Advanced Care Animal Hospital

As I sat down in the waiting room, the Vet Dr. Amanda Gillen came out from the back room talking to her assistant saying“Lets make sure we Don’t tell them”. I felt terrible because they walked in the waiting room to the other patient who was being held out on imperative information.
It was time for my Puppy’s shots, and the staff didn’t bother informing us they were going to give her it in the back room. I wanted to be informed because I assume everyone would want to be respected and told what was going to happen to their puppy. When it was time to pay, I chose debit. Oh but make sure the oversized staff woman isn’t there to tell the latin staff woman «People choose debit because its Cheap.»
While your there to pay, either if its a Benjamin, Credit, or Debit. Money is Money, Right?
They have no respect if your there listening to what their saying about you as you stand there.
Be cautious if you take your puppy there.
Last time I go There!

We adopted our kitten from these guys and it was an incredible experience. Karen was amazing and really knows her stuff! She was kind and listened to exactly what we wanted and helped us find the perfect kitten. We are definitely bringing our kitten here for all his check ups. This place really cares about animals. ADOPT NOT SHOP.

My poor dog has symptoms of diarrhea with bloody stool, With no energy and avoided food and water. You can imagine how worried a pet owner can get. I brought him here as an emergency at 4pm, they close at 6. They more then gladly took us in and saw him immediately! Dr. Amanda Gillen and her staff were so caring and understanding for a second i felt my dog was theirs as well. I was crying obviously, but i beleive even the assistant was shedding a tear! I knew then my baby boy was in no better hands. I never felt pressured to have the treatment recommended done forcefully and since i came last notice not once did i feel rushed because of closing time. I returned at 6 to be told the xrays showed no obstruction so we will have to rely on lab results. I hope the best for my baby boy. This is one of the best vet clinics i have gone too. and i have gone to a few.

Love this place WOULD NOT take my dogs anywhere else! I trust them 100%. They are also fair when it comes to cost. They truly care about the health and happiness of your pet!

Amazing vet and staff!
First of all, I will say that although price is not my main consideration when it comes to my own healthcare, and therefore not my main consideration when it comes to my furry kids, I APPRECIATE good value! It doesn’t get any better than a $ 22.50 examination fee (seriously? They’re having an Anniversary Special, and the exam is currently half price!!). VERY good start. Every other vet in the area was about twice as much, just to get in the door.
Second, Dr. Gillen and her staff were INCREDIBLE with my dog, Boo. Let’s just say he can be a little «challenging», when it comes to receiving medical care. They were patient, and gentle with him, which made me very at ease.
Thirdly, the facility is BEAUTIFUL. Very «spa» like, and modern. Sure, it’s a vet’s office, but it doesn’t smell like one– bonus points! Plus they’re open late on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which works great with my work schedule.
Lastly, their vaccine prices are ridiculously low– $ 10 a shot? and they don’t try to overvaccinate, like other vets do? Sign me up!
I also found out that Dr. Gillen is very experienced, having worked in the emergency field for a long time– good, as I don’t enjoy having newly minted vets «practice» their new diagnostic skills on MY pet. It seems she is also heavily involved in animal rescue, and actively works with rescue groups, as well as housing rescued pets available for adoption at her clinic. This is huge for me, as I want to know that my vet at least LIKES animals as much as I do! I’ve had several experiences with other vets in the area who don’t particularly seem very fond of them, strangely enough.
I highly recommend this vet– personable, knowledgeable, experienced, compassionate, AND affordable… sign me up!

Couldn’t be happier with them! The entire staff loves animals! Hank used to hate going to the vet but has no problem going here. Thank you!!!

Dr. Gillan and staff have always taken great care of my pets. This is the place I refer Everyone to!

I wanted this Vet to work out so badly. It is so close to my house. I am really disappointed that it just didn’t work out. I took my cat to Dr. Gillen because I thought he had an ear infection. He was shaking his head and seemed «off». I spent $ 330.00 to run some blood work. They called me back on a Monday with the unfortunate news that my cat was in stage 4 kidney disease. I took my cat back to them on Tuesday for a 3 day hospital stay of receiving fluids. This was an additional $ 629.00. I picked my cat up on Thursday late afternoon. Later that night and into the next morning my cat looked like he had a stroke or something. head tilted to the side and eye completely dilated. I promptly took him back in as soon as they opened the next morning… they said he has an ear infection. I found that odd since that was the reason I brought him to them in the first place. the kicker on this was they charged me an additional 124.00 that day. I understand the charge for any new medication they thought my cat needed but they also charged me a 29.00 exam fee. Now mind you I just brought the cat home the night before after spending $ 960.00. Test results later showed no ear infection. My cat does have kidney disease, but something happened to him that night I brought him home. It took about 4 days before his eyes were back to normal and he started to eat. I believe Dr. Gillen to be a fine doctor, and I believe she truly cares about the animals but my biggest issue was that when I tried talking to the Dr. about the 29.00 exam fee they charged that next morning she would not talk to me. I stopped in the office to talk about it and they said she would call me. She did not call. I got a call from a tech instead who said they will not refund the 29.00. I told her it was just the principle of the charge not the amount and please have the Dr. call me. She said she would give her the message. She never called. It was really poor customer service. This was not about the money to me. It was about doing the right thing. I can’t put a price on that.

Absolutely amazing! Advanced Care Animal Hospital is everything I expect in a veterinary practice. Dr. Katila is an outstanding veterinarian who clearly understands animals on the level that a vet should. Her ability to establish a rapport with our shelter-​rescue Corgi mix (already FIERCELY protective of us) astounded me. We are so happy to have found this place, especially after a couple not-​so-​great experiences, relatively nearby.
Techs/​Vet Assts Marla and Madison are also fantastic! Ideal combination of friendliness and professionalism!
And a good old-​fashioned phone call a few days after the check-​up, just to check in and see how our pup was doing, is that extra little bit that goes an extremely long way.
Advanced Care is, by far, the only place to take your pet, simply because they are the best.

Same experience as the person below, no estimates over the phone.
I called to get a ball park estimate on dental cleaning.
Other receptionists in five other vets I contacted (Yes, five other vets, I’m trying to do what is best for our four-​legged family member without breaking the bank!) were able to give the price of the baseline dental cleaning, what it included, what the Doctor could expect to find and the anticipated costs associated with what the doctor finds.
I was really hoping this place would come through with the awesome reviews on Unilocal and thorough replies posted.

We found Advanced Care Animal Hospital in March after searching on Unilocal for a local surgeon for our 1 year old lab’s leg pain and limp. Our regular vet was not equipped to deal with such an injury and had referred us to an animal hospital in the valley that quoted us over $ 6000 for a TPLO surgery for his knee. That’s when we found Advanced Care who recommended the same surgery for Bailey, at less than half the price of the first animal hospital we visited.
We decided to go ahead with the surgery with them, as they were local and less expensive. We spent the next 2 months in and out of this place for Bailey’s blood tests, surgery, and check ups at 2, 4 and 8 weeks and they took such good care of him. Debbie was so amazingly helpful and allowed us to contact her during off hours with any questions we had during Bailey’s very difficult and painful recovery. Bailey made a full recovery and is finally able to run again!
Since then, we completely dropped our previous vet after realizing they were not really equipped to take care of our pets if something serious needed to be done, and we started bringing Bailey (as well as our cat Charlie) to Advanced Care for their regular vet visits, and we even adopted a kitten from their rescue program!
Dr. Amanda Gillen has amazing bedside manner, and you can tell she truly cares about her client’s pets. We are so, so happy we found this place!

My dog was assessed by an LA vet, who wanted over $ 600 for 4 xrays of the leg. So I called around the SCV to try to get a second opinion and get quotes on how much we could expect to pay if the new vet was in agreement with this plan. When I called the office, I was told by a very curt receptionist that «it is our policy to not give quotes without our vet assessing the animal.» I wasn’t looking for an out the door price, all I wanted was to know was how much they charged per X-​ray. It speaks volumes to me that they would not release such info (that must be standardized even if they give you discounts on additional views) without forcing you into an office visit. If you don’t feel the need to release your prices in an open and upfront way, you don’t need my business.

I have been to many vet practices over my lifetime. I was seldom confident I wasn’t being «oversold» testing and unnecessary medications. Dr. Gillen runs a spotless professional practice and she truly has my cats best interest at heart. She pulled a few of my pets out of deaths door when I was certain all hope was lost. Her staff is always courteous and pleasant. I highly recommend her for basic and preventive care as well as a young emergency that may arise.

I had thought my cat, Titus, was a goner. I had taken him to four different vets and they had either no idea what was wrong with him, or they cared little. Advanced Care Animal Hospital was our last resort, and I am so happy we went here. The staff was professional and kind. The vet, Dr. Gillian, knew immediately what was wrong with Titus and was able to perform the life-​saving surgery that allowed him to come back home to us.

I’ve been to this clinic twice now. Once for an emergency & once for a routine exam. I REALLY appreciated the fact that when I thought I had an emergency with my dog, they let me bring him in ASAP with no appointment. I’ve had other clinics in the past not allow this, and so it is a very important point to me. If my dog is dying, they need treatment, not an appointment! You know what I mean? My dogs are also not socialized the best for dealing with strangers and new circumstances, and I felt the Dr. and her staff handled it well. They did not seem afraid or anything, which I think is a testament to their experience with animals.
Where I wasn’t completely satisfied though was that I did feel some up-​selling was going on. It’s not that I don’t want to know of all the options available to me. It’s that because I am not a Dr., I really want to know what is necessary and what is just an additional option. If we had done all the recommended treatments after my dogs’ routine exam it would have been over $ 500 per dog. I love my dogs, but I’m not made of money! And so I don’t really like feeling that what may be an unecessary treatment is being encouraged. It undermines my confidence and trust a little bit. The odd thing was, the one additional treatment we were interested in, we never got a price for. The Dr said the vet tech would give it to us and she didn’t. We even asked her for it twice!
The other thing I didn’t like was how long the routine visit took. We waited quite a while after our appt time to see the vet– I don’t know if something else was going on & this was not typical for them. But whatever the case, we waited for about an hour to see the Dr. and no explanation was given. My already stressed dogs were getting more stressed with the wait which in turn was stressing me out. :-) (We’re a stressful bunch, I know!)
So all said and done, I do feel this vet is experienced and capable. She seems to be a nice person, willing to answer questions and to make time for your pet. But when I go, I am very much reminded that it is a business and that they probably want to be making a decent/​sizable profit. I just am not sure YET which gets more priority: care of your pet or profit.

I cannot even communicate how incredibly grateful we are to have found Dr. Amanda Gillen. Yesterday, we tried to bring our cat, Misha, into The Cat Doctor and Friends, and after waiting 40 minutes in the room, due to an office «mistake», our boy was strung out and done. The Vet there actually said, to us, that she was «afraid of him». He was absolutely shaking, and wanted nothing to do with them. But he needed an exam…
After searching for hours on the internet, I decided to try bringing him to Advanced Care Animal Hospital. A completely different experience. Dr. Amanda, and Amanda (a Vet Tech) were so wonderful with Misha, and obviously NOT AFRAID of him at all. And they treated him gently, and with COMPASSION. After his prior experiences, he was so traumatized, but he actually let Dr. Amanda do a physical exam. They let me stay in the room with him, because they understood that his Mother gives him comfort, unlike The Cat Doctor and Friends. Both Dr. Amanda and Amanda are exceptional.
We have a new vet now, and we are so happy. For anyone who has cats… she is so wonderful. She knows what she is doing. We feel incredibly fortunate tonight that we found her. For instance, when she came into the room with Misha and me sitting on the floor, she sat on the floor with us, and talked gently to him, before examining him. It helped immensely. She understands cats (especially cats like Misha, who were horribly abused before being with us), that they need time, and need to get acclimated to their surroundings. She is such a caring person, and after seeing 3 other Vet’s in Santa Clarita over the years, she is the best we have seen.

Where do I begin… as a lawyer, I always choose my words very carefully. But I have absolutely no reservations in stating, unequivocally, that Dr. Gillen is the most skilled, competent, and compassionate veterinarian that I have had the great pleasure of knowing.
I used to go to a vet that is 5 minutes from my house and I still go to them occasionally when my schedule does not permit the 40 minute drive to Dr. Gillen’s office… yes I said 40 minutes! I choose to take this long drive because I am confident that no one else can provide the best quality of care my cats deserve. From a common cold to prolapsed rectum to lymphoma, Dr. Gillen has provided the most compassionate yet medically sound care and advice for all my furbabies.
I also love the hospital cats they have there :) they are all rescue kitties that Dr. Gillen and staff have adopted and make each visit more enjoyable for me and my furbabies.
Oh and I must mention the staff! They are very helpful and also highly competent and really know what they r doing.
Thanks u so much for all that u do each and every day :). I wish more vet offices could b more like urs!

I am no stranger when it comes to animal care. Over the years I have had many dogs and cats and rabbits for that matter but when it came to a surprise pregnancy
(a cat not me adopted from a shelter) I was overjoyed to meet Dr. Gillan and her staff. She was all things I look for in a vet. Calm, precise and joy of joy not over zealous in the testing and lab department. Nope, a simple ultrasound so I could make a responsible decision (mom was very far along so we are having kittens) and no judgement on my choice. That felt really good. Just the facts madam along with a very reasonable bill. Doesn’t get any better than that.

I love the Doc & her entire staff… especially Debbie! The place is spotless! You can tell how much they love animals! Very kind & caring! Always willing to listen & answer all my questions!

The best Vet yet!
Dr. Gillen and staff are truly are rare breed. Henry and I went yesterday for a wellness visit. Their focus on Henry and approach to his health were truly refreshing.
The time Dr. Gillen spent with us was generous and I felt as though we were the only patient that existed.
I am grateful to have found them! I highly recommend their office.