanize her, because she needed so much treatment. His complete lack of compassion, along with an apparent desire to exploit our love for our pet, was appalling. I asked to remove several unnecessary things from the bill and got it down to about $700. Still an absurd cost for what really should have been just a $50 shot of valium and overnight observation. Two weeks later, we were going out of town for a long weekend and arranged to board her at Sunset. When we showed up to drop her off, we were told that because she had a history of seizures, she needed to be medically boarded, despite the fact that she was now on anti-seizure medication and was doing fine. Of course, medical boarding costs substantially more than regular boarding. Had they informed us of this ahead of time (which they should have, since they knew she had had a seizure), we would have taken her elsewhere, but at that point it was too late to make new arrangements because we had a plane to catch. The following day we got a call that she was dehydrated and needed to be given fluids, so they were going to hospitalize her. Not only was there an additional fee for hospitalization, but we would be charged for every single time they wanted to give her fluids and for any other treatment. The hospitalization fee appears to cover no actual treatment! They wanted to insert an IV, but we asked that they give her subcutaneous fluids, which was both cheaper and less stressful for our cat. We have given her subcutaneous fluids at home previously and she's done fine. But they claimed that her heart was too weak for this (I don't know how they could know this, since they did not do any tests on her heart). The vet also told us that she was not eating and so he gave her an anti-nausea medication, even though she had not vomited and there was no evidence that she was nauseated. When that didn't get her to start eating, they have her an appetite stimulant. That didn't work either. Evidently after that, they decided to actually examine her and saw that she had developed mouth ulcers, which were presumably causing her to not eat, so they decided to treat her for those. This is typical of Sunset's incompetence - instead of trying to diagnosis my cat, they just shoved lots of different medications down her throat, costing me money and putting her through treatment that she didn't need. Had they bothered to just look in her mouth from the beginning (seems like a basic diagnostic procedure when an animal isn't eating), they would have seen the problem. Over the next 3 days, we got several more calls like this, in which we were told that some new problem had sprung up and we needed to pay for more treatment. At one point, the vet told us that our cat was "getting worse by the minute" and would die within a few days. Again, they used fear to pressure us into agreeing to more expenses and were utterly lacking in compassion the whole time. We ended up changing the return flight home so that we could pick her up earlier than we had planned and just get her out of that place. When we picked her up, she was much worse than when we dropped her off and strangely dirty, with feces stuck in her fur. For as much money as we paid, you would think they could at least maintain a basic level of cleanliness. All told, what should have been a $150 bill for 4 days of boarding ended up being more than $1,000 for forced hospitalization. Even after this, our cat was substantially sicker than when we dropped her off. Our regular vet told us that Sunset is known for price-gouging and unfortunately, I have to agree. Do not take your pet here if you can avoid it.

unknown

I love Sunset Animal Clinic, especially Dr. Young and Dr. Dodge.  They have cared for my labs for the past ten years and I wouldn't go to anyone else.  I highly recommend them!

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They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and I have gone here for emergencies. I like all the vets I’ve met. They don’t push additional services on you and I like the way they talk to the animals.

Fine

I took my cat to them with an unknown illness. The staff was very patient with her even though she was very agitated. They kept her two days and resolved the issue. She is back to her old self.

It was a most unpleasant experience.

I wanted to switch vets to one that was close enough to walk my older dog to, so I chose Sunset, as they were a block away.  We went to Sunset (as new clients) to find out whether it was safe to increase my dog's arthritis medication, as he was having trouble getting up our stairs.  The  Dr. Dodge seemed kind and caring, and she did a blood test to make sure his liver and kidneys were functioning well enough to tolerate more meds.  The visit went well, and I was called the next day and informed by the vet that the test results were good.  I appreciated the personal attention.
The problem came when it was time to refill the arthritis medication, which had been increased to a daily dose.  I called the vet after returning from vacation, and I only had a few pills left.  They promised to call me back to tell me whether they could special order the meds.  Meanwhile, I checked online and found out that they were no longer manufacturing the pill my dog needed.  No one from the vet called, so I called the next day, told them I was out of pills, and asked what we could do.  Someone called the next day to inform me that the office manager would be getting back to me the next day.  No one ever called.  Meanwhile, I had to go back to my old vet to beg for pills, which they still carried.  As far as Sunset knew, my dog was now out of meds and suffering.  I called Sunset again the next week to complain that no one had called me.  The person on the phone said she'd make sure that someone got back to me that day.  Again, nothing.
I find it inexcusable that this vet would not get back to me after three phone calls, each of which required a long explanation of the saga of the arthritis medication.  They really dropped the ball, and my dog was a new patient.  I am going to go back to my old vet, which will be uncomfortable for my dog, and I hate to do it, but I don't have a choice.  The message on Sunset's voicemail  states that my pet's health is their first priority.  This incident proves otherwise.

Went to Sunset Boulevard Animal Clinic for a second opinion on what turned out to be a cyst.  They were responsive, professional, and not overly aggressive in insisiting on treatments.  They also effectively 'threw in' a mini-exam just in the process of getting to know my somewhat older dog.  Of course, I probably loved them in part because they said he's in great shape!  In any case, while I've only used them once so far, I will again despite the fact that many vets are closer.

Nice people, they care about the animals and do a good job keeping you informed.
Been using them for a few years.

They do marvelous work. One of our dogs is a diabetic. They are very gentle and sensitive to the animals. Our other dog is a rescue hound and I worry terribly about her getting traumatized when we take her but they have a wonderful touch with them. They are a little more expensive then I would like them to be. They also are available to us, but they are expensive. I will use them again in the future.

Well.

Though somewhat expensive, I would not take our pets anywhere else. The doctors at Sunset have always been extraordinarily caring and gone above and beyond to help.

They brought us right in to the exam room. A vet tech came and took our info and the doctor saw my dog in the back and then brought her back out and explained what he thought the problem was and how we could help her heal. He was a very nice guy. He did not act rushed and stayed and chatted a bit about my dog which is nice. The only complaint I have is that it took a good 15 minutes to get the paperwork out front so they could charge me. The cost seemed very reasonable for a full service vet.

unknown

I have been taking my 2 cats here for 4 years now. At first, I really enjoyed going there, it s clean and the staff was professional. It was on the high end of vet costs, but I didn t mind paying the extra cost because it was convenient to my house. However, recently they swapped chart information and got my two cats confused, even though they look completely different. This was an issue because one has recently developed a health ailment and we are trying to track his progress. In addition, when I had one of the cats shaved for the summer time, he came back with nicks all over him. I have been very disappointed and decided to leave.

The facility is impeccable when you walk in! They are excellent. They are a little pricey but I don't mind because the care that my dogs get is excellent. All the staff seem to really take an interest in the animals.

They are expensive, however you get excellent service and they do the job right the first time. Very professional. They are very compassionate. They inform you what actually needs to be done and don't try to gouge you. They offered me a discount. They go the extra mile.

Dr. Ward was very pleasant, approachable, and informative. She did not press me to accept unnecessary tests and services. Fees were appropriate for the services provided.

IT IS ALWAYS A PLEASANT ENVIRONMENT. THE CLINIC, FRONT OFFICE AND SUPPORT STAFF ARE WELL TRAINED, CARING AND PROFESSIONAL. I HAVE WORKED WITH DRS. MAY AND YOUNG. BOTH ARE EXCELLENT CARE GIVERS WHO ARE KIND AND GENTLE WITH THEIR PATIENTS. I WAS REFERRED THERE BY FRIENDS WHO SUFFERED THROUGH THE ILLNESSES AND DEATHS OF TWO MUCH-LOVED OLDER PETS AND DR. MAY WAS SUPERB IN COUNSELING AND CONSOLING THEM.

DR MAY HAS THE BEST 'BEDSIDE' MANNER OF ANY VET I'VE TAKEN MY ANIMALS TO. HE CAN SOOTHE EVEN THE MOST NERVOUS OR HOSTILE PET. HE ALWAYS EXPLAINS ALL OF THE DIAGNOSES, PROCEDURES AND MEDICATIONS THOROUGHLY.