Dr. Sandra Hazanow was the veterinarian for my dogs in San Francisco for over 25 years. I was sad…read morewhen she left to open her practice in Chico. In all those years, I found her to be highly competent and empathetic, caring not only for the needs of the animals but also sensitive to the needs of the owners. Her approach was always transparent and ethical. She always responds quickly and is generous with her time. Even though she now has a practice in Chico, she remains willing to consult with me regarding my dogs whenever I have concerns. Given the opportunity, I would gladly have her caring for my dogs again.

This is long, but please read if you are considering using this vet I usually don't write negative…read morereviews because our town is small and I understand that one person's experience isn't always indicative of the quality of a business. However, it's been eating at me for months and it's not just a customer service/bedside manner issue but a safety issue. About a year ago my dog needed a dental cleaning. Dr Crowson advised extra testing prior to surgery and we paid well over 2K to have her teeth cleaned. The day before the surgery we picked up a pill to give her that night. We noticed the bottle said weight "25Kg" not "25lb" and worried that it was going to overdose her. We asked and the doctor assured us that it was just a clerical error and not to worry. The day of the surgery he called to say that they had accidentally overdosed my dog on NSAIDs while under sedation so they had to pull her out of anesthesia prematurely and the cleaning/extraxctions were not complete. Obviously they had not corrected the error and still had her in the system at 25 kg which would put her at 55lb. Dr C called poison control and was given instructions on how to proceed which included coming in every couple of days for blood tests and administering medications at home several times a day for the next couple of weeks. (for people like me who are unaware, NSAIDs can kill your dog, don't leave ibuprofen out.) I was told that we would address the cleaning issue at a later date when she had had time to recover. 3 months later I brought her in for what I thought was an ear infection. I asked during this appointment if we had a plan yet to finish he cleaning/extractions and Dr crowson got visibly irritated and told me I needed to be patient while he "came up with a plan". 3 months later I have my cat in for an appt with Dr. Hazanow who tells me my cat needs a teeth cleaning. I explain my hesitance due to a traumatic experience. She claims to not know about it and goes to look up the records and tells me someone will get back to me. I receive a call from the office staff a month later saying they want to schedule the remaining work. I asked for a written quote of what I would be expected to pay. I do not hear back from anyone so I email Dr. Crowson. He says he will get back to me. I get another call from the office to schedule.I, again, ask for an estimate in writing. I get an email a week later from Dr C citing "some mix up" and says he will get back to me shortly. I follow up a few days later with office staff and am told they have no information. The next day I get a voicemail saying that Dr. Crowson no longer works there. (He now works at Morningside, just FYI) I then take my dog back for another appt with Dr. Hazanow who tells me my dog's teeth need to be cleaned. I remind her of the situation. She proceeds to blame me for waiting a year to take care of it and says that I will be responsible for the entire bill once again. They even drew blood while giving my dog her vaccinations without approval and put it on my bill ($150.00) for pre surgery testing without even asking if I approved of the charge or wanted to move forward with the cleaning. I was patient through this entire ordeal, believing that they would follow through and do the right thing. I told her that I didn't believe I should pay for the whole thing twice (I paid for extra anesthesia the first time but extractions were not completed due to overdose.). She told me that because my dog did not die and was still drinking water regularly that they weren't liable for anything (no harm no foul, basically).I had noted her poor bedside manner at other appointments with my cat and dog (very passive aggressive and judgy) but could not believe she would try to blame the client for their error. We are considering filing a small claims case but I figured the least I can do is let other people know about our experience. I'm sure there will be a response to this trying to explain it away, but I do have emails and voicemails and written documentation of the entire situation.