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January 2024 by Katherine L.
One year ago today my 9 time agility champion lost her left hind leg. She used to go to this hospital for her regular PT to keep her body in good shape since she's a very active agility dog. She started a little limping at the end of July, 2022. Dr F said she had a torn ACL and needed a TPLO surgery. Since I trusted them so much so I didn't even think I need a second opinion. First surgery was done on 8/9/2022 and it came out nice. Two months later my dog started to walk funny, her leg slid out and X-ray showed screws broke. I totally understand things could happen and Dr F said he could fix that and promised my dog would be fine. So 2nd surgery was done on 11/10/2022, just one week later her leg slid out again every time she walked. Also, the technician doubled the dosage of the amoxicillin ( 1st time 50 mg, 2nd time 100mg), and my dog had big reaction that the skin on the bridge of her nose was cracked and peeled off and lost most of the hair. I was completely devastated and didn't know what to do. I cried every day and felt so bad about my bad decisions that had to put my dog go through two big surgeries in such a short time and still wouldn't able to walk. I finally got to see Dr Sams who is one of the top orthopedic surgeon in January 2023 ( very long wait time to get to see him). After more X-ray and Dr Sams finally knew what went wrong. He said my dog is "non-union", meaning her bones will not healed as planned or will heal at an abnormal angle. That's why there's a tiny gap between the upper and the lower bone and that made her leg slid out. He had to refer us to see Dr Kapatkin in UC Davis ( she's the chief surgeon) because my dog is in really bad condition ( I can even see her bone sticking out). Dr Kapatkin squeezed us in and had the surgery done on 1/27/23. She called during the surgery, said bones were mushy and too many holes from previous surgeries and if she put them together, everything will fall apart again in a week. The best thing to do is to amputate her leg, my dog will still have her life and I will still have her. That was the HARDEST DECISION TO MAKE IN MY LIFE but I had no choice. I can't believe what was supposed to be a straight forward surgery and now we have the horrible outcome. I talked to Dr F and the manager because I spent so much money ( $13,000+ at Beacon, $3000 at Dr Sams, $5000 at UC Davis) and now I am at total loss. I lost my money, I lost my amazing agility dog ( she was so close to get her Grand Champion). I asked for some compensation and at first they did talk to me over the phone, said they would get back to me. Nope! They stopped talking to me and didn't answer my phone anymore. I am still VERY VERY ANGRY and VERY SAD to see my 3 legged dog who used to be running around and doing agility which she loved to do. Before Dr F did the 2nd surgery, I did ask him if he's sure the bones were healed, he said "they should be healed by then". I think that's what he missed before he proceeded the 2nd surgery. I had referred so many agility friends to them and I don't think I would do that anymore. Very angry and very disappointed.
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January 2024 by Shelby B.
Poor service. Go to emergency. I understand waiting. What I don't understand is witnessing a concerned man over a dog in surgery asking questions. Being brought to tears by an untrained person who had to be replaced by another to calm the gentleman down. The so called review of my cat didn't go well. It seemed like the guy was on his second day of work. Not fully knowing what to do. Smiling was not an option as my cat is having difficulty breathing, bloodshot eyes rings. A fever which he didn't seem concerned at all. She also hasn't eaten. I waited in a ice box of room for 3 1/2 hours with no one checking in on my cat. The room was also unsanitary. Blood drops big enough to notice on the floor. I told them this. They didn't seem to care. I left. With being told I was one person away from being seen. Did I want to wait. At this point no. You lost my trust. Sorry This coming from a previous customer who had been there before. And is why I returned. It was a waste of time and weakened my sick cat. Sad overall. To add: my cat was seen by another emergency vet. Has an enlarged heart and pneumonia with fever requiring two weeks of treatment. If not more.
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January 2024 by Samantha Heinemann
RUDE, SELFISH, UNSYMPATHETIC!!!I had to call to ask if they could provide euthanasia services for an old rabbit. The person I spoke with was ruthless and cruel! They have a vet who's so ALLERGIC to rabbits, they told me that I would have to HOPE to schedule in advance! Who PLANS to have an issue?!?!When I broke down into tears, I was harassed to continue speaking. There were FAR BETTER ways to handle this situation. Instead, I had phone numbers thrown at me with a chipper "Good Luck!"I WILL NEVER BRING ANY ANIMAL TO THIS CLINIC EVER AGAIN!!! Loss is hard enough without your attitudes and cruelty!! Learn some sympathy and basic human compassion!!
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January 2024 by Vanessa C.
They share a location with Animal Eye Care Specialists. This location is very easy to find with plenty of parking. The staff is super friendly and great with reactive/anxious dogs. The new patient fees can be a little pricy but it was well worth the care. I felt very taken care of and I trust that my dog is in great care. Overall, i'd recommend this place for it's specialty services and it's urgent care if ever needed
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December 2023 by Leslie Williams
Dr Fitch gave my 11 month old Siberian Forest cat life saving hip surgery after he was hit by a car. After Finn healed, we tried to make an indoor cat out of him, but he literally went up walls trying to get out. My mom lives in a much safer area for cats, so she adopted him. Because of the amazing work of Dr. Fitch and his staff, Finn continues a life well lived, leaping up fences and jumping rooftop to rooftop eight years later! Happiest of holidays to Dr Fitch and Beacon Vet!
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December 2023 by Rose Drake
This place is no good we had an emergency for our dog who's paw was bleeding we waited 45min and no help so we walked out we would never return and I would tell everyone if you love your pet do not go there, all the people were sitting in the back drinking there Starbucks we seen them walk in, my advice is very bad place.on Nov.22,2023, our dog had dirrera real bad, than she had alot of blood coming out of her, we called Beacon Vet. Told them about babygirl, they wouldn't see her cause we couldn't pay them until Friday, they wouldn't wait 4 days, I told them it's not right, our dog needs treatment now and that she was bleeding from her rectum, my son asked Google and they said for us to let her fast for 3 days, to kill whatever parasite so we did just that along with trusting God to heal her intestines. IAM filing a complaint against Beacon Vet. To me they don't really care about your pet, they just want the money, the veterinary medical board will take care of them, Babygirl is fine now, thank you Lord Jesus Christ
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December 2023 by Anne M.
I can not say enough about this place. Our sweet girl fell off of the bed stopped breathing and had a seizure. They took us RIGHT back and assessed her. Gave us an estimate of services and their recommendations for next steps. Then, when we didn't need everything on the estimate only charged us what we needed and offered us paying options. It ended up being half. They followed up with a phone call to check on our girl. Gave us piece of mind knowing she was in good hands. With her one night overnight stay, they were so sweet and accommodating when we called throughout the night to check on her and even sent pics. We were a wreck because our Coco is kind of a special needs dog and they handled her with care and love, for us without taking advantage with charges. LOVE LOVE them!! Our girl is home and good now. Thanks Beacon.
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December 2023 by Michael C.
We met with Dr. Fitch. He was extremely knowledgeable and very professional. Ultimately, it was decided to have our precious doggy of 17 years put down due to the fact that he could not use his hind legs and walk anymore. He had a long 17 years of very spoiled doggy life and we loved every minute of it! I wanted to thank Dr. Fitch and the incredible staff for their professionalism and genuine emotional support they all showed us going through this most difficult period. Lastly, we were surprised to receive a sympathy card that was "hand signed" by Dr. Fitch and the entire staff. This was a great indication of how much this organization cares about their clients and going above the call of duty. Thank you so very much Beacon staff and we will highly recommend you to any pet owner! Kudos to you all!
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December 2023 by Thaw T.
I brought my cat there for emergency because she got a big infection from her injury. I checked in, explained what it was and waited over an hour. One of their technicians finally showed up and looked my cat from the outside of the cage. Then, she told me that they had only one doctor working this evening and I needed to wait for two more hours. If I can't wait, just make an appointment with my regular veterinary clinic tomorrow. The point is that I won't be there if I didn't think it was an emergency. Also, why didn't they tell me about approximate waiting time during check in? No one from the hospital even really looked at my cat injury in the first place and they made me waited for over an hour to hear for two hours waiting time. This is so ridiculous.
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November 2023 by Grace Shepherd
Last night my poor cat received an injury to his eye. It was bleeding and I was so scared that he would lose it. I had heard good things about beacon emergency so I called ahead of time and told them the situation and they said to bring him in. However, it turned out that they could NOT help us. They said the doctor wouldn't be available for 6-8 hours and that they couldn't even provide any pain management for my poor cat until the doctor could examine him even though they had already confirmed that he was stable just that he was scared and in pain ?With a lengthy, repetitive, albeit polite explanation, they stated that they could not help. But, they did provide us with a list of other emergency vets that we could call and also the receptionist was kind enough to help call around.We found a vet in San Jose that could take him right away and put the address in our GPS and headed there immediately. Once we got there however, it was closed! It turned out that the address provided by beacon was incorrect.To sum up we made it to the correct location and received care for our cat, Boots, and he is now healing and doing well. Beacon disappointed me because we called ahead of time to confirm that they could take him, but why say yes if you don't have any doctors available until tomorrow? And the wrong address, really??! We had to go so far out of the way as a result of that little error, with a crying kitty and little gas. It just could have, and should have been handled better. I think they should have advised us to go to a vet with a doctor available when we first called them, or at least when we arrived there, not doing so prolonged his suffering and I dont understand why they did it that way. And they should have correct addresses when sending someone with an emergency anywhere!
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November 2023 by Jessica Valentine
This place was so terrible to me. I wish I wrote this sooner but my poor puppy was unfortunately killed by a car. It was the middle of the night and I had placed her in a box and brought her straight there. The lady at the front desk told me it was $500. I said I could have the money but being 3am I'd have it in a few hours. I asked if they could hold her until I could get the rest together. The lady told me no and gave me my dead dog back and told me to keep her somewhere cold
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November 2023 by Hughes C.
I don't know. Maybe I'm emotional from watching our family cat be put down tonight. And I know it isn't an easy job when people bring in pets that just are in such dire conditions and the emotional toll behind it... However, having made the decision to put our cat down and then watching her look like she was in pain after the Propofol shot was administered, which is supposed to be a sedative, didn't ease me at all. At first, the catheter seemed blocked so the doctor had to take her away to redo the catheter. She was injecting IV to try and clear the catheter...but it seemed like our cat was choking or in pain after that. Not a good way to see her go and it hurt. It hurt really bad to see that. I wanted her to go as peacefully and as comfortably as she could but goddamn, my heart was aching and I was in so much pain watching her in pain. Seconds later the euthanasia drug was administered and it was over. I'm not saying they aren't a good clinic; in fact we found them much more competent than another one nearby. However, this little slip up in critical moments like these...it's seared in my memory. Though, my review shouldn't steer you away from here; they are good, caring vets. They were probably just unlucky with the catheter being blocked. I would still recommend them, they are at least 4 stars overall.
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October 2023 by Whitney M.
Our fur babe had a scary experience where we had to take her in at 5am! They took really good care of her. All staff members were super friendly and caring! I'm glad we found them. They were really informative and provided excellent care! (One down side was they refunded us a for an amount I had asked to disregard a text, and they sent a bill for the amount)
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October 2023 by Lisa H.
I waited for 4 hours for emergency care and they wouldn't give me any info about how long I needed to keep waiting. Showed up with a $700 estimate with no info about what was wrong and lots of sorry we are short staffed.when I said don't take blood they said she has a fever. I left truly frustrated and scared. Second vet no fever an hour later . Omg. I listened to staff saying they aren't allowed to work overtime while I'm being told they are short staffed. If you're just trying to profit off of hysterical dog owners you have completely lost your way. Second vet saw her immediatley and said she has an infected toe and prescribed antibiotics and now the bill is $200. Lesson learned.
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October 2023 by Megan M.
Long wait time for emergency. Waited for an hour and no one came to check in my dog. when I started to leave, they told me it would be another 4-5 hour wait before my dog gets seen by a doctor. Old white lady at the front desk is very rude as well.
