Culver City Animal Hospital

The quality is not good, the bedside manner is not good and the level of expertise is not good. I am still mortified from an experience with my beloved cat.
There are other close and MUCH better places. Just do a city search and /or call places.

I recently changed vets and am now going to Dr. Kidwell at CC Animal Hospital -- best move I could have ever made. My other vet was very knowledgeable, but the wait was always excruciatingly long, he always seemed too busy and frazzled to focus on me and my dog and his prices are astronomical. I switched to Dr. Kidwell on a recommendation and am so happy I did. Everyone in the office is so caring and kind. Dr. K. is extremely experienced and knowledgeable. He gives you 100% of his attention 100% of the time, yet he is very no nonsense. He fixed my dog's paw after 3 vets couldn't figure out what was wrong. On top of that, he didn't charge me for it because he said it wasn't fair that the other 3 vets charged me so much for doing nothing. He always calls personally with test results and doesn't mind answering tons of questions. He, and the rest of the hospital, are A++ in my book. Also, if the waiting room is not always full it is because they run the business smoothly and don't overbook appointments so they can pay attention to each pet and owner. I'd much rather have that than a packed waiting room where I'm waiting with my anxious pet for an hour and then another 1/2 hour in the examing room waiting for the dr. or technician.

I've seen both Dr. Kidwell and Dr. Gebroe on several occasions, and always been very pleased with their service and level of professionalism. When my dog Marty came down with kennal cough, Dr. Kidwell actually called once the antibiotics were complete to see if Marty had made a full recovery.

I'll admit that the reception leaves something to be desired, but I'm willing to deal with that for great vet service.

I'm glad that some people have had good experiences there. I'm glad for their pets.
My experience was not good with Dr. Gebroe. I didn't really interact with the other Doctor.
I felt like I was dealing with a car dealer who kept trying to talk me in to add-ons and upgrades. He kept throwing out charges and procedures. I agreed with everything he suggested and never questioned any of the fees. After a long laundry list of tests that were supposedly done, I picked up my cat, payed a large fee, and was not given a receipt, invoice or any results. Then a few days later when I called they said they were "waiting for results from the lab", even though they hadn't gotten the results I was once again pitched other procedures I should have done. After over a month I went in to find out the results of the tests, only to find that the tests they charged me for had NEVER BEEN done.
I asked for a refund, in the meantime my cats conditition had deteriorated dramatically and I took her to another vet for treatment.
I didn't experience any rudeness, except from the 'new' receptionist, but they are definitely not organized. When days can make the difference between health or sickness, even death, it's not worth taking the risk at a place like this.

I brought my pound puppy in when we first got her because of kennel cough that she had caught at the pound. Dr. Gebroe was very professional and took care of the dog right away. He was worried that she might have parvo so he did the tests right away. He called me a few times before the week was out to make sure all was ok. I found him to be very caring and attentive. I once called for a slight emergency right when he was leaving and he waited for me to get there. On occasion, I have had Dr. Kidwell too and I have always found him to be very interested in the dog and very sweet. I have seen him get irritated when someone is kept waiting too long. Nobody pushes unecessary surgery or procedures here. I will continue to take my dogs here. As for the empty waiting room....I LOVE THAT when it happens but it doesn't happen very often.

I find both of these Drs. outstanding and understanding I've been going there for 15 years. Never have they been rude. And they are both outstanding Drs In addition how many Drs give you there home numbers to call anytime.
I wonder if the people who where critical have emotional problems they haven't dealt with.
By the way I travel from Beverly Hills its worth the trip
Harris

I'm sorry to say that after many years of taking cats and dogs to Dr. Kidwell and thinking he was good, he missed a urinary tract infection on our lab results TWICE in a 6 month period. This means my cat went untreated during that whole time. It is not hard to read lab results. It actually says MARKED on the results when there is bacteria in the urine. Maybe I can understand missing them once, but twice? Is he just not bothering to look? Did he think it wasn't important because she's an old cat? This is a mystery to me. He was also condescending when I asked him to check my cat's kidney numbers and it turned out she WAS having chronic renal failure. I learned the hard way to ALWAYS get copies of all lab results and check them carefully. Don't assume your vet is doing his/her job.

I've had four animals I've taken to Dr. Kidwell (three cats and one dog) and he's always been courteous and respectful to the animals, even when he gives the owner (me) what-for for not taking proper care. I can easily imagine Kidwell getting upset at an owner who expected her cat's urine to be uncontaminated if taken from the examination table for testing rather than being drawn directly from her cat. Kidwell will indeed tell you the price of his procedures even over the phone, and explains what he's going to do to assure you know. I've had minimal interactions with Dr. Gaboe (one appointment for my dog which Dr. Kidwell couldn't handle due to an emergency), and found him equal to Dr. Kidwell. Personally, I like to know what I could do better for my animals, and Kidwell gives that to me if I need it.

Kidwell recognizes his limitations, and will not do procedures for which he is not properly trained. If you are being sent to a specialist, it's because Dr. Kidwell thinks the procedure is not something he can do -- I've had this happen once in over 25 years of patronage. You won't lose a pet to Dr. Kidwell due to dishonesty.

I would like-to highly recommend Dr. Kidwell. I rescued a dog from a shelter and after a few months he got very sick. I took him to three different vets in one week and got different answers from each of them. Someone i work with recommended Dr. Kidwell. He was the 4 doctor we had been to and we were getting desperate as our baby (dog) was getting worse. He was great!!!!!! Kobe has been healthy for 2 years now and we love Dr. Kidwell at Culver City Animal Hospital.

I have to agree with the first two posts. I find Dr. Kidwell quite rude. He confronted me in his front office after I told him that due to the fact that my dog's testicles did not fall and I was concerned about problems with surgery that I was going to go to a specialist surgeon. He came out to the waiting area where I was paying my bill and said "how much is #### going to charge you, if he charges you over $500 you are being ripped off." He said this in a very confrontational way, in front of his staff and in front of clients. In my opinion this is completely unproffessional! As a side note the specialist I was going to is a very close personal friend that owns a very large emergency/referral hospital.

My experience has been the total opposite. CCAH is the best for me. Both Dr. Kidwell and Dr. Gebroe are not only professional but quite friendly to me. My St. Bernard had to have multiple surgeries and Dr. Kidwell not only saved my dog but also called me personally giving me updates on my dog. He also took the time to call me to inquire about how I was doing even after my dog came home. Dr. Gebroe even stayed after the office was closed to check over my dog because I was so panic stricken not knowning what was wrong. The staff knows my name and my dogs names and greet me everytime I come in the office. They all are quite respectful and thoughtful even asking me how my sick dog is doing. They have never just taken my dog from me. I walk her in the exam room with maybe the attendant, were Dr. Kidwell explains to me what he thinks is wrong before tests and what he's going to do. Dr. Kidwell and Dr. Gebroe have long standing loyal clients and a business that is thriving maybe a non-crowded waiting room shows excellent business practices.

I've had to go to CC Animal Hospital a few times because unfortunately my favorite (Gateway Animal Hospital) is too far to go during the work week. When I asked for an itemized list of the services the receptionist gave me an annoyed look (... the nerve of me to ask!). Apparently nothing is computerized, so the invoice arrived a week later snail mail.

The facilities in general seemed a bit archaic. The vet had me watch a video (not VHS... a projector thing from the 70s?). Then he tried to refer me to a very expensive skin specialist. On my second visit my dog had a large splinter stuck in her leg. When he told me the best thing to do was to cut it out, which would require putting my dog out temporarily, I asked for an estimate of charges and he seemed to pull $200 out of the air.

Take an empty waiting room as a hint...

PROS:
CONS: bad invoicing

I am still shaking as I think about the terrible experience I had there. I have never had a vet who did not explain to me what they were doing and why, let alone a staff person who just walked up and tried to grab my cat out of her case!

Dr Kidwell was more than rude. He was rude to his own staff but when I told him to stop he began to curse and pretty much just lost control. I dont know what other reviews you may have heard about this person but he is more than capable of crossing the line. I dont suppose his behavior was illegal but he certainly is not someone to take an animal you care about. Farm animals perhaps might benefit from his lack of sensitivity but certainly not a pet owner who treats their animal like a part of the family. I really still cant believe what happened!

In 30 years of going to vets this is the worst experience I have ever had.

The staff just grabbed my cat to weigh her with no word to me. Of course my cat wasn't happy. I took her and it was fine. The scale turned out to be in another room and they were just going to walk out the door without saying a word about where they were going?

My cat needed a urine sample and the vet, Dr Kidwell, again without saying anything to me about what was going on, called for two people to help him. Meanwhile my cat is just sitting on the table leaning against me. No meowing, scratching or anything. The vet got angry that the staff folks didn't get in the room and I still didn't understand why three people were needed for a test on my very docile, 15 year old cat. I told him my cat would just sit still just fine and he ignored me.


Finally two guys came in and the vet said "urine sample, hold the animal". One guy steps in, grabs my cat by the back of the neck and swiftly flips her over and the other guy grabs her hind legs and pulls them apart. The vet picks up a needle and gets ready to jab my cat with it. I say "they have always gotten urine off the table before" or something like that and the vet points the needle at me and says "are you trying to tell me how to do my job?"

At that point I say "stop, I'm leaving" and the vet says "get the hell out of here then idiot".

That is about how sensitive you can expect this guy to be. A total creep.

His staff seemed to think his behavior was normal but everyone in his waiting room was sitting with their mouths hanging open. He is bad news.

PROS: Always has open times
CONS: Terrible, awful, rude, insensitive, cursing, rough with animals etc etc