Southern California Veterinary Hospital and Animal Skin Clinic

Dr. Rigoni is a great doctor who works for an extremely hostile vet office. Let me tell you a story since the front office where he works will not allow me to tell him what happened.
I had been a great customer. Spent thousands of dollars on treatments there for my cat Chauncey. One day upon check out I asked the receptionist if she knew a good pet sitter. And she volunteered to pet sit for me. Excellent I thought! My cats will be in great hands with the vet receptionist. Except while I was away on vacation the receptionist was fired. Her phone got disconnected while I was on vacation. And she had my house key.
When I returned home I tried for several days to reach her. I called the vet office and tried to see if they knew how to reach her and they refused to give me any information. So with someone out there with my house key and no way of reaching that person I called a locksmith and spent $ 1500.00 getting all my locks changed on my house.
Each time I would call the vet office to try and see if she had called them they said they couldn’t and wouldn’t help me and hung up on me several times. When I asked to speak to Dr. Rigoni about this they refused to pass on the message and hung up on me.
The last vet visit I made there cost me about $ 1000.00 for dental surgery for my cat.
Today — June 20,2016 — I went in there as a last resort after rescuing a kitten off the side of the road who needed worm medication. The assistant manager came over to me to explain that they would not be able to see me because the front office managers notes said I was banned from going there.
So yeah… Excellent Doctor in a very unhealthy environment for patients. He really should think about going to another practice.

Was able to make a same day appointment for my dog who had an ear infection. The veterinarian took great care of my dog and we were in and out relatively quickly. The staff was friendly and I really appreciated their help!!!

I have had pets most of my adult life. This is a fantastic vet. You can tell they care about their patients. They are fast and helpful and they have great hours. Heaven forbid you need immediate care, they are here for you and you know in your heart that your pet is in the best hands.
A huge thank you to the Doctors and front desk staff for the love and attention you gave to my little girl.

I last reviewed So. Cal. Vet Hospital, etc 5 years ago. Since then, I have had too much contact as my three dogs have aged. There has been a lot of turnover in the junior vets — but each new one seems great, and I am sorry when they move on. Dr. Cuellar is wonderful. He’s done a couple involved surgeries on my dogs, and both have done great. I’m grateful for their care and compassion, and they still earn five stars.

I recently got a very young puppy from someone online (first mistake) the women told me he was 8 weeks old and has had his first set of shots. Without even checking the puppy or the paperwork I received I immediately took him home. I quickly realized my puppy wasn’t as old as I was told. The next day I made an appointment to the clinic.
First off the hours are great, a lot of places I looked for close at 5 or 6. Not everyone that owns a dog has a free schedule, and as someone that has a full time job I love the fact that this clinic is open until 8pm during the week.
The staff is bery friendly. We were assigned to Dr. Gonzolas, she was sweet and very gentle. She agreed with my that my puppy was not 8 weeks old, but assured me everything would be okay. Fast forward a bit, she set up a schedule for my new puppy’s shots. I was so nervous I didn’t even ask about the food I was feeding him in detail.
The next day I called the vet, I was immediately directed to a tech as the doctor was busy. He was also very nice, and extremely helpful. 2 days later I had more questions, they never gave me the run around or told me to come in. Within an hour the vet called me back and again assured me everyone was okay. Spoke to me for over 10 minutes, and even remembered exactly who I was.
Anyways I’m scheduled to go in for his shots next week. Hopefully everything goes well.
Either way I recommend this place. I’ll update after he gets his first set of vaccinations.
Thank you for loving my puppy!

I recently took my dog Lady here. She had breast cancer. In the end we decided to put her down. While it may have been one of the saddest moments of my life, they were great to me.

Really don’t know how anyone would give a good review here. They literally give you a calculator with the bill and leave it up to you to decide which treatments, medications etc. you want to do. The vets have an in and out approach. You feel like you are on a conveyor belt. When we wanted to have our pets information sent to a new vet I had to call them 4 times and the vet called twice. Guess they didn’t want to lose a patient, but they did anyway.

So Cal Veterinary Hospital is amazing. I called on a Monday afternoon with an urgent matter, but not an emergency. They were able to get me in within the hour. Once there, the staff was friendly and attentive. We waiting longer than expected in the exam room, but the vet explained that she was in the middle of delivering puppies and was very apologetic. After the initial assessment, the tech brought in an estimate based on the recommended services. The original estimate was over $ 700, which was absolutely not feasible. They had listed quite a few services and procedures that seemed very unnecessary. I wasn’t sure if they were just looking to increase the bill, or if the vet was doing her due diligence to ensure that she was providing the best care to my pup. After removing some of the larger, and seemingly unnecessary items, we were able to get the estimate down to $ 300. Still a lot, but seems comparable to what I have paid in the past for similar vet visits. All in all, I had a very pleasant experience here, which is important when you’re worried about the health and well-​being of your animals. It is safe to assume that I will be back for future exams or vet needs.

Took my puppy here for a few things and I was beyond happy! The staff is super friendly, knowledgeable and caring. They were kind enough to offer discounts on some of the services needed and absolutely had my puppies health as their main priority. I’m so glad I switched over from our previous vet!

Just updating my review from 2011. I still think Dr. Cuellar is the best diagnostician around. He saved my sister’s cat’s life last month. The cat had a very serious kidney infection and had to be hospitalized. Dr. Cuellar’s quick action prevented permanent damage and possible death. The guy is definitely in the right line of work. I highly recommend him, especially if your pet has a serious problem and/​or a health issue that requires some detective work.

Doctor was nice but staff was not very helpful after our dog got hit by a car. They wanted to charge for x-​ray and then additional charges to send the x-​ray out. They would not allow us just to take the x-​ray for the doctor to look at. Almost $ 500 for 1 x-​ray and some pain meds.

I am a huge fan of this place. Dr. Cuellar is so wonderful with every pet I have brought to them. Cats dogs. for their entire lives. wonderful preventative care, follow up care, kindness during and following up with surgeries, also wonderful recommendations for other vets when needed. Also, when they put an older dog to sleep. there is such compassion and follow up. it’s really quite moving.
I would recommend this place highly because at least when Dr. Cuellar is in charge you know that your fur babies are in very capable and kind hands. I have three dogs currently going there, and have had 2 other dogs and a cat treated there. All good experiences.

I love this place. My doggies love this place. I love all the doctors. They care and do not overcharge. Dr. Quar is our favorite.

I’ve taken my 4-​year-​old dog to 3 different places but now I have finally found her new vet thanks to Unilocal!The last place I took her to got 5 star reviews but everytime we went, she would shake in the office because for some reason she was afraid. I’m always a little hesitant with new doctors (or vets) so I called the office to ask questions. The person who answered was very nice and said I could call back to schedule whenever I was ready. I brought Truffles to Southern California Veterinary Hospital last month for a checkup and it was a great experience. Dr. Rigoni had a calm, reassuring bedside manner and made sure my dog was comfortable with him before he did his checkup. He didn’t recommend procedures or tests that she didn’t need (which other vets have done), and he also provided excellent preventative health suggestions. The front office was very friendly as well. I can tell they truly care about animals here.

THEY REMOVED MY REVIEW, apparently someone at this vet whined about me telling the truth about their unprofessional and badly run business of money grubbing, and sending away sick animals, and starting fights.
So here you go again!
Despicable behavior from people who are supposed to treat animals!!!
I was just in there with my corgi Lucy who has had an allergic reaction to something, and has conjunctivitis of the eyes. When describing to them that my bill would need to be paid with the credit and they can put a hold on my account for the remainder, they refused, started an argument with me (like I’ve heard they do to many people if you say something they don’t agree with) and threatened the police on me and made me go to another vet at five pm when my dog was very sick. They are dispicable and do not care about animals just about money, unfortunately like many vets. Do not take your animal here, the people are rude, combative, violent and do not care about the health or welfare of the animal only about starting petty arguments and acting like children. This place should be shut down, it’s run by a bunch of unprofessional a**h**** who shouldn’t have jobs.

What a great vet ! First time here and I was able to schedule an appointment the same day! We had some blood test done and X-​ray and the prices are fair.

Well, I suppose there’s nothing like death to make you re-​evaluate a few things. We had to put our little toy Pomeranian, Nala, to sleep recently, and we chose to do it here. Speaking honestly, I don’t know if anyone researches this sort of thing due to it’s morbidity, but a peaceful transition is definitely worth its weight in gold. I’d still be a wreck if it hadn’t happened as wonderfully as it did. We chose to put her to sleep at the clinic, and I can’t even begin to explain how peaceful it was. They didn’t rush us in the slightest, they just let us stay in the room and snuggle our girl for as long as we wanted. The rest of the procedure was the most peaceful I’ve ever witnessed. Granted, this is only the third dog that I’ve ever seen put to sleep, but my mother was with us and she also couldn’t believe the extra steps (sparing some details here for my own sanity) and care they take. They molded her paw prints for us and made us this beautiful keepsake of her little paws on a heart with her name. I just went to our mailbox today and they sent us the most beautiful card signed by all the hospital staff. After everything we’ve been through here with Nala, and all the love & care the staff gave to her and to us during this time, we won’t be going anywhere else for our pets in the future. I mean, I may opt to get my dog’s teeth cleaned somewhere else, but for ABSOLUTELY EVERY SINGLE THING besides that, I will be here. I will always bring my pets here, where I know that they will get nothing but the best in care, compassion, kindness, and love.

Southern California veterinary hospital has really been great in helping my dog. I have a paraplegic husky, and because of her condition, it can be really difficult to bring her in to the office. The doctors and nurses have always done everything possible to make the process go as smoothly as possible. Not only that, but the care they give to the animals is great! I found out about this vet’s office through Unilocal after some poor experiences with other veterinarians but I have never been disappointed with my experiences here. With my dogs unique condition, she can have a unique set of problems. The doctors at Southern California veterinary hospital always help her to feel as good as new. I would highly recommend them to anyone with pets. They have a convenient location right off the 101 freeway on Topanga Canyon in Woodland Hills.

This veterinary clinic is excellent with their service, customer relations and overall the experience was great during my 2 visits with my dog Daisy. Although this is great veterinary hospital, I have to give them 3 stars unfortunately because of their prices. If you have to adhere to a budget this isn’t place to take your pet. Hands down the most expensive vet I’ve ever visited. It’s a shame because I’d love make them our regular veterinary clinic.

My old vet closed and so I was looking for a new vet for my cat. My experience with this vet hospital was brief as my cat was at the end of her life but I would bring my animals here in the future without hesitation. They were thorough, did not rush me at all and were very willing to answer any questions I had. When my cat passed, I couldn’t believe how great they were, even though she had only been there one time. I received a sympathy card in the mail signed by the entire office staff, they made a donation in my cats name and called to give their condolences. I know that may not seem like anything but it meant a lot to me. They provided great care and really seem to care about their patients.

I have been coming here for years, and can’t imagine going anywhere else. The girls are super sweet, and Doctor Cuellar is the absolute best in his field, he is FAR superior to ANY other Doctor out there, in my opinion. I could not ask for a better doctor to take care of my cat. The only advice I would give anyone that comes here is to stay away from Doctor Rigoni.

So Cal Veterinary is outstanding. I’ve been taking my dogs and cats here for years.
The staff is friendly and knowledgable with a true sense of compassion for our furry family.
Dr. Kelly is one of a kind! We are grateful to have such amazing care for our family.

We take our two feline babies here for annual checkups and any time something comes up that needs attention. They’re always quick to schedule is when I call, which we appreciate. Everyone is very kind and I can tell they care when they visit with the kitties. They always take the time to answer all of my questions, no matter how many, and are patient with me.
My old slight drawback would be the reminders we get in the mail even tho we aren’t actually due for the service. But whenever I go they always shoot me straight, honest and knowledgable. I don’t feel like I’m getting ripped off when I have to visit.

Thank you again to the vets & staff at Southern California Vet!
You guys saved my baby Meeko again last month… This time from a horrible bout of pancreatitis, that also included blood transfusions! I am forever grateful!!!
Dr Cuellar… All I can say is that you truly care about your patients & have yet again proved why you will always be the one who cares for all my kids!
THANK YOU!!!

They took us in right away and treated cat without paperwork and said it would be 62 dollars for exam. By the time they informed us of the estimate and cost they had already racked up addl charges of 163 dollars. So the upside is they treat the pet right away but the downside is they will go ahead and treat without prior authorization regardless of the cost. So if there is no other vet open when your pet gets injured bring your pet. If there are other vets availble and they have their prices quoted up front you may be better off if you can afford to wait a few hours.

AVOID THIS PLACE!!!
I’ve had more than one experience now with this place where they have mis-​diagnosed a cat, and pressured me (and a friend) to undertake very expensive surgery. A second opinion from a less corporate, less greedy vet resulted in much better service for far less money.
Their path is one that gets you hooked on expensive surgeries as your only option, followed by expensive follow ups with expensive medicines. They do not have your best interests in mind, or your pet’s.

Updated review: everyone has bad days I guess, because that one experience we had at first was not the norm. Sadly our favorite dr moved away but we’ve had good ones since except for one in my last review.
Some of the items they carry — like fluids — are really expensive but I’d say overall the experiences have been much better in the last ten or so visits. (We have three animals.)