Allwest Animal Hospital

I wanted to wait a long time before posting this review to ensure I wasn’t being knee jerk / emotionally charged and thus unreasonably biased. My Great Dane had TPLO surgery in March 2023.

I chose Allwest after doing much research and taking note of the reviews on here.

The positives:

The staff were friendly and attentive
Dr Sran seems quite knowledgeable and on top of the TPLO procedure explaining the procedure and the things he does to help achieve better success.
Very responsive to phone calls and emails with questions and concerns.
I believe the procedure went well (barring a few setbacks in time to heal). My dog has recovered as well as he could given age, type of injury and other reasonable factors.

The not so positives

Prior to the procedure my Great Dane was 7yrs 4months and I had expressed concerns whether the surgery would have any risks or down sides given this age (senior by giant breed standards). I was reassured that they were no issue and that he was a perfect candidate and that they’d done numerous procedures on senior dogs; however, all trough the recovery process Dr Sran made repeated casual comments about slow recovery and risk of improper healing due to my dogs age which added to my frustrations and concerns which I did my due diligence to ask about in advance. My dog took the better part of 4.5 months to have complete bone fusion (1.5 months longer than expected). Dr Sran made me do 3 x follow up Xrays to monitor the healing (each at additional costs). I made an informed decision and refused to do the final additional X-ray.
At the time of initial booking I was given a High and Low quote on the procedure which seemed very competitive. I also noted that the clinic had a post indicating they offered a discount for a google review; however, on the date I picked up my dog and paid the bill , I was told I was not eligible for this discount as they had “already given me the best rate.” I found that odd and inconsistent considering the info was posted all over the office.
The facility is NOT set up to deal with Giant Breed dogs, they did not have a confinement space even remotely large enough for my dog. The holding area pre surgery was literally the length of my dog. This should have been a sign for me but at the time I was desperate and emotionally charged I just wanted by dogs leg fixed.
Post recovery my dog was left to sleep on some blankets on the floor in one of their lab testing rooms. Not even on a dog bed.
My dog suffered some nasty carpet / rug burns all over his legs as I’m told he woke up post surgery in the middle of the night and was panicking and trying to stand up.
This was his 2nd TPLO surgery (1st done at another clinic) and the first time I was able to take my dog home same day post surgery and I do have experience as I’ve had another Dane in the past that also went though the procedure but Dr Sran indicated they would not let me pick up my dog same day, despite indicating that the clinic is not staffed after hours so my dog was left unattended post clinic closing until staff came in the next day. His skin around his ankles and knees had quite nasty rug burn from his struggling. To add insult to injury I was charged for the bandaging and materials as well as the medication for treating the severe rug burns.
Medications and supplements were charged at more than 40% more than what I paid for at my regular vet including Catrophen, Gabapentin, and the NSAID’s when I brought this up with the office I was told they would offer a better cost “next time.” Allwest is not my regular vet and the likelihood of regular scheduled visits was low to none. Dr Sran did match the cost of the Catrophen on a 2nd bottle .
By the end of it all the cost of the procedure and medications was equal to quotes I had received from registered surgeons with 24/7 post surgery monitoring.

I would not fall for the supposed “lower cost” as a decision factor.

I wanted to wait a long time before posting this review to ensure I wasn’t being knee jerk / emotionally charged and thus unreasonably biased. My Great Dane had TPLO surgery in March 2023.

I chose Allwest after doing much research and taking note of the reviews on here.

The positives:

The staff were friendly and attentive
Dr Sran seems quite knowledgeable and on top of the TPLO procedure explaining the procedure and the things he does to help achieve better success.
Very responsive to phone calls and emails with questions and concerns.
I believe the procedure went well (barring a few setbacks in time to heal). My dog has recovered as well as he could given age, type of injury and other reasonable factors.

The not so positives

Prior to the procedure my Great Dane was 7yrs 4months and I had expressed concerns whether the surgery would have any risks or down sides given this age (senior by giant breed standards). I was reassured that they were no issue and that he was a perfect candidate and that they’d done numerous procedures on senior dogs; however, all trough the recovery process Dr Sran made repeated casual comments about slow recovery and risk of improper healing due to my dogs age which added to my frustrations and concerns which I did my due diligence to ask about in advance. My dog took the better part of 4.5 months to have complete bone fusion (1.5 months longer than expected). Dr Sran made me do 3 x follow up Xrays to monitor the healing (each at additional costs). I made an informed decision and refused to do the final additional X-ray.
At the time of initial booking I was given a High and Low quote on the procedure which seemed very competitive. I also noted that the clinic had a post indicating they offered a discount for a google review; however, on the date I picked up my dog and paid the bill , I was told I was not eligible for this discount as they had “already given me the best rate.” I found that odd and inconsistent considering the info was posted all over the office.
The facility is NOT set up to deal with Giant Breed dogs, they did not have a confinement space even remotely large enough for my dog. The holding area pre surgery was literally the length of my dog. This should have been a sign for me but at the time I was desperate and emotionally charged I just wanted by dogs leg fixed.
Post recovery my dog was left to sleep on some blankets on the floor in one of their lab testing rooms. Not even on a dog bed.
My dog suffered some nasty carpet / rug burns all over his legs as I’m told he woke up post surgery in the middle of the night and was panicking and trying to stand up.
This was his 2nd TPLO surgery (1st done at another clinic) and the first time I was able to take my dog home same day post surgery and I do have experience as I’ve had another Dane in the past that also went though the procedure but Dr Sran indicated they would not let me pick up my dog same day, despite indicating that the clinic is not staffed after hours so my dog was left unattended post clinic closing until staff came in the next day. His skin around his ankles and knees had quite nasty rug burn from his struggling. To add insult to injury I was charged for the bandaging and materials as well as the medication for treating the severe rug burns.
Medications and supplements were charged at more than 40% more than what I paid for at my regular vet including Catrophen, Gabapentin, and the NSAID’s when I brought this up with the office I was told they would offer a better cost “next time.” Allwest is not my regular vet and the likelihood of regular scheduled visits was low to none. Dr Sran did match the cost of the Catrophen on a 2nd bottle .
By the end of it all the cost of the procedure and medications was equal to quotes I had received from registered surgeons with 24/7 post surgery monitoring.

I would not fall for the supposed “lower cost” as a decision factor.

Customer Reviews

4.8

5 Reviews

Neil Rodriguesa month ago

From

Jaclyn Parksa month ago

Dr. Sran is a very compassionate and skilled vet. Louie actually likes coming to the vet clinic here which is new for him! The post op process can be tough but the staff and Dr. Sran are happy to answer my many questions. Would definitely recommend for someone needing tplo for their pup.

Jason Lama month ago

Out of all the vets I have been. This one was the most welcoming and honest service. My dog had hematoma on her ear and they were able to take her into surgery right away and prices were much lower than I expected it to be.

Additional 2-3 follow up appointment after surgery was included in the price.

I am very glad to have found such an amazing vet hospital so close to home

Thank you all west