VCA Angel Animal Hospital

Thank you for all of the consideration and help that you gave me and my parrot, Captain Jack. I will continue to return to this location.

I have belatedly learned about Dr. D’s death. She saw me through the best and the worst, from adopting a new pet to injuries, disease, and even euthanasia. She did so much good, for so many creatures. Hers was a life well-​lived, spent in service to those who cannot advocate for themselves. May her soul rest in peace, surrounded by the pets she protected and some that I loved. I met the new vet today, and he seems like a kind, experienced and knowledgeable man. I’ll continue to bring my beloved cat to Angel Animal Clinic.

I have been taking my furbaby’s to this VCA every since I moved here over 3 years ago. I used to go the VCA in Campbell too. The new Director and Vet Dr Ball is a great guy and very thorough. Unfortunately he had to break the news to me that my bengal has fibroma and just a few months to live. He did it in the kindest way possible and I do appreciate everything all of the staff here has done for me and my baby.
It’s always clean and decorated for which ever holiday it is. It’s also affordable and they work with the SPCA and Humane society with free first pet exam after you adopt a pet. I have never had any wait time like other people complained about.

My girlfriend and I got our first cat together and this place was recommended by the Humane Society. We figured we would give it a shot and have not been disappointed. They have fast, friendly, helpful service. We even got there a few minutes early for one visit and were finished by the appointment time. If you have a pet in the San Diego area, I would definitely recommend the VCA Hospital.

I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of Dr. D. She and Daniel, the tech, took the best care of my designer rescue dog, Wylie. Over the years, they helped cure him of out of control giardia that he had from the rescue and took months to control; they followed him closely when he swallowed a sharp object without going overboard, e.g. immediate surgery, and stitched him up when he cut himself trying to get a squirrel in a tree. I am saddened to hear this news and so appreciative of the care they provided.

Been here several times and I’m officially looking for a new vet.
I won’t give this place 1 star because I’ve always found the staff to be friendly, but that’s about it for positives.
I called yesterday to make an appointment because my dog has had some skin issues as of late and I wanted to get it checked out. What luck! They had an appointment available the very next day so I book it. I had well over an hour free so I figured it’d be no problem.
I arrived at the office 15 minutes early and sit, and sit, and continue to sit. After 45 minutes (30 past my scheduled appointment time) I’m called into the «little waiting room» where my dog is weighed and his temperature is taken. This is done every time he comes in even if I don’t want them to (so they can add $ 55 physical to the bill). I’m then told by the staff member that they’re going to get my dogs chart and they leave.
10 minutes goes by and I hear the employee running around and talking to other people… and I thought they were grabbing my dogs chart? Why couldn’t they have just mentioned they they had another pet (s)to check in on?
Finally, A different staff member comes in and says is your dog just getting vaccinations today? No vaccinations for me. Don’t need them thanks. You must have the wrong dogs chart. The staff member leaves and another 10 minutes goes by. I tell the front desk person that I am leaving and not to bother rescheduling us for another visit.

My heart goes out to the staff and family of Dr. D. I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear the tragic news. She will be missed. She was loved and well respected by my husband, my cats and myself. She always treated us with respect and compassion. XOXO Penni &
Paul

Dr. D and her daughter are now with the Angels. For the past 25 years Dr. D. and the staff of VCA Angel Hospital treated my past pets and my current pet, I will forever be grateful to her. Rest in Peace mother and daughter. Heaven has two more Angels.

We have been taking my dogs to VCA Angel to Dr D for 18 years, and the loss we feel at the moment is so tremendous. I had to call this morning for a medication refill and could hardly speak to the office on the phone. The only thing that makes me smile a bit is that Dr D is now with Omo and Miko, two of our dogs that she was able to help transition to a painfree afterlife. My thoughts and prayers go out to the staff at VCA Angel, and to the family. All of us here in North Park are devastated by this loss!

Dr D. Saved my dog. If it wasnt for her and her amazing staff OSO would not be here today! Sad to hear about her loss, but shes in a better place.

My condolences for Dr. D (and her daughter) as i called her. Thank you for the services you provided for Mele our chocolate lab. You now are with so many pets that you have helped. Please accept our (The Whitakers) sincerest condolences VCA Northpark.
Im very shocked :(

I am so sorry to hear about Dr. D. She has taken care of my many dogs over the past 29 years. Even though I didn’t always want to spend the money, she worked with us to get our pups the best care. She will be greatly missed!

I am SO very sorry for your loss. R.I.P. Dr. Defenbaugh. Fly with the Angels.

We recently adopted a new puppy from a rescue organization and hadn’t gotten him to a new vet visit yet. He got diarrhea and we were calling around trying to get him an appointment somewhere the same day. He had an upcoming appointment in 1 week at a different vet and they couldn’t manage to squeeze him in for a sick visit. VCA Angel took him within two hours after many others turned us down! We got a thorough exam and good care from Dr. D. I felt that she explained the recommended treatments well and advised appropriate treatments. At the end of the visit, the total was about $ 200 which is a bit pricey, but that included a physical exam ($ 55), fecal test ($ 60), medications and prescription diet. So in all, we got a lot of bang for our buck. The location is convenient on 30^th street with a designated parking lot.

The normal check-​up costs $ 55+, but it is not the place where you can easily walk out without spending two hundred dollars. But I will explain why I still give it 4 stars in the last paragraph.
It is a well-​staffed hospital: 2 (at least I guess) front-​desk staff, 1 tech staff /​nurse and 1 manager to serve 1 doctor. Plus a lot of expenses to run a clinic/​hospital (it is not small), the doctor just couldn’t sustain her business if she was only making $ ⁵⁵⁄₂₀ mins (I assume it is the duration of a regular appointment). Unless your pet is 101% healthy (then why s/​he needs to see a vet?), Dr Defenbaugh can always find something from your pet and demand further exam/​checking. My experience: she spoke fairy fast, and wasn’t good or clear enough in explaining things. In just a half second her nurse already came in and took whatever sample she needed from my pet. A few times I told her ‘no’ for this-​or-​that exam, and I needed looking up more info and decided later.
Dr D and her nurse don’t normally sugar-​coat their words, plus her rather obvious intention in making every appointment being profitable, you won’t feel too warm in this place.
But to be fair, Dr D did give me a price break on some medicine (as my pet has a chronic illness and needs multiple check-​ups and lots of medicine), and had directly talked to a vet specialist after she knew that I wasn’t able to get an early appointment from him. The hospital manager Raquel is superb, the tech staff Daniel is very knowledgeable although not a warm person. The front-​staff are friendly and very responsible. So Dr D has hired the right persons and they are doing their job very good.

Full disclosure first: VCA is like the Kaiser for our furry friends. We continue to go there for the sole convenience. If my VCA doesn’t have appointments available, I can try any other VCA without much problem.
However out of the 4 VCA’s I’ve taken my fur baby to, this one has to be one of least efficient. The actual staff themselves are very very friendly. I just believe they’re understaffed. The poor doc was bouncing between three rooms during our entire time. I knew this because the walls are so paper thin you can hear the conversations in the exam rooms next to you. I’m used to waiting a stupidly long time for a vet since I know appointments are only guidelines and the later in the afternoon you schedule, the more likely they’ll be running behind. However, wouldn’t it be easier if the vet could focus on one patient at a time?
Pure logistics: plenty of parking in their small lot, muy importante in North Park. Their waiting room is super small without much to stare at. And they had signs everywhere pointing out that there were no public restrooms.

We have used this Vet only once and our experience was not pleasant. We found Dr. Defenbaugh to be extremely short and condescending with very poor listening skills. Even in our attempts to introduce ourselves to her and build a connection she showed little to no interest in who we were. Her «bedside manner» was also very poor. The only reason this location is receiving 2 stars is due to her front desk staff being friendly and easy to connect with. Other than that, we would not recommend her to anyone.

I hardly ever have a good experience going to the vet and after reading the reviews about this office I was weary. I must say everyone’s interpretation on their experience will be different. In my case this was such a wonderfully pleasant experience.
I was greeted by two friendly vet techs and they helped me quickly. The office was very well taken care of. Now for the vet, Dr. Dressler was amazing! She was very compassionate w/​Joey who was very cranky due to fleas. She wasn’t pushy took her time with my joey, hubby and I. She is a very honest and humble person and I loved her service. She answered every question with practical answers. She did offer other services but knew this was our main concern and didn’t bother us with it again. I will come back here again.

I see this Veterinarian has gotten reviews similar to the one I wrote (the only one I wrote). Laura V. below my review is perhaps a shill. People if you feel like your animal is not being treated appropriately you can easily report Diane L. Defenbaugh
to the VMB (Veterinarian Medical Board). I am quite sure Dr. Defenbaugh has skills that are quite ethical, but I did not see a glimpse of any positive notes. I know of no health care professional with straight A in every category, but she certainly challenged me when I had a thought or an opinion. Challenged me, meaning did not allow me to finish speaking before negating the entire thought. Even if I was correct or incorrect in what I observed in my cat, it is no reason to take the tone she delivered. She had 2 or 3 similar in complaint to my review. The compassion vacillated from pressured to just stoic. Perhaps she was listening intently but at times I felt she just wanted to take the highest RPM leaf blower and blow me 3 blocks out of her way! I actually meant. .. hygienically cleaner than the exam room is chemically clean. That is all. I have a good DVM now. It worked out. I can only believe that VCA is a chain corporation. Seems they are all over San Diego, CA
So again if you, in your opinion, feel your animal (cat, dog, bird, etc) is not being cared for appropriately you have every right to voice your concern to VMB (Veterinarian Med Board),

1 – 5 scale 5=best, 1=worst
Quality of care:4
Cost of care:2
Speed of service:2
Ability to keep schedule:1
Competence of support:2
Average=2.2
Overall: