Veterinary House Calls

We called this office because our dog was in considerable pain after having surgery 6 days ago. We wanted someone to examine him and relieve his pain in order to make a decision as to whether we needed to take him back to Santa Cruz, an hour away, where the surgery had been preformed. The doctor we spoke with on the phone was arrogant and rude. No compassion or social skills. He wanted to argue that Santa Cruz vet was only 35 minutes away more than he was interested in helping us and our pet in distress. I don’t know if they are good vets but I would not call them again based on this experience.

At first I thought he was just grouchy, but he was horrible when my elderly cat was euthanized. He refused to wait the 30 minutes it would have taken me to come home or to come back after his regular rotation, he screamed at me over the phone while I was making the difficult decision to put my cat down. My husband and I adopted kittens recently and would never use Dr. Claghorn again.

Oh my goodness… I was just sitting here this morning with my toddler as we cuddled with our orange tabby cat and a memory of dealing with this horrible vet from over 10 years ago popped into my mind! I have never written a review for anything, which is ridiculous considering how heavily I rely on the reviews of others. Well, this will be my first review, unfortunately it won’t be a nice one…
Back in late 2004 when I was preparing to graduate from the Defense Language Institute, an old cat appeared at my door where I was living at Fort Ord. I started feeding him and it became apparent he had no home and was ill. I took him to a vet (not the vet I’m reviewing) and they told me he had diabetes. I left the vet with a viles of insulin, needles, etc. After a little while, I began to accept the fact that I could not afford to care for this animal let alone drag him along to my next duty station. I decided the most humane thing to do was to have him euthanized. I really loved this little cat, and I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible, so when I saw I could have him euthanized at home with Dr. Claghorn, I thought that might be kinder way to let him go. I was wrong.
This vet showed up, already knowing I wanted the cat euthanized, but then started questioning whether I wanted him examined instead. Already feeling terribly guilty about my decision to euthanize and being very young, I was confused and unsure of how to respond… so he responded by yelling at me! I called my mom crying, she told me to just have him put the cat down. I do regret going through with it… honestly, if I could do it over again, I’d order that SOB out of my house and maybe give him a kick in the tail as he left.
If you are reading this Jim Claghorn, obviously you have a problem with unchecked anger. I hope that you find peace and healing in your life.

One of the worst people I’ve ever met! Barged into my house, vey rude and beligerent. Absolutely NO bedside manner. Quick exam and was out if the door like lightening. I would never recommend him and never use him again. Animals and animal owners need a gentle caring person who is patient and explains things well, he mumbled something, shouted at me and that was the appointment. This guy needs to get a job as a TSA agent or a debt collector!!! He’s mean!

My sister-​in-​law recommended Dr. Claghorn to us and I’m so glad she did. We called him to examine an adult cat our neighbor gave us. He returned our initial phone call within a few hours and scheduled an appointment for the next day. He arrived on time and was great with our cat. We scheduled a time for him to come back in two weeks to remove a very small growth on the cat’s cheek.
Well, three days later the growth had grown a few inches in a couple days and was starting to ooze. We called Dr. Claghorn back and he was more than happy to reschedule and he came that same day to remove what turned out to be an abscess. He was very thorough in explaining how to give the antiobiotics he prescribed.
I was very satisfied with the price, especially since it meant I didn’t have to deal with the stress of transporting the cat. We’ll definitely be calling on him for future care of the cat.

I’ve used Dr. Claghorn off and on for over 20 years. Whenever the end of our pet’s lives have reached it’s end, he has come to put them down for us. There is no greater gift of compassion and love we can give our furry family members. Last year, my cat had to be put to sleep because she had cancer (I took her to a different clinic, and wasn’t as pleased as I’d hoped… they gave her an infection from a biopsy.)
Dr. Claghorn was kind, and compassionate, and my cat passed very peacefully at home. This gave her litter mate time to sniff her body and for us to bury her at home.
This week, I grew concerned that my other cat could have kidney problems. My kitty was adopted as a feral, so she is terrified of strangers– yet the sweetest feline if I am holding her. Taking her to a veterinarian’s office wasn’t the best option. Dr. Claghorn came to my house in South Salinas at a charge of $ 75.00, to include the exam. He had to sedate my cat, to keep her calm enough to draw blood and urine. It felt so reassuring to know she was being worked on in her familiar surroundings.
I find that Dr. Claghorn is more on the «holistic» side, and I like that. His bedside manner with animals is superb. It’s obvious that he really cares about them. He is gentle and patient. His bedside manner with the humans could, possible, seem a little less soft. He says it like it is, and doesn’t sugar coat it. I’m okay with it, because I trust him.
For a complete blood panel, pills, sedation, a few extra goodies, the whole bill came to about $ 382.00. It’s an «ouch» but I’m pretty sure that’s what I’d pay at any other clinic. My cat is family, and if that’s what it takes to make her comfortable and to potentially get more time from her, then we pay it. I wish he took credit cards, but he doesn’t– cash or check only.
He called, within 12 hours, with her lab results… first thing in the morning. I’ve never had that fast of a response with other vet clinics. He confirmed she has kidney disease and patiently explained all of her options. He’s convinced me that it’s not a death sentence, so we’ll try a special diet for her.
I find the home veterinary calls to be a really convenient and I highly recommend him.