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Alpine Veterinary Hospital
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 7:30 am - 10 pm
Sat-Sun 9 am - 6 pm
About This Business:
Pets Eternal Rest is a euthanasia only service that offers a caring and kindhearted environment that is in a warm home-like setting. Several… read more »
23 reviews for Alpine Veterinary Hospital
23 reviews in English
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Review from Steve J.
Concord, CA
3/25/2012 2 Check-ins Here
I was first worried about the reviews from this hospital. But my neighbor takes her dogs here and is happy. And since I have a Great Dane it is within walking distance. Much easier then a car ride.
It took over a week to get an appt. Came in and were put in a room. The vet came in and stated talking to us and then an emergency came in. So we waited for three hours in the waiting room. That was frustrating but I understand an emergency takes priority.
Our dog then was seen and treated. I did really like the vet and office staff. I will bring my dog back again if needed.
They even followed up and I received a thank you card in the mail. -
Review from cliff l.
Concord, CA
5/7/2012
first off..sorry for the poster that lost their dog to pancreatitis.. that blows. we adopted a dog with the ailment. it is horrible.
now to our thing..yup two stars. alpine overbooks! we put our pet in for some routine work. no food, no water from the night before. dropped him off, and waited for phonecalls. just in case. no news is good news, right? we called around 5 as instructed. they did not even start on our dog yet! crazy! so our imaginations run..is our dog freaked? hungry, no water, unfamiliar territory. are you kidding me?
we promptly showed up to pick up our pet. reschedule? no thank you. "Can we have our pet's records?" we are outta there!
sure emergencies happen. i understand. a simply phone call would have sent us over to pick him up. we could have dropped him off in the evening..anything to minimize stress to our dog. we adopted him..another problem dog. we worked and worked with him to make him a confident animal. bringing him home that night was like "two steps back". i am not some animal crazed person that caters to our pets..i dont call him a "companion animal", "furbaby", "my kid"..i dont dress him in animal clothing. i am just a regular pet owner that tries to take care of some animals.
i am sure Dr Virk is a fantastic vet. smart, knows how to handle animals..stuff like that. i am just going to spend my vet money somewhere the staff goes above and beyond. -
Review from Hannah O.
South San Francisco, CA
7/4/2011
We brought our 7 year old family pet to this vet because our dog was not eating and started to show signs of illness. The first visit, our dog was sedated and given two ear flushes as well as a "steroid," including hospitalization for half a day; he was given Posatex Otic Suspention drops for his ears as well as Enrofloxacin (an antibiotic), during that visit we were advised to feed our dog chicken breast and pedialyt since he hadn't been eating or drinking water and were also advised to keep the ear dry. Upon leaving we were also given pain medication for him (tramadol). The vet had took the blood work that day but had informed us that the courier was gone for the day and the sample wouldn't go out until the following day.
We had called throughout the the days that had passed notifying them that there had not been any change and they advised us to try feeding Moo-Moo babyfood and Pepcid AC because he started vomiting.
We returned about 3 days later because we still had not noticed any change, mentioning to the vet that our dog was STILL not eating, and they suggested hand feeding our dog. Late that evening/early the next morning our dog passed away.
Based on our entire experience with this veterinary hospital, I DEFINITELY would NOT recommend ALPINE VETERINARY HOSPITAL for anyone's cherished pets. We followed EVERYTHING both vets told us to do. If they would have asked us to stand on our heads we would have done so for our dog, and now they're blaming us for his death, saying "THE NEGLECT ON YOUR PART IS WHAT CAUSED MOO-MOO'S DEATH. OUR HOSPITAL WILL ALSO BE FILING A COMPLAINT TO ANIMAL CONTROL FOR ANIMAL NEGLECT AND ANIMAL CRUELTY."
Ask our neighbors, family, and friends Moo-Moo was EVERYTHING but neglected and our biggest regret was bringing him to this Vet. Moo-Moo passed away on Monday and they called us Tuesday to let us know that his blood work showed that he had "pancreatitis." I don't understand how the Vet didn't notice his symptoms as something more serious when he first seen him, oh I know because he seemed afraid to approach him.
Let me add that our family received numerous phone calls from one of their staff members, names shall not be disclosed, asking if there was anything that "they" could do to help during our time of grievance and received the letter accusing us of negligence two weeks later after seeing yelp post.
*****
*****ALPINE VETERINARY HOSPITAL IS NOW THREATENING OUR FAMILY WITH LEGAL ACTION BECAUSE OF MY YELP REVIEW
*****
***** -
Review from Kathleen D.
Concord, CA
7/9/2011
They claim to have followed protocol. If you want to bring your pet to a place that follows protocol, then go here. But if you want to go where they will genuinely care for your pet and go above and beyond to make sure your loved one's needs are met, then go to VCA Monte Vista in Concord.
A few years ago our baby survived cancer after being treated @ VCA Monte Vista in Concord. Recently, due to a schedule conflict we were forced to bring our baby to Alpine Vet Hospital for an ear infection. Our dog died with in a week. And all the vet could say was that they followed protocol.
The front office staff seemed nice, and tried to help us. But we met with 2 different vets, and both were afraid of our little dog, and seemed a bit uncomfortable touching or coming near our dog.
Our family is devastated, and I cannot convey the amount of guilt I feel for taking him to Alpine.
******Alpine Veterinary Hospital is now threatening our family with legal action because of our yelp reviews****** -
Review from Chimpy L.
Concord, CA
10/26/2010
I like this office because you can schedule appointments the same day you call - it's the only vet around here I've found that does this and they're open a little bit later than most vets so if you work till five you can still take your animal to the vet after.
My only complaint and the thing that keeps me from giving them a five is the one doctor is Indian, talks in a very monotone voice and very, very broken English - I literally have no idea what he's saying. His English is so broken I don't know how anyone understands him. So far the couple times I've had him I already knew what was going on and what I needed so it wasn't too much of a problem and I could pick out a couple of the words in his conversation, but when something I need actual advice comes, I'm worried because I don't know what this guy is saying. And I have to take my dog in tonight and I'm just hoping I get one of the other doctors because I don't want to be rude but I need to know what's going on with my dog and this guy is unintelligible. Otherwise, good vet. -
Review from stacy r.
Concord, CA
10/23/2008
Dr. Virk is the best vet I have found in a long time. He is very helpful and answers all of my questions in detail. I have two cats and one dog that he treats with love everytime we come in.
I highly recommend him to anyone with pets.
** I don't know who Doc Bennett is, as far as I know Dr. Virk is the only Dr. at this clinic. -
Review from Katie H.
Concord, CA
6/28/2009
We really liked the appearance of the office, but have far too many complaints since the initial contact.
Spring 2008, we took our dog in because her appetite had disappeared, her activity level was next to nothing, and she was throwing up bile. AVH diagnosed her with pancreatitis and cautioned us to not give her any people food as it's often caused by high fat diets. Our dogs (we have 2) get NO people food, and when we told the vet, he pointed to our toddler and said "maybe she is", like we were lying to him or something. Our pup happened to start feeling better, but no thanks to any of the care the vet gave us (we found an amazing vet while on vacation in Tahoe that helped us figure out what was wrong.)
Fast Forward to a couple months later... our curious pup ate another piece of a toy (a tennis ball) and it ended up blocking her intestine. We knew, from the other vet, what was the problem, but the AVH vet told us we HAD to do exploratory surgery right away.
We opted to do the surgery, which, in itself was no big deal (about $800, but this was our family member we were trying to make comfortable!). They sent us off with pain meds and 2 weeks of antibiotics. However, what came after really upset me.
1) they took the cone off too soon (in my opinion) and left our dog to lick at her wound. We called immediately and they said it was ok that she was doing that.
2) She licked her wound so much that it opened! I made an appt right away to have it looked at. The vet said "it's just infected" without even looking at the hole! We were prescribed ANOTHER round of antibiotics (at $65). Oh, and they charged us for the office visit ($35).
3) My husband was upset that they didn't even LOOK at the hole (it was about the size of a kidney bean.). He took her down, yet again,. and the doc said "oh! there's a hole!". No shit...it's why I took her down there in the first place, idiot!! So, he put a couple staples in her and stuck the cone back on her head.
4) When we went to get the staples out, the vet said "it's infected" and gave us ANOTHER round of antibiotics! By this time, our dog would have been on the meds for SIX WEEKS STRAIGHT! I told them to eff off and didn't get the meds. Turns out, she didn't need them because she has no redness or itchiness in that area.
Bottom line, I felt like every time they charged us an office visit (which was every time except for when my husband took her in the day after I had), every time they gave us antibiotics (except for the one immediately after the surgery), and every cent we paid them for care of our 2 dogs was just to because they wanted our money.
I never felt respected or listened to in our time there and, though it's less than 2 miles from my house, I'll be going elsewhere. -
Review from Cara B.
Concord, CA
3/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
I had brought my cat in here before and really never had any complaints. This was after having dealt with Banfield so really, anything is an improvement. Or so I thought...
My cat took a tumble somewhere or somehow and ended up limping around with his back paw sticking out. I took him on in and the doc did an x-ray (which I knew about) and was going to tell me his findings when he was done. Well when I come back in to pick him up, I've been told that he has a fracture of some sort and needs surgery. $900!!! What? I googled what it was that he said he needed (in the office using my phone) and other vets in the area stated it was a pretty common fracture and wasn't something that was guaranteed to be fixed with surgery. And even if I elected on doing it, the other local doctors had charged a lot less. So when I get over the initial shock of the verdict, the doc then tells me that even if I don't have the surgery done, I still need to pay $400 for the x-rays, and a list of other meds and pet stay (WTF, it was the same day!) that they made up for him and that I didn't agree too. I was pissed off to say the least. Some of the charges were straight up ridiculous and I got really, really upset.
After making a scene, I was ushered to another room where the doc then took off some of the fees. I still had to pay $300 though and all that included was the x-ray, pain med and visit. I took my booger home and gave him the meds and talked over the idea of surgery to my husband later that night. The meds made my cat act like he was on crack and he was bumping into walls and stuff. Needless to say, I didn't give him those again. WASTE! And wouldn't you know, 2 weeks later, he was zipping around the house just fine, with no sign of a limp or anything. He just needed to lay off it for a while. Glad I didn't opt for the surgery now. -
Review from L plus K C.
Oakland, CA
Updated - 8/6/2008
RE: don't know who Luke saw when he went there...
On our first visit we saw Doc Bennett on a Saturday which is where most of the disappointment comes in. We went back once more and found that Virk seemed good. However, the techs that we dealt with had little knowledge of checking out the cat which is the primary complaint. And the ear cleaning fiasco. We switched to CFC.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/18/2008
Dr. Virk seems ok but the rest of the staff is not very proficient. We took our cat to get its ears… Read more »
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Review from christie k.
Concord, CA
3/31/2011
I have to say that I love Alpine Veterinary Hospital. Everytime I call there is always a happy person on the other end. They are so accomidating and they care about my animals. Dr. Virk is so kind and very gentle with my dogs. I never feel like they are doing any unnecesary tests. He really listens to what I have to say. I wouldn't go any where else. Thank you to all the staff at Alpine. You are the best!!
Candy C. -
Review from Melissa M.
Walnut Creek, CA
12/16/2010 1 Check-in Here
This vet holds a special place in my heart! He saved my dog!!! Two years ago I rescued a dog from a family who had been terribly abusing the poor thing. I actually threatened to call Animal Control Services so they surrendered the dog to me...I bring him home and I notice that he is not very active. I take him to Alpine the very next day to get him vaccinated and checked out...well he ends up having Parvo. As the vet tells me he is positive for Parvo I fight the tears back. This dog had already been abused, neglected and now PARVO!!!! I tell the vet that I cannot afford plasmas or to keep him quarantined ! (At the time I was a student working part time) The vet told me not to worry and created an affordable alternative! I was able to take Tobey home and administer fluids through an IV. A week later Tobey was not doing to well so I took him back to Alpine and the Vet said that they better keep him overnight. Tobey ended up SURVIVING Parvo and Alpine let me make small payments to cover the cost!
There are some people who truly care about animals and ALPINE truly does!!!
Both of my dogs still go there and they have had routine check ups & teeth cleaning here. The vet is a nice indian man and he is VERY considerate when it comes to treatment options. He always tells you what he thinks, gives you options, and a couple of times he has given me alternate affordable routes. I have priced around the area and their prices are the best! -
Review from Tasha P.
Edgewood, WA
4/6/2011
Good value for the money, quick scheduling of appointments, friendly staff.
However, we took our dog here for her first vet appointment because we wanted to know how she was. The vet listened to her lungs, briefly looked at his eyes (without a scope or light or anything), then gave her the shots and left. After he left, we sat there for a few minutes, and then finally said to ourselves, "...is the appointment over?" He didn't discuss what he saw or didn't see with us or anything. Very, very odd. Also very friendly. Just odd. -
Review from Sean S.
Alameda, CA
4/27/2007
This was a great find. Dr. Virk is the best Vet that I have dealt with. He is very knowledgeable and takes the time to explain fully what is going on and is patient with my limited pet vet knowledge and concerns. Perhaps best of all, he does not try and sell you on unneccesary procedures. We take our dog and 2 cats to him for things which we feel may be out of reach for our local vet just for the security that we have that things will go smoothly. Another plus is that the cost is relatively inexpensive.
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Review from Andrew E.
Lafayette, CA
4/19/2011
We needed to get our newly-found stray cat spayed. Contra Costa Humane society carried Alpine on their list of vets that provide reasonably-priced spay and neuter services.
The spay cost more than I had hoped, around $201, but that's considerably less than other vets I checked would have charged. Contra Costa County Animal Services offers a spay and neuter clinic, but there was a wait time of at least a month, and we were in a hurry.
The facility is immaculate, the staff helpful and friendly, though things sometimes got a bit chaotic during busy periods. Still, the desk and vet tech staff were good-natured throughout.
While Alpine IS in a building in an apartment parking lot, there are ample reserved spaces for clients, and we had no difficulty parking, even during busy times. I can't imagine anyone calling the neat, tree-lined street a "ghetto." It's a ludicrous assertion.
Four stars rather than five because the spay price was not available until we were there. Like most other vets, Alpine charges separately for the procedure, for IV hydration, for post-op pain meds and for pre-op blood work. I didn't want to make those choices. I would have preferred a single price quote that included all the charges the vet recommended. As it was, I didn't feel qualified to make those choices myself.
They performed the surgery on our cat around noon, and sent her home with us at 5:30 PM. The staff offered careful post-op care instructions and called the next day to see how the patient was doing.
Alpine also has an especially charming cat on staff, who wanders around the waiting room, making friends with people and saucily taunting dogs.
Recommended. -
Review from Bryn W.
Martinez, CA
7/21/2008
I don't know who Luke saw when he went there, but they must have had a recent change of staff, because I had fantastic service. The front desk ladies were super nice, attentive and cheerful. And I was a late walk-in just before close on a Saturday.
Dr. Virk was an excellent listener (frankly, better than our regular doc over at Civic Feline Clinic), gave my cat exactly the care he needed, and didn't try to 'sell' me on any unnecessary $$ items. Oh, and he didn't charge me for the consultation visit (again, unlike CFC). As you may have guessed, I've decided to move all my 'kids' from CFC to Alpine. -
Review from Sydney W.
Concord, CA
1/9/2010
My small, elderly dog had some facial swelling so we brought her in to Alpine and they said most likely she had a bad tooth that needed extracting. First of all, at the initial appointment, the nurses, front desk girls and doctor all told us different instructions for prep for her surgery. One said she could have no food or water after 10 pm the night before, another said no food or water after midnight the night before and yet another said she could have water anytime. Not wanting her to feel sick from the anesthesia we took the water away at 10 pm to play it safe.
The REAL problems started on the day of her surgery. They told us to bring her in at 7:30 in the morning, so we did. They told us we couldn't pick her up until 4:30 pm because "they wanted to observe her after the anesthesia." We expressed concerns about her having to sit in a scary unfamiliar place in a cage all day but were assured the procedure would be underway as soon as possible and that they would call if the pickup time changed. We called at just before noon to see if the surgery was over yet and they said procedures hadn't been started for the day because the Dr and techs don't arrive until 10:00 am. We said "So its almost noon now...you won't start her surgery until after lunch then?" and she said "That's correct." By this time we were already pissed because our 11 year old little dog who is never away from home had been sitting in a cage for almost five hours with no food or water since 10 pm the night before. We called again at 2:00 and after putting us on hold the front desk girl said uncertainly "I think she's in recovery now.." Then at 3:40 we got a call from the vet asking for permission to extract three of her teeth. "They're just doing that NOW??" we asked. She said yes. We said "Go ahead if that's what she needs but we were told to pick her up in less than an hour from now..will she be ready?" The girl said "umm...maybe come in at 4:40 instead." A whole ten minutes later than the original time...
So we pick up our poor dog after everything and she was still walking like she was drunk when we brought her home- clearly they didn't leave very much time for the anesthetic to wear off and to watch her.
I don't feel like my dog was cared for well at all- she's doing alright now- I'm just relieved that all the stress didn't kill her since she is a very old dog. Dr. Virk never even came out to see us to explain how surgery went or what they did.
ONE LAST MINOR DETAIL: we asked if they could cut her nails while she was knocked out for surgery...They charged us $17 for it. Give me a break- we're paying $500 for a surgery and they can't throw in a complimentary nail clipping that probably took all of one minute while she was asleep??? Ridiculous.
We will NOT be taking our animals back to Alpine. -
Review from c p.
Oakland, CA
1/18/2009
Several months ago, I booked an appointment here for my dog because of glowing reviews from other pet owners I had met. I was instructed to show up 15 or 20 minutes early to complete paperwork, since I was a new client. I showed up 30 minutes early and filled out the paperwork. And then.... I started waiting. My appointment was at 9AM. My dog and I weren't put into a room until 9:23AM. At 9:30 the vet tech came in and asked a few questions and took my dog's vitals. At 9:40 the vet (it was a female vet, I can't remember her name because I was in agony waiting, as I needed to go to work!) finally came in, examined my dog for about 5 minutes, and left. Then I waited for the medication she prescribed. I waited so long that I left, went home, dropped off my dog, and came back, and finally got the medication around 11:15AM, and they were very confused about it and at first gave me medication for someone else's pet, which was a cat. Ack. The people at the front counter were totally overwhelmed with telephone calls, and were focused on answering the phone and thus neglected the four or five people standing at the counter with their pets. I think they need to hire more staff for the counter and the pharmacy, and that under-ten-minute vet exam didn't exactly warm the cockles of my heart.
Of course, the medication didn't help and I ended up going to the emergency vet with my dog about 2 days later, where they prescribed different medication, saw me within 10 minutes of walking in, and, of course, charged a lot more money. -
Review from Kay C.
Concord, CA
6/3/2011
Dr Virk is fine as far as I can tell, but the vet techs I have talked to are NOT knowledgeable about biology, anatomy, physiology, or medicine. I am a UC berkeley graduate, high school biology teacher, and ex vet tech myself. We've been going here for years, and have meant to find another vet, not because of some major incident, but just because of clearly substandard help, and prices that are no bargain. The Sun Valley vet place seems to have good reviews so that's where we're going next.
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Review from Brynn S.
Huntington, NY
1/17/2009
I brought my dog here for a TPLO surgery ( Knee surgery) after making an appointment a month in advance. My husband dropped her off for her scheduled surgery on Jan 15th, which we scheduled a month in advance because a specialist had to come in.
This surgery cost was $3000.00 when she was dropped off the vet said there would extra charges for her medicine and for her IV drip to keep her hydrated through the surgery. An extra $150 they failed to tell me about at the scheduling of the surgery.
About two hours later my husband received a call from the vet saying they forgot to schedule the specialist, we were both at work and they asked us to come and pick her up. Keep in mind we had to take time off of work because the recovery is long and she would be in a lot of pain. They continued to tell us that the earliest they could do the surgery was the 29th of January which is 2 weeks later.
When I went to pick up my dog after the work day they did not even know who Jayda (My PuP) was, they thought they spaded her and the next day I got a call from an assistant to see if my dog was doing okay after her surgery. I continued to tell them she never had surgery and she was not even getting spayed.
I would not suggest this veterinarian hospital because they are unorganized and unprofessional. -
Review from La La O.
Concord, CA
6/11/2011
This veterinary clinic is AMAZING!! The front staff was so friendly and helpful, there was no wait to be served for my poor little pup's needs. I am currently caring for my brothers 7 month old blue and red nosed pit bull puppy while he is away, and was referred to the Alpine Veterinary Clinic by the Monument pet Hospital as a reputable and affordable resource after the pup had been gagging, sneezing, and coughing after being outside in an area with fox tails. Worried I scheduled an appointment as immediately as I could to have her checked. Doctor Virk listened to my concerns and explained the possible processes as well as the monetary costs. I am currently a student in college and on a tight budget, Doctor Virk assured me he would do the best he could to work with her with out anesthesia and keep the costs low. After 4 hours I went back to pick up my pup and she was in great condition with a happy waggly tail. I have no idea how Dr. Virk did it with out the anesthesia on such a playful puppy and diagnose the problem immediately, but he did. I am going to refer all of my fellow pet owning/loving friends to him, and the office for their wonderful service, great advice, and loving care. Thank you Alpine Veterinary Care!
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Review from alexia f.
San Francisco, CA
1/30/2009
I few weeks ago I had a huge scare with my Pointer, Malakai. He'd started to develop this huge lump along his rib cage. I used to be a vet tech back in my college days and I knew it wasn't just a fatty tumor because the lump was quite hard. Malakai is only 2 years old and I started to think the absolute worst, cancer. I took Malakai to go see Dr.Virk after reading all the great reviews about him. Dr.Virk tried to aspirate the lump but Malakai objected, so the doctor decided instead of stressing out my dog it would be better to just anesthetize him and take the lump off. After the surgery the doc calls me and says it was just a foxtail that had gotten imbedded under my dog's skin! Hooray!! I was so happy and the whole thing didn't cost me an arm and a leg. The staff was great when I picked Malakai up, they even helped me put him in the car since he was so whacked from the anesthesia.
I totally recommend this vet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have since brought my other two little dogs, Lacey and Lucas, there to have their teeth cleaned and I had a good experience that time as well. -
Review from Danielle G.
Concord, CA
4/2/2009
I brought my puppy here to have her spayed. I went to pick her up at 4 because they called me & told me she was ready and I had to wait two hours. This place is also located in a small apartment complex and some lady, who was clearly a crackhead was yelling at people. GHETTO!!! There is no parking and the prices are ridiculious!!!!
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Review from Kathy R.
Pleasant Hill, CA
12/27/2009
I took my puppy to Alpine and I have to say that this is a very nice place, the Vet, Doctor Virk took the time to answer my questions and the girls at the front desk were very friendly, This is a great place to take your "baby" when needed, and the prices are fair too......
