Alta-Wood Animal Hospital

My 12 year old cat injured his leg badly jumping over a fence, since I haven’t lived in Redwood City for long, I didn’t have a regular vet. I called Alta-​Wood Animal Hospital and they were able to get me in on short notice. From the outside, Alta-​Wood doesn’t necessarily give the best first impression but the minute I walked in, I felt good about the place, the receptionist was super nice, the vet techs were friendly yet professional, they treated my scared kitty with loving hands and respect. Dr. Acevedo was great, I really appreciated his honest approach and he did a wonderful job stitching up my cats complicated leg injury. Having experienced vets who will try to make every dollar they can off of their clients, I was happy to see the cost at the end of the visit was totally reasonable, I will absolutely be returning.

This is the best veterinary to bring your pets in Bay Area. We were so impressed with the staff. We had to make an emergency appointment, they were very accommodating. Dr. Acevedo is so kind and our pups were so calm with him. He’s a wonderful trustworthy Doctor.

We had to put our dog down today. The staff were very considerate. Dr was nice and did his best to comfort us. Not an easy thing to do. The procedure was explained well and performed well too. Our pooch passed away peacefully thanks to alta wood.

My cat had worms and after visiting Alta Wood she doesn’t. The staff was very friendly and the Dr. was thorough. The Dr. explained things many many many many times. They didn’t try to ‘sell’ me on things she didn’t need. I would go back.

My 8-​year-​old cat died two weeks after a routine abscess surgery at Alta-​Wood. I found the vet to be condescending, difficult to communicate with, extremely rude and unprofessional with his employees, and most importantly, careless in his treatment of my cat.
I brought my beloved cat to Alta-​Wood to treat a large abscess on his face. The vet did a routine surgery on the abscess to drain the pus and «debride» it (ie. scrape out any dead tissue). He installed drainage tubes and my gut feeling was that the incision and tubes looked sloppy. The sutures were not evenly placed and the tubes were pinched closed.
When I took him back 5 days later to have the drainage tube removed, the wound was still oozing pus. The vet did not clean the scabs off the wound or recommend another class of antibiotics. I uploaded a picture of the incision after this «check up» to Unilocal.
During the second appointment, I found the vet very difficult to talk to. I asked him if he thought my cat was at risk of fatty liver disease because my cat was overweight and barely eating since the surgery. I knew about fatty liver disease because I had been trying to manage my cat’s weight for a couple of years. Instead of answering my question, he gave me a pamphlet on weight management. It took me about 20 frustrating minutes of restating my question for him to tell me that it’s difficult to diagnose fatty liver disease without extensive testing.
I also was disturbed by the way he talked to his employees — he yelled at them and disrespected them routinely. It felt like a very hostile working environment.
A couple of days later, I decided to follow my gut and take my cat to another hospital for a second opinion. The second vet cleaned the scabs off the wound and discussed all the treatment options clearly and in detail. He added another class of antibiotics since the wound was still producing a steady flow of pus. He also said that the drainage tube should have been placed at the lowest point of the abscess so that the pus would flow out with gravity instead of continuing to fill up a pocket in my cat’s cheek the way it did.
Unfortunately, a couple of days before the second visit with the new vet, my cat passed away.
I can’t say for sure what killed my cat. The second vet said it may have been sepsis from the infection or that he may have had an underlying condition. Regardless, abscesses are supposed to be highly treatable and I feel that if I had taken him to a more careful and thorough vet to begin with, that he would have survived.
I do not recommend this vet.

Exceptional care and service. Dr. Acevedo is a wonderful Vet; he is thoughtful, exacting, caring, and extremely talented.
Don’t expect flash … Alta-​Wood is all about substance!

I found Dr. Acevedo thru the Pet Assure discount program I sign up for. I have 4 dogs and looking to save money and caring of my family pets he was in the Pet Assure network. I brought in senior dog I adopted 9 months ago has health issues. He was very knowledge and very honest and direct. He called me at home to see how my dog was doing on her medications. The doctor and staff members are friendly and helpful and providing care for my family pets. Sharee 4-​24-​2014

Just wanted to share our experience with Dr. Acevedo and staff. We have a 7 month old english bulldog (her name is Marley) bulldogs are prone to Cherry eye which is a congenital disorder of the nictitating membrane. also called the third eyelid. we consulted with several vets before contacting Altwood. and frankly the answers we were getting was no where near what Dr. Acevedo was was indicating to us. Gotta tell you we were impressed i guess when you have 30 plus years in the field thats stating a lot. He is frank and gives straight answers which i like… no BS lol… The front desk super friendly and the vet tech just as equally… please to say Marley loves her new doctor…
The Navas

I first ended up going to Alta Wood for grooming of my Shih Tzu that we only had for a few months. They noticed that he had an eye infection and treated him, we have been going there now for all my dog’s needs. I am very happy with the service from the staff at Alta-​Wood, they are very friendly and attentive to the needs of my dog. Dr. Acevedo explains every question in a clear manner.

I brought my dog for the first time to Alta-​Wood yesterday due to pronounced and intermittent odor problems. A couple weeks earlier, I had taken my dog to a San Carlos pet hospital and he was given a complete physical… but I left without any knowledge of the source of his odor problem.
Fortunately, Dr Acevedo was quick to identify a mild ear infection as the source. Dr Acevedo gave my dog a thorough exam. He and his staff were very helpful in explaining the situation and the steps that I should take to remedy the infection.
24 hours later, the odor problem is gone and my dog is on the road to recovery.
I appreciate the warmth and professionalism of everyone I encountered at Alta-​Wood and will bring my dog back for routine exams. I also appreciate that Dr Acevedo was kind enough to follow up with a call to make sure my dog was recovering.
I encourage you to take the time to read the vast number of filtered reviews. Most of them speak very well of Alta-​Wood and offer a more balanced perspective.

Very pleased with the professionalism and care Dr. Acevedo has shown to both of our cats. We recently had to take our male cat in because he got involved with a cat fight and needed surgery. I give Dr. Acevedo 5 stars for being straightforward and honest with what needed to be done and for letting us know the cost upfront. He explained the diagnosis, what the treatment will be, and did not try to sell us on any unnecessary procedures. He did let us know that our cat had liver problems and let us know how we should properly care for him. He also gave us a follow-​up call to see how our cat was doing. Dr. Acevedo is an experienced veterinarian who really cares about his patients.

Dr. Acevedo has always been great to us and our Pom who has been seeing him since she was 8 weeks old. She is now 8 ½ and has always been healthy.

Dr. Acevedo is a great doctor! He explained everything very well, and even showed us pictures in the book to show what was going on with my dog. My dog had to either get surgery or take medicine to get rid of his situation. He told me the best choice and what percentage that each of them had. Surgery was 70% and medicine was 30%. I didn’t want my dog to get surgery because he is almost 13 years old, and i’ve heard that elderly dogs often don’t wake up from surgeries because of anesthesia. But Dr. Acevedo assured me that they have a safe anesthesia that is even used on humans and 100% safe for elderly dogs. So I went with the surgery and two weeks later after my dogs check up, my dog is back to his normal self and healing great! Thank you Dr. Acevedo!
Review update 1÷20÷16
I went for a check up for my senior dog at a different hospital since it was only a block away and they had a opening. They said that they found that she had a heart murmur :(… I went to two doctors before going back to Dr. Acevedo, and they both said that she had a heart murmur that was hard to hear because it was still in the beginning stage. Although when I went to Dr. Acevedo he said he didn’t hear it… But my dog definitely has one. (sorry I don’t want to question the doctor because I’m not one myself but it is 2 – 1)

I was very pleased to find AFFORDABLE Dental cleaning for my cat. the staff was pleasant and helpful answering questions I had. the Doctor is bit old school, but seemed to know his business, over 30 years of experience helps!

Are dog Annie had a bad case of demodectic mange at 1 years old. We were heart broken because we thought we were going to have to put her down. Dr. Acevedo was determined to save Annie. He went to UC Davis and found a break through treatment. As a result our dog Annie lived to the age of 16 along with her sister Natasha. We just got 2 new lab puppies and we will be bringing them here for all their vet needs.

I brought my dog in for some shots and for treatment of her ear infection. Dr. Acevedo was very attentive and explained everything I had to do for my pet’s ears. He answered all my questions and even did a follow up phone call the next day. His staff was very friendly. Clinic was immaculately clean. I certainly will bring my dog to see Dr. Acevedo again.

Went just for grooming for my 2 year old cat. They did a wonderful job and the staff is so nice!

We came to Dr. Acevedo not knowing what to do. Our cat had a tumor on her side that we simply couldn’t afford to remove — our regular vet quoted $ 1200 as being the low number and refused a payment plan. So I signed up for Pet Assure and went to Dr. Acevedo as the closest doctor who accepts the discount program.
He did everything he could to keep the cost down, such as lending us the «cone of shame» that our other vet would’ve asked us to buy. The final price was around $ 700, not counting the discount. He was able to run my cat’s blood tests quickly in his own office to determine that she was healthy enough to easily anesthetize, and we got her in for surgery the next day. (Our other vet needed to send the blood out for analysis, which was expensive and time-​consuming.)
He was helpful in explaining every step of the process. My kitty was not overly anesthetized after her surgery, and I never would have believed how fast she healed. The pathology came back that the tumor wasn’t cancerous but could have been problematic if not fully removed; Dr. Acevedo did a fantastic job and the specialist doesn’t think there’s any danger of it growing back.
We will be going to Dr. Acevedo for all of our cats’ medical problems. We’re really impressed by his knowledge, his manner with the animals, and how neatly he performed the excision.

I wish I read the reviews first.
After speaking with the vet, I feel very frustrated and unhappy. I adopted a new puppy and a friend from another state recommended that I stay away from «fort dodge» vaccines. Wanting quality care for my new dog, I called and asked what brand they used. The man seemed offended that I asked such a question and asked me why I would ask. When I explained, he told me my friend was misinformed and that I should do internet research if I knew how to use a computer. Thank you Unilocal!I should have looked here first to avoid such complicated service from the beginning.

We came in here to have our budgie’s beak trimmed. The staff were friendly, but the doctor was kind of smug. We wanted to ask some questions and he didn’t really want to answer them. Not a really friendly guy.
Our budgie’s nails were trimmed quite well but his beak was still a bit long. If the doctor would have been a bit more pleasant, we would have come back here. A nice doctor means that much to me.