After recently reading various reviews on Walker Veterinary Hospital, I would have to agree that most of them are sadly true. Make NO mistake and be WARNED that this is a business first and that your animal DOES NOT come first for them, it is the bill they hand you with a soft tone and a smile that gets you to think they are taking good care of your pet.
Initially, one of the biggest annoyances I faced was that half of the staff did not know how to hold a dog correctly (Including 1 of the Veterinarian). I only bring this up because even after the costly X-Rays and Diagnosis that my senior dog had Spinal Degeneration, they continued to hold him by the ribs, while his lower body would dangle. I had only observed 2-3 Techs support his spine while carrying him of the 2 years that he was seen there.
Another inconvenience and unprofessionalism I experienced was with African American Male (I cannot recall his name) that is employed there. Initially when my senior dog was more mobile, I would take him to get Cold Laser Therapy sessions at this facility twice a week. Unfortunately, I was waiting with my dog in the front waiting room one day for a session when this African American Male comes out looks at my dog and yells out in an annoyed tone "Omg" then charges into the back (was the only one in the waiting room). Acting as if my dog was the worst dog he had ever seen.
I made the mistake of boarding (5-7 days, due to family issues) my senior dog at Walker Vet recently. Prior to his boarding he was mobile, able to walk towards the end of the block at a good pace, ate regularly, and had energy (zoomies through the hallway). After the boarding incident, he was unable to walk, had diarrhea, his anus was inflamed from the diarrhea (they did not have the common sense to apply Desitin Ointment onto his anus to help alleviate the swelling), was not eating, and cried often due to the pain. While boarding my dog, I visited him regularly in the mornings, where he was presented to me with either diarrhea on his hind legs, or wet and cold (I would assume hosed down with cold water when I came to visit). He was presented to me cold, shivering, and crying/wheeping. Finally, I had decided to take him home due to his condition but before that I experienced more unprofessionalism.
Again, after the Veterinarian "recommend" Blood Samples, Cultures, Stool Sample, X-Rays (another grand or two) to present my bill was the same African American Male Vet Tech. When I told him I just need a second before proceeding (was contemplating if it was necessary to put my dog down due to his poor physical condition) this African American Male Technician let out a loud sigh, rolled his eyes, and left the room. Why be a Vet Tech if you don't even care about animals? Maybe this "Vet Tech" was slightly on the lower IQ side where he believes his attitude and stupidity goes un-noticed. What a joke of human nonetheless.
I decided to proceed with the bill only to be told "everything looks good" a few days later. I cared and nursed my dog back to 80% of his health after for a few months before his passing.
A 2-Star Rating is generous; there were only 2-3 Vet Techs that seemed to be competent and caring towards animals. As a medical provider myself I would say this facility is primarily focused on targeting the vulnerability of pet owners, similar to other reviews this facility does conduct unnecessary Blood work, Cultures, X-Rays, and should be reported to California Veterinary Medical Board.
The pictures uploaded depicts one incident where my senior dog was first getting his cold laser therapy session and the Vet had told me that it was an accident caused by them, I'm unsure till this day if it was caused by Cold Laser therapy burn or a fall my dog took from a high table while trying to get cold laser therapy.
The other picture shows diarrhea on the hind legs while he was being Boarded at this facility (had this on his legs every morning while I visited him there). read more