So happy that Lamorinda Animal Hospital is under the capable new ownership of Dr Nicki Schuman. NIcki is a tremendously talented vet. She combines her scientific veterinary skills with down-to-earth common sense. We have happily selected her as our vet of choice for two dogs over the years, and now a third foster dog that arrived yesterday! Read Less

The problem with vet clinics is some of the vets may be excellent and some not. I've been going to Four Seasons Animal Hospital for several years with different animals. The change of ownership to Lamorinda Animal Hospital seemed a non-factor as far as I was concerned. Unfortunately this is no longer the caseI brought my small lhaso-mix dog (Penny) in on a Saturday morning. We noticed Friday evening that she was limping on her front left paw. I trimmed the hair thinking maybe it was a fox tail or burs. I only found a small bleeding cut that I cleaned up. There was a lot of swelling and redness in her paw. Next morning there was more swelling going up her leg and she was lethargic and the leg was super painful but it was weight bearing (not broken). I appreciated the office's willingness to let us drop Penny off and do a phone consult. The office has always been accommodating. Dr Kuester called me back to give me her first findings- she wanted to sedate Penny, shave & clean, and see what was going on. Great. Green light goSecond call- kuester said there was a lot of bruising from her paw up her shoulder and in her chest and spreading to her abdomen. She suggested blood work and x-rays. She thought is was an autoimmune problem with blood clotting problems. I explained we moved to Briones literally 3 days earlier, where we have seen rattle snakes, and I thought maybe it was a bite. Kuester was very insistent that because she didn't see any "tracks" or puncture wounds- it most likely was not, nor could not be snake bite. When I told her I had a limited budget, she seemed put-off. Those of us with limited budgets are sensitive and when a vet begrudgingly suggests an alternate plan, we can hear it in their voice. She sent us home with pain meds, antibiotics and steroids. That visit cost $330 - exam, sedation, a few IM antibiotics, and take home meds. They charged me an extra "fit-in" fee. Nobody mentioned this surprise, but technically the bill was under our budget so seems like they felt it wasn't necessary to mention. 6 hours wasted, and one INCREDIBLY sick dog--- of course it was a snake bite and Kuester missed it. I took Penny to Sage later that evening as the redness and bruising got worse. They immediately id'd the problem as snake bite and after 24 hrs of hospitalize care and 2 vials of anti-venom, I'm happy to say Penny survived. That visit was over $2k. My problem is NOT with human error. Docs miss stuff all the time. What really drives me to writing this review (the FIRST negative review I've ever written, ever!) is the office's response to the incident. Kuester has not taken any responsibility for the misdiagnosis. In fact, she tried to argue it could still be an autoimmune problem even though after 2 vials ($850!) of anti-venom the dog is fine. Kuester should stick to working with animals and not try dealing with angry customers.  I called back on Monday I asked to speak to Dr Schuman or Pierce (our usual vet). Keep in mind, no one had bothered to call me by 10:30am to check on Penny.  Because the reception said so, I thought I was being transferred to Dr Schuman (owner) but Dr. Kuester took my call and tried to explain she was "just about to call me." (10:30am, office opens at 8am). Our conversation did not go well and I asked to speak to Dr Schuman. I was on hold for about 10 minutes and decided to call back. The reception was amazing and apologetic. I asked that Dr Schuman call me back after she and Dr Kuester got their stories straight. Later that afternoon I got a call back. (Pro-tip: when you have a really pissed off customer you ought to be proactive and tell them when to expect all call back)Dr Schuman was very patient and did listen. Her tone of voice was sympathetic. I admire her as an employer because, right or wrong, she really tried to stand behind Dr Kuester's services. Too bad the services were completely awful! All the vets who treated Penny at Sage Emergency said this was an obvious bite. They explained that snake bites may not always have the typical "tracks" or puncture- especially the baby snakes. When they see 90% of the visual symptoms they assume it's a bite. They can verify the venom in one blood test, which they did for Penny. Dr. Kuester never recommended this specific blood test to rule in or rule out snake bite. Sage Emergency has had 9 cases of snake bites in the past 2 weeks!! I think they know!  Schuman may be a wonderful vet. I know Tammi Pierce is an awesome vet; she doesn't work on Saturdays. If you go to Lamorinda Animal Hospital, you're rolling the dice; you have a 25% chance of having a doctor who likes to chase down rabbit holes and soak your wallet all at the expense of your pet. That's not a chance I can take anymore. (NOTE: According to Dr. Schuman, Lamorinda Animal Hospital does NOT STOCK ANTI-VENOM! Lesson learned as well- Go straight to Emergency if you suspect snake bite!) Read Less

Dr. Schuman is great! She has treated my dogs for years and I have followed her throughout her career. My dog does not like being handled by strangers and he loves her. She is attentive to their body language and helps them feel comfortable. I love how she takes the time to explain things and is honest about my options regarding diagnostics and treatment (including costs and the best option based on the circumstances of me and my dogs). I don't feel like she is pushing things just to make money. She is great at following up and getting back to me regarding questions as well. I have come across vets and staff who I would not trust working on my dog or taking them to the back, but I feel comfortable with her and her staffs abilities and that they have the best interest of my dogs in mind. They even let me bring my young dog for meet and greets so she could get comfortable in the clinic and with the staff. She loves it there! The facility is also fantastic! They have multiple areas for pets to be kept to avoid passing ailments and this is also great for my reactive dog because he can be kept somewhere quiet instead of a small room with a bunch of barking dogs. If I have to leave my dog there for treatment I feel at ease knowing they treat my dogs like their own, have the experience to handle emergencies, and have the facility to treat my dogs affectively and keep them safe. Read Less

I decided to try this place out because my current vet has limited hours and I really needed a vet to stay open past 5.  They were able to get me in the next day.  My dog had been scratching her ears for a couple weeks and I  wanted to have them checked out.  Plus, she needed a vaccine shot.  I arrived 10 minutes early for my apt.  The girl at the counter was nice and took me back in a room relatively soon.  I have a very anxious and nervous dog and she was shaking. Things were going fine, but then they made me wait almost an hour before getting seen by the vet ugh.  The whole time I am trying to calm my dog down and I was growing so frustrated I almost left at one point.  The vet tech came in a couple times to check in, but that only aggravated my dog more.  Finally after an hour the vet came in and was very apologetic and had an excuse, but still not a good first impression.  My dog of course was very scared and growling.  The vet proceeded to tell me all the stuff I needed to do and left again for another 10 minutes to bring me a quote for $544.  WTF  She wanted me to do blood test and all this crazy stuff no way!  I got it down to $213 which was still pricey ugh. I'm supposed to go back in two weeks to get the rest of her shots and I am sure they will try to get more $ of me.  After that, I don't think I will be back. On a positive note, the facility is clean and the staff were very nice.  If they didn't make me wait so long I think my experience would have been much better. Read Less

Dr. Schuman has been our vet for many years.  She is kind and compassionate, and funny, too!  Dr. Schuman makes recommendations based on the best interest of the pet, and treats them as if they were her own. Read Less

I recently changed vets for my 2 dogs to lamorinda and so far I have been very happy with them! Dr Schuman is great, even my border collie who is terrified with any vet office gets excited to see her! The front office staff has always been very helpful and polite on the phone and in person. Read Less

I called Lamorinda Animal Hospital this morning (Monday) at 9:34 a.m.  I explained that our elderly dog "Mulligan" who suffers from severe arthritis was in so much pain that he couldn't walk and and when he tried to re-position himself on his dog bed, he would yelp out in pain.I requested a refill of his pain medication as we were completely out. We were hoping to keep Mulligan comfortable for two more days so as a family we could take him and his canine sister to one of his favorite places .. the dog beach in Albany CA. We knew it is time to say "good-bye" but had hoped for this one last special outing. I shared this with the staff at Lamorinda Animal Hospital.By 2:43 p.m. (five hours later!), I had not heard back from them, so I placed a second call.  I was told that they had "been busy".  I reminded them of how much pain Mulligan was suffering.  They said they would get back to me.Again, I waited .. two hours! Concerned that Mulligan may have to spend the night without pain medication, I called at 4:31 (my third call of the day). It was getting close to closing time and commute traffic was getting worse.  "Oh.. the refill was filled within the last hour".  Why didn't anyone call me?! "The staff has been busy". (As an aside, their waiting room is never been standing room only and the parking lot is empty .. so I don't know what they are "busy" doing).Inexcusable.  Unacceptable. Cruel.  A dog can't even stand up because of excruciating pain and the staff is "too busy" to refill meds.I agree with a review written by Alex S. in February.  The reviews for Four Seasons Vet Hospital don't apply to this incompetent, uncaring and, yes, ambivalent staff.  My poor dog.... Read Less

Hands down some of the best care my cat has received in her 17 years of life. The receptionist was attentive and both interacted and laughed while my toddlers were toddlering in the lobby. I knew then we were in the right place. It's hard going anywhere with toddlers. They not only were kind to my two but had popcorn and mini water bottles on hand to entertain them. I can not say enough about Dr. Schuman. From the moment she walked in the room I felt like we were old friends. She managed to connect with me while she bonded with my sweet old lady cat. My cat has NEVER liked a vet until this visit. She was so content being there that Dr. Schuman could barely hear her heartbeat over her purrs. Unlike most vets we have been to, we were not hit with a barrage of testing and wallet emptying suggestions. She explained everything she was doing and why things were needed. I left feeling informed instead of bewildered. I highly recommend Lamorinda Animal Hospital and look forward to many years working with this amazing team. Read Less

Most amazing veterinary care in our area for certain. I know it sounds crazy but I honestly almost feel like the staff at Fourseasons is family with the way they treat and know my animals. They are prudent, thoughtful and amazing people. Read Less

The old reviews on here are correct four season recently underwent a large staff renewal and their new staff from end of 2016-current is terrible. Receptionist seem rather ambivalent  to their job and are constantly running to find the vet on staff that day. Last week 2/6/2017 I took my dog in for coughing and the vet told me she has a significant heart murmur and it could be heart failure. With this in mind we did and X-ray and I was suppose to get the results Saturday. After calling twice to check in on Saturday the vet continued to not get back to me after giving me such a horrible prognosis. She also told me it may not be heart failure but ripping in the lining just above her heart. Another scary thought. Now it's Monday and I called to finally have an answer. As I waiting on the phone to talk to dr. Julie she miss informed me that my dogs right side of the heart was enlarged and called me moments after we hung up to possibly correct herself and say the left side. And now they believe my dogs coughing the symptom we brought her in for is due to respiratory problems. Long story short we will not being going back, I asked her to send my dogs records to her normal doctors (who wasn't open at the time of my dogs coughing) and we will continue with ABC animal clinic in San Ramon. They are amazing :) Read Less

I've been going to this animal hospital for the past 6 years with my golden and now also have a chihuahua mix. Dr. Dana Schafer has been so wonderful! She helped us through a cancer treatment, has done acupuncture and is very sweet and patient with my aging boy. Both dogs are not big fans of vet visits, but Dr. Schafer does a wonderful job of keeping them calm. This office can be pricey for services, but they are so nice, professional and genuinely seem to care about my pups that it is worth it to pay a little more for the customer service and peace of mind! Read Less

I have waited a week to write this because my experience has been so painful. Our dog died unnecessarily because the vets at this clinic missed a rather clear diagnosis of IVDD. Our frenchie was 8 yrs old and I took her in due to shaking and accidents in the house, clearly she was in pain. The first vet, who has frenchies herself, put her on antibiotics, ran bloodwork and told me to wait a week. When her back legs started giving out and the accidents continued I called and took her back. The second vet, Dr. Pierce put her on some pain meds, took x-rays and said she couldn't find anything. When my dog continued to suffer and all 4 of her legs gave out I finally took her to VCA in SF. They took one look at my dog and her x-rays and clearly diagnosed IVDD. She stayed overnight on pain meds and was to have an MRI the next day. That night she had a seizure and never fully recovered. Had she been diagnosed correctly the first or even second visit to Four Seasons, she would be alive today. One week later vet Pierce called to check in on her, I told her she was gone. This person proceeded to tell me the x-rays were unclear and the urinary accidents were not a sign. Btw all of these are very clear and common signs of IVDD. She also said her own dog had IVDD and they had the surgery and she lived happily for 5 more years. This only heightened my grief. She was clearly trying to cover her inability to diagnose a common disease in frenchies. In so doing she made it extremely painful for me. We also paid them an exorbitant $900 for the blood test & x-ray and 2 visits. I'm not just livid, I'm filled with grief. If I had read this review I would have NEVER taken my dog to these people. Please be warned and I hope you never have to experience what we have gone through because of these inept and money grubbing people. Read Less

It is not possible for me to express how happy I am with the service I have received from Dr. Steffes. He will be our vet for all of our animals from this point going forward. We came to this vet when our Bearded Dragon Falcor began to "air gulp". Our previous vet was not available and this turned out to be a blessing. Dr. Steffes took the time to meet and talk with me about possible causes, test that could be run, and possible treatments. He was professional and upfront about costs and expected results from tests. From his suggestions we were able to discover an almost unheard of pericardial effusion condition along with other issues. Falcor most likely had only a few days to live. Dr. Steffes has been awesome about treatment, keeping in touch and updating us on results, and explaining upcoming steps. Our Bearded Dragon's pericardial effusion has been resolved (it appears), but we are still dealing with adenovirus and kidney issues. While the long term outlook does not look the best for Falcor her treatment and care have been nothing but the best. I have zero reservations about recommending Dr. Zachary Steffes to everyone. Actually I do have one reservation: I don't want everyone else taking up all his time in case I need his services for one of my animals. Only kidding. If you need a vet you cannot do better than to come here for your appointment. Read Less

Four season animal hospital has not been my primary vet I have only been to them in emergency situations due to their hours. After my experience today with Dr Zachary Steffes I will be changing vets. Dr Steffes was kind, he examined the dog for neck pain in the room sitting on the floor with my Gordon setter and I. My latest experiences with my other vets have been they always take the dog from you and you have no idea what's going on, they do not take time to talk to you like Dr Steffes. I highly recommend four seasons and Dr Steffes. Read Less

my dog was throwing up and he was only 3 months right when i got there i kept crying they saved my dogs life i give thanks for the docters that saved my life thank u thank u thank u he now is better and running all around so happy Read Less

I've unfortunately had to go to Four Seasons on several occasions for my dog, Kozmo. Each time, I believe the care was exceptional. In particular, Kozmo had a second bout of pancreatitis and Dr. Garcia has been amazing. Immediately upon entering the room, Dr. Garcia got on the floor to make Kozmo feel comfortable. And he's traded numerous emails with me answering questions to make sure Kozmo recovers. Four Seasons has a reputation of being expensive. As an emergency vet, I find their prices to be reasonable. And if I need to take my dog to a vet during the day, for anything other than a routine exam or shots, I want the finest care. And with all of their specialists, I believe that's what Four Seasons does. Lastly, the first time I went there (Kozmo's first bout of pancreatitis), they had me treat him at home versus an incredibly expensive stay at the hospital, which is what the first vet suggested. Kozmo recovered just fine, and was much happier at home with me. Read Less

Walking into this new beautiful facility made me hopeful that I'd receive good service and I was not disappointed. The staff was friendly and acted as if they new my dog already. The doctor visit was very professional and I received a lot of detailed information. I also learned that if my other animals ever needed emergency care, that they would be the best place to go. They clearly are the premiere vet hospital in the Bay Area. What a find! Read Less