Foothill Pet Hospital

3.4 (56)
675 Cieneguitas Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93110, USA

Hours:

Monday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Tuesday: Closed

Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Thursday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Saturday: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Sunday: Closed

How to Save Money at Foothill Pet Hospital

Schedule Regular Vet Visits

One of the best ways to save on vet bills is to prevent expensive health issues before they develop. By scheduling regular wellness checkups, your vet can detect health issues early, helping you to avoid costly treatments and surgeries down the road.

Price Shop for Pet Prescriptions

Oftentimes our fur babies are prescribed human drugs off-label. Your vet is apt to charge more for these medications than you would pay at your local pharmacy. In fact, big-box or chain pharmacies can offer steep discounts. So it’s best to price shop.

Pet Insurance

Most pet insurance providers will pay between 80% and 90% of the vet bill. You can even get coverage for routine care and things like vaccinations and dental cleanings. If you do the math, you’ll most likely find that pet insurance makes financial sense in the long run as well as gives you peace of mind.

How Do You Choose the Right Pet Insurance Provider?

Pet Insurance Review makes it incredibly easy for pet parents to select an insurance provider they feel good about. You can use our handy comparison tool to get the gist of what a company offers. We’ve also collected over 150,000 reviews of insurance companies from real pet parents like you to rank the top providers in the market. Here is the current ranking of each:

Top Pet Insurance Providers of 2024
Rating Provider Total Review
4.4 AKC 889
4.7 ASPCA 11,392
4.9 Embrace 14,179
4.9 Fetch 1,995
4.4 Figo 2,561
4.7 Hartville 164
4.9 Healthy Paws 7,475
4.9 Lemonade 781
3.2 ManyPets 2,145
4.6 MetLife 487
4.8 Nationwide 21,391
4.3 Pet Assure 12
4.7 PetPartners 110
4.5 Pets Best 7,194
4.3 Pumpkin 1,131
4.7 Spot 5,194
4.9 Trupanion 60,280
4.8 Prudent Pet 124

Or, you can simply get a fast quote from multiple providers and go from there.

Thinking of insuring your pet?

Get Quotes & Compare

Getting to Know Your New Vet: Essential Questions to Ask

Choosing a new veterinarian is an important decision for any pet owner. You want to find someone who is competent, compassionate, and a good fit for you and your fur baby. To help you get the most out of your first appointment, here's a list of essential questions to ask your new vet:

Tell me about your experience with [pet type].

Different vets have different areas of specialization. Some are experts with cats, some dogs, some pocket pets, and some horses. Knowing that your vet has vast experience treating your specific type of pet can bring you peace of mind.

How do you handle emergencies?

You must know what to do in case of a pet medical emergency. Inquire what after-hours policy the clinic has, whether they have on-site emergency care available, and if they have a relationship with any nearby emergency animal hospitals.

How do you communicate with pet owners?

Good communication is key to building a trusting relationship with your vet. Ask how they prefer to communicate (phone calls, emails, online portal) and how often you can expect to hear from them.

Are there any breed-specific health concerns I should be aware of?

Some breeds are predisposed to certain health conditions. Knowing what to watch out for can help you catch problems early and get your pet the treatment they need.

Do you have any questions for me about my pet?

This is a great question to ask because the answer will show that the vet is interested in getting to know your pet as an individual and is willing to listen to your concerns.

Bonus question: Can I take a tour of your facility?

Getting a feel for the clinic's environment can help you and your pet feel more comfortable during your visits. Remember, you’re not just looking for a veterinarian, you’re looking for a partnership. Do not be afraid to ask these questions and any others you can think of. Any vet worth their salt will be happy to answer them. Because the more informed you are, the better equipped you'll be to make decisions about your pet's care! And that should be every vet’s top priority.

Reviews from Google

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mackenzie perez

Wow. What a waste of time. I had scheduled an appt for my dog a week in advance and I get a call the day before to reschedule for Thursday instead of Wednesday, thankfully I was available and that worked. Then I told them already while making the appt that my dog was not friendly with other dogs and last time they were accommodating to that, but this time they did not plan for that at all so I had to wait 30 min outside for them to clear the dogs out of the waiting room. (Didn’t recognize any of the same staff from the time I went before) Once I get in, one of the vets BRINGS A DOG into the waiting room and lets the dog get nose to nose with my dog. Very unsafe and unprofessional. THEN they take me into a room and tell me the vet is on lunch so they wanted me to leave my dog and pick him up later when they just let another dog get into the same room with him, not gonna leave my dog somewhere that can't even secure a room for him safely. I told them no and she said we have to reschedule after I waited 30 min, had a dog come into the same room as my dog, and they already had rescheduled with me the day prior. never going back again.

posted: 05/25/2023

Vanessa Davila

We have been bringing all of our cats and dogs over the years here for years. The staff seems to have changed here and there but they always are thorough and competent. It's a convenient location with plenty of parking and even a small grassy area in the front if your animal needs go relieve themselves before going inside. (There are other pet hospitals and vets in town that are located in areas with street parking only and no sidewalks only so I see this as a pretty significant perk. I won't name their names here.) I give them four stars because they tend to always be running late. I'm not sure why. I have often been stuck in a room with my dog for up to an hour and that doesn't include sitting in the front waiting room first. This doesn't include reviewing the history with the vet tech and getting the animals weighed. This is waiting to be seen by the vet. For something as simple as renewing flea and tick meds. If this happened once it would be fine but the long wait is the main reason why I am giving them four stars and if I could, 3.5 stars. They are just slow with everything. Like your time doesn't matter to them. It's also the main reason I would consider finding another vet if I got a good recommendation from someone I trusted. Bottom line, they will be attentive to your animals, they are knowledgeable and helpful, and offer a wide variety of services. My animals always feel comfortable there and safe with everyone who works there. But be prepared for them to suck away your morning or afternoon depending on when your appointment is scheduled. It could very well be that there are emergency animals that come in and take priority since it is a hospital and they just don't have a good system down for dealing with scheduled appointments. However, it just seems like everyone that works there moves at a slower pace than the rest of the world. It's my only issue with them.

posted: 07/14/2019

Bailey Clark

I have experience working at a veterinarian hospital and can easily say this is one of the most exploitative hospitals I have ever brought my pet to. They will charge exorbitant amounts for services your pets do not need. For the last year of my pets life, I took it upon myself to provide at home palliative care, something that would have cost thousands of dollars if I had relied on these people to help. Luckily, I knew what they were offering and how completely unnecessary certain treatments were. 5 days before the passing of my pet, the doctor was "strongly recommending" I take her to a cardiologist to see if she qualified to then get thousands of dollars of dental work done. I laughed and he questioned why I found it funny, to which I responded, "Because she's dying!" Seems strange that a doctor isn't qualified to identify end stages of life. They weren't even able to see her for euthanasia, so I brought her to Goodland Pet Hospital (they were extremely kind and so wonderful) to be put down, I can easily say her suffering was exacerbated by frequent trips to Foothill Pet hospital for checkups at the doctors request. They used her prescriptions IV fluids as a bargaining tool for us to bring her in for X-rays or tests or holistic herbs that would cause her to avoid eating. I know this was long. Thank you for reading.

posted: 01/19/2023

Sheena escobedo

Took my chameleon there and they were very gentle and sweet with him. Chameleons normally get darker when they're stressed and he had bright and vivid colors the whole time.

posted: 05/22/2023

Dave Furey

We took our7 year old lab there a week ago because he was not eating. The manager"finance guy" seemed intent on running as many tests as possible but they missed the diagnosis. The next day we noticed a large mass under his chin that was obviously missed and some swelling inside his mouth. We ended up taking him to an emergency clinic that reran the blood work because the results from Foothill were incomplete and correctly diagnosed him and treated him. I had a follow up discussion with the "finance guy" and he promised to follow up with me but never did!

posted: 02/17/2023