Fukumoto Sandra Dvm - Long Beach Animal Hospital

Long Beach Animal Hospital tripled the cost of a medication for my tortoises within a few months and didn't tell me about it until treatment had begun. When I wanted to discuss the matter before paying the bill, I was rudely told that the office manager was the only one that could help me, but she was not in. I was told she would call me, which she never did. Instead of explaining to me why the large cost increase, they sent it to a collection agency. This is very unprofessional behavior and showed me it's all about money to them. I won't go back.

Posted 09/16/09 | Report Abuse

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Dont go there I bought my dog there to emergency with possible parvo, and they gave me an estimate of $800+ just to have the dog checked to see what the problem was. They will scam you with all these test they need to run on your dog to diagnose the problem. Lisa Hsuan D.V.M. administered treatments without my consent, in which I still ended up leaving their facility out of $160 and a sick dog. Lisa Hsuan was very rude and unprofessional. After I decided to go elsewhere, she asked if I would surrender my ownership and give the dog to them, stating that the dog probably wouldnt live if we took her and didnt get treatment there. She also insinuated that I was too broke to own a teacup dog, stating that I shouldnt have bought the dog from a store if I wasn't able to pay for treatment(basically meaning her expensive estimate just for diagnoses of the problem). Lisa was very unsensitive to the problem and seemed as if she just wanted my money or a free teacup dog. Lisa Hsuan's visible tattoos may be a reflection on how she perceives she should conduct herself in a professional workplace.

Posted 08/10/09 | Report Abuse

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I don't like this clinic at all.

I just got done spending over 500 there to help my dog and the problem wasn't solved.

Now I know sometimes this happens but what really irked me was their attitude. They didn't seem to care AT ALL. It was like nothing that I had just spent over 500 dollars and my dog wasn't helped at all. Oh well!

About 80 dollars of this involved "re-checks". I asked the doctor at the time, if I could get a deal with the re-check fee because my problem wasn't solved and the re-check was like 10 minutes tops. The first re-check wasn't even accurate. I felt that was reasonable considering they didn't solve the problem.

Did they care? No. Well, actually she reduced my recheck and whole 7 dollars. Gee, that's real generous considering I spent 500 bucks on your clinic of wasted money.

I don't feel you get value going to this vet. You pay a lot and if it doesn't work, they won't care really.

After 500 dollars of work, it was suggested I get x work done that would cost me at least 450 more. I checked with my other vet and he charged 130. LBAH is expensive and they assume it's easy for you to pay their prices...they don't care at all if you weren't helped after hundreds of dollars.

One last thing...one of the receptionists actually argued with me telling me I didn't take home any medicine because it "wasn't on the chart". I told him, that I did. How could I forget such a thing? He kept saying "if it's not in the chart, you didn't take it home". It was incredibly stupid and wrong and annoying from the get go. Later another receptionist acknowledged I did take home medicine. I couldn't believe how I was treated! It didn't start off our relationship right.

With these two experiences, both personal and financial, I am left with a bitter taste in my mouth after LB AH.

Posted 07/17/09 | Report Abuse

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I have been taking my pets to LBAH for 14 years and have never had anything but kind, professional and knowledgeable service. Unfortunately, I had to put down a cat 4 years ago and I found them to be very compassionate. We have adopted a dog in the last year and have had nothing but good things to say about the staff and clinic. I have usually only seen Dr Ridgeway, but recently had the pleasure to meet their new doctor, Dr. Hsuan. She is a great doctor.

Posted 02/05/09 | Report Abuse

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In response to the animal care professional of sorts, to the many negative reviews. First, and most importantly! Hospitals of any kind (human/animal) are businesses that provide various services. THEY ARE IN NO WAY CHARITIES! Though, there are often caring individuals engaged in a meaningful profession that pays VERY well. Often times when one is experiencing an emergency, one may become emotional. In this case, one requires a hospital's services. These services are very expensive! It is the right of the customer ("Fred the Cat" or "Joe, Father to Fred the cat") to expect the business to fulfill the service. It is the right of the customer to be emotional and irrational! It is the service provider's "LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY" to rationally provide CARE services. Lets leave out the word "humane" as humanity is not usually the first priority of a business. Unless of course, the hospital is providing this FREE of charge. Fortunately, there are forums such as this and others to foster competition! Thus forcing the service provider into a position of function.

Posted 08/28/08 | Report Abuse

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I do not work at this facility but am a local er vet tech of 10 years. Firstly gimmie a break. You guys are coming off sounding paranoid and crazy.."Yes we get those emotional clients). It is understandable but in emergencies etc you do not seem to understand how it works. For example: My cat is soo sweet at home, but a horrible patient..I mean horrible. He screams in the back...doesn't mean abuse. You throw that word so loosely. In 10 years (many hospitals..I have only seen 1 case of inappropriate handling). Most of the time the neglect comes from the owners..who then have the audacity to be pissed when they are called on it. Do you understand how hard it is becoming to even see animals? PLEASE. As for the woman who had to euthanize her cat. I am sorry. Sad. But when a cat is that far gone it is difficult to hit a vein when there is NO blood pressure etc. They were wrong in doing it with out a catheter first. You clients who are soo dramatic make our jobs hard. Can you imagine if I went into your job and dictated what u should do etc. We understand your emotional when you come in, but try not to be irrational!

Posted 05/06/08 | Report Abuse

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DO NOT BRING YOUR PET HERE!!!

My dog had a high fever, was having difficulty standing, and had a soft mass and a hard mass on his chest. After feeling the hard mass and doing an x-ray, the doctor told me that the dog had a tumor and there was nothing she could do. She completely ignored the soft mass and my repeated questions about the dog's other symptoms and the speed with which the illness hit. She did not aspirate the mass to see if it was an abscess (when we asked another vet afterward, he said that was the first thing he would have done). In addition, the doctor gave the dog a long-lasting steroid to try to bring down the swelling.

It turned out that the mass was an abscess that burst the next day. I brought my dog to his regular vet, who said that giving a long-lasting steroid was the incorrect choice since it lowered the dog's immune system making it harder for him to fight the infection.

Thankfully, my dog is healthy and happy as can be. And I will NEVER go back to Long Beach Animal Hospital again.

Posted 12/27/07 | Report Abuse

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The front desk staff is not and often slow. Good luck dealing with them. The vets are great with animals usually but management can't seem to pick great customer service people to hire.

Posted 10/24/07 | Report Abuse

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I took my cat to this hospital to have a lump checked which was located on her back . As the dr. was examining her, I found another lump. My cat was then shaved in the 2 appropriate places for the lumps to be removed via surgery. Following the examination, they recommended that bloodwork be taken from her prior to surgery. i heard my kitty SCREAMING in the back room, and I mean SCREAMING. she is a very docile animal that I have had for 7 years, and NEVER has she screamed like this before. I began to cry because I could tell they were manhandling her, so I screamed to make them stop and my kitty ended up biting one of the technicians. I don't know what the hell they were doing to her, but they never got the blood. When I picked her up from having her surgery, I noticed one of the lacerations were in an area where there had been no lump detected in the examination. The next day, when I asked to speak to the surgeon, the receptionist coldly said that he wasnt in and that I would have to call later and that she had other customers to attend to. She essentially blew me off. The surgeon did call me back, and when I advised him that a lump was STILL there (after I had paid nearly $900 to remove the 2 lumps and there was still one there), I asked him what the hell happened and he said that he would like to know!!! I said well, you are the surgeon, you tell me!!! I will NEVER EVER take an animal back to this hospital nor will I EVER recommend it to anyone. Plus, she got fleas from the hospital, for the first time. That sure was a nightmare too, but my kitty still is recovering from the surgery and I still have a lump to contend with. If this type of treatment was done a human, they would be sued. It's like amputating the wrong leg.

Posted 08/23/07 | Report Abuse

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Its nice to go to a hospital where the doctors and staff actually love what they do. After spending hours waiting in many VCA hospitals and then having all the tests possible (even ultrasound) pushed on me, the doctors at this hospital are thorough but do not overdo it. They are available by phone, and in a pinch they make an effort to squeeze you in. It is busy every time I go there which tells me a lot. If you care about your pet, and what excellent care, it is the only place in Long Beach for your pet. I just wish my pediatrician was this caring and good. They even take care of wildlife for free, and provide tons of free information on their web site, instead of trying to get you on their web site to sell you more stuff.

Posted 06/25/07 | Report Abuse

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We took our 5-year-old cat here for an annual check-up as well as a simple problem that our cat was suffering. After being given antibiotics (which cleared up his symptoms) we were told that the cat most likely had heart problems (and would need an ekg), back problems (which would need expensive physical therapy), would need a change of diet (expensive food), and was given multiple lab tests. After all of this, they said that yearly shots would have to wait. Upon our second visit (where we said his simple problem had cleared up) they pushed for the same expensive tests again and were told he'd need even more tests. They took our cat into a private room and we could hear the cat screaming in pain. We still never got his yearly shots and after a phone call from the vet saying that we'd need to bring our cat in for a 3rd visit, we decided to never take our cat there again. Today, our cat is happy and healthy, and we're still looking for a good vet.

PROS: Friendly
CONS: Too pushy about expensive treaments and tests.

Posted 12/22/05 | Report Abuse

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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One of the doctors came to our house and euthanized our German Shepherd. It was handled so professionally that we will go to them when we get a new puppy (some day).

Our neighbors referred us originally-everyone in our area goes there.

Their web site is awesome also- WWW.LBAH.COM

PROS: Everything
CONS: Nada

Posted 11/14/05 | Report Abuse

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After owning animals for all my life I finally found an animal hospital where the staff and doctors care and actually teach me. They call you back also.

PROS: Competent and care
CONS: None

Posted 11/13/05 | Report Abuse

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I take my reptiles here, driving several miles for Dr. Ridgeway, who is probably one of the most well-regarded herpetological vets in the area. It's often hard to find vets who truly think of my animals as pets that are as important and worthwile as cats or dogs, but these people really do.

Their boarding service for all types of animals is extremely heplful, too.

Posted 06/07/05 | Report Abuse

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I have filed a formal complaint with the California State Veterinary Board about the inhumane practices at this facility.

When I took my cat to be "put down" here, she was subjected to the most cruel and inhumane treatment I have ever experienced.

When i asked that they stop the procedure it was ignored, when I insisted that they stop I was told that they were following their guidleines although my pet was screaming in anguish as they forceably pulled her head down and splayed her legs in a failed attempt to insert a needle to administer the drugs...it took 10 attempts to find the vein...and my pet died an agonizing death.

PROS: None
CONS:

Posted 05/11/05 | Report Abuse

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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