Simi Valley Animal Hospital

Dr. Stirewalt is extremely knowledgeable and one of the most caring vets I've met.  She takes the time to thoroughly examine my dog each time she sees him and to help me understand exactly what she is finding and what she is doing.  I'm always amazed by her level of knowledge and the fact that she truly loves my dog as much as I do. I understand concerns over cost and Dr. Stirewalt is not your low cost vet.   However she has always been great about providing me with accurate estimates, explaining optimally what can be done, and also giving options understanding that as much as we love our pets, there are cost limitations. Read Less

Dr. Stirewalt and her staff are compassionate animal lovers and it shows in every interaction you have with them.I recently relocated to the Ventura county area and was getting frustrated going from vet to vet trying to find someone to work with that was thorough and ethical in their approach to veterinary medicine.I've been impressed by Dr. Stirewalt and her famous "head-to-toe" exams that take longer than most other vets.    Some veterinarians will just do a rapid five minute exam and miss many things by not taking the time to be thorough.    Dr. Stirewalt is able to notice the fine details that would have been missed at many vets.    She also sincerely LOVES animals and cares about them.   Her compassion is something that is really apparent upon the first time she meets your pet.  Dr. Stirewalt's prices are higher than many other vets in the area, however like anything in life - you get what you pay for.   After spending money at other vets that missed things and weren't thorough, I am of the philosophy that I'd rather pay more to have something done right, than pay less to have something done sloppy or have corners cut on the care of my much loved dogs.    One thing I've noticed, is that when you take a dog to Dr. Stirewalt for a dental, you are not getting the average dental experience.   I learned that Dr. Stirewalt opted to further her veterinary studies by working under a veterinary dental specialist for six months.    Her extra education in this particular area is clear when she goes over with you, the dental x-rays, the roots, the bone loss, the teeth, what was done, and wants to make the dental procedure transparent so you can learn what was going on in your dog's mouth.Her dentals are more expensive than many other vets - however, many other vets don't even personally do the dentals, they have a vet tech do the dentals (a little known secret that many pet owners don't know).   If you are taking your pet to get a dental somewhere, insist on knowing if your vet is personally doing the dental or if a vet tech is doing it.     You get what you pay for and although Dr. Stirewalt's dentals are more expensive, my dogs are getting a thoroughly well done job on their mouths (including the nerve blocks for pain and post op pain medication).   I love love love Dr. Stirewalt and highly recommend her to any pet owner that wants the top of the line best care for their pets.    If you live within an hour or two of Simi Valley, she is totally worth the drive. Read Less

This clinic is amazing when it comes to caring for medical rescue dogs, especially the camp Cocker rescue pups!  Dr. Stirewalt  is always there to receive these dogs doing thorough assessment and begin treatment immediately. She really goes beyond the call of duty to help these dogs with all their cocker spaniel problems! Thank you so much for taking good care of the Camp Cocker rescue dogs! Read Less

Wow...What an amazing place and the level of dedication by Dr. Stirewalt was truly above and beyond! Can't "Thank You" and your staff enough for the wonderful care you gave Theo! Camp Cocker Rescue grabs many dogs who are the most in need of medical attention from shelters and your assistance with this little guy was over the top! You cannot miss with Simi Valley Animal Hospital. Read Less

Huge "Thank you's" to Dr. Stirewalt for the caring, compassionate service that she provides to the rescue dogs of Camp Cocker Rescue.If Camp Cocker is impressed, you know that you will receive top care here and seeing the thoroughness provided to a rescue dog named Theo makes me realize that Simi Valley Animal Hospital is a viable alternative on the other side of the hill...Thank you, Dr. Stirewalt & staff... Read Less

Absolutely my fur babies new vet!! Responsive.. CLEAN.. Caring and fair. Both my pups easily acclimated to the new environment. My GSD they took special care letting her smell and settle in off lease to calm her anxiety. Feeling so calm knowing I have 1 office and 1 doctor to go too when my fur pups have a need. Highly recommend!! Read Less

I love love love Dr. Stirewalt and Simi Valley Animal hospital. She truly cares about my pets as much as I do and is always willing to take the time to answer my questions clearly, thoroughly and patiently. The office staff is also excellent, making me feel respected and special whether I'm talking to them on the phone or are in the office in person. I've been going to Simi Valley Animal hospital for about 10 years now and I highly recommend them and trust them completely with my pets. Read Less

I am SHOCKED to see some of these reviews?! Dr. Stirwalt is an AMAZING Vet. You are paying for quality not quantity when it comes to this facility. Dr. Stirwalt takes the time to examine each animal because she is looking after their well-being not a profit, trust me! I've been taking my boxer to see Dr. Stirwalt for over 10 years and she is a phenomenal doctor; she actually cares and wants to make sure your animal is healthy and happy. If you are looking for a quality, loving, intelligent doctor, this is the place for you! I highly recommend them! Read Less

Dr. Stirewalt is Amazing! She takes the time to get the complete history of you and your animal! I like how she cares for your animal and she is very detailed on her exams and tests. With her advice and treatment we are very happy to say Quiggly is doing so much better. She has a great staff and we all want to Thank you so much! Read Less

I can not agree with the other reviews.  I've been taking my dog Kona here for a year. Very friendly staff and doctor.  It's their job to make recommendations but doesn't seem out of line with guidelines or what you would get anywhere else. Quality people that care in my opinion Read Less

Dr. Stirewalt and her team are the best out there. She goes over and beyond for her clients and each pet taken there is treated as if it were her own. Love Dr. Stirewalt and wouldn't trust anyone else with our pets! Read Less

Expect to pay over double what you're quoted for "routine" procedures.My husband and I took our puppy to Simi Valley Animal Hospital because a friend had recommended Dr. Jennifer Stirewalt. After several visits, we noticed that every time we took our pup to this Dr. Stirewalt, we were up-charged. Wanting to be good puppy parents we just sucked it up and went with their suggestions. The $20 (very small jar) of puppy ass-wipes was the beginning of the end for us. The last straw was having our puppy spayed by Dr. Stirewalt. I called the office for a quote and was told it would be approximately $220 (not including pain meds). Ok - that sounded reasonable, so we booked her procedure. The morning of the procedure, they said it was standard practice for them to charge a little extra (a "cushion") in case they ran into complications, but that they would reimburse us at the end of the day if they didn't need to dip into the cushion. When I picked up my puppy at the end of the day, my $220 quote became a firm $535 charge!  We were charged over twice the amount quoted - due to "complications." What complications you ask? Well, apparently my dog's female parts are harder to get to than the typical dog - therefore, the procedure took longer and the doctor had to have another person scrub in, and the incision she had to make was twice as big as a normal cut, which required additional stitches, etc. When we questioned the doctor further on the "complications" line item charge she said, "anatomy is anatomy and surgery is surgery" and that they are running a business and have to be compensated for their time.  So if anatomy is anatomy and surgery is surgery, and this doctor is an experienced doctor, why was a "routine" procedure on a healthy normal puppy considered complicated?  As far as the office staff goes, Shannon especially, they are a pleasure to deal with. They always greeted our puppy with much enthusiasm. As for the care our puppy received, I do feel that she was treated properly while in their care.  But in this economy, we just cannot afford to continue taking our puppy to Dr. Stirewalt where we will be up-charged at every single visit - to the point of over double the quoted amount. Read Less

Im not going to give one star, because frankly, she is a VERY clever physician. Shes also very, very expensive, and for routine care, like shots and physicals, thats pretty unacceptable. One thing I did not like, either, is that she is one of those people that made me feel like a bad PET OWNER because I didnt want to pay a gazillion dollars for a work up for some benign, asymptomatic conditions my dog was experiencing. But, her deductive abilities are very good, and if money isnt so much an object and you value an intelligent doctor, you may want to consider this. Read Less

ALWAYS get a quote for treatment from here. And even then you will most likely see an added charge on your bill. This place seems to nickel and dime you for every little thing. Example 1)My dog needed a wart removed. They required me to drop her off in the morning and pick her up that evening allowing them to do it in between patients. They charged me a $20 "Day Stay" fee even though they requested I leave her there for the day. Example 2) After paying $209.60 for the above mentioned procedure, they charged me an additional $6.07 "suture removal" fee 2 weeks later. Shouldn't a suture removal be included in the initial fee? I thought all Post operative care is a FOLLOW UP to the initial procedure. Example 3) My dog had a lesion on her paw. I was faxed a quote at work and went over everything I wanted to have done that day. My boyfriend picked her up and showed me the itemized bill. I was shocked to see that not only did they add something I had not approved for $18 but it was Diphenydramine (which is the main ingredient in Benadryl) that I could have paid $2.47 for at the local grocery store. $18 may not seem like a lot but this seems to happen every time at this place and since December 2008 I have spent $1800 on my dog here. Any advice from them at this point on saving money would have been helpful and much appreciated. Example 4) 10 days after taking her for the above mentioned ailment (paw lesion) she started to walk funny and limp. My boyfriend got her in on an "Emergency" basis (they were open but didn't have any available appointments) and they diagnosed a shoulder sprain and gave her a shot of a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory. Also, her paw wasn't looking better so they explored it for a foreign body and changed her antibiotic. This diagnosis seems fairly straight forward. Here is what it cost us for them to get to that conclusion: Emergency Exam $95 Local Anesthesia $58 Foxtail Exploration $33.06 Blood Collection $22.50 Hazardous Waste Disposal $5.81 Basic Profile $108.81 Urine Collection $25.00 Urinalysis (in-house) $52.16 Metacam injection $56.45 Metacam(take-home) $43.50 Clavamox 375mg x28pills $112.84 They called my boyfriend at 11:58 to pick her up. When we arrived, there was a women their with her dog and she was checking out as well. We asked to speak to someone about the cost of our current and previous visits. A man came over and I explained that I was upset over some previous charges and that we felt we were being nickel and dimed. He was patient and listened to my concerns. As I was still talking to him Dr Stirewalt. came up and started reviewing the medications and dosages for my dog. As she was walking away she overheard the man at the front desk offering to refund us the $18 for the generic Benadryl paid for at a previous visit but she interupted and started to get really snotty and rude stating that she had taken care of my dog and that they closed 1/2 ago etc, I explained to her that I didn't feel she was exhibiting good customer service. Isn't treating animal emergencies what a vet does and I understand that they closed earlier but they were still checking out another patient and had 5 employees standing around. We had picked up our dog as soon as we got the phone call from their office. I paid the $595.13 and informed her we would not be back and she replied with "Fine". The following day my dog had an allergic reaction and we took her in to a 24 Hour Pet Emergency Clinic and couldn't believe they only charged $75 for an emergency visit. This reinforced my belief that Simi Valley Animal Hospital overcharges. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND choosing another office for your pets' needs. Read Less

My wife and I started using the Simi Valley Animal Hospital after seeing their impressive website. And we were impressed by the high tech and shininess of their office. But quickly realized how they can afford all that flash and show. By focusing on mandatory overpricing and scare tactics to convince unsuspecting pet owners that their animals need frivolous and expensive medications. Or aggressively pushing whatever food/drug brands their food/drug reps want them to. Ex. #1: My wife took our new puppy and 12yr old for their initial exam and shots. First they told my wife that the foods we were giving them were ok but this other brand was much better and blah blah blah and oh they just happen to sell that other brand. My wife did not ask what the dogs should be on. They feign concern and ask what your pets are on and then use that as a ploy to sell you their brand. During the exam of our senior dog they mentioned that older dogs can develop hip problems. And to reinforce this they started moving the dogs hind legs around. I was not there so I don't know exactly what they did but my wife said that my dog was in so much pain she was literally slamming her head against the table struggling to get away. Now this is a dog that may not run but trots happily around the dog park and will excitedly stand on her hind legs for extended periods of time if she thinks she'll get a treat. These are not actions of a dog with serious hip problems. But according to the vet she needed to be on joint medications. If I had been there I would have been hard pressed not to punch the vet for abusing my dog and walk out the door. Ex. #2: 6 months later the dogs are due for shots and needed them quickly since they were staying at a doggie motel for a week. So we figured they can't screw up standard vaccinations and we'd find another vet later. I scheduled the appt for the shots and when I took them in I was informed that they needed a vet consult to be given the shots... odd. So we go in and when the vet enters I ask why the dogs need to be seen by the vet for simple scheduled shots. I was informed by the vet that the dogs needed check ups every 6 months and they would not do even regularly scheduled shots without a check up. Seriously. But I could always go to a low cost shot clinic elsewhere. Yeah thanks for informing me of this after it's too late to go there before the dogs went to the doggie motel. So instead of two shots costing me $25 or so they cost me $125 for the shots and two consults with the vet. I have never EVER heard of a vet flat refusing to give basic vaccines after having had a check up only 6 months before. They did find some wax in my senior dogs ear. And suprisinglly they did not offer to overcharge me extra to clean the ear. Perhaps they sensed what a hostile mood I was in at that point and thought better of it. The vet had also started in with the "see how much I care by asking what food your dogs are eating" scam. But I made it abundantly clear that we were happy with the brand we were using and she didn't push theirs on me. I would absolutely NOT recommend this vet. The Angeles Animal Hospital down the street is nicer, quicker, cheaper, doesn't have a superior attitude and even though (like everyone else) they have a favored brand of food, they will advise you on it only when you ASK them for their advice. I was immensely satisfied with their service when doing the initial consult to change our dogs prescriptions over and will never set foot in the Simi Valley Animal Hospital again. Read Less