I had been bringing my cat here for care and initially appreciated their care until I brought my dog here. Long story short, I felt like my emotions were taken advantage of to obligate us to receive more and more expensive care that was arguably unnecessary. I’ll lay out the details below because I would have appreciated them before I brought my dog here. I inherited a senior golden retriever from my father in law after he unexpectedly passed away and decided to bring him here. After our first appointment they let us go with a green light only to run out after I left the clinic to tell me they found a mass and we needed to come back inside immediately to discuss a game plan. The way it was handled scared me so much and I felt obligated to go along with the discussed plan regardless of the cost. I wasn’t against the follow up plan, he was a 13 year old golden retriever after all and I did want to make sure there wasn’t cancer rampant in his torso. It was only after his ultrasound that I learned the initial mass was the size of a sesame seed and was not causing any discomfort. However at the time he had a large mass on his foot that they assured me wasn’t causing him discomfort. After the ultrasound they found a tiny mass in his bladder but told me it was so small that while they wanted to do surgery, they probably wouldn’t even be able to see it. At this point I felt like my emotions were being played with so I went to Ocean Ave Vet Hospital for a second opinion. They were of the opinion that the mass on his paw was causing him pain, and after a removal it was clear that it had been, but that the other masses were not of immediate concern. I switched care to Ocean Ave and have been very happy with them. Additionally, when I asked Ocean Ave to fill a prescription (adequan) for pain management for my dog, they said they do not prescribe that specific drug as there is minimal peer reviewed evidence to support it. They provided me with PubMed articles and an alternative, proven effective, drug that was much cheaper too. Overall it felt like I was being taken advantage of at Balboa and felt that the communication was generally much more open & judgement-free at Ocean Ave.

This is NOT the same Balboa hospital I have patronized for 3 decades. As the result of a corporate buyout (Blue River) their protocol and priorities have changed for the worse. Their bottom line is their only priority. Their patients and clients are just fodder for profit and exploitation. When this "buyout" took place I was never informed of the dramatic changes in staff and procedures I had grown to rely on for years. Costs have skyrocketed and follow up care and concern are non existent. In the past I would always have my prescriptions filled with Chewy. Balboa Pet Hospital cut them off without warning me. Chewy could no longer fill my prescriptions which led to an emergency. My cat was almost out of an essential medication because of these actions by Balboa. I called Balboa requesting they supply me with a weeks worth of pills until I could sort this out. Chewy charges $0.17 per pill. Balboa charged $1.88 per pill. Dr. Del Rosso wrote the prescription. Be aware of California State Law:(c) Pursuant to section 4170(a)(6) and (7) of the Business and Professions Code, veterinarians must notify clients that they have a choice to obtain either the medication through them or their affiliates or a written prescription allowing a client to purchase medications anywhere they wish and that they shall not be charged for the written prescription. Do your research. If a veterinary hospital falls under the Blue River umbrella, I would suggest that you keep looking.

I have been taking my cats to Balboa Pet Hospital for 30 years. There have been many excellent doctors there starting with Dr. Clary. He and his wife Alice created and maintained high quality pet care and hired wonderful assistants and veterinarians. For the past 10 years I have taken my cat Sadie to Balboa Pet. She is now an older kitty at almost 14 years and hates going in a car and to the vet. My normally sweet Pussy cat can turn into a vicious scary wildcat at the vet. But her doctor, Dr Leah Del Rosso, knows how to manage Sadie. When Sadie became so frightened, we stopped the exam and returned another time. She prescribed a sedative that calmed Sadie and we’ve been able to do her semi-annual checkups to monitor and stabilize the start of kidney problems. Dr Del Rosso has worked with my husband and me to find a healthy prescription diet for Sadie that she likes. Sadie is stable and quite capable even energetic in play under the plan that Dr Del Rosso worked out for her and us.

This is an excellent vet hospital with fantastic service from the moment you walk in the door. There is a stray cat in my neighborhood that someone abandoned. He shows up hit or miss, so impossible to make an advanced appointment. He had dropped a severe amount of weight and I felt so sad for him. I had previously explained the situation to Kate, the receptionist. When the cat finally showed up, the hospital was fantastic and squeezed me in and helped this wonderful cat. The entire staff, from reception triage to veterinarians, brings their A game. Highly knowledgeable Dr’s and staff with wonderful follow through. The hospital was incredibly busy but took the time to slow down, focus, treat this cat and answer all my questions. The following day, the veterinarian call to go over all details of lab work and scans. I thought the coats were reasonable, especially given the immediate service. I have had pets my entire life. This is the best veterinary clinic I’ve ever experienced.

I have been bringing my cats to Balboa Pet Hospital and to Dr. Lea Del Rosso for their health care for a little over 14 years. Dr. D. provided care for my very first cat Tabitha for the last couple of years of her life. She was an elderly cat and died at 19 years of age. Dr. Del Rosso helped Tabbie to pass with the utmost ease and compassion. The empathy she showed for me was remarkable. I'll never forget the support she gave me on one of the saddest days of my life. Within 2 weeks of Tabbie's death, I adopted a wonderful cat whom I named Buddy. When I brought Buddy in for his first check up--he fell head over heels for Dr. D and they have been fast friends ever since. If you want compassionate, professional, care for your animals look no further than Balboa Pet Hospital, which is an AAHA accredited neighborhood institution.

I had a very good experience here! I have two ferrets that go to see Dr. Raven and she is absolutely AMAZING!! One of the ferrets had a bad reaction to his second round of shots, Dr. Raven and her team worked hard to make sure he was okay and he turned out perfect. During the bad reaction, the team was very communicative by giving phone call updates. Which helped me relax and not stress out for the little guy! I know Dr. Raven and her team went the extra mile to make sure everything turned out okay. As well as calling my cell a few hours later to check in and see how things were going. Really shows they care!! Even with all the restrictions in place, drop offs and pick ups have always run smoothly and timely. And they’ve always been so polite and nice. I would definitely recommend Balboa Pet Hospital to friends and family.

Dr Del Rosso at Balboa Hospital is an excellent vet for cats (only had experience with cats). She just has that extra care for your pet that is hard to find elsewhere. She has been our vet for 10+ years. She is a cat whisperer. She was always able to examine our very fidgety and angry cat with her calm demeanor. She doesn't rush to the next patient. She is always patient with us, explaining her recommendations. We have moved away from SF but still drive our cat over to her for bigger procedures / second opinion. I also like that she doesn't recommend unnecessary procedures, vaccines or products.

When Maya showed up to Balboa with stage 4 kidney disease, it was very scary. But with Dr. Mirzaeian's excellent advice and care, we were able to give her a very high quality of life until the end. Maya and I were able to spend a lot more time together and create many new wonderful memories. I felt Maya and I were in such good hands at Balboa and I am beyond grateful for the professionalism, care and compassion the vets showed my little one. Dr. Ravn is also fantastic. The staff is kind and caring. I cannot speak highly enough about this pet hospital! They are a treasure!

I was very pleased and felt like I won the lottery. The receptionist on the phone was very helpful and the technician who came out was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The phone call from the Doctor was wonderful letting me know everything from how healthy my dog was but also what was accomplished from the anal gland being expressed to the nail trim. The doctor did tell me what I already knew...that Keeno needed to have his teeth cleaned and perhaps extracted. She suggested that I think about having it done. I will do that.

My dog loves this place. I've been coming to Balboa pet hospital for over 10 years with my last dog and with my current one. Every time we are walking by the vet, she insists on coming in to say hello to the staff. The staff here are always very friendly, professional, and have a deep passion for serving animals. We always get honest recommendations from food to medications and the doctors are patient in answering any and all questions. I think my dog thinks this is a spa for animals because she always enjoys our visits.

We've been a client/customer of Balboa Pet Hospital for over 15+ years, first with Dash our cat, and now Sylvester who is 13 years old this month. I will say to bolster our love and appreciation for BPH, we moved from San Francisco where we were about 9 blocks away, to Richmond, CA where we are little under an hour and two bridges away. Yet, we will continue to use BPH as our vet for the foreseeable future. I could go on, but you've heard me sing their praises before. Thanks BPH!

These guys have looked after my babies for years. My litter mates lived 16yrs & died within 6wks of each other. SO painful but Balboa Pet hospital made it gentle. They even made a donation in honor of my cat Nellie Girl McLaughlin. Now? My cat Henry Ford is 9...in this Co-vid period? They Continue to Deliver. The drop-off so easy. The Doctor called me & gave me a thorough understanding of Henry's visit. Henry came back mellow. TY BPH!!

Six months ago, my cat was diagnosed with an enlarged heart. Dr. DelRoso provided excellent care and followup, and Ruby thrived on her medication, and until this past week was her old self. I was convinced I would need to put her down. Dr. DelRoso again examined her and diagnosed an upper respiratory infection. She is now home and improving. Thank you to all the Balboa staff for saving my 14 year old fur baby!

this place gets 0 stars. not only are they are too busy to see my pet with open wounds needing care but they cant even set up a future appointment for him- they will call me in a few weeks with a time that might work for them...not even sure what that means. i cant speak to any of their services but i cant even get my cat in there! and this is probably the third time this has occurred. i give up.

I walked in last week. I wanted to get a vet for my cat. However, I first had questions about filling a prescription. They said that they only fill prescriptions for current patient animals... Which is fine. But when I asked where I could fill it online to see if they would tell me...they pretended they didn't know. Needless to say, I won't be taking my pet here.

I love Balboa Pet Hospital! They have been amazing with my cat. Dr. Harrell is our vet and my Sirius loves her! He's always so happy to see her and I trust her with his health implicitly. When you bring your fur baby to Balboa Pet Hospital, you become a part of a family. You won't regret trusting your babies to their capable hands!

I highly recommend Balboa Pet Hospital! They were able to assess what was wrong with my dog and provide a path for his recovery on the first visit. For the last 13 years of my dog's life we went to a different vet and they weren't able to help him with his current ailments. Thank you Balboa Pet Hospital!

They have always been amazing. When my cat Nicky was Sick they helped me for 2 years navigate dealing with his treatments until it was time to put him down. They were great about educating me each step of the way. They have big hearts and everyone there cares so much. They rock ❤️

I feel so grateful to have Balboa Pet Hospital. Everyone from the front desk humans to the technicians to the vets are absolutely fantastic. I've called when worried, sad, happy and they are always supportive and really care about my pet. Thank you for all that you do!!

They were very generous and squeezed me in on a busy day. Doctors has knowledge of my breed (Belgian malinois) and took their time handling my pup which I really appreciated. After care so far has been great and my pup is on his way to healing. Thank you guys!

Balboa Pet Hospital has done a good job helping to keep Daphne in good shape even though she has cushings. The staff are very good listeners and combine that with their diagnosis to keep our Daphne in as good health as possible. Thank you Balboa Staff

We have been using Balboa Pet Hospital services for more than 5 years. Our Jack Russel has been doing well under the careful, considerate, and reliable veterinarian care! I would highly recommend using this place for your furry friends!

Such a wonderful experience at Balboa pet hospital. I was able to get an appointment right away for an emergency with my cat. Each staff member is extremely knowledgeable and kind, and provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Have been clients for 2.5 years now with our dog. Always great help, attentive staff and accessible services. For as long as we live in this neighborhood, Balboa Pet Hospital is our place "to go" with any pet problems.

We brought our puppy for his first visit and it exceeded all expectation. They were all wonderful and Dr. M took the time to answer our questions. They already surpassed the experience with a previous vet office.

Since Beau was a puppy, he has been with Balboa Pet Hospital. He is now 10 years old and is very well taken care of by our vet - Dr. Del Rosso. Dr. D. has always been very thorough with Beau’s check-up visits.

The staff at Balboa Pet Hospital are exceptional! They've taken incredible care of our three year old doodle. There's no where I'd trust more to keep our dog healthy and loved, and keep us humans informed!

How would I describe Balboa pet hospital? Probably the best place in San Francisco to take you pet to .. it’s like all creatures great and small . Professional , caring service .. highly recommend! ❤️

Absolutely the best vet office I've ever been to. They have been my vet hospital for well over a decade, and I am SO grateful for all they have done for my pugs. My highest recommendation.

No wait, caring techs and vet was throughly attentive, explained the condition and treatment plan clearly. The approximate costs for the visit were explained at the beginning of the visit.

Sissy is a 6 year old toy poodle. I am grateful to Balboa Pet Hospital for Sissy's good care. Our examinations are never rushed. I highly recommend Balboa Pet Hospital.

Outstanding experience recently. We have a pet rabbit and Dr. Stanley was so informative and helpful! Felt like we were in the best hands for Marcel. Highly recommend.

I have been going to Balboa Pet Hosp for 25 yrs! The most knowledgeable, friendly, professional! Dr Del Rosa is so wonderful! Staff is also nice!

They have been my vet clinic for 35+ years. Professional and caring with all my 4 legged children. Love all the personal there

I bring my dog, Pa Lee to get her check-ups and shots! Staff & Vets are very friendly! Off street parking available!

Highly recommend Dr. Del Rosso. Incredible team of professionals. My dogs had a great experience at their checkups.

Online registration form is broken. I confirmed by phone they are not accepting new patients.

We love Balboa Pet Hospital! Excellent care for our cats over many years.

Great hospital, but call ahead, this place is always full.

Excellent service! Couldn’t recommend a better Vet! 10/10

Very friendly and doctor was very thorough.

Always friendly and helpful

Love every at Balboa.

Excellent service