Animal Hospital of Irvine

"Animal hospital of Irvine was our primary vet for our cat for years before his passing and our 4 year old dog has been seen here as well by Dr. Anne Lai. She has great bedside manner, shows genuine care and desire to treat your fur baby. She asks plenty of questions to fully understand and give you peace of mind in evaluating and treating all your concerns for their well being. She is very personable and was honestly our greatest vet! If you are able to be seen and treated by Dr. Lai, please take the opportunity to do so! Shes amazing and we love her! However, it is a shared practice, and most recent we have seen Dr. Joanne, our previous experiences were "ok" but after this last visit we will not be returning. After our baby had been seen 3 times at the emergency room for what was initially diagnosed as back spasms, we were advised to see our primary as by the 3rd visit (late hrs over a long weekend) she was finally diagnosed with symptoms of IVDD. We spoke to the tech who did our intake and documented what was going on more than we spoke with or spent time with Dr. Joanne as well as felt more care and concern. As soon as she walked in, rather than pleasantries, greeting or even examning our dog she led with "okay I'm going to be very honest this is very bad, I'm going to recommend surgery". After discussing her symptoms and feeling what some other reviews stated about "interrupting" we were asked if surgery was financially not an option (which yes is an important question). We shared we did have the means to do so but, we personally were opting not to. As we shared we have freinds, family and personally know several owners, breeders and well trained welpers who have experienced IVDD in Frenchie bulldogs,3 to be exact. Therefore we wanted to opt for the natural approach of strict rest, inflammation medication, as the 3 we know with this condition gained mobility back within weeks to 3 months. We were asked if "our friends or family went to school and receieved a degree, because she did and is a licensed Veterinarian" My wife was taken back and stated, we didn't come to tell you how to do your job or question your credibility, we are merely sharing our reasoning for not doing the surgey as youve asked several times about the cost. We had done our research and have experience in seeing this condition first hand. We came to you, to help us with a course of action, plan for the next steps as far as medication, therapy based on those 3 success stories. Her response was a "wow, well those are some great odds" Mind you this was the 5th Veterinarian we had seen in a 3 day span, three at Pacific Care ER and one in Riverside and we just felt of all the experiences, this was not what it should have  been. I shared we were advised by ER to see our primary as they were treating us on an emergency basis and this would potentially be long term care. At one point feeling frustrated my wife asked, so had we come in here blindly, not telling you it is IVDD what would you have done? She had not attempted to examine her, even touch her to determine for herself if this was the proper diagnosis or the severity of it. It was then she finally took our Pup to the back to examine her. We left feeling more frustrated and hopeless than before this visit. We were referred by a friend to OC Vet, after being seen there, coming up with a plan, course of action and being in close contact and check ups by the vet personally (through email and calls) our baby is at her 1 month mark and has shown GREAT signs of improvement! Though she is supposed to be on strict crate rest, any chance given she is rolling, stretching and showing great signs of strength and mobility gained!"

"The staff and Doctor were very friendly, caring, polite and extremely professional. I would highly recommend them to take care of your pets. Great experience . Jeff B"

"I changed vet from here because receptionist was too rude and she didn’t care about my dog’s situation. And I didn’t comfortable that they take my dog inside every time and I couldn’t see during they treat. But at another vet now, I can stay with my dog during the treatment and can see clearly what exactly vet treats to my dog. Still having doubts to Animal Hospital of Irvine….."

"I was disappointed when my dog was misdiagnosed with allergies by the veterinarian. It turned out that she was actually suffering from a respiratory infection, which caused her to suffer for 18 days. Moreover, it was impossible to ask questions during the appointment as the vet kept interrupting. As a result, I decided to take my dog to another vet who could provide her with the proper treatment she deserves. I brought my dog to your office on 01/06/24 for an X-ray, but your office refused to perform it. Instead, you sent her back home with cough, sneeze, runny nose, and other symptoms. I believe you need to review all your notes before making any comments. Attention to detail is crucial, but it seems to be lacking in your office. Nevertheless, my dog is now in better hands"

"We trusted them to help us with our Labrador 10 years ago. We were very happy with their services but moved out of state. Ten years later we find them to be the same great organization (kudos Dr Lai). Services (scheduling, billing and care) were professional and well explained. We are now back with our Lab and her daughter. Trust goes a long way and we are ecstatic to renew our relationship."