PETS Referral Center

I would give them a million stars if I could. Our 9 y.o. Alaskan Malamute, Murray, was diagnosed with anaplastic sarcoma and we were referred to them by our amazing primary care vet (Leah Isaacson @ Walnut Creek Vet Hospital) after we were rejected by UC Davis Oncology for an appointment. I'm so glad it worked out that way because our whole experience from reception, appointment scheduling, Oncology, Surgery and post-op has been amazing and they really moved quickly to help get us in for an oncology & surgical consult to help save Murray. The doctors were very up front and realistic about treatment and costs, really taking into account Murray's quality of life and not trying to sell anything. Leg amputation was the best chance at saving his life and giving him hopefully another couple of years. They moved quickly to accommodate us and scheduled his surgery as soon as we got all the reports back showing no metastasis. They got the last report in the evening, called me after-hours because they knew we were already on borrowed time, and they got us in for surgery first thing in the morning. This is a phenomenal hospital and team. They are professional, kind, caring and even though they are a busy hospital, whenever I've called with questions they are always so nice and helpful. They all love what they do and took the best care of our Murray and saved his life! Thank you Pets Referral Center!

posted: 07/11/2023

i love this place. i brought my old lady dog in for an emergency and they were so caring and sweet. they were so generous with accommodating our financial situation as well. i didn't get a chance to thank them properly. . . but THANK YOU! for taking such good care of penny and making sure she had what she needed to start feeling better.

posted: 09/15/2023

I never thought I’d be writing a review of an emergency vet center but here I am. My poor 6 month old baby accidentally ate some grapes (which I didn’t know were toxic) and after some impossibly helpful advice from the ASPCA and this center we decided to proactively give her an IV and keep her here for 48 hours to monitor her kidneys and help flush her out. During this time every single vet and vet tech/nurse was so impossibly kind, supportive, patient, educated, and compassionate. I felt safe keeping my baby there and knew she was in great hands. It’s not cheap, for sure, but pet insurance was crucial and I was so grateful for their care of my pup. I was also so happy they let me visit her and all of the staff throughout 24 hours a day were so so kind. I hope to never come back, but if I do I’ll be grateful they’re here!

posted: 08/30/2022

Fantastic, caring, professional, and helpful. My dog was attacked at a park and as I was rushing him to another emergency hospital in Berkeley, the same dog attacked a friend’s dog in the same manner. The dogs are the same size and the wounds were almost identical. He took his dog here while I took mine to the other emergency hospital in Berkeley, where my dog is also a regular patient. I ended up paying more than $1000 more at the other hospital than my friend who came here. (They also charged me for blood work despite the tech noting that he has just had blood work done there 1.5 months ago which looked perfect, and the veterinarian also tried to push an unnecessary ultra sound exams that would cost thousands, and said X-Rays would also be good to have. My friend who brought his dog here did not deal with any of this.) Well two days later my dog had popped his stitches and I decided to bring him here. I braced for the worse, but right away I was treated far better than at the other hospital. The veterinary technician brought my dog back almost immediately, unlike at the other place, and they were out within a minute. I was told that the veterinarian had taken a look at the wound and feels that it’s healing well and would not recommend stitching him up again! I was not charged for this and sent on my way. It is incredible seeing such honesty and kindness from this practice! At the other hospital, where my dog is a regular patient, it was necessary to pay an emergency exam fee before they even took the dog’s weight. I feel the other practice is a straight up money grab and exploits and preys on people who are distressed about the health of their beloved pet. I whole heartedly recommend this practice to anyone whose pet is experiencing an emergency or any other condition which they treat. I will be bringing my pet here and have already recommended it to all my friends with pets. Thank you Pets Referral Center!

posted: 09/10/2023

I can't recommend PETS highly enough, both their ER and oncology department. A little over a year ago, my 15-year-old Yorkie was diagnosed with highly aggressive melanoma and Dr. Kimberly Shaffer became his oncologist in the PETS Annex Center. Dr. Shaffer was great at explaining all our treatment options and how they worked. She was super patient with us as we asked a thousand questions, even when we doubted her conclusions because we didn't want to believe our dog was really dying. Franklin hated going to his regular vet, but the staff at PETS treated him so lovingly that he didn't really mind going there. Last week, to our utter devastation, Franklin finally reached a point where we had to end his suffering. We knew we wanted to go to PETS because it was the one veterinary hospital that didn't make him anxious. It was also really nice that we only have to give them a half-hour notice. We actually chickened out on our first attempt to take him in and called to say we needed another day, and the staff was nothing but sweet and understanding of our decision. In fact, that's how that they were every time we called. We did have to go back the next night and they set up a room that was peaceful and private for us to say our final goodbyes. As awful as it felt to lose a member of our family this way, the experience was so much more bearable because of the empathy and love of the people at PETS. Franklin was actually the second pet I've had to say goodbye to at PETS. Three years ago, our cat suddenly became ill, so we went to the ER because we couldn't get an instant appointment at our regular vet. Unfortunately, they were not able to save her that day, but we were impressed with how kind everybody was even then. If I could make them my primary care vet, I would, but that's not what they do. Losing a pet is one of the worst things in the world, and hopefully, you won't have to do the same as us on your visit to PETS, but you can trust that any visit there will be handled with care, competence, and compassion. I honestly, don't know how they are able to maintain this level of care 24/7.

posted: 07/26/2022