-
February 2024 by Mary B.
When my dog's eye doc from VCA relocated, I followed him to his new practice. Unfortunately, the rates went up significantly, and it was not sustainable as my dog has a chronic condition. Her primary care vet recommended Dr. Fahrer. It did take a couple of weeks to get an appointment, but it wasn't urgent. I am surprised to see the feedback on staff as I found them to be pleasant and efficient. Dr. Fahrer is very caring and I was pleasantly surprised at checkout. All the routine tests for her condition (pressure check, tear production, eye stain) were included. VCA charged extra for them. Additionally, when my dog only needed interocular pressure checks (IOP, glaucoma), it was done by a very capable vet tech, and I was only charged for the vet tech. I think the order of the day for any veterinary practice is patience. There is a shortage of vets, and especially specialists.
-
February 2024 by Daphne L.
My senior dog was under Dr. Fahrer's care for glaucoma and I was giving her eye medications Dr. Fahrer had prescribed. At some point I noticed my dog acting unwell hiding in corners; upon inspecting her eyes I noticed the left was enlarged, red, hemorraged and with extra discharge. I called Eye Care for Animals Culver City as soon as they opened the next morning to inform them and request an appointment. I wasn't able to get through directly to the clinic, and instead spoke with someone who took my message and said someone would call me back to schedule an appointment. I waited a couple hours without a call back so I followed up, stressing it was urgent, my dog was evidently in pain, and I feared irreversible vision loss if she didn't receive immediate treatment. When I was finally connected to someone at the clinic later that day I explained to them the situation and that I needed urgently to have my dog seen by Dr. Fahrer because something was clearly wrong. I told them I could come wait at the clinic and be seen in between appointments but they told me they were fully booked and they would see where they could fit me in and let me know. The whole day passed and I never got a call back from the clinic. When I'd call to follow up I couldn't get past voicemail or their remote scheduler person who said she could only pass my messages along to the clinic and they would reach out to me. Never getting the call back that was promised, I called again the following morning to remind them I was waiting for an appointment, that my dog was suffering and that there was risk of permanent vision loss from delaying treatment which I had already delayed a whole day simply waiting on the clinic to get back to me. I emphasized I'd rearranged my work schedule in order that I could come and wait at the clinic so they could fit me in whenever opportune e.g. if another patient was running late or canceled last minute, or a scheduled appointment ended early. I was then told that Dr. Fahrer could see me that day but there would be an additional charge for it being a same day appointment. I asked how much the appointment would be and with the emergency charge I was quoted over $600 (normally an appointment is $200 something). So basically Dr. Fahrer could find the time to see my dog but only for an insane upcharge. I was crushed to the point that I started crying over the phone. Dr. Fahrer evidently had the ability to find the time that day to see my pup but was only willing to if she could exploit my poor dog's condition in order to charge three times as much for the appointment. I was so disappointed because that was completely out of my budget and had I known I would have immediately gone elsewhere instead of waiting a whole day only to hear back such disappointing news from Dr. Fahrer. It really doesn't sit well with me when I sense a doctor is more interested in profits than the health of their patients. My dog's condition suddenly worsened while following the treatment protocol Dr. Fahrer had prescribed, I would have expected Dr. Fahrer to be concerned in bringing her in to be seen as soon as possible! I ended up getting off the phone with Eye Care For Animals Culver City, and frantically called other veterinary eye specialists. These other practices where my dog was not even an existing patient showed more interest in trying to fit her into their schedules than Eye Care For Animals had. I was able to get the treatment my dog needed elsewhere at a practice that kindly saw me between appointments that afternoon, and her symptoms improved under the new doctor's care who I have been seeing regularly ever since. More recently the decision was made to remove her left eye before it worsened because it was non visual and the meds were becoming less effective, but since being treated by the new doctor my dog has never been in pain to the point where she was wincing and hiding in corners like she was under Dr. Fahrer's (lack of) care. After my experience of how they acted in a time of need, I
-
November 2023 by M. G.
Will not work with the staff here it bring my pet. All doors have the same number. Told where to drop off their drinks on an outside table and they tip bait. So you think you're getting a set amount from the staff here and then they change the amount to less than what was agreed. Unprofessional. Uncaring.
-
September 2023 by Ann D.
Dr. Fahrer and every member of her staff has given me and my husband and our 15-y.o. chihuahua nothing but excellent care, warmth and compassion. Sure, there were quite a few times when we've waited for what other reviewers might deem to be an "annoyingly-long time". But we were also recently seen right away by Dr. Fahrer and her team with no appointment after our dog's eye ruptured, and saw us after closing ours several months ago when his lens luxated and he was in extreme pain. So yeah, we don't mind waiting because each time we do, we know that another pet that needs more urgent attention is being taken care of/ Our dog's eye issue is still on-going - he's an outlier in so many ways - and we still don't know if his vision can be saved. But we owe his health and his best chance at sight to Dr. Fahrer. So, thank you, thank you, thank you!
-
June 2023 by Esther C.
I think some of the reviews here are for the vet next door. Dr. Fahrer the eye ophthalmologist and her staff are amazing. I never wait long here. Dr. F is compassionate, explains very thoroughly, and is patient. I bring two of my senior dogs here and I can't complain about the care or service. Highly recommend.
-
June 2023 by Pam C.
This review is just for the front desk. I know the doc is great, as I used to bring my old dog here 10 years ago. Our appt was scheduled for 3:15. We waited for 20 minutes and still hadn't been brought into a room so I asked the front desk how much longer it would be as I had to pick up my child. She said "They're running 10 minutes late." I said "So 10 more minutes from now?" She said no, 10 minutes from your appt time, but I said it's 3:35 and she said yes? I said it's already been 20 minutes, I just want to know how much longer from now it will be. She said it hasn't been 20 minutes, it's only been 10 minutes. I said, 15+20 = 35. She unnecessarily gave me attitude when all she needed to do was to go ask the doctor how much longer it would be. She finally said, let me go check with the doctor and then I watched her sit at her desk for another 10 minutes. At this point it had been 30 minutes since my appointment start time and she finally goes to ask the doctor and comes out to tell me they still need another 20 minutes. She said I can reschedule you for Saturday I said ok, can you send me a confirmation and she said I'm telling you right now. Again, the attitude. I've heard from many people that the front desk service is horrible because the doctor is so busy it's difficult to get an appointment here. I guess they enjoy being miserable at work. I called back later and complained about the attitude of the front desk person and the person on the phone said "Ok." They obviously don't care how they treat people here. I much prefer Integrative Ophthalmology for Pets. They are so kind and organized. The only reason I was switching to come here is because this is closer to our house, Integrative Ophthalmology is a little far away for us.
-
May 2023 by Blam#gotya -
My wife and I came here yesterday with our three-year-old Chihuahua who has been struggling with eye issues since he was a puppy. We had brought him in for a follow-up, we are new to the state but not to this practice we have been patients of EyeCare for a long time just in a different state. Judy made our experience horrible. We were really taken aback by how she chose to handle our frustrations about the lack of communication during the visit. She made us feel like we had done something wrong and that we had no right to be upset. My wife was trying to explain why we were upset and how nobody had communicated with us on what the process is at this office she cut my wife off at every other word. My wife had to stop and ask her to stop, and let her finish speaking. She came in the room with the Doctor it seemed like a form of intimidation, odd behavior for a member of management. It seemed almost like she enjoyed escalating the situation. Judy never once even attempted to apologize to us, her response was we could take our dog and leave! We really like the Doctor and the front desk staff. Judy, you turned a simple follow-up appointment into a fight. Judy this bad review is based on how you treated us and the horrible way you decided to handle a simple issue.
-
May 2023 by Heather N.
I would like to start with, this review in no way is reflecting how I feel about Dr. Fahrer. I have recently moved to California from Illinois and have been a patient of Eyecare for two going on three years. I called the office to let them know we needed to be seen for our dog's follow-up and that they would need to contact Eyecare in Wheeling IL, for his records and any additional information they need. We arrived and were invited to a room really quickly everything was going smoothly the tech started asking questions and then informed us she would be taking our dog to the back to check his vitals and then he would come back in the room to do the exam with the Doctor and it would only be a few minutes. I let her know our dog is extremely scared of other dogs (he was previously attacked by a large pitbull) because he was going to the back where we have no idea what is going on and other dogs would be in the same area. After fifteen minutes my husband and I started to get concerned and I opened the door and started asking the staff that was walking past if someone could figure out where our dog was. After a few more minutes JUDY walks out and is asking me what she can help me with, I explained we were expecting our dog to come back to the room after he was getting his vitals checked and it had been way too long for him not to be back. She told us that he was with the Doctor being examined which didn't make sense to us because that was never communicated that we wouldn't be present for the exam. She said (we could get our dog and leave if we aren't happy!) I asked what her title was, she very condescendingly told us she was the (MANAGER). She let us know our dog and the doctor would be in the room in three to five minutes. The Doctor walks in with our dog and right behind them is Judy. The doctor is very nice trying to understand what's going on and trying to explain why they do the exam, away from the owners. Then Judy chimes in with how she was merely trying to explain if we weren't happy with the way they do things we could just leave and I told her that if we are already upset and uneducated on how the process at a new office works your response is negative, confrontational, and combative then yes, we want to leave because this isn't how we've experienced service at a professional medical setting. Judy's reaction and lack of compassion for our concerns and basic kindness are what this review is based on. Judy doesn't seem to be equipt with the tools to listen to the concerns of others without being reactive and combative. She also speaks over people when they are trying to talk, this leads me to believe she is more concerned with being RIGHT than fixing a problem. Judy is a problem. I was looking over the paperwork we were given after our appointment and all of the information for our dog is incorrect. I'm truly confused about how I verbally gave it over the phone and they should have had it in the system from our other office ( IT'S THE SAME PRACTICE). I called today and informed them that it was all wrong, I'm waiting for an email from them confirming it's been corrected. I was so confused when everyone kept referring to our dog as BABY MARLEY because he's three, I just assumed it was because of his size. Looking over the paperwork they have him listed as two weeks old. We have a follow-up appointment in 4 months if the visit is anything like it was yesterday we will leave the practice altogether and go to a different ophthalmologist, which is a real shame because we loved the other ophthalmologists in Wheeling!
-
May 2023 by Amanda Prentice
Fabulous caring doctor! Dr. Fahrer is smart, kind and has excellent communication. She was careful to explain the process and treatment options for our Golden Retriever who has glaucoma. After the surgery I was delighted to receive a phone call that evening from Dr. Fahrer — that’s great old school patient care. The entire staff at the Culver City office is super nice and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND them! And, best of all, the surgery was a complete success and Libby is doing great playing with her sister!
-
April 2023 by Amanda P.
Fabulous caring doctor! Dr. Fahrer is smart, kind and has excellent communication. She was careful to explain the process and treatment options for our Golden Retriever who has glaucoma. After the surgery I was delighted to receive a phone call that evening from Dr. Fahrer -- that's great old school patient care. The entire staff at the Culver City office is super nice and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND them! And, best of all, the surgery was a complete success and Libby is doing great playing with her sister!
-
March 2023 by Sunny B.
This clean attentive eye doctor for animals also does dentistry I think. They're busy, but when it's your turn, their one on one attention is friendly and personable, my cat had cancer in her eye and they were wonderful and checking the x-ray before they removed the eye to see if it had metastasized anywhere and it hadn't. Surgery went very well and they kept me in the loop at each stage. My cat is doing very well without her eye, and we are very appreciative for having her.
-
March 2023 by Kathy Y.
Dr. Fahrer seems to be a good doctor but I spent over $500 on a test and it's been weeks with no report on the result. I have sent three emails and left four phone messages, the last one asking for a refund. They are a busy office and usually I get a service that takes my messages. I am so angry and disappointed at being treated this way.Additionally, the parking is a nightmare. Give yourself extra time.
-
October 2022 by Theresa L.
We adopted a cat from the West LA shelter that had an injured eye. We wanted to get a specialist exam to check it out. When I called, their appointments were about a month out (but everywhere I called was about the same or longer). They had excellent communication from booking, text reminders, ans sending paperwork ahead of time (I like efficiency). They have their own parking lot (yes that's important to me in LA bc I hate driving in circles trying to find parallel parking, reading 10 signs if it's street cleaning day etc then ending up and getting a ticket). The office is located in a pet medical park with an openarea with lots of places your pet can relieve its self and there was a pet hospital next door as well as another specialist vet (oncology..cancer). The waiting room was big (big enough to space out in case your pet is afraid of other animals in the same area). The office and exam rooms were nice and clean, the front desk staff was incredibly professional, efficient and attentive. There was a vet tech (that was kind and understanding) that came first to get our kitten to take her vitals. Then we met Dr. Cristin Fahrer...she was seriously amazing. She took her time to explain every single detail to us, she gave us options, she gave us plenty of time to ask questions and not feel rushed. Our kitten was happy, we were happy. Highly recommend this place.
-
October 2022 by Analiza B.
When I sent an email to Dr. Fahrer to remind her that my four-legged son, Chipwich is sick with the Rt eye Glaucoma/cataract, and she did a cataract surgery on Chip's Left eye in 2019. Immediately, she's able to expedite seeing Chip. Remembering how thorough and loving she was with us, that's priceless, and with them seeing Chip tomorrow instead of next month makes me feel better --- Dr. Fahrer diminished my anxiety. Chip is my baby for 7 years, and I feel more comfortable with Dr. Fahrer and her whole staff -- great customer service. Thank you so much.Analiza and Chipwich
-
September 2022 by Sean Q.
Absolute worst patient after care. I paid 9k for a surgery and have made several attempts to have the stitches removed(which was paid for) and nobody has called back to schedule s**** They prescribed antibiotics and provided zero instruction on dosage or duration. This is the absolute worst place you could take an animal that you care for.
