Avenida Animal Hospital

Pet owners beware!

We had a horrible experience at Avenida Animal Hospital. We were told they accept our animal insurance (in advance) then told it was not good for vaccines. Fair enough, right? 

It wasn't until our fourth visit at the end of January when we presented the card for another service that they magically "didn't take it anymore since the first of the year". This didn't seem accurate. Being between a rock and a hard place with my puppy in pain for a severe ear infection, I paid and decided to verify this when I got home. 

Long story short, according the insurance company, they have been part of this insurance group for several years and it wasn't until after I spoke to them about the disputed charges/experience that they canceled the service the next day.

Upon digging into this, the insurance company also confirmed that it DOES cover vaccines and they blatantly lied and stole extra money from us in not honoring the insurance discount required.

Lastly, our puppy was itching his ears for 5 weeks. After one week we had the doc check the ears and he said they were all clear, a month later he was still itching more than normal and again this doctor said no problem with his ears. About a week and a half later (week 5) he was in even more pain and we took him back in. Now, because he didn't swab and check for bacteria the last two times, my puppy had a severe and horrible bacteria infection that required 3 medications and a strict cleaning regiment.

The insurance company is mortified and has been very accommodating to us.

I tried to resolve this with them directly to no avail. He even promised to make it right with a partial refund and when I showed up to collect the check, he said he would not be returning the agreed upon amount.

The worst part of all this is that my puppy was suffering for 5 weeks because in our opinion was not thoroughly examined.

Please be aware of this place and if your dogs ears are itching for weeks, there probably is a problem and get a second opinion. 

Lesson learned for us.

Taking alternative vet recommendations...

I would never take my animals here again. They misdiagnosed our dog and he died. Dr. Amin treated my dog for a «urinary track infection» for 3 consecutive months. The last time we were there, I was told by the vet tech that our dog had not urinated on his own and I would need to wait for the dr to get there before I could take him home. After waiting about 20 minutes, the dr arrived and told me I could take him home. I asked if my dog had urinated and he said «yes.» I didn’t want to throw the nice vet tech under the bus so I took my dog and left. Knowing he couldn’t urinate, we went straight to the hospital where they confirmed his bladder was full and had not been relieved and then proceeded to do tests and tell us he had Prostate Cancer. My family and I were so heartbroken and ended up loosing our beloved Max a month later.

What the the jacked up price for x rays $ 200 bucks is totally ridiculous and not telling you the price in advance is unacceptable will be switching vets !

This is the best animal Hospital hands down. Friendly, they never turn you away. They are kind with our babies and us. .the prices are good also. From the head doctor to all the staff. I THANK YOU. .
Pina & Bella

I would not recommend this Vet. He is a nice person but I felt like it was my responsibility to share my experience. He sent my dog home with an antibiotic that put him in a grave condition, he also did not take my dog’s condition seriously in the first place which made it even worse, he really just brushed his illness off and at one point he even said «look! hes fine». If I would not have taken my dog to another vet I think he would have died like in the case of many other reviewers. Once I got to the other vet they told me he was in critical condition and there he was properly treated.

Hi — my initial impression is that the people and Dr cares about you and most importantly, your animals well-​being — -this is not the case.
I called in to request a prescription refill and was told I could pick it up anytime before 6:00pm. I left my office early to make sure I would arrive early — well before 6:00pm. I arrived at 5:45 only to see the Dr and staff exiting the building in the parking lot. I asked one of the staff — are you closed? She said Yes. I pointed out that I called earlier today to pick up my pets prescription and she said they would be open until 6:00— she motioned to the Dr and asked the Dr — «Can I open the office?» He quickly said «No — have him come back tomorrow». I was stunned and pointed out again that it was only 5:45pm. She said «Sorry» and walked away.
I am so disappointed– I read a few reviews and this seems to be part of normal business practice.
I would recommend Avoiding this office.
I read the office response which is not true. I watched and listened to the vet say we are closed and they walked away — -15 mins before their scheduled closing time. I did not receive a call the next day. To the office, Just simply admit your mistake and avoid telling a lie to cover up your decision to treat a customer and their puppy with total disregard.

My puppy died a few days after being seen by this place. When I first brought my puppy in I knew she was very sick but the doctor just gave some antibiotics and sent her home. He never realized the severity of her illness to give me an option of putting her to sleep instead he just took my $ 200. After I told him she died and that I wanted a refund he says it wasn’t his fault. He said he would talk to the office manager about a refund which I’m pretty sure it’s his own practice. I never got my money back or a phone call, just lost money and my puppy.

Kitty got in a fight with another cat, one of the bites got infected and developed an abscess on his front leg that required emergency surgery. I was referred here strictly because of the pricing, friend knew I was in a financial bind to start with and needed a break.
The exam was $ 42 rather than the normal $ 75 of surrounding vets. He was very gentle and sweet with my cat which I appreciated because he was very scared and in pain. He explained everything to me kindly (tried to upsell a few extra things that were unnecessary at the time, but they all do it). The surgery went well, sutures are still in and drains just got removed this morning. Kitty is feeling much better and it seems like everything will heal well at this point.
Staff is friendly and sweet.
The only reason I ding one star is because I think the procedure/​aftercare is not up with the most modern standard of care. But, for basic issues and emergencies he can get the job done for a very reasonable price comparatively.

Have been going here since my pitbull puppy was 4 months and he is great with him. I have tried others around San Clemente and Dr. Amin is very friendly and funny! Our puppy gets a little scared at the vet, but he make a him feel welcomed and the office staff is very friendly and the facility is always clean!

We always felt they were trying to make money off us, and he ultimately misdiagnosed out dog with having arthritis and ended up hurting out dog, out dog ended up having cancer. The doctor was too proud it seemed to give any advice or reassurance. Horrible horrible experience. Go to vmsg in SJC or Banfield in capo beach, so unbelievably helpful and kind

Dr. Amin is a great vet and he is very compassionate with the animals. He has seen our kittens twice and both times he was very nice and knowledgable. I plan to continue to take them to Avenida Animal Hospital for all of their care. His staff are also helpful and kind. The prices are very reasonable as well.

Dr. Nagi does a great job! He really cares and it shows. The staff will always greet you with a smile. I was touched when my dog got sick and she had to go on some meds… a few days later Dr. Nagi called me to see how my little dog was doing… that is going the extra mile.

I used to always come here because at one point they cared about the pets instead of money. However, that changed this year and Im not the only one to say so.
My cat Mr. Man was sick and I knew it was cancer. After doing a test he kept saying it was IBS and prescribed medicine. When he didn’t get better he said he had to take the medicine forever. At that point I should have got a second opinion, my mistake for that.
It wasn’t until he had an abscess that was infected that I went to another vet because this bet wanted to charge me over $ 400. The other vet cleaned he wound for &160. The other vet did a FREE ultrasound and saw masses within my cat… it was cancer. It could have been prevented in the beginning, but the vet at Avenida Animal Hospital didn’t care to check. I hope the remodel of your office is worth screwing people over and lacking in patient care. Goodbye.

I wouldn’t even give this guy one star, but there was nothing lower. Whatever you do, don’t go to him if you have anything serious to deal with regarding your pet. He quoted one price to extract teeth from my cat and then tried to charge much more when done. My cat had no abscess, as he was certain he did (he never took x-​rays), but rather a tumor in his cheek, which grew by leaps and bounds after the teeth extraction. When I went twice for rechecks, and told him my cat was definitely not well, he insisted the swelling had gone down (you’d have to be blind to believe that). As to the sneezing my cat had been experiencing all along (the tumor was pressing on his sinuses), Amin said it was simply «allergies» and sent me out the door, insisting my cat was just fine. My cat died to months later.