We are so happy to have our dogs taken care of by the wonderful staff at Kensington Vet Hospital! Our current dog is an anxious rescue mixed terrier —-not the easiest patient to deal with because she gets quite fearful and agitated. Dr Phimster is lovely with her (and us) and her staff were so gracious about allowing me to participate holding and comforting her during her exam and shots. It made all the difference in the world —neither my dog or I felt traumatized by what could have been a very difficult situation if they hadn’t been so understanding and let me help restrain her. Thank you all! From start to finish the whole process went smoothly. Read Less

Well organized, small and caring enough that you get to know the doctors and staff, and they get to know you and your pet. Large enough that appointments (at least during the day) are available when necessary. Very happy with Dr. Phimister and her team. Read Less

The practice is well run. Everyone is friendly. I took my cat Liam in with some specific concerns. The vet, Dr. Beers, answered my questions from a scientific point of view (which I appreciated), and made some observations that also gave me a new appreciation of my relationship with Liam. Read Less

I've had great experiences with KVH -- they've often squeezed me in for emergency visits for my senior feline in the last years of her life. And they sent me a lovely orchid when Muffin died. I highly recommend them. Read Less

My dog and cat have been given excellent care at Kensington Veterinary Clinic. The vets are very knowledgeable,kind tho the animals and accessible to me as an owner. Appointments are usually available quickly and the office staff is wonderful about finding appt. times with the my schedule. The office staff as well as the vets seem very interested in my pets' well-being. I am extremely pleased with the care my pets get at Kensington. Read Less

My timid little dog Ginger needed her teeth cleaned and my dog park friends recommended Kensington Vet, and I was very happy with them. First of all, they have a comfortable office space--a good amount of light and air, and the exam room had a big leather couch. The office staff were all very pleasant. Me and my two pups (the other for moral support) hung out together on the couch by the window until Dr. Beth came. She was pleasant and relaxed and took her time, helping me and the dogs get comfortable. The whole visit took place on the couch--no metal table required. She also asked me if I wanted to opt out of the temperature-taking, which I appreciated. Because my dog is so timid, they suggested we do the blood work the same day of the teeth cleaning, which I appreciated. It all went well, and she was home by 2 with a beautiful new smile! Read Less

Dr. Ma was very kind and showed concern for my young bichon, Timmy, and made a follow-up call and a couple of email follow-ups; however, I'm concerned about the cost, as I paid nearly $1,100 for his pneumonia or pneumonitis to be diagnosed and treated. This included three x-ray views and blood work, visit fees, an antiemetic shot, and some cough medicine. It's true that I feared he may have something stuck in his esophagus, but maybe the blood work could have waited, and I'm not sure he needed the antiemetic shot and the cough medicine. As I had explained, both the coughing and vomiting were very sporadic, and I never even needed to use the cough medicine. I took him to KVH because I couldn't get an appt with his usual vet, Dr. Han in Richmond, who is excellent with more reasonable prices. Read Less

We love Kensington Veterinary Hospital -- so lucky to have them in the neighborhood. Lovely staff and excellent care for our feline family members for many years now (we moved to Kensington in 2008). I felt like an anonymous face in the crowd at our last vet, but KVH feels like they're part of our community, and I actually look forward to seeing all the familiar friendly faces when we visit (regularly: we have 3 cats!) Read Less

Our regular vet and clinic were not available when our 15-year old kitty went into kidney failure,  we rushed her to the to Kensington Veterinary Hospital. They graciously found time for us and were so caring from the phone to at the clinic. Dr. Beth Phimister and her team showed such patience and sensitivity to the difficult decisions we needed to make. Explaining everything with honesty and caring. Our little cat was treated with dignity and tenderness throughout. We are so grateful to Beth Phimister and her team. Read Less

I really love this vet hospital. They have separate doors and waiting rooms for cats and dogs. They also understand your budget versus necessary tests and give you options when you're trying to figure out what's wrong with your animal.  They can do a lot of In-House blood work tests so they get the results in 30 or 45 minutes while you wait which is also awesome. I think the doctors here are really really caring, and they follow up with phone calls to see how things are going. Read Less

Kensington Veterinary Hospital and their entire staff has been wonderful with both of our pets.  She was amazing when my kitty Boo was at her end of life.  When we chose to get a dog,  our first stop was Beth and her team.  She has always treated us with compassion and respect.   She has helped us with all of the issues that our dog has had (small and large),  and given us great advice when we needed it.  Plus you can go across the circle and grab a bite at the pub if you have to wait for a procedure. :) Read Less

Our sweet rescue dog has received wonderful care with Dr. Phimister. She is kind, patient, and up on what the most recent and best approaches are for veterinary care. She and her fine staff have helped Lili through an intestinal infection, and resolved an incontinence issue (sorry, Lili). I highly recommend Kensington Veterinary Hospital for your pet. Read Less

Beth Phimister is a thoughtful, caring veterinarian who has given us outstanding service for our dogs over several years.  I cannot imagine where the negative reviews are coming from - I would guess that the patients' owners, not the vet, are the problem.  We have never had anything but polite and thoughtful care and service from the vet or the staff. Read Less

I think this place exceeds any other place I have taken my beautiful dog.  Dr. Phimister is the best.  She knows my dog well and she knows how much my dog means to me.  She is always compassionate and caring.  It's hard to read any negative reviews that I see because it just doesn't come close to the care and love that my dog has been given.  It makes me think that some people just can not be pleased no matter what someone does to help their pet.I have never felt anything but complete confidence in the ability of Dr. Phimister to care for my dog.  My dog is the most important thing in my life and I feel she is in the best of care when I bring her to Dr. Phimister and staff.  Addy at the front desk is so sweet and she knows that it's important to make room for an appointment when it's really needed.  If I have an issue that I feel my dog needs to be seen right away, Addy makes it happen and that means everything to me.  My dog is pushing 15yrs old and I need to know that I can call and get an appointment quick and not be seen by any number of different vets in some clinic.  I can always rely on the fact that I can get an appointment with Dr. Phimister.  Thank you so much for giving me and my dog the love and care that will give my dog the quality of life she deserves in her golden age yrs.  It means the world to me to have the best for my girl ! Read Less

I have spent over 2500$ over the last 5 months here with Dr. Beers and Dr. Phimister.I recently tried a final time to get a good simple path of treatment for my dog's skin issues. While Dr. Phimister might have been technically correct in all her recommendations for the dog, it took multiple visits before I was able to get someone to do tests like skin scrapings to narrow down the source of my dog's issues.I was disappointed in Dr. Phimister's unprofessional manner during my last visit. I will be looking for another vet after this round of antibiotics. I believe that this staff and clinic, at the end of the day, simply do not care about their patients, who are both the animal and the owner. It's all about the money they can wring out of you as fast as they can. They will not take the time to go over details for treatment. I was billed and rushed out of there as fast as humanly possible.My core source of dissatisfaction? I was treated as if I were asking for too much when simply inquiring about dose schedules and staying informed of her diagnosis for my dog. I was not asking to be trained as a doctor, but asking for simple one sentence descriptions of the treatment such as "because of x, we will do y." She literally said, "You are asking me to repeat this for the 4th time," (perhaps 3rd time? and is that so terrible when I am being given a large amount of information at once?) and "If you are looking for eastern medicine, you will not find it here." with hostile body language-- out of nowhere during our conversation.I work in customer management, and the tone taken with me was not acceptable. Dr. Phimister and her team made it clear that she did not value keeping me as a client, so I will be looking elsewhere for kind, compassionate, vet care. Go elsewhere, there are plenty of options. I will going back to Pets Referral. Read Less

My dog Petey is so happy at Kensington vet that he cries when we get there; he wants to go in and see all the people who work there because they're so nice to him.  He loves Dr. Phimister and I am very happy with her and Dr. Beers.The staff is extremely pleasant, helpful and efficient. Read Less

I am extremely disappointed in the way our one-year-old yellow lab was treated recently. We have been loyal to the Kensington Vet Hospital for nearly 15 years, and loved Dr. Vial who earned our trust and appreciation for the way she handled our dogs over the years. In the past year, our neighbor asked about our vet and we gladly recommended KVH. However, recently we heard back from our neighbor that she was very disappointed with their service and would seek a new vet. After my most recent experience, we will as well. As you know, animals can become quite expensive when they have medical needs. Yet, when I brought in our lab, who was limping with her front left leg, it was suggested that she undergo x-rays for a diagnosis. Reasonable enough. But when I ended up paying more than $600 she sent the x-rays for analysis to some facility in Walnut Creek, which drew no conclusions on why our puppy is limping. All the vet (Dr. Beers) told me was if she's not better in two weeks, she'll have to see an orthopedic. In other words, she has no expertise in diagnosing yet she didn't send me directly to an orthopedic. Instead, she made money by x-raying our dog in her offices, knowing that quite possibly I would have to pay again to see an orthopedic vet. To me, this was irresponsible on her part, with no sensitivity whatsoever about how expensive this might be since there is no viable insurance for such things. Why didn't see send us directly to an orthopedic vet? She had no answer for me. Besides venting here, I just wanted to tell fellow Yelpsters that you should beware: this is NOT the same Kensington Vet Hospital that Dr. Vial operated with such integrity and professionalism.Read Less

We moved to the East Bay two years ago and have taken our two dogs there since.  The vets are kind, caring and knowledgeable.  The offices are clean and the rooms are a good size.  I like the separate entrances for dogs and cats.  The staff are always helpful and they call promptly with results for tests.  I didn't find that they did unnecessary testing here and in fact they are up to date with vaccination protocols and thinking.  I greatly appreciate that. My older dog who doesn't like going to the vet really likes the vets here, and that definitely factors into this review. Read Less

Our dog Lili loves this place. Although she's a rescue, and normally skittish about being left behind, the friendly, professional staff know just how to reassure her. She likes how Dr. Phimster sits down on the floor with her, nose to nose, so to speak, and gets to know her a bit before she gives her a physical exam. A few years back, when the time came to let our beloved Mango go, we could not have asked for more compassionate care than they provided us. Although it's a Veterinary Hospital, the ambience is relaxing and welcoming - it feels like an integral part of the neighborhood. I could not recommend it more highly. Read Less

If a negative star rating would be possible, then it would certainly apply in this case.  I was referred by my Vet to a Veterinary Dentist in Marin to do a repair the oronasal fistula with an upper labial flap.  This is usually not an easy feat for a regular Veterinarian, but I remembered Dr Beers and she has always been very good.  Unfortunately , she was not available to do the procedure but said the this Ms Phimister would be the one to do a good job.It was a nightmare.  There was absolutely zero communication from the Veterinarian during the case.  They did that she would be calling me and give me an update on my 13 year old Bichon Frise.  She never called .  A Vet tech called.  After the procedure I was not updated by the Vet, but again by the tech and she said that she completed this whole procedure. I was stunned. The Vet was very defensive and it is very clear that she has no compassion for the animal and the fear of the owner fretting over the heath of the beloved family member.  She is only there for the money.  I did receive the copy of the report and it stated that the owner (me) was rude.Maybe I forgot to mention that she received the incorrect pain medication as well and we had to wait forever to get that mistake corrected.  If you care for your pet and want very good care, please avoid this so called Vet at all cost.  I will file a complaint against this person with the board at my earliest convince. Hey, at least my dog is alive.I am an ICU Nurse ,but the MD's always speak to the family members after surgery of even the most minor concern.  Mrs Phimister does not believe in this practice.  More skill, more compassion and care is what this place needs.  Worst Vet I have ever come across.  I have since spoken to many Veterinarians as a second and third opinion and all feel that this is not acceptable practice. Read Less

Very compassionate staff all around from the beautiful smiling faces of the reception to the knowledgeable and compassionate doctors! They are reasonably priced for the high quality services they offer, willing to go over options with you and recommend options if you can't afford the needed treatment (Care Credit!! Lifesaver). This small practice has gained a lot of popularity (not surprising as they are all so good at what they do!) so make sure you call ahead and schedule your option with as much notice as possible. Also, I love the fact that they have a separate cat and dog entrance, it makes life easier for everyone :DKeep up the good work, you make your entire community proud!!Amanda Olson Read Less

Dr. Verial I think was original vet back in the day we used to come here. Staff took care of our guy who wasn't eating. Excellent follow through clean modern. fit us right in. and still had our information from many years and 2 doggies ago!!!!! Read Less

I really like the Kensington Veterinary Hospital for a number of reasons:1. Small office, personalized service. I think Addie at the reception desk is the epitome of competent/friendly/warm/a great hostess/empathic/efficient. 2. Location is great because it is close to my house (less travel time with a screaming cat in the car = great) with plenty of parking.3. Clean, simple office. Used to be covered in pet photos when the previous owners were in charge. Now it is neutral, painted walls with minimal artwork that is relaxing. I like this version better.4. Prices seem to be quite fair5. Actual services rendered are very well done. Dr. Phimister has done a few procedures on my dogs, from teeth and growth removal, to actual cancerous lump removal. I know they are in good hands. Advice is always solid and reasonable. I'm grateful for her manner and her expertise. Read Less

Dr. Beth Phimister and the staff have been great for our cats. We have two nearly 16 years old and two one year olds. We appreciate the loving care our cats have gotten, check ups and emergencies. And its just down the hill! Read Less

The firs thing I noticed was the friendly and professional staff amidst the clean and beautiful building! My new rescue maine coon kitten (Phillip) and I had a great time! I am very glad this is his new vet home and we both look forward to our visits. Read Less