San Francisco Animal Medical Center

Thank you SFAMC and Dr Buatois for your kind and compassionate care in a time of great need. Cricket the cat is very sick, but is very lucky to have you as her doctor. I am especially grateful for your attention to detail, your ability to communicate the seriousness of Cricket’s condition and your ability to make a creative and effective treatment plan. You are an amazing veterinarian. Thank you for all that you do to heal and save the lives of animals. I highly recommend Dr Buatois and SFAMC to anyone with a pet that they cherish!

This location used to house Pets Unlimited and then it housed the SPCA Hospital for awhile, also a stellar veterinary practice. Unfortunately I can’t recommend the new incarnation who interestingly co-opted my 5 star review of the long gone Pets Unlimited. They have in common the fact that they occupy the same building. I’m sure the vets here are very competent but I can’t say the same of their supporting staff. I just can’t recommend, it’s a shame. When you walk into this building expecting to be treated with the same compassion and respect you received at either PU or SPCA, you might not find it.

One of our kitties needed an emergency procedure and SFAMC was amazing in making time during a busy day to have him seen. They were transparent about the dangers and risks around his issue, patient with our questions and panic, and so lovely to interact with. My partner and I cannot recommend them enough and are so grateful for their constant updates and support of our furry friend.

Amazing care and compassion.

We recently lost our dear dog, Roscoe. He was 11 years old and had a good end to his life because of the brilliant vets at SF Animal Medical Center.

He had a great last couple of years because of Dr. Ybarra, who was referred to us by Dr. Reid. My husband and I both work with doctors and we have never, ever met a more accomplished, brilliant, thoughtful and seasoned veterinarian as Dr. Ybarra. Honestly, I seriously imagined how much I would have loved to work with her when I saw medical patients in the medical hospitals I used to work. Dr. Ybarra is the most savvy and gifted vet we have ever met. She saved his life many times and gave him more time as she was the only one who ever diagnosed him correctly. We can't express enough how incredible she is. She's also a dog whisper and Roscoe loved her. It is only because of her that Roscoe would go into that building without being afraid.

Unfortunately, Roscoe's symptoms and decline developed fast, and we decided he was suffering too much and could not wait for Dr. Ybarra or his other outside vet who does home visits to euthanize him. We brought him in to the office and saw Dr. Hutton. Roscoe is the third dog we have had to euthanize, and this was the best experience we have had. We were wary about doing this at the office, but Dr. Hutton was kind and warm and reassured us we were doing the right thing (though we had that assurance from Dr. Ybarra and his outside vet), but we needed that reassurance as having a pet die in this way is always excruciating and Roscoe's decline was swifter than we were prepared for. Her bedside manner was incredible, as well as the vet tech who offered Roscoe a tasty last meal. Unlike other pet passings, this process was beyond seamless, and the protocol Dr. Hutton used allowed Roscoe to pass quickly in a peaceful way. I thought we would be in the office for hours and yet the staff made this awful event as easy as it could be. To be clear, we did let staff know that we would be coming in and they were ready when we arrived. We've had nothing but good experiences with the phone and support staff as well, including one of the front desk staff chatting with us and our dogs while we were waiting for bad news in an earlier visit. The dogs loved how they gave them treats and attention.

We are forever in their debt and can't express our appreciation enough.

Im not writing a essay review on this spot but the only thing you need to know is that they couldn't even get something as simple as the size of the cone right. TWICE.even after being told the correct size we need multiple times. The vet also knowingly tried to do a bunch of unnecessary test that she knew were unnecessary proven when I confronted her on the logic of doing it. She then stuttered to find an answer but ultimately agreed that we did not need the test as the antibiotic would treat the infection we already knew our pet had. She then didn't even tell us if we were supposed to be in the room or not, not returning once, leading to us waking out.
DONT come here if you don't know anything about pet medicine cause cause they'll try to run up your bill and become petty when they cant. Thankfully my previous experience helped me but who know how many people they've taken advantage of at this place.

Had a fantastic experience here today. Was seen by Dr. Polidoro (surgery) and Dr. Bar (urgent care). The attention to detail, professionalism, and kindness they both showed to both me and my dog was exceptional. Highly recommend.

Very thoughtful providers. I rescued this guy some time ago and they have been there every time. 100x recommend

SF AMC and Dr. Maretzki are the best! My dog has been to several clinics in the Bay Area, including specialty hospitals, in my attempt to find her consistent specialty care after AIMSS unexpectedly closed in 2021.

We first saw Dr. Maretzki 6 months ago for some of my dog's liver and kidney issues. Right from the start, he put us at ease by communicating clearly and concisely in layman's terms. He is knowledgeable, transparent, and does not push unnecessary testing/services. As any pet parent of a senior dog knows, these costs can rack up quickly when you go to a specialty clinic.

Most recently, we returned to SF AMC for an emergency biopsy after my dog's primary vet thought she found a mass/obstruction in my dog's throat and could not intubate after trying multiple times. We called and pleaded with 5 other clinics to squeeze us in as soon as possible and David at SF AMC was the only one who came through and got us in at 9AM the following day. We are so thankful for the compassion that he showed us in our time of need - all of the other clinics we called didn't have any appointments for at least a week.

On the day of the procedure, Dr. Maretzki again explained everything in a way that was reassuring despite the significant risks. He had us wait in office and, to our surprise, called us in 30 minutes later and told us he had finished and my dog was stable and already waking up without complications. He had NO trouble intubating - there were no masses, nothing in the back of her throat, and no evidence of cancer! SF AMC rushed the cytology out and received results within a day, which confirmed his findings that it was nothing but a mild swollen throat. Now this is the kind of service, knowledge, and experience that every clinic should strive for.

We are so grateful to have found a doctor for our furbaby who is so incredibly skilled and efficient. Our only complaint is that we can only see Dr. Maretzki once a year for internal medicine maintenance checkups and can't request him for every procedure!

Where to begin? I will try to condense this review as much as possible. I love sf amc and their doctors.

I have known one of the internal medicine doctors, Dr. Ybarra, for a few years now. We worked together at a previous specialty practice and I saw first hand her high quality of care and compassion she had for each of her patients. I personally took my own pets to her. She diagnosed my 4month old puppy almost 3 years ago with renal dysplasia and because of her care and recommendations my dog is now 3 years and doing really well despite her disease. So when she left previous hospital to come to sf amc it wasn't even a question if whether I would make the drive to sf for her to continue caring for my dog.

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago, our other older dog started showing signs of illness and I took him to our local emergency (I live 45min away from sf amc) where he was diagnosed with severe kidney failure. You can imagine the stress and tears not knowing if our dog could recover or if we would even be able to take him home again. I contacted Dr. Ybarra asking about getting our dog transferred to sf. Amc and she reassured Me we could if its what we wanted and he would be in good hands.
We do have per insurance but our yearly limit is not very high for the amt of care and hospitalization our dog might need. Dr. Ybarra was amazing and really helped delegate our available funds to what was priority in getting our dog better if possible. This allows us to keep him in hospital for a longer amount of time. My heart is filled with gratitude and everyone at sf amc from the front desk to the ccu team who each showed kindness at such a heart wrenching time for us. Our dog went home yesterday and will continue care at sf amc for hopefully a long happy life.

This is a great veterinary clinic. They respect your philosophies and don't push treatments that the pet owner doesn't want. Their prices are reasonable and they have very competent veterinarians. And they're open on Saturdays! The location is perfect - grab lunch at a cafe in SF's Fillmore District, sit outside at an outdoor cafe with your dog (s) after the vet business is done.

I’ve been here twice and the staff is so helpful. Compared to other emergency vets I’ve been to, they provide the most information and prompt care.

Update:
Changing my review from 2 to 4 stars to better reflect how the situation played out inclusive of the weeks that followed. I'm leaving a summary of my original review to be certain the public has the information I wished I'd had initially, but would like to acknowledge that I've learned that a review doesn't solely fix problems and I've since spoken at length with the client service manager who has assured me that policy change will be implemented immediately. I've asked that they improve information, communication, and availability. That each patient receive informational sheets with hours, clinics they recommended outside of business hours, drugs administered/dosage/side effects, suggestions for care in a crunch etc.in order to feel supported outside of clinic hours. I've also asked that every patient go home with anti-nausea and hunger stimulants. Please make sure to hold this hospital accountable so that you and other future pet parents get the support that can't always be anticipated.

Original Review Summary:
I had a positive experience with Dr. Sabhlok as a person and a doctor. She was extremely loving with my cat and she's incredibly knowledgeable, compassionate, and has excellent bedside manner. However, the lack of communication and support from her and SFAMC resulted my cat suffering in his final days. There were numerous issues from day 1, including appointment cancellations and delays, with no response to my attempts to seek earlier treatment. Promised information about side effects and follow-up calls that were never received. The limited availability of oncology services meant navigating scary situations alone, resorting to online research instead of speaking with the doctor. Urgent situations outside of SFAMC and the Oncology dept.hours led to visits to unfamiliar vets who treated us poorly and charged thousands of additional dollars. A lot gets lost due to the small staff of the oncology department and my cat and I spent long days at the clinic where he wouldn't eat all day. This took way too much out of him. Oncology only works Mon-Thurs, but cancer doesn't take days off and our animals have lethal chemicals in their bodies. Transparency is imperative - If I'd known it would be like this on day 1, I would have been able to make the educated choice to go elsewhere, but it was made to seem that we'd always have access to help. Despite expressing concern, I received little response or assistance in critical moments, especially in the final week. The Friday before he died, they put me on with a doctor who never called back or filled the anti-nausea prescription she said she would, Saturday we were told we couldn't utilize emergency services as they were at max capacity, and Sunday they were closed, which put us in the compromising situation that eventually lead to his death. Dr. Sabhlok was wonderful in person and you will be in great hands if your animal’s cancer path is linear and uncomplicated. For our situation, we felt we didn't have enough access to help from her, her assistant (or nurse?), or SFAMC in the end as we struggled to keep my baby alive. We spent astronomical amounts of money and devoted so much of our time, so it was frustrating to not receive care outside of their chosen work hours. Being sent home with proper medications and information about them and feeling support from your doctor/clinic are crucial because you're already petrified when your knees deep in pet cancer and feel like you're losing your fur baby. Additionally, the way oncology is currently operating, it’s clear they are spread too thin. SFAMC should prioritize emergency oncology patients with toxic chemicals in their systems, hire a 2nd oncologist, and help oncology improve communication.

This clinic is wonderful They have seen my westie for emergencies-what a godsend-and her routine care. Kind, compassionate, answer stupid questions without laughing, just great Feel like my pet is safe because they are here So thanks

My poor baby got super sick and they were able to get him in quickly and diagnosed him in a timely manner. They put in an iv pack, onsite and take home meds, and visit, less than $350. Which I've gone to other vets and its been twice or three times as much. Few days later he was back to his normal self. The staff was wonderful, assuring, and calmed me while I was freaking out and frazzled. Thank you!

This is not a 24h emergency. I brought my dog at 3am this morning and there was nobody there, also nobody would answer the phone. Later that day I got a voicemail from the Center explaining that the ER doctor comes in at 7am. The information about the working hours is misleading and should be fixed. Luckily we managed to get timely help from another emergency but just thinking about other pets who could get in trouble because of this.

Not a 24/7 place - we had an emergency around 4am and they didn't answer the phone or the buzzer on the door. We received a call from them ~12 hours later and the person on the line said that "doctors come in at 7am". Not sure why would this be labeled as a 24/7 ER.