Akal Animal Hospital
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sat 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
14 Reviews for Akal Animal Hospital
I took my dog to this hospital since she was 8 weeks old. Overall it was good experience with an exception of one time when the person at the front desk was extremely rude. Hopefully she does not work there anymore. Other than that everything was good. My dog stayed there several times when I was on vacation.
Sharon and the desk staff are very friendly and that's about it. I was seen by another doctor on the staff not dr. chahal.
Basically i left with no piece of mind and a $400 estimate for tests that needed to be run. The doctor was not very helpful and i felt like he was trying to milk me for every dollar.
After the estimate i said "i dont have this kind of money" From that point on he shut me out as if i was unworthy of any help because i would not be putting anymore money in. Yes i realize that tests are needed to make a diagnosis but a helpful doctor would have helped me when i said i dont have the funds for this. How about a "well since your on a budget i reccommended you at least do this test because i think she may have this or you should do these essential ones." But the response i got was "well its up to you it doesnt matter"
OKAY! you're a vet. so why dont you geniunely help me and tell me what i need!! All i needed was some advise and reasoning to justify my money to be spent on these tests.
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We took Kiba, our Alaskan Klee Kai pup (minihusky.com) to Akal through a friend's recommendation. Prior to making my appointment, I had also called around to local vets to check prices for vaccines, microchipping, and neutering. Akal's prices are pretty affordable, comparatively.
Dr. Chahal was very friendly and informative. Kiba was quickly microchipped and also received his 3rd set of puppy shots. Dr. Chahal had answers to all of my questions and offered a lot of good tips on caring for our puppy. I was very pleased with the service and I would definitely recommend all pets to Akal.
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I took my dog in for annual boosters and to have them check out his limping. I have been asking vets about the limping for years and no one has helped. They did a thorough check with x-rays, and determined he has arthritis. The price ended up being pretty okay for all they did, and the staff and vets are really friendly and thorough. I will keep taking my dog here for sure.
Ten years ago my dog decided to eat a cassette tape while we were away for Thanksgiving. I came back Thanksgiving night because I had work the next day. I came home to see vomit all over the house and my sick dog. Hoping he'd get better, I let him be and was off to work on black Friday. I hadn't realized at the time that he did, indeed, eat a cassette tape.
He was still sick when I came home from work that night. My parents were home and they stuck him in the garage so he'd stop yacking all over the house. Still didn't seem like he was getting any better. He then started hiding, you know, like when they're about to die so no one can see them like that.
Anyhow, I was so upset, it was late on a Saturday night and I ended up taking him into urgent care. He had xrays done and they said he was severely dehydrated so they ran an IV for him. The xray showed something that looked like it could have been a blockage but they weren't sure. I picked him up Monday and brought him to his normal vet at Akal.
Our vet, can't remember the doc's name, was really good. He took a look at the xrays and although they couldn't tell what was wrong Wit my dog, he was very concerned about the blurry thing in my dogs' body.
He ended up having to put a camera in to see what the blockage was about and that was when he saw some material blocking and cutting into my dog's intestines. My dog had to have surgery to have the metal tape removed. He had to have a second surgery while he was recovering at the vets because something else had ruptured.
A couple weeks later my dog was allowed to come home and his life had been saved by Akal. I think that because the vet at Akal was truly concerned about the well being of my dog were we able to have a couple more good years with the guy.
The next time I get a dog, we will surely choose Akal as our vet.
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I will start at the beginning...
I called to make an appointment about three days in advance. The receptionist was not very friendly nor knowledgeable but she was tolerable enough, I suppose. Normally I don't go anywhere where the receptionist is subpar. I'm a receptionist and hold others to the same standard of service that I provide. But I digress. I decided to go anyway since I really wasn't feeling my other options at the time.
Once there, I was told to sit down and that they'd be with me in a moment. I had to ask if there was paperwork for me to fill out since I was a new client. The chick was like "oh, yeah, I guess you can fill this out." I sat down on old wooden benches to fill out the form. The building is a bit rundown and in need of some fixing up but it meets the basic requirements. You know - roof, walls, floor. That type of thing. It looks fairly clean but once you have ten-plus year old flooring, everything just kind of looks dirty even if it isn't.
After filling out the form, I had to wait 15 minutes after my appointment time before I was taken in to the exam room. I had arrived 25 minutes early so the hold up wasn't on my end. Luckily, the older woman receptionist there is a total sweetheart and made time pass by quickly. We chatted about my puppy, her cat, and then she sang a song to my puppy. It was cute.
We got checked into a room and waited for about 15 minutes before Dr. Chahal came in. He was very friendly and informative. He was extremely thorough during the exam. He explained what the multiple causes of a symptom could be and the various options to diagnose and treat it. That was great because you actually understand why your pet has such and such and why this treatment is a good idea as opposed to trying something else first. I used to work at a few different veterinary clinics and I was impressed so you know there's something special there. He spent a good amount of time talking with me regarding behavior as well as general health. It was a very pleasant experience for me as well as my pup.
During check out, I was given one total but it seemed a bit low since I was getting two medications as well as the vaccination fees and such. Dr. Chahal forgot to mention to the receptionist that we were getting meds. I'm glad I caught that before I left. The total cost once the meds were added in was about average - maybe a little bit lower. I felt I was getting my money's worth and that my pup was being well taken care of. It did take about 10 minutes for my invoice to be brought up and all the medications labeled and such.
Overall, it was a decent experience - just looooong. Dr. Chahal is very nice and thorough. Some of the staff is excellent. The one young blonde receptionist is lacking some needed customer service and politeness skills but hey, not everyone can be as wonderful as I am.
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After reviewing my options on yelp, I called around to several vets to check prices. Akal is slightly above the norm. for basic services. I thought that might mean that the facility would also be slightly better than average. It isn't. Actually, everything is pretty old and dingy. This place is about ten years overdue for a complete remodel. I arrived ten minutes early for my first appointment to fill out paperwork, but ended up waiting about 45 minutes before they put me in a room, where I waited another 30 minutes before the doctor came in. No apology for the wait, but no big deal. Dr. Chahal struck me as sincere and genuine. His exam was quick and shots were done. He took the time to answer my questions, but I didn't care for the last minute add-ons he insisted on (they require yearly testing before they will give feline leukemia or FIV shots). Most vets do not require yearly testing just to give the shots, but I wanted her to have the shots so I ante'd up the cash. Dr. Chahal was nice enough to offer to redo the health certificate for my cat's cross coutry flight (I thought the health cert. would be good for 30 days, turns out is was only good for ten days). When I came back to get the new health certificate, he tried to pile on some more fees to the "no-charge" redo. I talked to him and he agreed to wave the fee, but not without making a scene. sheesh.
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So I've been taking my dogs to this location since 1978. That was back when it was an oldtime, 1 vet, personal service type of place. Gosh, I miss those days.
I have had a problem with the transition to real business care. Not that the vets there haven't done a good job. They've been fine. I just miss the service you received with Dr. B.
Honestly, if it wasn't for Megan and Chris (IMHO the real backbones of the operation) Audit (my dog born April 15th) wouldn't go there. Those 2 are what make it special. They deserve 5 stars, but had to take a star away for the pesky run-of-the-mill business operation it has become.
You will receive quality care at the going rates. If you and your pet are fortunate you will run into and be cared for by either Chris or Megan.
I have been bringing my cats to Dr. Chahal for 13 years and recommend him to others without reservation. He has consistently demonstrated a tremendous ability to diagnose and treat the various and often unusual problems my cats have had over the years. Dr. Chahal has always been very responsive in answering my questions and has carefully explained treatment options. He also remains current on diet and preventive care information. In addition to his tremendous knowledge and skill, Dr. Chahal has a very keen appreciation for the bond between people and their pets. I trust him completely with my cat's care.
The Akal staff has always performed with a high degree of professionalism. They have gone out of their way on a number of occasions to help me with special requests such as mailing medications to me when I was away from home. I drive about 25 miles to get to Akal Animal Hospital and plan to continue to do so in the future as my experience there has always been completely positive.
i have had some problems here. first time i got my cat spayed no problems. then my dog had puppies and i keeped one so i needed him fixed i called and they gave me a quote it was a good price so i set up an appointment. when i got there i went in to the room, the Dr came in and did an exam. then left and an girl from the front desk can in and said the price just went up like 50 bucks. i said no I'm paying what you quoted me and that's it! so she figured a way to get me a coupon.
i gave them one more chance when i brought my mom dog in to get spayed. they almost killed her. the gave her to much sleep meds and she was having a hard time getting out of it. then they said she had a knee problem and that she needs other surgery.
i will never go there again for the missed quotes and the last min. charges. they have no sensitivity towards owners and there pets. my dogs are my babies and i expect a vet to treat them as that!
We feel so blessed to have found a doctor and staff that love our animals as much as we do.
Our critters are our family and have always been treated as such by Dr. Baljit Chahal, DVM.
We found AKAL Animal Hospital in 1994 when we moved to the Berryessa area. He cared for our two boxer puppies until the day they left us. They both lived longer lives then typical boxers even though they had multiple, serious, health problems. There is no doubt this was due to the care and knowledge of Dr. Chahal.
Dr. Chahal and company didn't just treat our babies they really cared about them. When they were sick, Doctor would teach us about the health issue and made sure we really understood the illness and the treatment. My husband and I are now real Boxer experts.
When it was time for our girl & boy to leave this world, Dr Chahal and his entire staff made it survivable. As anyone who loves their animals understands, letting them go is one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do. The folks at AKAL provided comfort through understanding, compassion and true friendship. We will always be grateful.
Our new puppy and adopted feral cat now have the good fortune to be in Dr. Chahal's care.
A great vet. (Baljit Chahal Dvm) wonderful and courteous staff. I have been going there for at least 15 years now and they have always taken great care of my pets.
They even tolerated my crazy Lhasa apso that lived to be 19.
this place is surreal. dunno why, maybe its the location next to highway 101 and down the street from the berryessa flea market, a motorcycle shop and a tattoo parlor.
maybe its the diversity of the front office staff, vet assistants and vets altogether, cool peeps btw. or maybe its just the fact they really have a genuine love for everything sporting feathers fins or fur.
regardless, if you find your pet sick and dont want to put up a second mortgage on your house and want a great vet, see the people at Akal's. genuine people and genuine service.
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okay, so chuy smells like fish when he's nervous or excited...and now i know it's because of his anal glands.
so he got them cleaned and i was airing out the room and i could hear some lady yelling because her cat was all crazy...so my door was open and then her door was open because her cat had released all it's bowels and had emptied it's bladder so she was airing out her room...i was telling her how my dog's sacs got cleaned and how it smells like fish in the room and she said, hella loud, "YOUR DOG NEEDS TO DOUCHE!" omfg. i only told her what happened because she was telling me her cat's whole life story. i was like, whatever. that's cool. it's cool. then the vet asks me to walk chuy up and down the hall so he could check his leg...so chuy and i walk and then this crazy asian lady who looks like she's on crack says, "YOU HAVE A BISEXUAL DOG!" omg. i love all homos and heteros and people who are bi, but you don't go around saying, 'your kid looks like a dyke!' she was just all kinds of obnoxious....screaming at her cat....scaring the whole room. omfg.
anyway, the staff was really great. one of the techs called chuy's old vet (see mohnacky animal hospital review) and got all the information down for me. the other tech held chuy down while he was getting his anal sacs cleaned and i don't know how, but he also got chuy to poo and he was really friendly about it. i'm sure he rather force/convince chuy to poo than to help with that stupid cat..btw, i love cats..that lady said that her cat was psycho and i totally agree with her.
4/19: jesus christ, how i love everybody at this place! anyway, i just had to say that i just happened to run into the same lady again today at chuy's appt...weird, i know.
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