Escalon Small Animal Clinic

Affordable prices, communication could use improvement. Like others have said, be prepared to wait on hold for over an hour and never get your call answered. I was 1st in line and then they hung up on me. When I spoke to the receptionist later, she said they're a "high volume clinic" and can't get to all their calls. And that I should just leave a voicemail instead. Then why have a hold system at all? If you bring your cat for a dental cleaning, heads up they will inject your cat with antibiotics (Convenia) unless you ask them not to. I wasn't informed about this in advance, and it seems like their staff just assume nobody should have an issue with this. When I told them that they should inform people in advance, receptionist told me, "We did tell you that they would be receiving an antibiotic." Well, there is a huge difference between an oral antibiotic (which you can stop administering at any point) and an injectable (which stays in your pets' system). Apparently for cats, they default to injectable antibiotics, versus dogs which they prescribe a take home medication. I've gone to several other vets for dental cleaning and have never been told that antibiotics were necessary, so it seems like it's just this clinic's practice to do so. Which in itself is odd, because I searched this and all other veterinary clinic websites say that antibiotics after routine dental cleanings are largely unnecessary. If the pet has periodontal disease or an extraction, then maybe there's a case for antibiotic use, but otherwise for routine cleanings it really makes no sense. I also noticed that they forgot to instruct me not to feed my cat the night before/morning of the procedure - thankfully I'm already aware of this protocol, but if it was someone's first time and they had no idea, this would be a big mistake that could lead to the pet vomiting and choking on their vomit during the procedure. I just want to leave this review so that others can hopefully be informed. Their $400 dental cleaning special is such a great deal, but I would probably only come for that. In terms of communication and overall service for regular vet visits, I would recommend Oakdale Veterinary Group.

posted: 08/01/2025

My 11 year old kitty was seriously slobbering one day. And her gums looked blistered. I took her to an urgent care. After going to this urgent care vet and getting basically lousy service, I went to these people for a second opinion. The 1st vet took a quick look, said it was kidney failure or dental. And then told me to get a loan, since I didn't have pet insurance, for the obscene price she quoted me. ONE tooth and tests $1500. Escalon Small Animal Clinic vet took a serious look at her. She wasn't in kidney failure. Her teeth were good except for some plaque which is normal for her age. She did get a antibiotic shot and gabapentin (which I protested but was told that was my only option) from 1st vet. The infection cleared up and her lethargy and disinterest in food was side effects of the gabapentin. My new favorite vet prognosis. They saved my cat from unnecessary, dangerous surgery and me over $1400. These guys ROCK!!!

posted: 07/08/2025

I have never written a negative review. I am writing this because I feel like my dog’s death needs to be acknowledged. Dr Hagen misdiagnosed my dog. I brought him in because he had been urinating tiny amounts for a couple of days. Dr Hagen charged me $700.00 for lab work, cultures and an ultrasound. He told me that there was no evidence of a tumor. I had to rush my dog to the emergency vet 2 weeks later because he was only urinating drops and seemed in a lot of discomfort. The vet there did an ultrasound that did diagnose a large tumor that was preventing him from urinating. Unfortunately, the tumor was very large and suspected to be cancer. I had to have him humanely euthanized. Dr Hagen’s misdiagnosis caused my dog to suffer unnecessarily for 2 more weeks. I notified the office. I did not get a call back. Nor a condolence nor any other acknowledgement at all.

posted: 06/27/2025

Dr. Hagen Sr. & Jr. have both treated our dogs for some serious conditions. Not only was the diagnosis correct right away, the treatment was effective and successful. We love the staff & care our dogs get here. Only downside is it can be difficult to get an urgent care appointment. We usually call here first, but end up going to a different clinic for emergencies.

posted: 12/28/2023

I made an appointment over the phone for my dog's annual check up and was seen the following week. My dog's first appointment with Dr. Frank went well, my dog is fairly healthy so I was in and out. I made another appointment for a dental cleaning and was informed about their Dental Cleaning Special. They were able to get my dog in the following week. My dog had his dental cleaning today (his first time having a professional cleaning under anesthesia), everything went great. He came back to me super happy and showed no signs of distress. I highly recommend this Vet clinic. The ladies in the front office were nice and helpful. I'm so happy everything went so smoothly. Thank you everyone at ESAC for taking such good care of my baby.

posted: 12/04/2024