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Resident alleges malpractice at local pet hospital [updated]

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By Lancaster resident Linda M. Monson-Cianciosi

This photo was taking about two hours after Max returned home, according to his owner. She said her beloved English Bulldog was dripping blood everywhere. (Contributed photo)
This photo was taken about two hours after Max returned home, according to his owner. She claims her beloved English bulldog was dripping blood everywhere. (Contributed photo)

On Saturday, Feb. 7, we took our 5-year-old English bulldog, Max, to Mission Animal Hospital (845 W Palmdale Blvd) for inability to urinate. We suspected kidney stones. They assessed him and said he needed surgery for kidney stones.

At approximately 11 p.m. that day, the “vet” (unknown if he is an actual vet as there is no DVM behind his name) called to notify us the surgery was over and our dog would be fine. We were asked to please pick him up before 9 a.m. the next morning (Sunday, Feb. 8).

When my husband arrived to pick up Max, he was covered in blood! They also notified us that they had to remove his genitalia. Basically, Max is now a female. They proceeded to charge us an additional $600 for doing so. We have now incurred over $2,300 in surgical expenses!

When the tech gave my husband the dog, a towel dropped off of him. Apparently they were using it as a diaper. My husband inquired as to why there was so much bleeding. They simply said it was normal.

When my husband asked why we had to pay the additional $600, the “vet” said he would have to speak to the office manager. My husband attempted to speak to the office manager. They refused to give her name and said the office manager doesn’t speak to clients.

There were NO AFTERCARE instructions given.

Once Max returned home, he immediately went into the dog run and into his house – something he NEVER does. We allowed it, as it separates him from our other animals.

Max continued to bleed profusely. I have a medical background, and I knew this was not normal. We gave him a couple hours to see if the bleeding would cease. It did not.

(Contributed)
(Contributed)

I attempted to call Mission Animal Hospital and speak to the office manager. They put me on hold and left me there for more than 20 minutes, after which time I called back. The woman who answered the phone claimed to be the office manager, but gave no name.

I explained what was happening to the dog. She said, “There is nothing I can do,” to which I said, “Are you serious?” There was a silence and I hung up.

Shortly after, my husband called. We now had pools of blood in the dog run, and Max was covered in his own blood. My husband spoke to a tech who told him to bring the dog back in.

It is now Feb. 9, and no one has notified us as to anything – aside from a call last night from the “vet” who said Max is on IV’s.

This is the most inhumane place I have ever witnessed. I have contacted the state licensing board, PETA, and Palmdale city licensing. I believe they are giving my dog physical ailments to pad the bill. They are unprofessional and unethical.

Who alters a dog without permission? Who sends a hemorrhaging dog home? Who releases a post-surgical animal without aftercare? And what kind of business has a manager who will not speak to clients?

As for the so-called vet, he refers everything to his office manager.

I don’t even know if my dog will survive, and I’m still going to be responsible for the medical costs.

UPDATED 2/17/15: In an effort to provide ONLY THE TRUTH, I want to clarify the mutilation of Max’s penis. When he was picked up February 8th, “Dr.” Kim said they had to alter his penis while cutting into the urethra to remove a stone that was lodged. In doing so, his genitalia would know be “similar” to that of a female.

Upon seeing his new vet, we were informed that Max STILL HAS HIS PENIS. However it was just short of mutilated, as the procedure to cut the urethra appeared to not be done correctly. His penis was sliced along the center, and folded back to represent that of a female. It was also not sutured and was infected.

Above ALL, I want this story to be 100% truthful! I’m not out to profit, nor have I profited in any way by telling this story. My only purpose is to provide an educated choice. That is all. I love my animals and in critical situations we put our trust in veterinarians. Just do your research prior to the emergency. Knowledge is power.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The AV Times.

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Editor’s note: The AV Times contacted Mission Animal Hospital in Palmdale on Monday, Feb. 7, and spoke with someone who identified herself as one of the office managers. She was familiar with the case.

The manager said the office contacted Monson-Cianciosi’s husband Monday morning to let him know how the English bulldog was doing. They told him the dog was “on fluids,” the office manager said, and they were doing everything possible to aid in the dog’s recovery.

Asked about the additional $600, the manager said Monson-Cianciosi’s husband was made aware that there could be an additional procedure, which would incur additional costs. He was informed of what those costs would be prior to any work being done, the office manager said.

We will update this story if there is an additional response from Mission Animal Hospital in Palmdale.

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UPDATED 2/11/15: [Editor’s note] Max the English bulldog was picked up from Mission Animal Hospital Tuesday, Feb. 10, according to owner Linda M. Monson-Cianciosi.

Monson-Cianciosi says she was informed by a Mission Animal Hospital representative that Max didn’t have kidney stones – they were “bladder” stones. She says she was charged additional fees for kenneling the dog for two days.

A local veterinarian has offered to evaluate Max and to resume care, if needed, at no cost. Monson-Cianciosi has accepted the offer, and she is ecstatic that Max will now have the support of “such a kind-hearted loving” veterinarian.

A representative from Mission Animal Hospital contacted The AV Times and requested to publish a response to this story within 72 hours. We will be publishing the formal response from Mission Animal Hospital as soon as we receive it.

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UPDATED 2/13/15: [Editor’s note] At 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12, The AV Times received a letter from an attorney claiming to represent Mission Animal Hospital and Ayman Ibrahim. The letter demands that The AV Times immediately retracts this reader’s letter regarding Mission Animal Hospital, or Mission Animal Hospital will consider “all possible legal action.” View the attorney’s letter here.

A group called AV Animal Services has organized a lawful protest to support Max the English bulldog and his family. The protest will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, on Palmdale Blvd. at 10th Street West. View the Facebook page for this event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/629380690523428

Filed Under: Opinion

278 comments for "Resident alleges malpractice at local pet hospital [updated]"

  1. It’s sad and pretty ridiculous when foolish owners can’t or won’t provide proper care for their pets, then ignore the requirements and explanations their veterinarians provide, then blame the veterinarians when the animal takes a turn for the worse. I don’t who is victimized worse – the pets or the doctors.

    • Give me a break! Are you serious? Leaving the dog in the care of Mission would have been a death sentence. A responsible pet owner would never allow an unlicensed vet to operate on their pet. Now it’s out that Mission allows anyone hired off the street to come in and operate as a form of training, on our pets. They throw the pets on the cold concrete. They don’t use sterilized surgical equipment, need I go on? Hundreds of people have spoken out. Are we all liars? What self admitted animal over would support a business involved in Animal Abuse? The only ones supporting Mission, are those who work there or are affiliated with them. So stop preaching that Mission was right. The dog left infected! The dog nearly bled to death while “Dr.” Kim and “Dr.” Parks claim its normal. Call any legitimate vet, they will tell you that bleeding for 8 days IS NOT normal.

      • Im sorry but you are ignorant. So every person who is defending them or tells them their good experiences is automatically a worker there or is affiliated with? How stupid can you people be? Do you really think the people who work their have the time to comment on this article? No i dont think they do they have a job and dont want to add more drama to this. You people have to put your two sense in when someone who doesnt believe this ladies story which is honestly sickening. There is so much things wrong with her story and not only that she changes it. If she really wants justice for her pet then tell her to give them permission to release their side of the story. Ive been waiting for it for a long time noe but they cant do anything without her say so and the fact that its been prolonged means that SHE herself is hiding stuff which i know she is. Stop being so ignorant and let the other side be heard. Everyone else with their negative experiences should have said something before not decide to being it all out right now cause there may not be anything the law can do and aa far as what you guys claim goes on in the back theres no way you would know what goes on AT ALL unless you’ve physically been back there. Stop it already

        • First off, I am the owner. Secondly, MISSION DID POST FRAUDULENT POSITIVE COMMENTS! That can be verified as the AV Times traced them back to the same IP address. You are making yourself look stupid!

          As for giving them permission, they don’t need it. Several of their employees already divulged information. At this point, I have a lawyer and I don’t need to give you or anyone anything.

          Mission is in the practice of abusing animals and they need to be shut down. You act like I’m the ONLY victim. There are hundreds of people coming forward.

          Maybe you’re just afraid of losing your job there! You should be. If you are one of the people committing unlicensed vet services, I hope you are held as an excessory to the crimes!

  2. What I’m reading is a bunch of people who can’t take care of their pets, owning a pet isn’t cheap. The pictures and the post by the people complaining is clear you had a bad experiance because you failed to read or follow instructions now your trying to blame some else for your own incompetence. It’s time the general public suck it up and stop blaming everyone else.

    By the way my jack-o-lope is doing well, thank you.

    • A FREAKING MEN!!! Who leaves their dog outside after a major surgery? And that photo looks perfectly set up. Its like she let the dog bleed that much so she can make it look like its their fault.

      • Who sends a dog home in that condition? And why tell the owner to bring the car up, while they get the dog? Then mop up blood and carry the wrapped dog to the car?

  3. This is a “community awareness” invitation
    If you have a story to tell about Mission and want to STOP them. Come today (Sat) and tomorrow (Sun) to Palmdale Blvd & 10th Street West.

  4. I took my female chihuahua to get spayed there and they sent her home with someone else’s papers. ( violation of privacy) it had all their information on it. Being the person I am I called and explained the situation to them ( staff )and that I don’t live close by ( drowns away) they asked me to return the papers to pick up my own despite the drive I would have to make for what would have been the fourth time that day. I only chose them because I heard they did inexpensive spay and I don’t have money to throw around well they charged us for all kinds of hidden things they don’t advertise including $15 for antibiotics $15 for a shot $15 for the cone of shame and some other crazy fees for blood work. I could have taken my dog to our vet whom we have known and loved since forever, for cheaper than it ended up costing to take her to what I later heard recered to as the “chop shop”, anyway I shredded the paperwork that was not mine and never received the papers for my dog. Thanks mission for understanding that ppl don’t always have the luxury of driving 3 towns away to fix a mistake that you made. Maybe u should double and triple check ur paperwork before u hand it off. I just pray that whoever received my paperwork had the decency to shred my information as well. Lesson learned don’t sacrifice quantity for quality especially for someone you love!!!! It’s just not worth the pennies you may have saved had there been no hidden fees. As far as quality of service I apologize to the family this happened to its a shame. I am a nurse for ppl not for animals but anyone with common sense knows that you don’t send someone home hemorrhaging and no discharge instructions whether an animal or human. If this was a person this happened to the outcome would be much more of an ethics issue and would be pending an investigation and possible suspensions. it’s just a shame. Sorry you had to go through this I’m sure it was very stressful and caused extensive emotional distress. As I’m telling my daughter the story now, she says it hurts her heart. That’s sad! Get ur act together mission. Don’t let this become your reputation. You are in the field of animals so u must care for them so act like it then!!!!

  5. I am with several animal rescues and we have taken hundreds of dogs to mission animal hospital for surgery, blood work, ear infections, shots, kennel cough if you can name it Dr. Parks and Dr. Johnson have seen our rescues for it and we have never had a problem and will continue to use them.

    • YEAH the Rescues out here are a joke. NOT ALL but a few, lafdav,LP and the affiliate second hand. ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY ,and only help themselves, but ask you to foster and when you do they say Sorry your not an approved foster. cant help you with anything, OH BUT but the admin of the group gets what they need..

  6. Sending a letter to the AV Times demanding a retraction for publishing an article is below the belt. In all fairness the law firm should come see the dog before they put anything in writing

    • The dog doesn’t even have a cone on if you don’t know that dogs lick their wounds maybe you shouldn’t own one. Seems the owner is at fault for just putting the poor thing in the dog run. Most likely was licking and biting at the wound which would drumroll cause it to bleed and perhaps look a little messed up.

      Did I say I took my rabbit in once and it came back like a jack-a-lope…..

    • CALL YOUR ASSEMBLYMAN TOM LACKEY 661-267-7636! It is his job to contact the board for the animal’s behalf!! Make the responsible be responsible.Contacting state agencies with our problems is his job.

      • I think a more sensible course of action is to investigate the owners who can’t take care of their pets.

      • Thank you for the suggestion. I will do that. We need to shut the doors to Mission, once and for all. What other business can get away with legal animal abuse. Osha needs to be brought in as well. As for J Johnson, they have “no clue”. Why would anyone cover for a bunch of illegal layman operating on people’s family members, then tossing the dogs onto the cold concrete. They don’t even sterilize their surgical equipment. Absolutely disgusting! If this were humans and not animals they’d be in jail. But through the grace of the state, animals are only considered property. Damaged goods. J Johnson, how you can support this is horrific! I welcome being investigated. I am Max’s owner. I have several vets proving how well I care for my pet. I fight for my pet, and for ALL the animals who can’t speak. I await their reply to the allegations in court! I’ve only scratched the surface! You have no idea who you’re calling “irresponsible!”

  7. First I’d like to say that my sister had her female spayed there and did not like it there either, but MOSTLY you would think that your dog should already have a vet by now that is if you take him in even for shots and such, so why would you take your dog to a vet other than your own(you shouldve had one) and secondly if my dog looked like that and was still bleeding I would never have taken him back to the same place. and to another vet immediately weather i had the money or not. DR. AKAL IS A VERY GOOD VET if you are looking for a good vet in lancaster ca.

  8. I know exactly how you feel my little dog got attacked by 3 big dogs she had absolutely no feeling in her backside but was in a tremendous amount of pain they would not let us in the back to see her they insisted on moving her into the waiting room so I could see her and they also told us that they had given her painkiller but every time I slightly moved her she was screaming pain evidently they didn’t give her any pain killers I am thankful for my boyfriend sister because I had to have her put to sleep and if she wasn’t there who knows what they would have done with my little doggie because she pretty much begged me to stay there with her while they gave her the shots to put her to sleep Mission Hospital is an evil evil place they need to be shut down and they need to pay for the ugliness and wrong doings my email address is crazytracye@gmail.com if you’d like to contact me.

  9. I have taken all my animals there for over 5 years now. I’ve never had a serious problem with them but I only go there for Dr. Parks, if he were to ever leave and have his own place we would follow him. He is so very loving towards my dogs and even gets on the floor to love and play with them. I don’t care too much for the other vets they don’t seem to give as much heart as Dr. Parks but they are still professional.

    • I concur with you. I just made a visit (2/13/15) with Dr. Park (Asian decent gentleman) who is at Mission and he is VERY professional, nice, and knowledgeable when he discussed my puppy’s health. I did not know or had heard about this story until I was talking to my supervisor at work about out vet visit. I was shocked and even more reading this story. I have only complaints about the customer service at the front counter but other than that we have not had any problems. And I know the manager and when I ask for one they talk to me and its not anything serious just regarding payment matters from which they have been working with me and I am grateful.

      I hope that whatever happens will soon be resolved and I WILL be taking my pup back for a follow-up. He did not have surgery just medication…so that Dr. Park can make sure he is better. I don;t know of any other places that are reasonable with prices in the AV so I will hope that my pup will stay healthy and stick with Dr. Park for now…

      • When you go to take your dog back, check the licenses posted on the walls. You will not see DVM. You will see foreign veterinary. They are not licensed vets. Dr. Parks released my dog wrapped in towels and carried him to the car, hiding the blood soaked towels. Then when they were called back, they claim its normal! You can continue playing Russian roulette with your dog, but I’ll never go back. Since this story, hundreds of people have come forward with their own horror stories, and with each protest, the list gets longer. If that doesn’t speak volumes to you, then you are dumb or just don’t care about your animals. There’s too much evidence! Besides, why did Mission post their “own” positive replies? If you have nothing to hide, quit covering up your bad behavior!

  10. If the vet was worried about the dog they would have put out a statement regarding the well-being of him. Instead they threatened to sue the paper? This tells me they are guilty! Poor baby. I hope he gets better soon.

  11. What kind of FOOL would continue taking her profusely bleeding dog back to the same vet who altered the sex of her dog?

    Something smells SUPER fishy here…

    • Yes it kinda does. Plus after a major surgery I wouldn’t have my dog out of my sight and in some dog run.

    • No, Jane, the initial procedure was done there, therefore any problems or complaints need to be addressed to the SAME facility.
      Although, I do agree, something is ODD, the owner stated she has a medical background, but yet TOOK HER BLEEDING DOG HOME (hmmm)
      Anyhow, I am glad that this story was shared! There has been a LOT of NONOs involved with this facility…

      • First, let me clarify, the dog was picked up. There is a witness who. Verified they “hid” the bleeding, by telling the owner (husband, not the wife who had the medical experience.) to bring the car around while they brought the dog up. They had Max wrapped in towels and when the towels came off he bled profusely all over the floor. The witness said she saw the tech wipe up the puddles of blood from the floor while the owner brought the car up. They then wrapped the dog back up and carried him to the car.no blood was seen until he got home. Within minutes they called back to report the bleeding to which Mission replied, it was normal. An hour later, called back to say the bleeding was worse to which they were instructed to bring the dog back in. It was from that point on that the dog became severely anemic, and infected. Under the care of Mission, not the owner. Get the story straight before blaming the owners!

  12. Took my cat there and was told she had to be spayed because of an infection in her uterus. Spent 400 dollars and had to put the rest on credit through their credit program. Our cat came home drugged for 2 days and was fine after. Didnt seem like there was any issues with surgery. Months later had an issue with the paperwork showing her being spayed. County wouldnt accept it. Come to find out my cat was never spayed. But was cut open for some reason. Called and harassed the office manager at the time to show me proof and threatened legal action. I was told never to come back and they cancelled my pet insurance. They only opened my cat and drugged her for no reason. I really had no issues before this with our other 5 animals but I have never gone back!

  14. Everyone please take your pets to Palmdale Veterinary Hospital on 6th street east and palmdale blvd…I have been for years…and they are also AAHA accredited..which means they have to set certain standards and have inpections every so often..they are great with pets..reasonable prices.and great service…..friendly staff and excellent doctors that care….and knowledgeable…..

    • Really? Palmdale vet “lost” my friends dog she was boarding there for the weekend. No explication, no closure. Just “lost” her dog. Never go to palmdale vet hosp.

  15. I took two dogs there for shots one time and was very disappointed at the unprofessionalism of the vet tech. She didn’t know how to read my dogs names on the charts and bullied the front office staff to know end. That was a year ago and knew that I would never go back even though they advertised decent rates. Never had that expereimce at any other vet offices. Super creepy experience.

  16. I have been going to this Hospital for years now and I have never had one problem there. The staff is professional and treat my dogs as if they were their own. The doctors always explained to me very well what was wrong with my dogs and the nurses were very friendly. I love coming here because I know I will receive the best help possible knowing my dog is in good hands. I think it’s not fair that only the BAD reviews get published here and not the GOOD ones.

    • Please consider neutering your dog with the laser that is available at the Palmdale Vet on 6th West. I had a bad experience also at Mission Hospital and would never recommend any procedure with this office.

  17. I called this hospital in order to see if this article was true, they said they would submit a response. I can not believe their response was a lawyer with threats—this leads me to believe there is truth in this article, it must have merit and they are fearful that they will loose business. I will be taking my dogs to another hospital until they have a public response.

    • The letter said they can’t puplish response unless they have a written response from the pet owner. They can’t release patient information without permit from the owner. They ask the newspaper to convince the pet owner to give this permit or to retract the article. The hospital tight handed please read the litter

    • Ihave been going to the Mission Animal hospital for many years with my pets and I have never had any of this problems , all the doctors in their are very helpful and they try to help you as much as they can they gave you many options to treat your dog’s

    • Do not take your animal there! My daughter worked there and quit because of their in humane treatment of animals

  18. All I can say is read YELP. Is Mission Hospital going to sue them as well? The other veterinary that is taking over the dogs care has already told the owner that the dog was butchered. I know I will never take my animals there. End of Story

  19. Yes. I posted my experience. And I hear horror stories all the time. This is not an isolated event that somehow made it to the AV Press.

  20. A friend of mine brought her dog in for some minor surgery. The dog came home and wouldn’t eat and just kept throwing up. She brought the dog back in and they discovered that they left the tube in its throat after the surgery. They charged her for the x-rays and the removal of the tube. Straight thieves. I’ve also brought my dog there twice. The first time was for cherry eye. We opted for them to sew it back in. They told us “don’t worry it’s just red right now because it’s swollen. It will go away. It never went away. It didn’t look like they did anything to her eye. But yet we were charged $300. I also brought her there when she had parvo. They did get rid of the parvo but the condition of the place where they keep them is less than ideal.

  21. I have to agree. I have been taking my 2 babies there since they opened and not only for routine stuff but for emergencies as well and they saved 1 of my babies lives and I can’t thank them enough. I am truly sorry to hear about your experience but I love them by the way, when I brought my girl home, they did give me after care instructions. My daughter would agree because they also saved her baby girl.

  22. I took my dog there to get his teeth cleaned and I felt terrible when I picked him up. Whatever they used to sedate him did not wear off for hours after and he was so dazed and confused. I could barely get him into the car. He was falling down. The second time I took my dog to their office, he had a torn pad on his paw and I wanted the dr. to look at a mole like bump on his leg. The dr. looked at the mole, grabbed ahold of it and ripped it off my dogs leg without any warning. The dog yelped and the spot started bleeding. I was shocked. No communication on what the bump was, or how we could best remove it. This place sucks!!! I never returned.

  24. If anyone plans on protesting on Saturday…as far as I know, it is illegal to protest and have a gathering on a private property. The parking lot is considered private property. If you plan to protest in a public area you need permission from the authorities. Otherwise, you will be liable and the police will take action against you.

    • It is my understanding that it is legal to protest on public property. There will be no protesting on private property and there will be no disturbance. If I am wrong then please show me where in the law where it shows we can not show support?

      • As stated in the article: Not usually. However, certain types of events require permits. For example: A rally at certain designated parks or plazas. Also, many permit procedures require that the application be filed several weeks in advance of the event. Such restrictions may violate the First Amendment if they are unnecessary for traffic control or public safety, or if they interfere significantly with effective communication to the intended audience.

        • If organizers have not obtained a permit, where can a march take place?
          “If marchers stay on the sidewalks and obey traffic and pedestrian signals, their activity is constitutionally protected even without a permit. Marchers may be required to allow enough space on the sidewalk for normal pedestrian traffic and may not maliciously obstruct or detain passers-by.”

          Do I have a right to picket on public sidewalks?
          “Yes, and this is also an activity for which a permit is not required. However, picketing must be done in an orderly, non-disruptive fashion so that pedestrians can pass by and entrances to buildings are not blocked.”

  25. Have you seen the back room, where they bring dogs to recover after anesthesia? It is basically an empty room with towels laid end to end and dogs laying on the floor with no monitoring equipment. There is stains all over the floor, the staff walks on that floor and then they lay dogs recovering from surgery there. After my cat was spayed, she was sent home injured. I don’t care how affordable they are, my pets well being comes first. Generally you get what you pay for. For example, the anesthesia they use is cheaper and comes with more risks. Many high quality, reputable vets in the AV will work with you on a payment plan. Don’t risk your pets lives for bargain.

    • I have seen the back room and its horrible! I took my cat to Mission to get neutered. When i picked him up they opened the door and i saw towels and animals laying on the dirty bloody floor. I couldn’t believe it. I felt terrible that i had taken my cat to that place. Also ever since the surgery my cats lower stomach area is all flabby and has stayed that way for the past 2 years. My other cats never had that happen from the other Vets where i had there surgery’s done at. This place is terrible.

  26. I feel the AV times should not have published this article in the first place without investigating a little more into the situation. I’m sure the publicity and controversy may help the paper somewhat, but the one-sided report from this “caring owner” was a knee-jerk response and should be taken for what it is. I hope this owner’s dog is doing well, but the aftermath of her aggressive, unwarranted editorial has went way over the top of what should have happened. I hope that all this will hopefully return to normality soon.

    • Yes, this is a poorly written, one-sided article, and smacks of a witch hunt and sensationalist ‘journalism’.

      • HHHMMM? AND HOW IS THIS ONE SIDED? THE HOSPITAL WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO TELL THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY, BUT YET THEY ONLY ANSWERED WITH A “NO COMMENT”. SO? WHOS FAULT IS THAT?

  27. I’m so sorry that this happened to your baby :( however I can’t agree with most of what everyone is saying about the hospital. I’ve had nothing but really good experiences there and so have my friends an family members. I can’t tell you how many good things I’ve heard about them saving many pets there and how they can sometimes work out solutions to money issues people may have. They make mistakes but so do other hospitals. Their prices can be a little expensive but they are more reasonable than any other hospital out there in the AV. Plus it is a hospital, you guys have to understand that it’s not gonna be extremely cheap to do anything medically related. Max shouldn’t have been released like that and I’ll agree that it was a mistake on the hospital to do that. However before anyone goes quick to judge the hospital, they should really really wait until we hear the BOTH sides of the story. As to the owner I’m extremely sorry about Max and I hope he has a speedy recovery but please understand that I don’t agree you should’ve went straight to the AV times posting this article. I also do not agree with this protest that you guys are planning to do on Saturday. Don’t escalate anything until you let the hospital give their story. You may have been doing this to warn people about this hospital but understand that their aren’t gonna be a lot of people agreeing with you that this hospital is horrible. There are people that love this hospital and probably won’t want it shut down without further investigation of the situation at hand. With that being said please no one give a rude or hurtful comment to what I said. It’s my opinion and i shouldn’t be condemned for it. Again I hope Max gets a speedy recovery :)

    • won’t condemn you, but please go to Yelp and read the many horror stories. I would hate for you to lose an animal or have one in pain because the people at Mission don’t have a clue how to treat animals, nor do they have a license.

  28. So sorry you received such awful treatment from Mission. I have used them for the last 3 years and have had nothing but good experiences, but I do not use Dr. A. First time I met him did not care for his awful bed side manner. I only go when I know Dr. Johnson is the attending. I have always received caring treatment from her. I do feel however, that unless you have some sort of general knowledge of what is going on there can be a tendency to take advantage. I have always had them give me up front estimates and an option of whether I want to proceed or not and if I want all of what they recommend done.
    I hope your bulldog has a speedy recovery.

  29. THIS POOR DOG.
    I KNOW THE OWNER. SHE TOOK ONE OF OUR KITTY. SHE LOVES HER ANIMALS.
    THEY ARE LIKE HER KIDS.
    MY HEART GOES OUT TO HER AND HER FAMILY.
    HEARD THAT PLACE THEY WERE BUTCHERS. AND GIVE ANIMALS WRONG MEDS.

  30. I have gone here with my pets numerous times. Two times my Pitbull mix needed major surgery. I have never had an issue. Mission Vet always called me to give me updates and are very helpful. I am sorry this happened to Max….sometimes things happen and its unfortunate.

  31. Clearly the owners of this dog did NOT do their due diligence as an owner would not take their beloved pet that has just been mutilated back to the very person who has just mutilated them. Why on earth should we have sympathy for someone who did not do the right thing and get the second opinion their beloved pet deserved. You yourself would do that for yourself and if your went to the doctor for a bladder infection and left with a hysterectomy I smell a lawsuit so why on earth are we discussing this at this length. I say its a case of buyer beware. If you have a pet or pets you should have a trusted vet in the first place so I say put on your big girl pants and take some responsibility because “Max” had no choice, you did. Now he has to lie with it. I for on feel horrified for Max! Let’s all stop feeling sorry for the owner and start feeling the pain for Max!!

    • For those that want to condemn the owner of this dog, I want them to answer a simple question. If you, yourself go in for surgery at a hospital and they discharge you and get home and start having problems. What’s the first thing you usually do? You call the doctor back and go back to see him or go back to the hospital. That’s what this person did for their dog. While it’s unfortunate that Mission Hospital is the low life place it seems to be, I cannot judge the owner for doing what comes natural and neither should you.

      I will say I am glad the animal is out of there for which I am sure the owners are as well.

      Quit condemning people until you walk a mile in their shoes and just be glad the dog is out of that place.

      So “Irritated” be irritated at yourself for jumping to conclusions. Due Diligence is calling the doctor or hospital back and taking them back just like you would do if you were sick or had surgery.

      Quit judging people it’s not your place.

      • You guys are such hypocrites lol you sit there and say don’t judge the owner and jump to conclusions yet you guys aren’t giving the hospital the same curtsey. If its truly not their place to judge then no one else should be judging everyone. Again no one knows the hospitals side only the owners so let’s all just wait for their statement to be realeased.

        • Judge the vet? Are you kidding me? LOOK AT THE PHOTOS! Then judge. My dog was evaluated by another vet. He was mutilated! He was brought to tears! He apologized for his profession for doing something like this. Mission takes absolutely no responsibility for their actions other than bribery or blackmail. You judge!

      • I’m the “irresponsible” owner. First let me say you have NO CLUE! If you have surgery and are sent home saying that your bleeding is “normal” and would stop, what would you do? Two hours and he continued to bleed! We did what most panicked parents would do, and called them back. They told us to bring him back. They also told us that the cost was covered under “post-op” care.
        It wasn’t until this article was printed that MICHELLE, the office manager called and said she was revoking the so-called discount if I didn’t call the paper and say I lied! No way.
        This was our vet prior. There was never an instance. However their licensing has been investigated and the veterinary licensing board as well is looking into them. As soon as we realized, AFTER he was back in their care that this was not normal, we removed him, and was charged an additional 800.00!
        He’s been seen by another vet that brought tears to his eyes when he saw the “hack job” done. IT WAS PLAIN AND SIMPLE- MALPRACTICE, then blackmail by adding charges.
        I would spare no expense for my animal children. DO NOT JUDGE ME! How dare you!

      • Thank you for your kind words defending my actions. Mission was our vet before. I only used them for spay or neutering or shots. This was the first actual emergency. What people aren’t understanding is, those photos were taken when Max got home. We contacted mission to tell them about the bleeding. They continued to insist this was normal! Then we insisted something is wrong. Then they told us to bring him back. We did what any panicked owner would do under the circumstances.
        It was after this story ran, that Michelle called and said they were revoking the discount we were given and going to charge us for his “post-op” care which we were told was included. They’ve lied over and over again.
        Max saw another vet yesterday morning. He teared up when he saw the job they did on him. He took blood and urine. Max was anemic due to the amount of blood loss. He also had a high white count, which indicated he was infected. He hadn’t even been home one day. He was picked up at 5:00 the night before and by 8:30 he was in another vet. Even the staff at the new vet were shocked at his condition. Lastly, I was told by this vet that Max should have stopped bleeding within 24 hours after surgery. It’s been 5 days and he continues to bleed. He’s going back tomorrow morning. Some people have no heart, or to be honest, they may be affiliated with Mission, but how anyone could excuse what they did, could never care about animals. People need to do some research. Surgeries there are not done by licensed vets. Just because you got lucky so far, I wouldn’t press my luck.
        Thank you again for your support.
        FYI -AV ANIMAL SERVICES HAS ORGANIZED A PROTEST FOR SATURDAY MORNING AT 10:00 AM IN FRONT OF MISSION VET HOSPITAL. IT IS CALLED “FIGHT FOR MAX”. There is a Facebook page. I look forward to thanking many of the strangers who have come out to support us. People are under the false impression I am profiting off this. Absolutely not. I have not gotten $1. My only purpose is to educate people. Go to yelp.com. Do some research. Then if you still feel comfortable going there, then that’s your prerogative.

        • People just want to judge. They have the answers for everyone else. This is definitely not the first horror story I’ve heard about this place. I’ve had my own bad experiences here. Come on…..? Leaving a tube in a dog’s throat after surgery and then charging the owner for the removal of it? You have to be kidding me.

        • We have taken our dogs there for c-sections they bleed for months.we thought it was not normal so we stopped.we spent thousands of dollars there .I believe u are right .I would not take my dogs there.we also took three bull dogs there to get inseminated .paid lots of money and none of them got pregnant.good luck with your case it’s not fair to the dogs it’s cruel.we now go to pets r us.they treat dogs with love.

        • Linda, may I please have the name of the vet you took max to afterwards, that will back you up with your allegations? It is important to know another veterinarian’s name that can attest to this malpractice. Witnesses and documentation Linda are important so people aren’t judged and crucified by an online community. I was shocked by the frenzy of murderous allegations, only because of an accusation, and pictures that drew an emotional response, that turned into a vigilante group, along with a protest. I am an animal lover that has a dog that I call my best friend. I just pray that the truth can still be salvaged after all of this.

      • To Irritated should be at yourself: Actually no If I went to a doctor who mutilated me and then released me in this manner I would head straight to the ER! I would also file a complaint with the medical board and the state licensing board. You are an idiot if you think it is protocol to return the mutilator. It is a case of ignorance. I for one would not let everyone know just how erroneously I acted by displaying my story for others to pick apart. I have four babies… 1 deceased and I would NEVER subject them to this level of torture. To remove their genitalia for bladder stones, completely inhumane. If it were me I would have my pet at the best doctor and decide if it were best to euthanize at this point as it is an animal that cannot tell you the pain they are in!!!! So keep your ignorance to yourself!!!

    • I’m the “irresponsible” owner. First let me say you have NO CLUE! If you have surgery and are sent home saying that your bleeding is “normal” and would stop, what would you do? Two hours and he continued to bleed! We did what most panicked parents would do, and called them back. They told us to bring him back. They also told us that the cost was covered under “post-op” care.
      It wasn’t until this article was printed that MICHELLE, the office manager called and said she was revoking the so-called discount if I didn’t call the paper and say I lied! No way.
      This was our vet prior. There was never an instance. However their licensing has been investigated and the veterinary licensing board as well is looking into them. As soon as we realized, AFTER he was back in their care that this was not normal, we removed him, and was charged an additional 800.00!
      He’s been seen by another vet that brought tears to his eyes when he saw the “hack job” done. IT WAS PLAIN AND SIMPLE- MALPRACTICE, then blackmail by adding charges.
      I would spare no expense for my animal children. DO NOT JUDGE ME! How dare you!

      • I have talked to people that hate Mission and some that would go nowhere else. I know someone that took two little dogs there to get their teeth cleaned and some extractions. They ended up paying hundreds of dollars above the “quote” AND the teeth were NOT clean, AND very soon after this dental work, both dogs needed MORE dental work, including extractions. Mission offered to bring the so called work they did up to the client’s standards, for of course, many more hundreds of dollars.

        I took a stool sample there once, never taken any animals. While I waited, a pregnant woman was stuck in a small hot, non air conditioned exam room, with 3 huge dogs. She had been waiting about a half hour for a scheduled appointment. She finally had to come out of the room as she and her dogs were over heated. She stood in the center of the reception area and told us all a story. Other than being over heated and pregnant and trying to control 3 dogs, nearly her size, she was not crazy, not irrational. She said Mission had refused to give her the 3 neuter certificates for her 3 male dogs recently fixed there. They demanded that she come back after the surgery, pay for another appointment, and then she could have the neuter certs. I walked out and have never paid them a cent.

        Anyone that thinks situations like these should not be judged, is already judged: IGNORANT. Sharing a horror story and warning others is reality and truth and the responsible thing to do.

        Thank you for sharing your story and I am deeply sad for this poor dog and your family for having to go through this.

  32. I would prefer Dr butchko in Reseda he specializes in bulldogs you should give him a call instead of going back to that animal hospital

  33. I have been going to this office for 3 years. My cats have been given superior treatment compared to other vets here in the AV. I have had spays and neuters and this past year a horrible bout with Feline Respiratory in all my cats. They treated all my cats and informed with all information needed. They tell all prices up front. They give you options. I even had calls home to check on my kitties. All follow ups were free. its a horrible event that has occurred to Max but what I don’t understand is why did they bring him home? Were they advised like most major surgeries to leave them for 2-3 days on IV and close watch? Why wasn’t he wearing a cone? If you get a spay or neuter they offer cones. If my animal was still bleeding and I was upset I would either have them fix the situation before I left or take the pet to another vet immediately. They even advise you to keep in a contained spot like a bathroom or laundry room after a spay or neuter why would they put the dog outside in a kennel where germs and bacteria could get into the spot of surgery. Im not blaming the vet or the owner. But their are some answered questions and we are only hearing one side. Their are two sides to a story and then their is the truth.

    • You clearly didnt look carefully enough all the doctors are on there lol. Before you go saying things like that do your dang research. Im on no ones side here. Im just simply stating that you guys need to get all the facts before you go and ruin other peoples lives.

      • Bahman Kaiei-This information is updated Monday through Friday – Last updated: FEB-11-2015
        To see all the information for a licensee, click on the highlighted name. This will also include disciplinary actions if any are present.
        No records returned

        Dr. Byoungyin Kim
        This information is updated Monday through Friday – Last updated: FEB-11-2015 To see all the information for a licensee, click on the highlighted name. This will also include disciplinary actions if any are present.
        No records returned
        This information is updated Monday through Friday – Last updated: FEB-11-2015

        IBRAHIM AYMAN S VET 17207 CLEAR MISSION ANIMAL HOSPITAL, INC. PALMDALE 93551 LOS ANGELES

        Record 1

        1 record found
        LOL

    • I am the dog’s owner, and you are most definitely correct. Unfortunately I can’t go into legalities, but look carefully at Dr? Kim’s license. They have, not even tech, but layman people performing surgical procedures as long as a licensed vet “present”. You are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT in regards to their so-called licenses.

  36. PETA is not the group to call for dogs. They firmly believe dogs should not be pets, and when called to pick up strays or when dogs are surrendered to them, more often than not they are euthanized. A far better group to call is the Humane Society, in particular the SPCA, or Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

  37. this place and the “Vets” are worthless pos my dog
    Was bitten by a pit bull and was scared and
    They said he needed IV, overnight stay
    Meds, X-ray and a host of other procedures
    That costed a fortune….when we went
    To get him the next day they charged for
    An office visit WTF the dog was there why
    Was I paying an office visit? On top of everything
    They were still trying to push exploratory surgery
    They are foul mouth and RUDE!
    I never went back..oh yeah the dog was
    Just fine they made him sleep in
    The floor not even in a kennel…horrible place
    Stay away!

  38. Why is this on your “news” page. This seems like a customer complaint. How could any “news” organization take sides like this? I feel sorry for that dog but, I am appalled that you are calling a customer review, news.
    I would bet this lady works for av times or her family does.
    I hope you lose the lawsuit that should be brought against you for such a slanderous story. Shame on you av times.

    • J…

      Hey you know what they say about Opinions , what they are like,,, there you Have it…

      Besides you are probably one of those people who work at that Hell Hole ,or family of someone there, this is more than just a CUSTOMER COMPLAINT,,, What they did here is ONLY one of many incidents as you can see if you read all the post,, This place needs to be shut down.. I cant wait to see it and will be there to see it happen..

    • Obviously you are an employee of this so called Vet…I take my dogs to the dog park in lancaster often, and i hear nightmare stories coming from this place. It is a complaint, but also valuable information about where to not take our pets.

    • You must not have pets. It is big news to pet owners to stay away from a place like this. Why this person took his dog back to this place is my big question.

      • Cathy, I’m the owner. We had surgery. Within hours the bleeding got progressively worse. It was a Sunday afternoon. Logically, I called the surgeon back. I took him out as soon as I uncovered what happened and immediately reported it.

  39. This is just crazy! You should have been given an estimate first off and they should have included the rusty case scenario we’ll have to remove sex organs. Secondly, they should have called prior to the removal and at the very least left a message. I too find it extremely odd get let him go next day. My very keeps my dogs at least one day for a simple neuter. Also for a tooth extraction. My little Remi stayed two days when he was neutered and had his 8 extractions and he didn’t have nearly as inside a surgery. I will caution that vets want to send animals home as soon a safe because most don’t recover as quickly in a hospital environment. Even if there is some bleeding, often they’ll and then hinge with instructions to bring them back if the bleeding doesn’t stop. I’m surprised you didn’t take him to another vet to be checked out. I used to go to AV Animal hospital.Dr. Niholt is amazing! My vet down in Studio City knows him and respects him greatly. I actually considered bringing my babies to him up there but I worried about the long drives in emergency situations, so went with a new hospital here.

  40. You need to get that pup the hell out of there! He needs to be seen by another vet. GOD ONLY KNOWS what goes on there and to leave your dog in their care is insane. Please don’t wait, every second there is a chance he won’t make it. I’m very sorry that your dog and your family have had such a nightmare. They need to be shut down! yesterday!

  41. I used to work with animals for many years before retiring. I have never been to this animal hospital so I can not speak of their customer service which seems what most complaints are about. I am more interested in the accusation of malpractice. If the dog was turned into a “female” because of bladder stones it sounds like a PU, or for you uneducated people, a Perineal Urethrostomy. This procedure is a last resort when stones cannot not be completely be taken out specifically in the urethra of the penis. I am not defending either side but this is a serous matter that could cause a place to go out of business. It would be a shame of the uneducated people who fell for a picture of a poor puppy dog; a shame on the uneducated writer of this story who would have taken advantage of the publics love for poor puppy dogs; a shame of the AV Press for publishing what could be called battery or slander for interrogating the shut down of the business; when the procedure could have saved the dogs life and continuous to bleed depending on severity.( though it was a lot). I will never go hear based on the customer service because it sounds suspicious but I am explaining another view of cognitive thinking.

  42. my dog was put to sleep at Mission as he was extremely old and in severe pain and while I was pleased with the procedure itself since I was there, the place felt like a mill. It was high volume and there was no personal service what so ever. I tried the new vetin Palmdale on West Ave 10 across from Walmart to have a female fixed. They were not overly expensive and did a great job

  43. HHHMMM? BY ALL THE COMMENTS HERE, I SMELL A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT.
    I WONDER IF THE REX PARRIS FIRM WOULD BE WILLING TO DO IT?
    AND MR LEDFORD, HOW ABOUT SENDING CITY INSPECTORS TO THIS PLACE?

    • I’m pretty sure the city has no jurisdiction over this. Other than issuing a license to do business in the city. I would assume whatever body oversees the licensing of veterinarians would be involved and maybe animal care and control.

  44. I am so sorry to hear this! I’ve been to Mission TWICE and hey we’re nothing but unprofessional and rude. This place NEEDS to be shut down. They are solely in it for the money and they couldn’t care less about the animals. It’s sickening. I pray your pup is okay. Also please research PETA because they are. It what they seem to be. I wouldn’t contact them at all. Please please please.

  45. This place is horrible! They killed my 4 month old pomeranian. They over vaccinated and gave her wrong vaccines. And yet we had to pay for all the expenses trying to save her. All they care about is your money. Never again I would go there. I hope they close the business for good!

  46. Linda, I am sorry so many of these people are harsh and judgmental… How is your baby now? were you able to take him somewhere else? If you would like, you can join Hope for the Antelope Valley Angels … put up a gofundme.com or a youcarring.com account. There are many of us on that page that would like to help. Please contact one of the admins… I am Kathy

    • That so sweet Kathy. It would be nice to set a gofundme for linda. I would do it but don’t know how. No one deserves this kind of inhumane treatment. We have tto be the voices for our pets. They need to be shut down

      • Please update us on the dogs condition… I haven’t seen anything on the outcome.
        I have a strong interest in this story.

        • Vanessa, I’m the owner. We took Max out on Tuesday night. Wednesday morning he was given a second opinion by another vet. The vet teared up when he saw the hack job they did on Max. He had to walk out of the room. He continuously apologized for his profession. He said no animal should’ve had to suffer this. Were suspecting the bladder was damaged and repaired incorrectly. He ran blood and urine. MAX’s red cell count was low. He was anemic due to all the blood loss. He also had a high white cell count which indicated an infection. He is going to fly in a surgery specialist to evaluate Max to see if reconstructive surgery can be done. Dr Parks at Mission stood by Dr. Kim’s original diagnosis that all the blood was normal, as it wasn’t blood, according to Michelle, those photos are urine, not blood! Max’s new vet spent three hours examining and playing with him. He took him off the meds Mission gave him, and have since put him on a much stronger antibiotic. When I asked how long I should expect the bleeding. He said he’s never had a dog that’s had bladder surgery every bleed past 24 hours. We are on day 5.
          AV ANIMAL SERVICES IS HOLDING A PROTEST ON SATURDAY THE 14th AT 10:00AM IN FRONT OF MISSION VET HOSPITAL. THEY’VE CALLED IT “FIGHT FOR MAX”. I will be there and I look forward to meeting all the kind supportive strangers who really care.
          As I said before, I haven’t made a dime on this story. It was printed for information only. The more I find out the more they need to be shut down. I have so much more malpractice evidence that I’m not a liberty to say, but I strongly recommend avoiding this vet, and the other three corpoation locations that are owned.

          • What are the other three locations that are affiliated with them .I want to make sure I stay away from them.

    • PLEASE don’t set up a gofundme. If she is getting free services from a compassionate vet, there is NO REASON she would need donations.

  47. I went there a few years ago because a friend called and said they told her her cat would have to have surgery or be put down because of a small growth. No xray no blood work. While waiting for someone to talk to, the doors to the “O.R.” suite opened and 2 cats were lying on the floor in what looked like a sedated state. Not in cages! Laying on dirty blankets on the floor! I took pictures of them and after we talked to the “Dr.”, Told my friend we needed to leave. I Took her to my vet which was Palm Plaza Pet Hospital. They cleaned up her kitty because it was covered in urine, checked the spot, took a sample and said they were sure it was just a cyst, but would call if it was more serious. It turned out to be just what they said. If we had stayed at Mission, I am certain her cat would have been permanently damaged or dead. I don’t understand why this place is still open. With so many complaints of abuse, why isn’t it closed!!

  48. Mission killed my precious little “Peanut”, my 3 year old dashund. Get you dog to a reputable vet now. They totally drained my bank account and maxed out my care credit. I will NEVER go there again!

  49. I didn’t take my dog there after having a really sketchy preliminary phone call. I was asking basic questions about updating vaccinations and they acted like they had no idea what I was talking about, then yelled at me. This place needs to be checked on.

  50. I moved out of the AV in 2013 now reside in Kingman AZ. But I keep up with all the news by this newspaper. I am so glad I did. I took my dog Hachi to this vet for shots and to have him neuter. The last time I took him there was in Sept 2013, Hachi was very afraid, I had them look at his eyes, as I thought he had an allergy. Hachi has been sick since we left the AV. I always felt that there was something not right about this place. I have no proof that they did something to Hachi, but have my gut feeling, This place should be shut down. I am so sad for this dog. Please take him to another Vet as fast as you can!!!!

  51. I cannot BELIEVE Mission Animal Hospital is still in business!! I had a horrific experience there myself once, where the jerk who owns the place barricaded me in an exam room and verbally assaulted me while preventing me from escaping. Every time I backed away from him, trying to put some distance between us, he followed, flailing his hands wildly in the air and nearly striking me in the face numerous times. Why did he do this? He had heard me telling another customer about a place I had heard of that did $10 shots for dogs and cats after she was told they didn’t offer low-price vaccinations at Mission Animal Hospital. By the time he got done with his assault, I was afraid to even look at anyone else in the waiting room!!

  53. We have always had dogs and have always taken them to the vet yearly and when we thought they were ill. I have have never had a vet tell me that I had to pay them before I could see my dog. I would write a check or charge it and immediately call the bank to refuse payment.

  54. I am in utter shock that AV Times would run a story like this without knowing the full facts! Our rescue has used Mission Hospital for several years,and we have NEVER” had a problem. No one is perfect,BELIEVE ME! I have my own personal experiences of things that I would like to see change. NO VET” in the AV is perfect,in fact they are unethical,greedy an sloppy. Things get overlooked by all of them,yet how come Mission has been singled out?? I have had heinous experiences with other vets as well,but should I run a story assassinating their practice…NO! NOT COOL!!! AV PRESS????

    • if you had bad experiances… YOU should have done somthing about it. and you shouldnt put people down for defending their animals… if this vet is doing somthing wrong, they DESERVE to be taken down… i dont care how much work you bring them… your experiances differ incredibly compared to others, just cause you havn’t had a problem with the vet in question, does NOT mean other people have not had problems with them. dont defend the vet for somthing you cant disprove… the evidence is in the photography, and your ignorance clouds your judgement, you need to either sympathize with the victim, or shut the [removed] and mind your own buisness

    • Sorry jannette maybe you need to be castrated. If one gets busted. That’s one less we have to worry about

    • I agree. What a one sided story. I can’t believe they would publish this. AV times seems to be going after a local business. This is an abusive way to use their popularity.
      I hope that bully dog is okay.
      But, what are you doing av times? Are you going to publish stories about poor service at taco bell next?

    • Jeanette, wow! Compliance at its worst!

      If you aren’t part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem!

      Anytime there is poor treatment, in humans, in animals etc. Especially when we are talking about medical treatment, you SHOULD speak up! Publicly and loudly if need be. Now I would question your rescue! Good thing you didn’t mention which one it is…

    • if you are having a problem finding a good vet, i would suggest, NORTH VALLEY VETERINARY CLINIC 43619 Sierra Highway, Lancaster, CA 93534
      (661) 945-7906

      very professional and caring…
      i wont take my dogs anywhere else

    • That is a major surgery and the dog should have been in the vet hospital for two days.It doesnt sound like this was explained to his owners.

    • Dee – Please try Dr Ruppert and Dr Kohlfarber at Boulevard Veterinary on Lancaster Blvd (cross street is Yucca Ave) in Lancaster. Their phone number is (661) 942-1489. I have used them for years and years as does most of my family. Everyone that I have sent there has been very happy with the service and the pricing. Their office visit is $48 but it is well worth it. (In comparison Mission’s office visit is $15 – which brings people in, then Mission screws them over with unnecessary add-ons, etc)

  57. Why did you take your dog back there???? You need to get him out and to a recommended animal hospital! You also must file a complaint with the veterinary association. Forget about PETA. I dont know why you think they would help you.
    I don’t know what papers you signed when your dog was admitted…you may have given permission to do whatever they felt was necessary…BUT…they never should have released you dog in that condition and without the veterinary advising you on the aftercare.
    This place MUST be reported to the AVMA

  58. I took a lab to Dr, Chris Biggerstaff many years ago when he had an office in Rosamond. He is an excellent veterinarian. I lost track of him until I searched today on the web. http://www.quartzhillvet.com/

    Since I had lived near them in Lancaster I chose Sears Veterinary services. I have had no complaints with their skills, services or care of the animals.

    I have used the Ave M hospital in an emergency in the past. Kind of a cold shoulder feeling, but they were available.

  59. Please tell everyone you know to not go there. This person is not alone. The techs and vets there are a joke and they show it.

    City of Palmdale please close this place down!

  60. I’m so sorry!!! Please contact me as I had a similar situation in December. I’ve been looking for others to file a class action lawsuit!!

    • Hi i had a bad experience with this vet also. My mother and i took my 9 year old pit bull mix named Kano in when he had suddenly started to lose color in his gums and was havung trouble breathing. When we got in their no one seemed to even care that my dog was barely breathing and starting to pass out. They then proceeded to tell us that they could not help him till we payed for the treatment. (They let him sit barely breathing till they knew they were going to get paid) after i frantically opened a care credit card to pay for the expenses they finally brought him to the back room. After they brought him back a dr came out and wad immediately saying that he was most likely going to die. They said they were going to put him on an IV and run tests. We returned home and waited for a phone call. About an hour later they called and said that a couple minutes prior to calling they were trying to put an IV and breathing tube in and Kano had collapsed. We were infuriated asking why it had taken almost an hour till they were doing all that to help him. Once we brought this up the story started changing when we called back and a different lady said they had put the IV and stuff in after we had left. The story did not add up. After my mom hung up we drove to Mission to see him. When we got their they said they had to prepare his body? This took like 20 minutes till they let us in the back toom. When we went to say our goodbyes. Aside from the dirty blabkets on the floor that dogs were laying on my family and i noticed that the breathing tube was in but didnt look like it was fully in. This was alarming to me because the lady that had called said he collapsed before they could do the IV and breathing tube. I had a gut feeling that when they said they were “preparing his body” they were trying to make it look like they had actaully tried to help when they didnt. This whole situation has been traumatizing for me. I am only 19 and not only was i forced to get a care credit card because my mom didnt have the credit to qualify and they would not help my poor baby till they sucked their money out of us. I now owe about 700 dollars on the card for nothing. I basically handed my baby who i treated like my son over to heartless inhumane people.I had a bad feeling from the start but being tucked away in the Ana Verde area this was the closest vet to get to because my dog was not breathing and i was panicking. Kano was my first dog and ive never had such a strong bond. Not even with people. I want justice for my precious boy. These people dont deserve to be in business at all and i would like to take part in trying to bring justice to all those who have either lost pets because of this place or who have had to go through horrifying experiences as well.

      • I just took my dog to get spayed 2 and a half weeks ago at mission, unfortunately, she started having redness and swelling at the incision site and hard lumps. When I took her back for a 14 day follow up the tech, after hearing and seeing my concerns, took her in the back and brought her back out after literally 2 minutes and said that the “Doctor” said it was a reaction to the stitches. My instructions are to put hot compresses on the area 5 times a day, no medicine or anything. They butchered my dog. I would be glad to join a suit against them.

  61. Why didn’t you take him to a different clinic? If you child was sick and bleeding, you wouldn’t take him back over and over to the same urgent care or hospital, right? SMH!

  62. I certainly would have not taken my dog back to the same vet… That goes without saying but there are several wonderful veterinarians in this valley. When it comes to pet care we should all look into certain things before taking them anywhere Akal on 10th and Lancaster Blvd is great. The Doctor although hard to understand is very compassionate and smart. He has not failed us yet. Best of luck to you and the recovery of your fur baby!

    • I am glad you like Akal, I had a horrible experience with them and would never, ever go back, nor recommend him to anyone!! I brought in a Chihuahua that had just had a litter a few days before. She was calcium deficient and was having the shakes. I had bred chis for years and knew that was what was going on. It was the day after Christmas and he was the only vet open. I told him she needed a calcium shot. They took her to the back and to “evaluate” her. When she came back, she was all prepped for iv’s. They told me blood work, electrolites, and other things were needed. On the list was grooming, boarding and other unnecessary items. The estimate was $325. I told him no, she needed a calcium shot. He said could not do. I told him give her one and we could stay for a bit and see if it worked. Tells me, we are closing in 20 minutes. Then finally decided to give her one. She started doing better almost immediately. Then he was like,”she is doing better.” I told him, yes, all she needed was some calcium. So, my bill ended up being around $100. Since they did not keep her overnight, the office visit fee doubled and the shot cost me $60. Who knows if I was treated this way as I was not a “regular” patient, but everyone should be treated equally. At the time I was a breeder and told all of my customers not to go to him.

    • The doctor at Akal HIT my blind deaf rescue while she was on the table. He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck very harshly, to pick her up, frightened her and she bit him. He thusly hit her with the back of his hand, she slid off the table, hit the wall and then slammed down on the hard tile floor. I screamed at him and he screamed back. I took my dog home and filed a complaint with Sacramento. Talking to friends, he has had many complaints, clients and vet techs both. The wife of my horse trainer used to work for him as a vet tech and said he is very mean to the animals.

  63. Why in the world would you take your dog back to that place. I would have taken him to a more caring vet and sued them for the difference. We currently have a lawsuit filed against that same place because our parrot flew away on a windless day less than 2 weeks after their vet clipped his wings. We never found our bird, he belonged to my boyfriends now deceased mother.

  64. This is the WORST animal hospital I have ever encountered, I will never go back. I had brought my American Bulldog in after she was vomiting and having diarrhea, which was 100% blood. My other dog had passed away only a few days prior, I suspected they were poisoned. The vet came in and said that she needed 48 hours on fluids and Vitamin K. It was a life or death situation. They came in and handed me a sheet that had a sheet of paper that had a break down of expenses, which included a 48hr. hospital stay. The next morning they called me and told me she was doing better, so a few hours later I went to pick her up. They refused to let me see her until the bill was paid in full, but I was curious as to why I had to pay for the second night if she was going home early. The owner came in and screamed at me. I went to the front desk to ask if indeed he was the owner, and reluctantly they said yes, he isn’t a “people person”. My 13 year old daughter was in the room with me and she was extremely emotional. The whole time we could hear my dog whining and crying out. My daughter even said to the owner “why is she crying out, that’s my dog, I just want to see my dog”. They refused until our financial obligation was met! Obviously we finally paid the bill in full just so we could get my dog back. They then had the audacity to charge us more for extra Vitamin K. The main test that we needed was to check for poison, which could be done by checking levels in her blood, this was never done. Thank God my dog is okay now. This hospital does not care about the well-being of the animal, the owner is simply trying to extort money from every customer!

  66. I am sorry about your doggy. That is the worst vet office I have ever been to, and will never take one of my animals there again. They are unprofessional, and do not care about your animals. Don’t be fooled by the cheap office visit either. By the time they add up all these other services you don’t need it will cost you more than any good vet in the AV. You should have never took your dog back to them, but if you are already broke from that visit then you might not have had another choice. Sad story… Next time try Sears Veterinary Hospital in Lancaster, great vet Dr. Cheema.

  67. I am horrified. But why wouldn’t you take him to another vet instead of taking him back to the awful people who mutilated him? I really hope your dog survives! Poor baby.

    • Sabrina,
      We picked him up and as with any surgical complications, we called the vet who performed the surgery to tell them. We were not aware of the dire situation. It was a sunday afternoon. He was home two hours, and progressively got worse.
      Please understand, had we KNOWN the damage this vet did, WE NEVER WOULD HAVE TAKEN HIM BACK!! He is home. They are increasing my vet fees another 800.00, because the media posted this. Talk about blackmail!!

  68. I took my terrier there for a growth on her eye when I picked her up she was a mess blood all over her and she was still bleeding. They just cut off the growth and when I bright her back they carterized it to stop the bleeding. It seems no matter the procedure it will cost you $300. You can barely understand the vets if they are vets. I’m going somewhere else.

    • GO TO High desert animal hospital- they always are helpful and I have had three pet over the last 16 years go there!

  69. Best. Veterinary in town is Lancaster pet clinic on k and 20th. Call them now to help. Somethings wrong with your baby. They can help.949-9389. 2060 west ave. K. I’m sorry for your pets pain and hope he is fine now. We also had problems with this place.

  70. i hate how people even think about taking there dog to this place ive had nothing but troubles from them

  71. Lots of bashing going on. We take our labs there and are happy with the care. Their rates are reasonable and they don’t get pushy with all of the upsells the other vets try and push. When procedures are required the costs and things that may happen are always explained.

    • Bashing? Did you see the pictures of the animal? Bashing aside, the dog should not have been released without aftercare instructions and an explanation as to why an additional procedure was needed by the “vet”! I’m sorry, this is inhumane and criminal in my opinion!!

    • Bashing. People are telling their experiences, that’s not bashing. They had bad experiences with this hospital, you had good. Simple as that.

  72. I took my dog there ones for shots, the vet assistant (not a tech) gave him a shot which cause him to jump a bit and she smacked him!!! I asked to talk to the vet and the office manger and they too have me the same run around. I now take my pups to all care on rancho vista. They genuinely care for my animal’s well being

  73. I would have not took my dog back to the same place that butchered it in the first place. But then ain my animals are seen by a reputabl vet I’ve known in this valley for years and that’s the quartz hill vet clinic. Before that we used Dr. Sears. I never would allow my dog to be operated on without the vet having hos credentials as well and if I had seen all that I would of called the cops and another vet and taken my dog there instead of taking him back to the vet who hacked him or her up on the first place

  74. Linda please go get your baby out of that hell hole and take him anywhere but there. Sue Mission for the vet bills and trust that the other vets out here can get his records from Mission.

    I’ve used Palmdale Vet on sixth street, since I was a teen. Always have taken my animals there. They almost refused to let my newest little teacup leave after a routine shot cause it was bleeding a little and they wanted to ensure he was ok. They actually care about the animals and will work with you on emergency care bills.

    I understand why you had to take him back to Mission, but please get him back ASAP and take him somewhere else, heck the vet at the pound would be a better place then Mission. Make sure you sue Mission.

  75. This place needs to be closed. I had my kitten spayed there, she developed a fever I had to give her fluids and keep her on ice packs. When I brought her back saying I have spayed and neutered many cats and this is the first time this has ever happened they gave no explanation just started going over all the extra expenses I would be paying. I’m sure they are not up to code and are unsanitary.

  76. This place is horrible my mom took her poodle here and they diagnosed her with Addison’s disease, they kept her for 3 days and when we came to visit we could only see her in the waiting room they would always bring her up and never let my mom go into the back. I am severely allergic to dogs and after going to see her I asked if they had a bathroom to wash my hands when I walked to the back I was horrified it was disgusting there was food on cages it smelled like urine and none of the cages looked clean I was scared to leave our dog there. The owner was rude and very disrespectful yelled at my mom when she refused to purchase the medication through them I would never go back I hope this place gets shut down

  77. I’m sorry to hear that Linda. I feel for your family and dog. I will say I highly recommend Pets R Us across from Walmart on 10 street. About a little over a year when my dog was only bout 7- 8 weeks old when I first had been given him as a present from an old roommate that I was kicking out at the time. Well come to find out that the puppy started prefusely blwedding from his rectum as well peeing blood, couldnt walk, stand, eat or play, he literally would just topple over Stiff. So I took him in the next day to Pets R Us and gave me some antibiotics and told me If it didn’t get better or got worse over night bring him in which I had to end up doing. I came to find out the guy who gave him to me severely poisoned him with DCON rat poison and that 90% of his blood was DCON so they took him in right away and did rush emergency surgery on him and told me because of how young and small he was he had bout a 10% chance of surviving but they still did absolutely everything they could for him at cheap prices to. Blood transfusion, IV’s, antibiotics to fight off the poison(which I had researched), and even though there not a over night hospital nor are they open on Sundays one of the vet technicians ended up taking him home to keep a professional close watch on him for a full 3-4 days and didn’t charge me a dime for it either which all costed me about $400. They saved my dog! There absolutely amazing. they are the family pet doctor type. I highly recommend them.

  78. I hope you already went to pick-up your dog!? He obviously won’t get the professional care that he needs there! He probably needs antibiotics and blood. If, you paid by credit card, call them and see what you can do to get your payment back. Sue them, please! Too many of the Vets out here in the Antelope Valley are thieves! That place sounds like a concentration camp….No telling what your poor dog is being subjected to!!

  79. Who brings their dog back to the butcher for some more of the same?! Removal of his genitalia? You mean testicles as in neuter? Neutering does NOT turn your male dog into a female. You are full of it.

    • Well .. I’m sure turning back your pet back to them wasn’t the best idea but it was one of the options you had. You had your reasons and no one should judge you for that, but I will say that writing about your experience even if you get judgemental comments you do have a lot more people speaking out about this place. That’s more than just trying to save your dog’s life I think you and everyone here has saved a lot more by letting us know how dangerous and careless there people are. I really hope this place shuts down, your pet gets better, and you get your money back! Best of luck :)

    • If you believe that the testes are the only component of male genitals, I’m glad for that. It means you’ll probably, and hopefully, never procreate.

      • It doesn’t sound like they neutered the dog, but performed a penectomy (remove of the penis) but yes just removing exterior genitals does not make a dog (or person for that matter) not male.

    • I was wondering the same thing. I know that, for stones that cause blockage, sometimes they want to remove the end of the penis to make a larger opening for stones to escape through. However, usually a vet will clean the blood off a pet before it goes home! Charging $600 for a neuter when the dog was already under… that’s outrageous too!

    • I’m Max’s owner. I’m not stupid! My dog was neutered four years ago. We were told at 9pm on Saturday he needed surgery. At 11pm they called to say he was done. They told us to pick him up before 9am. Even though he was there less than 24 hours, we were billed for two days. They assured my husband the strong bleeding was normal. It wasn’t until he was picked up we were told of the genital area.
      As with a human, when the bleeding continued we called the vet back. All you speak to are “nurses”. They told my husband they were going to keep him.
      It was the next day I contacted AV Times.
      We tried to take him out, they insisted he needed IV fluids.
      On Tuesday, I got a call from MICHELLE, who informed me that Max will now cost more. I told her we already paid when he was picked up Sunday morning, and when he had to go back, they said the cost was covered under “post-op” care. She said, ” well that was before the media got involved. Now we are revoking your “discount”. We were never given a discount. We arrived at 5:00 to take him out of there and to another vet. We spoke to Dr. Parks. He agreed with Dr. Kim’s diagnosis, saying all the bleeding was normal! If that is normal, why did they keep him? Why did they put him on IV’S, and why did they refuse to let us take him home? He went home Tiesday night, and was seen by another vet Wednesday morning. The new vet teared up when he saw the butcher job done on the dog. He had to walk out of the room. He continued to apologize for his profession, and said he’d do all he could to make it right. He did both blood and urine. Max was anemic due to all the blood loss. He also had a high white count indicating an infection. He’s too swollen to ultrasound right now but it appears the bladder was not repaired properly. He’s flying in a surgery specialist to evaluate him for reconstructive surgery. When I asked how long he’s going to bleed, he replied that he’s never had a patient of his bleed longer than 24 hours. We are past day 5 now. We have medical records PROVING malpractice.
      For all the people supporting Mission, then they should patronize there. I’m not preventing anyone from going there. All I’m doing is warning people of what happened to me. I’ve done so much research, and have the BBB, veterinary licensing, city business licensing, and dozens of others contacting me! Not me calling them. I just want my dog healthy. He goes back to his new vet tomorrow. The vet is concerned that he continues to bleed. Also, due to the botched surgery, Max will remain incontinent, unable to retain urine, so he leaks urine and blood constantly. Believe me, I know way more than I’m legally allowed to say, but I strongly urge people to avoid this facility. There are other good doctors out here.

      • Yes, you keep repeating the same thing over and over again.

        Still doesn’t get to the bottom line of WHY the vet REMOVED his genitalia, and why you didn’t insist on understanding why someone would remove a dog’s genitalia for bladder stones. You make NO SENSE.

  80. I would take him to All Care Pet Clinic, 3135 Rancho Vista blvd. Suite E. Palmdale CA 93551 661-265-7373. They are the best. They open 7 days a week.. All my familia takes our pets there, and they speak “spanish” 10 stars……

    • All Care Pet Clinic is a great place! I take my dog and cat there and they’ve always received great care!

    • Go to All Care Pet Clinic, on Rancho Vista, they are awesome. So sorry you are going thru this..

  81. Linda I think if anyone who is reading this knows a good vet, maybe they could talk to him or her and see if they will save your dog at no cost! It is very hard when all your money is gone and to know that there is only the hope of these butchers to try to save your dog! These so called humans are horrible to care for someone’s animal like this! If this was me I would be balling and probably in jail! These people I hope will be closed soon and I feel for you. I take my animals dogs and cats to Sears in Lancaster the Dr. there is excellent. Also Quartz Hill saved my cat in the past as well, they are awesome and upfront. I just cannot see how any vet could not help you in this time, this is all over the AV now someone has to help you, this is just a horrible thing I have never seen such disgrace from people who are suppose to love animals. I love bulldogs, and this is just making me sick if I had money I would give it to you to take your family pet to another vet! I hope he recovers and sue the crap out of those butchers!!!

  83. That is terrible I’m sorry I heard that!! I got a bad vibe when I brought my dog there.. The tech checking her temp took a normal thermomitor with no cover or individual use thing and got my dogs temp, and then put hand sanitizer on it, wiped it off on her pants and put it backing her pocket!!! Disgusting!! I felt like my dog was going to leave there with some horrible disease!

  84. Call the health department. If you can’t get him for inhumane veterinary services get him on unsanitary conditions. Also contact the state vet in sacramento.

  86. Mission has a long history of horrible practices. Veterinary care is one thing where you don’t want to go “cheap” on. When it comes to Mission, you truly get what you pay for……not much.
    I’d NEVER take my pet there. Not even for vaccinations.

    • This place needs to be shut down…I’ve heard too many nightmare experiences about Mission, the staff needs to be sanctioned or someone needs to file malpractice so they shut their doors, remove e the staff or replace place them..

  88. Seek legal council. You may be able to find someone at low cost. Call 211 for resources. This should NEVER happen again.

  89. Look at all the comments in a few hours.

    You just don’t harm people’s pets and not expect a lot of negative reactions.

    This might put them out of business from all the publicity.

    I hate to see animals harmed. They are our responsibility as a community.

  90. PLEASE call the Board of Veterinary Medicine and file a complaint they can/will put these people out of business.

    1747 N. Market Boulevard
    Suite 230
    Sacramento, California 95834-2987
    Phone: (916) 515-5220
    Licensing Fax: (916) 928-6849
    Enforcement Fax: (916) 928-6852

  91. Take him to All Care Pet Clinic in Palmdale. AMAZING doctors and staff! They are so caring and loving to animals! Very reasonable and they try and help to keep costs down. They are at …… 3135 Rancho Vista Blvd. (661) 265-7373 highly recommend.

  92. this is the same animal hospital/clinic that almost killed my dog. I went to them to spay my female Boston terrier. Dog was sent home same day (which is normal for most vet offices) but no aftercare instructions, that didn’t bother me since it’s not the first dog I have had spayed. First they couldn’t find her collar and leash kept trying to give me someone else’s dog which I refused since of course I want my dog,but I ask for my tiny Boston terrier and they hand me a boxer! Like they don’t know dog breeds and are not organized at all.
    We got our dog and that night she just looked like she didn’t feel good but thought she just had surgery that much be why she doesn’t feel good.
    The next day when she wouldn’t eat or drink and she had puss coming from her wound.
    Of course this happens on a Saturday so we take her to the vet we usually use and they had to do emergency surgery on her to clean up what the other vet did.
    They didn’t close her right and she was leaking fluid from her abdomen. There was so much rotten skin my poor puppy looked like she had a tummy tuck and nipple realignment surgery! She now has a line of nipples, which has widened a little over the years but not much. We tried complaining about what happened but we could get any where. The vet we usually use said yes this is cause they didn’t clean correctly and didn’t close right,hurry maybe, but refused to give us a statement saying so. They have to protect themselves from retaliation from this place. They did say at that time they were getting about 4 spay/neuter revision from them. Of course it cost us three times what it should have. Please if you can go after this place do it! Also I would get your baby away from them! You do have to let them try and help your dog cause they messed it up but if he isn’t better in some way I would take him else where so he doesn’t die! It seems to me like they will keep him hanging on to rack up a bigger bill. I’m sorry but that is something I have heard others say about this place. I refused to let them “fix” my dog anymore.

  93. This place is terrible. I took two of my cats to get neutered/spayed there and they did a terrible job. My cats were in pain for quite some time.

    When we took our dog in, they misdiagnosed her and almost killed her. I really hope this place closes down! They’re unsanitary, terrible customer service, and don’t deserve to be treating animals when they’re just in it for the money!!!

  94. I took my dog to Mission for shots. I gave the list to the girl in front and sat in an empty waiting room for thirty minutes. The so called Vet was on the phone cursing at someone on the other end that sounded like an unhappy person. She gave my dog one shot when three were requested.( my dog howled in pain) I found out later that the rabies and distemper shots were never given.Thank god for Dr. Cheema at Sears who has taken excellent care of my family pet. Stay away from the new influx of so many new pet hospital’s with questionable credentials.I pray your precious baby recovers and continues to give you joy.

  95. They are incompatent. I took my cat there to be fixed and she came out full of pee all over her fresh surgery and they listed her as orange on her spay certificate. Shes gray and white. Then after that two people i know went there to have simple procedures done on their english bulldogs. Both came out dead with no explanation. And no one will talk to you. They are incredibly rude as well. They are really friendly when you first walk in. After they have your money they could care less. I hope max recover. You should demand your money back because you really need to take him to a real vet.

  97. I took my dog here a few months ago for a basic ear infection. They charged me $200 for meds. $400 plus with sedating get. I’m glad I didn’t have them sedate her and clean her ear. Who knows what would’ve happened. Will never take her back here again. Went to another vet a few days ago for the same problem and it was $63. Mission vet is a rip off. Poor doggy :-( I feel bad for the owners :-(

    • How crazy we were just there for ear infection as well. They wanted to charge that much also. Would you share where you go now? We are terrified to go back.

      • Shannon – Boulevard Veterinary Hospital on Lancaster Blvd (cross-street is Yucca Ave) in Lancaster is very good. (661) 942-1489. Office visit is $48 but well worth it. Both doctors – Dr Ruppert and Dr Kohlfarber – are very knowledgeable and are happy to answer questions.

  99. 10.28.270 Animal facility grading–Bases for grading. A. The purpose of the Animal Facility Grade Card is to provide notice to the public of the grade earned by an animal facility at the time of the most recent inspection of the facility. The grading standards are set forth in the Animal Facility Inspection Report, which is available upon request from any county shelter. B. The letter grade reflected in the Animal Facility Inspection Report is based on the facility’s level of compliance with applicable state statutes and local ordinances and policies relating to the care of animals. The grade shall be issued on the animal facility’s final score as follows: 1. Grade of A: Final score of 90% and above; 2. Grade of B: Final score of 80% to 89%; 3. Grade of C: Final score of 70% to 79%. A final score of 70% is the minimum grade required to maintain a license in good standing. A score of less than 70% will result in recommendations by the department regarding licensing or legal action to be taken as set forth in Section 10.28.290. (Ord. 2004-0036 § 19, 2004.)
    10

  100. 10.08.031 Animal facility. “Animal facility” means a lot, building, structure, enclosure or premises for any animal related business or organization, including, but not limited to, a non-profit humane organization animal facility (as defined in Section 10.08.175), a grooming shop, a pet shop, a boarding facility, and a breeding facility, which is required to be licensed under Section 10.28.060. (Ord. 2009-0043 § 1, 2009)
    10.08.032 Animal Facility Grade Card. “Animal Facility Grade Card” means a card issued by the department, showing the letter grade earned by an animal facility, as reflected in the most recent Animal Facility Inspection Report. The Animal Facility Grade Card must be displayed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10.28.280. (Ord. 2004-0036 § 3, 2004.)
    10.08.033 Animal Facility Inspection Report. “Animal Facility Inspection Report” is the report of the department reflecting the conditions existing at the facility at the time of the inspection. The letter grade received by the facility is based on the final score set forth in the Animal Facility Inspection Report. (Ord. 2004-0036 § 4, 2004.)

  101. LA County Animal Control inspects veterinarians….do they have a ‘letter grade’ visible in the office? The name of the animal control officer will be signed on that card as well with a phone number…should be phone number from main branch in Downey…ask for a Sargent…call and report it…I’ve been in the pet service industry for 12 years…

    • The County does not inspect veterinary hospitals. They are overseen by the Veterinary Medical Board Division of The State of California Department of Consumer Affairs.

  103. WHY would you take your dog BACK there?!? Wow. Brilliant. Also? You called PETA?! Hahahaaaaa!! I feel terrible for the dog, but all the people in this article – all of them – seem to be a couple cards short of a full deck.

    • My thoughts exactly! Get that dog out of there and take him somewhere else so that he might have the chance to survive! Then hire a Lawyer!

    • get your dog and take him the the Animal ER on Ave M, it is 24 hours and yes expensive but they will make every effort to save your dog plus you will have back up data on what is wrong for a lawsuit.

      • The one on Avenue M I hope has changed , about 6 years back they collapsed my cats lung and told me he was full of tumors and would not make it more then a day. I took him to Fountain Valley and they were out raged by the mistakes made. Luckily my cats was fine and lived years longer. Had I gone off the recommendation from local I would of put him down that night.

        • I agree stay away from the 24 hour clinic on M they will take your money, do nothing and tell you to follow up with your dr. they told me my cat got hit by a car. turns out she had a blockage.

        • Honestly if i didn’t know any better I would say the one on M and this one were owned by the same people. We took our Corgi to the one on M for a broken jaw. Dr Sadhu was amazing and worked with us and patched her up. We took her back 6 weeks later to have the wire removed they wanted another $1200 to do it. We asked to speak to the vet who fixed her jaw they said he didn’t work there anymore, and refused to tell us where he went. We called around and found him our self at Palm Plaza, Since he was at a new hospital that he didnt own he had to charge us for supplies, but didn’t charge for labor. It came out to $185. We were so greatful, we take all our pets to see him now.

      • I heard they were terrible , overly expensive & did not do much to help keep your animal alive!!!! Would not trust my animal there!!!!

      • They charged us extra to put my dog down on a Sunday after he was hit by a car and extra to use an IV to euthanize him instead of giving him a shot to the heart.

        • Euthanizing a pet with a shot to the heart can be very painful for the animal. They should first be sedated and then injected with the euthanizing agent through a catheter inserted into a vein.

        • Giving a dog a shot in the heart is against the law and inhumane..IV is the professional and painless way to give it…

    • I agree in the fact thst my dog would not return if it was the ladt hospital on earth…. You NEVER return to someone who didn’t treat an animal humanely!!

  106. Mission has the worst reputation. I’m so sorry that you and Max are going through this. How heartbreaking! Please consider legal action. They need to be accountable for their actions. Too many animals have been misdiagnosed and mistreated. They should not be allowed to remain in business. My prayers to you and Max!!

  107. I went to Mission Animal Hospital’s website I wrote down all of the so called Doctors names. I then went to check their licenses. I could only fine one. Dr. Byoungyin Kim, Linda said did Max’s surgery was not found. I even tried searching under registered technical. Again no record for a license was found. What is going on at this hospital? This so called hospital needs to be shut down. Cruelty is not what the Antelope Valley needs. SHAME ON YOU MISSION ANIMAL HOSPITAL!

  108. I took a friends chi in there once for a possible intestinal blockage and they told us it was a spinal problem and wanted $4000 and as she got weaker and sicker we took out of there and over to another vet and they looked at her X-ray and instantly took her to surgery for a infected uterus. How did they miss the huge uterus and just focus on her spin… horrible place…

  109. If there’s a class action law suit for malpractice I would love to join. This “vet” falsified my dog’s medical records, refuses to change them, agrees that there’s no proof to her “theory” and is the sole reason on why my dog was denied coverage for seizures. This vet has no regard for how her actions affect others, doesn’t care about animals, and is only in it for the money. I hope she loses her licence, if she even has one!

  110. omg!!!wth what kind of people work there they should shut that place down and no don’t pay sue them I am a bulldog owner I usually go to to victoy/topanga blvd woodland park they specialize in Bulldogs the vet there are so professional they have camera so you can see the dog while it is there cannot believe them I am so sad for you guys and your dog I hope he gets better poor baby that is so wrong call peta yes and desert vet in Palmdale is good but they do not specialize in Bulldogs woodland vet right in that corner v/topanga you can’t miss them please take him there

  111. I had my male fixed there some time ago. He was the first one dropped off in the morning and it seemed normal. They didn’t call me all day. After work, I called them to ask when I could pick up my dog and they tried keeping him overnight. I refused and when I showed up at 9:30 that night, he was so thin, shaking and stunk so bad. Almost like he was sick on himself and nobody gave him any attention. I told myself I would never refer anyone to them. They had one room where they did surgery and kenneled the animals. It seemed very unsanitary. I hope your fur baby makes a safe recovery.

  112. I had a bad experience with my dog as well after taking her there to get fixed. She came home with a cough and wouldn’t eat and was vomiting. After several complaints and just showing up they gave me a IV bag and needles and told me to administer it myself. Come to find out they left a piece of tubing in her throat from the anesthesia tubing. Go figure they were idiots and I would never recommend anybody to go there.

  113. This is so tragic. They need to be stopped now. My heart goes out to you. Something good needs to come out of this. And the good would be to have this so called VET that may not even be licensed be held accountable for his actions and shut this place down.

  115. i am a fellow bulldog owner mission animal hospital misdiagnosed my dogs when I went in as an emergency $600 later I felt uneasy and went to our normal vet Dr Butchko the bulldog specialist in Riverside very fair price explain that my dog was having an allergic reaction and that with the other vet told me was ludicrous and that they took advantage of the situation and charge me for medications that I did not needmy prayers and best wishes go out to you and your pup if I were you I would take my dog from mission animal hospital before you lose him forever and take him to Dr. Buchko us or high desert animal care is also a pretty good vet also maybe reach out to Southern California bulldog rescue maybe they can run recommends where to go if money is an issueAgain prayers and deepest sympathy

      • Ok it’s called warmer pet center dr Debra Jackson she is so good there number is 818-710-8528 hope this will help they specialize in Bulldogs riverside vet was way to far this place is far but way worth they treat your pet like a human they way it should be!!!

      • You may also want to look into Palmdale Veterinary Hospital on sixth street… I’ve used them for years and they are fantastic. Go get your dog out of that place NOW, then get a lawyer…. I’ve used Mission before, and they were horrible. All the rumors are true. They should have been put out of business long ago.

        • I agree .Palmdale veterinary hospital is very friendly. …,reasonably priced and very professional staff.The doctors are also great and compassionate… I have always heard about mission being very bad and low prices kind of says a lot…are they even AAHA accredited..that means they have to have inspections and set certain standards….hmmmmm

      • Dr. Dean at Palm Plaza Vet is a French Bulldog owner and she is fantastic. I feel that their pricing is very fair too. Prayers for you both.

      • I have the same question that everyone else on here has asked and posted .. Why did you take him back to that place…. You need to go to a different vet and build a case against this place…

  116. I agree with a previous post, get your dog back and go to Pets R Us, they are great! We took our beagle to H&M and they did unnecessary surgery on him, then sutured his insides to the wall of his stomach. After a lot of run around (and more expenses charged to our bill), we finally took our dog to another vet. Thanks to H&M we had to put our beloved beagle down. An autopsy later revealed just how butchered he was from H&M. Sounds like Mission is in the same bed as H&M.

  117. Mission hospital is the worst place to take any animal, they so give you the run arounds about what your dog needs and they keep charging you for things your dog doesnt need, i know how they work… its all about the money , they do a show in front of of you like they care about your animals bit in reality they dont its all about the money… behind doors its totally different …. i tell alot of people to not take there pets there , they need to be looked into or shut them down .. ..

  118. We took our dog to Mission after he was hit by a car. Our dogs leg had a complete break and Mission wanted us to leave him there for 3 days until they had time to preform the surgery at the end of the week. We felt really uncomfortable with the whole situation and something just felt off about that place. We ended up taking him to Quartz Hill Veterinary and they did surgery that same day. I’m so glad we didn’t go with Mission.

  119. Wow, how can they still be in business? With all these horror stories, you would think they would be shut down! Poor puppy, hope Max survives this awful thing!

  120. Yeesh! There are so many complaints about this place. I seriously worry about the health and safety of this dog while he is in their care. I really wish the owners would take him to one of the other reputable vets in the AV.

    One of the things that I am in the habit of doing since I live in the AV is google the name of the business or go on Yelp to check the reviews. Had the owners checked the Yelp reviews (2 stars and multiple complaints) they likely would not have taken their pooch here.

    http://www.yelp.com/biz/mission-animal-hospital-palmdale

    I personally take my dogs to Palm Plaza. I have had no issues with them.

    • Dr Sandhu is amazing, we haven’t gone on a while. all of our doggies have been gone for a few years, but we could really tell that he loved his job and animals.

  121. This place is a butcher shop! I took my little dog there and had to immediately take her to another animal hospital for additional care.

  122. This guy is a butcher! poor dog. completely unnecessary to remove all his genitals.

    This is a very specialized surgery and it is very expensive. Our male dachshund developed Kidney stones and they were lodged in his urethral tract and he required emergency surgery. The local vet we used in Palmdale (not this one) referred us to a special surgery center. He was in extreme pain and it almost ruptured is kidney’s. They did a great job but it was very expensive, $7,000.

  123. I am so sorry this happened to your dog. I had something similar happen to me at mission, I will never go back to that office everybody is rude and unprofessional. I am very satisfied with the attention my pets have received at high desert animal hospital Dr. Naditch and Dr. Tate are the best!!!

  124. So sad to hear about your animal. I almost took my dog to Mission. Thank god I never did! God know’s what the condition of my little dog would have endured and what would of happen to him. I’m glad I found a great Vet in Lancaster.
    I suggest you CALL the Better Business Bureau AND get an Attorney.
    http://www.bbb.org/los-angeles/contactus

    If Mission didn’t contact you about the addition work on your dog, you need an Attorney!
    Good luck.

    • Unfortunately the BBB doesn’t handle claims for the quality of medical services. I already tried to file a complaint about this vet a month ago :(

  125. omg poor Doggie im not going to stop thinking about this poor dog. Take him somewhere else go with the police to pick up your dog so they have to turn him over to you. Call another vet hospital and tell them the situation to see if they’ll take over first before dragging him out of that place but do it quickly.

  126. The”vet” never should have done any other procedure to your dog without your consent.I have used that hospital when my dog was very sick and they wanted to run tests on him,all the “vet” did was complain to me about his weight,that’s not why we went.We left,the place is dirty and not impressed at all with the facilities..

  127. I am sorry for your pet, he must be scared too! Make up your mind to get a lawyer. Don’t just think about it, Do it! Then prepare yourself for a long haul. Advertise this, that you are looking for other former patience of this “hospital” get a few more pet owners to chip in for the lawyer. Then sue his ass. Think of all the other pets that will be saved when this loser is out of business.
    Prayers!

  128. Call Dr. Butchko in Riverside County. He specializes in English bulldogs and his used for the SoCal bull dog rescue. Please pick up your pup from these people or I fear you WILL NOT GET HIM BACK ALIVE!!! This place has such a bad reputation..I HAVE never taken my bullies to any of the vets out here… ever.
    Dr. Butchko
    (951) 686-2242

  129. Ugh! Your poor baby. I’m so sorry to hear that your family member had to go through that. I will gladly give you my email if you pursue the court system on this matter. My family and I also had a $1,100 mishap from Mission Animal Hospital. Our poor little puppy almost died from pneumonia, but we were told ar first that it was kennel cough, which medication was given. Our puppy seemed to get worse everyday, so we took her back. Again same result with adding am extra medication. By this time our puppy had not eaten nor hydrated for approximately 4 days. We couldn’t bate it anymore watching our little baby so we took her to another vet. Quartz Hill Vet they instantly knew what was wrong and told us how bad she was. If it wasn’t for Quartz Hill vet our baby would have died as a result for Mission to keep getting more money from us. I’m so so sorry, but we will gladly back you up.

  130. 2 wks ago I had to take in my 2 pits for ear infections. They were going to charge me 400 dollars in antibiotic and steroids. The charged the Same amount for both dogs pills yet one dog had less medications. Then we had to take my mom’s dog in for ringworm. At that time wouldn’t give any oral meds even after stating he was 99% it was that but needed proof first and charged us 45$ for a dingle cx. We went back to get the meds and they wanted to charge 110$ for 2 wk a oral meds and 50$ for a spray. I WILL NEVER GO BACK!! they care only for how much they can get from you instead of real vet medicin. We need to All come together and shut this [removed] hole down.

    • I have gone to Mission since they first opened and never have had a problem with the treatment my dogs got. Dr. A saved my dog and made sure all my other dogs got proper treatment Dr. A & Dr. Johnson have saved 3 of my dogs each had serious problems. They were up front with the charges. Have a friend who works for a different Animal Hospital and she said the procedure I received were very reasonable. I’m sorry for the bull dog but there are always to side to each story.

  131. I have heard NOTHING BUT HORROR stories about this place… while SOME of the people there seem to be courteous, they are nothing but money grabbing fools that bait you in with the low cost of initial exam and then inflate their prices… they send their patients home with horrible incision stitches.. my child could do better… this place should be shut down… YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR… yes, I had to take a dog there.. her stitches are the ones I am talking about

  132. This place needs to be shut down. Too many horror stories. I did my homework up here for my dog and this was the first place I backed off of. It’s a small drive down the hill, but Sweet Water Vet is the place to go.

  133. You need to get that baby outta there…
    poor thing!
    and those people will pay. One way or another.
    get him out of there and get him what he needs.
    worry about the rest later. [removed]. We’ll help raise the money…

  134. Please get your dog back from them, I would take him to all care pet clinic, 3135 rancho visita blvd. suite E. 661-265-7373. They are the best. Where you have your fur baby right now is no good, what they did is malpractice. I’m so sorry for what you guys have gone through. I would go get your dog and not pay them a dime. They should have got permission before they did that surgery. Prayers to you guys and your fur baby. The vet I sent info on does do emergency things call them

  135. They have already been in trouble at Mission. Most rescues won’t use them unless it is an emergency. Go after them SUE THEM !!

  136. i would not have taken my dog back to a place that acted like that… I would have taken him to another vet to have him taken care of… That poor doggy should not have to go through all of that :-(

  137. You need to go get your dog and RUSH him to Boulevard Veterinary Hospital in Lancaster IMMEDIATELY…they are the most amazing veterinarians and have the cleanest and most professional office I have ever been to. I trust them completely. My Basset Hounds Gladys and Abigail have been going to them for years.
    Good luck to you!
    :)

    • I agree, Dr.Ruppert is the best. I’ve taken my dogs there for 12 yrs and would never take them anywhere else. Dr Ruppert performed the same surgery on one of my dogs a while back. My dog came home the same day (I think) and only charged us $700. My dog felt a 100% the day after surgery. He such a caring person, I’m sure if he heard about this story he would help and not charge to treat this poor dog!!

      • I agree. My parents and I have taken our pets to Boulevard Veteranary Hospital (previously known as Uno Animal Hospital) for years. Both Dr. Rupert and Dr. Kohltfarber are amazing vets. I have never had a bad experience. Sad to say, I have heard so many negative things about Mission Animal Hospital. It is a surprise that they are still in business.

        Linda, I am so sorry for your horrible experience. Ignore the negative comments and do what is right for you and your pet. What happened is by NO means okay.

      • I Love BLVD VET!!! My dog has had mast cell tumor removal surgery two times both were very successful and fairly priced. Dr’s are knowledgable and kind. My dog sees Dr. K and has seen Dr. Ruppert on several occasions. Never any complications after surgery. Their staff is always ready and willing to help. I was so nervous the first surgery I called them everyday after with questions for at least a week. They are open 7 days a week too!!!

  138. Why would you take the dog back to this incompetent vet? I would take my dog to a reputable office and get ready to fight the bill for this horrible treatment of your dog and contact a lawyer if necessary. I don’t understand why you would take him back there after what they did to him. I hope he will be OK

    • I was going to make this exact comment. I’m not sure what’s going on with the medical condition of the dog but he (formerly it would seem) sure has some thoughtless owners.

      • they had already paid them all that money and did not have the money to take him else where. thoughtless? not at all! this is my best friend and she would do anything for anyone, she has a bigger heart than anyone i know.

      • Let’s not bash the owners, that does no one any good. They are on the right track by reporting the situation. Maybe they felt they had no choice, maybe they thought the’d make good on the problem.

        • Sound advice, Cecelia. Always throw good money after bad … I’m sure the health of the dog takes precedence over the monetary aspect of this story (within reason of course), so let’s leave the semantics out of it please. If you take your animal to an incompetent vet who sends you home with a mutilated dog, gives no aftercare instructions, and then blows off your concern and directs you to speak to an office administrator, you’ve just made a very poor decision by any definition of the word.

    • PLEASE ASAP!!!!
      GET YOUR DOG TO ANOTHER QUALIFIED SPECIALIST, GET A CARE CREDIT CARD AND FIGHT THE REST IN COURT…. SAVE YOUR DOGS LIFE, HE PROBABLY NEEDS A BLOOD TRANSFUSION BY NOW!! GEEZE!`

    • I’m the thoughtless owner! We spent 1700.00 on surgery. We also incurred X-rays and labs. The vet had these records. The vet performed the surgery at 11pm at night. We were told the dog’s bleeding was normal and would stop. My husband took them at their word. I assessed him and called the vet back to tell them he was hemmoraging. We were panicked he’d bleed to death and it was a Sunday. Most vets are closed. Please do not judge me on my actions. I’d die for my animals. This is completely the vets responsibility!

  139. This hurts my heart. I would be infuriated if this was my puppies! But I take my puppies to Pets R Us in palmdale they treat my puppies as if it’s their own and part of the family. I have heard so many horror stories about that mission hills animal hospital. I hope your fur baby comes home safely! So sad. My prayers for Max. I would obtain legal advice.

  140. I would never of taken my animal back to them. You would of had to sign something giving your consent to the procedure(s) and fees that might be incurred.

    • i am the owner. We took him back to the same vet, as it was a Sunday. Most vets are closed. They performed the surgery Saturday night at 11pm. They told us to pick him up before 9am. They assured my husband the bleeding was normal and would stop. After two hours I called to tell them he was hemmoraging. They told us to bring him in. We were panicked for the safety of our pet.

      • I have taken my dog there. Had to take him back two days later cause they didn’t stitch him up right. I was so upset. They wanted me to pay more money. When the so called vet saw me he hurried up and walk away so he couldn’t talk to me. After already paying 324 They charge me another 60 dollars for the anesthesia. I went off . but still ended up paying cause I wanted my dog. They also told me know at they did charge me for an office vist. I said yes u did u put it to n the price with the 60 dollars. Never again will I take my dog there.