Eye Care For Animals

I think the staff and veterinarian at Eye Care for Animals are wonderful! From the first appointment, to the subsequent, I have found everyone to be compassionate, and caring towards me and my dog. We thought our little girl Olivia (a dachshund) was going blind due to a cataract, but Dr. Konrad explained it wasn’t that, but rather a degenerative disease affecting her eye. While sad at the prospect, I was glad that Dr. Konrad was very thorough, and listened to all my concerns. Unfortunately the problem has no cure, but Dr. Konrad prescribed medication that has helped Olivia feel much more comfortable (while improving her vision). I am very appreciative that that are specialists such as Eye Care for Animals for our little girl. I will continue to use their services.

We brought in our Bulldog Lizzy for an eye ulcer that was not healing well. I am very happy with the attention given to my doggie. Dr. Fritz helped us get her ulcer feeling all better!

The short version: Avoid Eye Care for Animals. My experience is that they are in the business of selling hope, whether or not your pet will actually benefit from their costly surgeries. They make billing errors and prescription mistakes at the cost of your pet’s comfort and your pocketbook. I’m not the first who experienced these issues and won’t be the last. Take your business and your pets elsewhere.
The long version: Our dog, Arrow, is permanently blind in her left eye due to a genetic birth defect, yet gets along well and has a good quality of life. She has developed a cataract on her blind eye, but because she is not in any discomfort, removing the cataract would only be cosmetic. However, as can happen with any dog, she injured her eye while playing. We noticed recently that it was inflamed and that blood was pooling in the sclera and iris.
We took her to our local clinic where our veterinarian prescribed eye drops to heal the inflammation and bleeding. However, a week later her eye was the same, so I called the vet for guidance. She recommended visiting a veterinary ophthalmologist as soon as possible, and referred Dr. Chang or Dr. Marchione on the Westside. As an alternative, she mentioned an ophthalmology clinic in Pasadena called Eye Care for Animals.
Unable to book an appointment with her first recommendations, I was able to secure a spot at the Eye Care for Animals clinic with Dr. Hoffman. While booking the appointment, I explained that our dog’s blind eye was inflamed and bleeding from an injury despite treatment. The gentleman on the phone assured me he would call our vet’s office and have the medical records transferred. I was impressed by his professionalism, friendliness, their flexibility to see our dog on such short notice, and that they would request the paperwork transfer themselves.
While they were off to a good start, it was not to last. The next day my husband checked Arrow in at the clinic, and said the visit was to check her injured, bleeding eye. This was explained to the attending nurse, and written down by my husband on the chart provided.
Arrow went through a series of tests, my husband noting the process was procedural and automatic, with no acknowledgement as to the reason for the appointment and no explanation as to what the tests were (we researched afterwards).
The tests included a fluorescein stain for $ 50 and and tonometry for $ 59, on top of an «eye specialist exam» at a hefty $ 113. When Dr. Hoffman came into the examination room, my husband noted that before she examined Arrow or read the chart, she stated with confidence that Arrow was a «prime candidate» for cataract surgery with an «80% chance of regaining full vision.» After she examined Arrow’s eye, she reaffirmed the 80% odds of restored vision after surgery. She made no mention of the bleeding or injury until my husband inquired about it.
The doctor said she was unaware of this information, despite the chart comments, the transferred records, and examining our dog’s inflamed, bleeding eye. My husband mentioned cataract surgery being unnecessary as Arrow’s eye was not fully formed. Dr. Hoffman pressed her point, and said that at most we could pay an additional $ 800 to see if her retina was attached. If it was, we could proceed with the rest of the surgery, which would be $ 5000 to $ 6000. My husband was then given an in-​house credit card application.
He was discharged with two eye drops at $ 48 and $ 50 each, and walked out paying $ 320. We were also prescribed a third eye drop, which we got at a pharmacy. That ended up costing over $ 150. In all, our first visit was a whopping $ 470!
After my husband’s account, I had a feeling we were being taken for a ride. As if to confirm this, I noticed on the paperwork a prescription for Diclofenac, yet we had been given a bottle of Flurbiprofen in a canister labeled «Diclofenac.» I called the clinic and a nurse admitted they made an error, giving us the Flurbiprofen and charging us for Diclofenac. He told me to come back so I could «purchase a bottle of Diclofenac.» I declined this suggestion, instead wanting to know the price difference between the drugs. At first evasive, he admitted the Flurbiprofen was «about $ 20 cheaper.» I told him that I wanted a refund of the overcharge, but he said he would give us clinic credit. I insisted on a refund as we would not be returning. He then proceeded with the refund, which turned out to be $ 24 — half the original charge. (Dr. Hoffman later told my vet that she gives Flurbiprofen as a backup when she runs out of Diclofenac and that it’s the same thing, yet one is twice as much.)
Our experience was frustrating and costly, and our original issue never resolved. They overcharged us and tried to sell us on a procedure that is expensive and even unnecessary. This clinic is more focused on pushing a one-​size-​fits-​all plan on every patient who walks in the door.
You’ll still be a loving pet owner even if you forgo this money trap.

We animal owners in San Gabriel are truly blessed to have Dr. Allison Hoffman as a healing angel in our midst. Dr. Hoffman is brilliant, caring and effective in everything she does. I can never repay her for returning my dog’s vision.

As others have posted, these so called Veterinarians seem to be more interested in money than you pets health. We brought our 9 year old terrier in as he had cataracts in both eyes and was basically blind. After doing $ 1,000 worth of tests, we were told he was a «perfect» candidate for the surgery by both the doctor and the tech. We are not rich by any means, but thought as his owner we should try to give him back his eyesight, even though it would cost an additional $ 5500. We were so excited at the prospect of him being able to see again. When I picked up him after surgery, the doctor said everything went great, except for the little exception that he decided not to put lenses in his eye as the sack that holds the lens was too weak; in other words, he was basically blind now, with eye sight of ²⁰⁄₈₅₀. The doctor went onto say that this was COMMON in terriers, which doesn’t jive with being a «perfect» candidate, but of course at this point, we had given them our money. My poor dog was absolutely wiped out by the surgery, and we were devastated. It was never even mentioned that this was a possibility, taking out the cataracts, but not replacing the lens. The doctor had the nerve to go on and try to convince me that his eyesight was good now, as dogs «see» differently than us, but as anyone would know, without a lens in your eye, you can’t see. My advice to anyone considering this surgery is that if your pet can basically get around, then don’t do the surgery. Most animals can rely on their sense of smell and hearing (google it and you will see). Secondly, if you want to proceed, then do not use this vet chain as their priority is taking your money. The difficult part is that they are one of the few doing eye surgery for dogs. I will say that my dog is no longer running into stuff as much as before, so he probably «sees» shapes when its light. When its dark he can’t see at all. If you use them, bring your wallet and credit cards, and a lot of Kleenex. You will need them all, I assure you. Best of luck to you. Keep in mind that the surgery also opens up the possibility of eye infections and swelling, to the point of possible eye removal. Also consider that the medications continue on for a long time, and in some cased, forever. The $ 6000-​$ 7000 you spend is not the end of it.

WARNING: Don’t step foot in this place unless you have health insurance for your pet, because once the doctor diagnose your pet with eye problems and you do not have any pet health insurance, your heart is going to sink when you find out how many thousands of dollars they want to charge you to treat your pet.
On the other hand, if money is no issue to you then you are very fortunate and can stop reading this review (see below for costs).
I was charged about $ 230 for my pet’s eye exam/​consultation. It was a 5 minute exam and 10 minute consultation.
Here is the real heart breaking news: My pet has cataracts in both eyes. They charge about $ 4000 for cataract surgery per eye. But before that they charge around $ 900 for an ERG testing to see if he is a good candidate for surgery. So in total it will cost me just a little under $ 9,000 if I want my pet not to go blind.

My Teddy had retinal-​reattachment surgery in May; so we have been regularly coming here since then.
Our baby is 3 years old. He didn’t suffer any trauma; he just went blind from one day to the other. We actually didn’t know he was blind until the second vet visit because we noticed something was off. They recommended we visit Eye care for animals. The vet scheduled an appointment the same day.
If you are going through this, I know how heart breaking it is. Hang in there it will get better!
We arrived here like 10 minutes early. Receptionist was really nice. Vet tech took his weight and got some information.
When the Dr. Konrad told us he was completely blind because his retinas fell, I started balling my eyes out. They were honestly very compassionate. I love my baby so to think that he could look out the car window or go to the balcony and look outside broke my heart.
They recommended retinal reattachment surgery. They gave us an estimated and told us Dr. Hoffman, who performed the surgery, was about to leave on maternity leave. They would consult with her and see if she could do the surgery.
My husband took Teddy in the next morning so Dr. Hoffman could take a look at him. I don’t quite remember why, but my husband had to leave Teddy so she could take a look at him.
She called me and explained the surgery and told me that in his case his success rate was 80%. Told me that was a good rate, but to keep in mind that he could fall under that 20% and not recover his eye sight. She also explained all the complications. I started tearing up again. This whole situation was very stressful and heart breaking. She too was compassionate.
Surgery was around $ 8500 not including all the checkup visits that have followed.
We were hesitant because of the price. I kept thinking, «what if we spend all this money and he falls under the percent and doesn’t recover his eye sight?» It was the toughest decision we had to make.
We decided to go ahead with the surgery.
My husband dropped him off in the morning. It honestly felt like the longest day in my life. Dr. Hoffman called me when she got out of surgery and told me everything went perfectly. He had to stay a few hours just to recuperate. Marie, the nurse who helped Dr. Hoffmann during the surgery, texted me to tell me Teddy was ready and even sent me a picture.
The care after surgery care was very rigorous. Various medications had to be administer thought the day. We also had to stop him from shaking his head.
Within about 2 weeks, he recuperated his eye sight! Unfortunate, one eye started swelling. Dr. Konrad recommend another surgery, which would help with the swelling; medication; or extraction of that eye.
We decided to go the medication route. Luckily, it worked. The «bad eye» is stable, and he can see with his «good eye.»
He adapted so well. It wasn’t easy, but he can now walk outside and play fetch.
We are very fortunate to live about 20 minutes away. I have read about people traveling for far to come here.
All the vet techs are really nice. I wish I remembered all their names.
Since Dr. Hoffman left on maternity leave, we have only meet with her twice. The rest of our visits have been with Dr. Konrad and Dr. Fritz.

I called in just to ask a few questions and the the guy that answered the phone was not very helpful.
But I gave them a second shot and went in anyway.
The doctor was helpful but I really think the staff needs to get more organized after reading most of the reviews I see there is a reoccurring problem.
Make sure you really look at your receipts when you walk out. They might accidentally check you out with «eye care credit» when you really paid in cash. Then send you a bill 3 months later with accrued interest threatening to send me to collections. That’s exactly what happened in my case.
Also I got a second opinion and sure enough my dog did not need the $ 4000 surgery.
Needless to say I will not be recommending this place nor returning here again!

This place is very convenient if you live in The Pasadena area, but you will pay an exorbitant amount of money for a surgery your dog might not even need.
Our dog has a cataract as well as glaucoma in one eye. Dr. Hoffman gave her about three tests to determine that she has very high pressure in one eye but she also needed to have the cataract surgery done. She gave me some eye drops and handed me the proposed bill for a $ 6000 surgery, so said I should check with our dog’s neurologist to determine if she would be ok for surgery. I had a very strange feeling about the doctor, as if she were trying to make money off of the multitude of problems my dog has.
The neurologist cleared the dog for surgery but because of that gut feeling, I decided to try another doctor as a second opinion. I am so happy I did because he decided to treat the EMERGENT problem of glaucoma before even thinking about the cataract. The drops that Dr. Hoffman gave me were for glaucoma however she wanted to check the eye pressure six weeks later instead of ten days later like the second opinion doctor. The pressure in the dog’s eye was around 40, when it should be between 10 – 20. So this means the doctor didn’t care if my dog was incredibly uncomfortable for six weeks?!
The second opinion doctor also said that we shouldn’t even bother with cataract surgery because the dog is blind in that eye. So why didn’t Dr. Hoffman say the same thing?
I’m glad I had that gut feeling and decided to try another doctor because that surgery would have made our dog suffer more than she already has. Eye Care for Animals is very convenient for someone who lives in Pasadena, and they know it. I wouldn’t mind paying $ 6000 for a surgery if it made my dog more comfortable, but the thing is, she didn’t even need it and I am fairly sure the doctor knew that. I’d rather drive 45 minutes for my dog to get excellent care for her eyes and to a doctor who I trust.

This place misdiagnosed one of my dogs. Then, I took my other dog there for possible cataract surgery, and found the place to be over priced, not willing to accommodate emergencies & Dr. Hoffman has a terrible bedside manner — very matter of factly telling me that she has dogs die all the time during cataract surgery, but she’s fine with it because she’s statistically losing less than the national average. I realize it happens, but I’m not allowing someone to do surgery on my dog who wouldn’t even feel remorse if something bad happened to him. When I asked her specifics about post surgery & what to do if there’s an issue after hours, she also told me she became an eye doctor because there are no eye emergencies, so i could just call the next day.
Do yourself a favor & see Dr. Chang in West LA who is one of the best eye surgeons in the country. He not only restored my dog’s vision with cataract surgery, he did so in a kind & professional way. Oh, and he was thousands of dollars cheaper! And, his hospital is 24 hours. My dog had a post surgery complication in the middle of the night on a weekend (he had some bleeding post surgery) that was properly handled as the urgent situation that it was. So much for Ms. Hoffman saying there are no after hours emergencies.

Although I read many negative reviews I still decided to schedule an appt here because the location is extremely convenient. If they told me something serious I would seek a 2^nd opinion on the westside. I wanted to schedule an appt for a month away, on Sept 4^th. That’s actually a month and a day away. When I called, the male scheduler said they don’t have the Sept schedule yet and there isn’t a way he could call me back when the schedule is available. Why bothering scheduling advance appts?
What if I went to the appointment and they told me to follow-​up in 2 months? You can’t schedule the follow-​up in advance while you’re in the office because they don’t have a schedule that’s more than 4 weeks out? Are you kidding? That’s silly! Get organized, people!!! You’re running a business!!!
I go to the dermatologist and she says, «I’ll see you in 4 months.» I walk out to the receptionist and schedule my next appt. I go to the dentist and she says, «I’ll see you in 6 months.» Again, I walk out to the receptionist and schedule my next appt.
I’m organized, efficient and like to schedule in advance. Looks like I’ll be going to the westside.

After a couple of months of uncertainty about what was causing swelling and redness in my dog’s eye, we were referred to a specialist and decided on coming here. I was a little hesitant on coming here at first after reading some not so stellar reviews but I’m glad I did. The folks at the front desk are sweet as can be and the vet techs here are so nice. Appointments here do fill up really fast so if you need to get in, call ASAP. I called right after my dog’s vet appointment when we were referred to them and we didn’t get in until 12 days later and that was only because there was a cancellation right before I called. It seems like the typical is 2 – 3 weeks to get an appointment. I called other specialists as well and the time to get an appointment seems to be the same. And with all vet/​doctor offices, if it’s your first time, get there early for paperwork.
We got to see Dr. Fritz and the first time I met Dr. Fritz I felt like he could have been a touch friendlier but I figured he was having a tough day or something. He wasn’t rude or anything, he just seemed a little distant and tired. As long as he was kind to my dog and diagnosed my dog properly, I’m good. My pup was diagnosed with NGE, and Dr. Fritz took the time to explain to me about the condition, what to look out for, etc. All in all he spent probably a good 20 minutes with us, which was good. They gave us a prescription (per my request) and I got it filled outside. A month later I had my check up and my pup was doing much much better and Dr. Fritz seemed to be in a better mood so all in all a good visit. We have another visit in a few months to check up again and hopefully we get the all clear.
I’d complain about the cost, but we all know going to see the specialist is expensive. It is what it is. I spent $ 210.00 my first visit and about $ 100.00 in meds outside of there. The examination fee is $ 109.00 and re-​check is around $ 79.00.

I have taken my both my pug and my exotic short hair cat to see both Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Konrade, and I can’t praise them enough. They saved my cat’s eye from melting away from a recent herpes outbreak. It happened so quickly and they were able to get us in right away and were able to save his eye without surgery! Everyone there is always very friendly and very professional, and the office is very calming and inviting. I definitely recommend taking your pets here for any eye issue. The Fluff and I are eternally grateful! Thank you!!!

My dog STILL has a foxtail in his tear duct after very expensive surgery!!! I don’t know why I paid over $ 2000.00 and he still has discharge in his eye. Dr. Hoffman didn’t explain what she did for my dog’s surgery. She just told us that he still has a foxtail in his tear duct in his first followup after the surgery. She told us that the foxtail will be absorbed and it won’t cause a problem. But I don’t think so. She still charged us over $ 300.00 for easy checkup and 2 eye drops. I want my money back!

Simply the best doctors and staff ever. They take exceptional care in your pets.
I have a Shar pei/​English bulldog, named Bogart, who needed extensive eye tacking and surgery for his entropion (eyelashes grow inward).
Dr. Konrad and Dr. Hoffman were AMAZING! So helpful, knowledgeable and the results were better than I could have ever hoped for. The team and nurses, Nick and Bettina, were super nice and always there to answer any questions.
I will recommend this place only, to fellow animal lovers who need eye care for their pets.
I always felt confident and had no worry leaving my lil pup with this extraordinary team.

We drive over 2 hours to get here. Dr. Hoffman is one of only Veterinarians in the country that performs retinal reattachment surgery. She has worked on birds, snakes, hippos, rabbits, and more, but for us, she has taken care of our baby girl Jasmine the pug. We have gone to 3 other eye vets in San Diego, and while 1 of those was very good, no one comes close to Dr. Hoffman. The love and concern that she has given to Jasmine is priceless. After her first surgery, Jasmine had to spend the night being watched at a nearby hospital and Dr Hoffman called all through the night after doing surgeries all day. She then had to fly out for a conference the next day but kept in touch calling my personal cell phone to check on Jasmine. Jasmine ended up needing retinal reattachment on her other eye a month later. We did not hesitate to put her in Dr Hoffman’s hands again. Jasmine is OUR BABY. This time after surgery, she let us come in immediately after to hold and comfort her so she wouldn’t go through as much respiratory stress and it was because of this we were able to take back to the hotel for the night and care for her. I had to call Dr Hoffman a few hours later with nervous mommy concern, and she helped me put me at ease. She has done much more than we could ever repay her for. Yes, this is expensive, but while there are hundreds of eye vets trained to do cataract surgery in the area, she is top notch. Google her credentials. The Staff is amazing. Marie has taken very personal care of Jasmine. We are in a word, Grateful.

Nice staff clean center vet really knew her field diagnosis in 10 min wow educated me in treatment process and had pamphlets and web pages for dealing with diagnosis later… can’t say enough nice things and it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg

I had a really great experience here with my cat recently.
It was our first time in, so I made sure to arrive early to fill out paper work. There’s a large lot, so parking was no problem. The front staff was friendly at check in and check out. I wasn’t kept waiting long before being taken to the exam room.
Betina, the technician, was SO nice and SO sweet and handled my cat gently. She listened to everything I had to say about his problems.
Dr. Hoffman is great! She spent plenty of time with us, she also listened to all i had to say, she explained things thoroughly, and even came out to the lobby to check him again before we left.
I would definitely recommend you bring your pets here for their eye troubles. Your pet will be getting superior care.

Incredible.
Dr Konrad immediately impressed upon that she knew her stuff and was able to provide a range of affordable and practical options.
Our little guy has been having some real issues with his eyes and these guys thankfully knew what was up.
The staff were all consistently friendly and caring. The prices were reasonable.
The vibe of the place was extremely friendly and compassionate throughout.
I highly recommend this pet eyecare specialist.

We have been coming to Eye Care for Animals and Dr. Hoffman for 3 years.
At age 2 ½ our Border Collie/​Husky mix developed an infection that our local vet hospital (our regular vet was out of town) did not properly diagnose over 4 visits in 3 weeks. When we finally got to Eye Care for Animals we were distraught and feeling guilty because our dog was in so much pain. Dr. Hoffman and her staff treated our dog like their own. The technician got on the floor and let our 70 lb dog crawl up in his lap. She is usually very aloof but she just crawled in his lap like a cat… a VERY large lap. They also explained every thing they were doing and how the infection had caused secondary glaucoma. The staff helped to calm us down and we laughed that they might charge us for therapy services because we felt so guilty. They helped us understand it was nothing we did and reduced the pressure in her eyes to stop the pain.
The bill was cheaper than our regular vet. And they are really helpful and available by phone to answer our questions and concerns. I can’t count the times we have called and asked Bettina what seemed like silly questions but she is always patient and helpful.
A month ago, the medication stopped keeping the pressure down in her bad eye and we had to make the decision to take more drastic steps. Dr. Hoffman and Bettina carefully explained the surgery options, the costs and the possible side affects. We opted to have a silicon prosthetic put in her eye and so far the surgery has been a great success. Her pressure in her good eye is down to 3! And her non-​functioning eye is not giving her any problems. Permanently eliminating the pain caused by the pressure in her bad eye has improved her quality of life… our 5 ½ year old dog is even back to chasing the 3 year old Border Collie around our back acreage. She is doing great.
We had a surgery follow-​up appointment scheduled with Dr. Hoffman and the office called to tell us Dr. Hoffman was out of the country on an emergency. She was taking care of a rhinoceros that she had cared for in San Diego before it was moved to a wild game preserve. They gave us the option of waiting to see Dr. Hoffman or seeing Kricket Konrade. We saw Dr. Konrade and she was professional and took the time to help with some issues we were having following the eye surgery.
I would strongly recommend Dr. Hoffman and the Eye Care for Animals team for any one who is dealing with a pet suffering from eye infections or glaucoma.