Westminster Veterinary Group

AztecaOC Main Street GG

Phenominal Avian Vet. Will also be bringing my dogs here as well, loved the staff and facility so much. Only complaint - parking lot is tiny and it's a busy place. Still happy to give these great folks all the stars I can!

Smartie Man

Our little 5 lb. rabbit, a bundle of joy and love, passed away this week in the care of Westminster Vet after only a couple of hours. They are not at fault in his passing. He was 9 years old and had a compromised respiratory system from a congenital birth anomaly. But we believe his final hours did not have to be as stressful and agonizing if Dr. Rettig's team had taken a different treatment approach. We brought him in because he was struggling to breathe and thus, could not eat. Our rabbit had lived in perfect health for 9 yrs., other than reduced energy the last few years due to his lung's diminished capacity in his old age. He had never once needed to see a vet in those 9 yrs. Dr. Rettig's team decided to first put him in an oxygen chamber and nebulize the medication needed for a respiratory infection and pain. Sounded good at that tense moment. But now looking back, this approach seems absurd. Our rabbit was barely breathing! How would any medication get into his system?! This also meant that the crucial pain medication that our little rabbit desperately needed, never made it into his little body. So, he continued to be distressed, struggling in agony to breathe. Then, to make matters worse, they took x-rays to look for cancer. Imagine how stressed he already was with an elevated heart rate and elevated breathing rate as he desperately gasped for air. If I had to do it all over again, I would have told them NOT to take any x-rays. What good would it be if they found any cancer? Surgery wasn’t going to happen with this immediate crisis at-hand! To no surprise, the x-rays did not show any cancer and yet that one procedure most assuredly put our rabbit 'over the top' and his little body could not handle anymore. His breathing soon stopped, and he passed away. And all the while, we were already confident he had no cancer because of his exclusive organic diet of home-grown greens, only the highest-grade timothy and oat hay, and fresh reverse-osmosis water every day. I should have said NO to x-rays! The utmost comfort of a pet should be a paramount concern for any veterinarian facility, and we believe there was a definite failure on Westminster’s part. I encourage each and every pet owner to always take full control over your pet's livelihood. If you're at the vet, follow your 'gut' feeling about any proposed procedure. No human being knows your pet better than you! Nobody! In conclusion, we have been very blessed with the love and trust of our little fur-bundle for 9 years and for that we are forever thankful. Memories abound with videos and photos. As for Westminster's treatment protocol that day, we feel there were two distinct failures that contributed to the pain our rabbit was forced to endure in his final hours and depriving him of the possible chance to survive had antibiotics been administered directly. 1. It is the responsibility of the veterinarian to know that if an animal is struggling to breath, inducing the oxygen chamber with misted medication (nebulization), can be completely ineffective. Instead, what should have been done was to directly administer the pain medication and antibiotic medication via a subcutaneous injection in the loose skin above the shoulder. 2. The x-rays held no medical benefit in the treatment of this emergency. The x-rays only ended up exasperating our rabbit's stress even more. A rabbit that was already in physical trauma and not understanding what was happening. A rabbit who had only known safety, security, and love for 9 years and now was suddenly in a strange and scary place away from the only two people he felt safe with. Unnecessary X-rays were the antithesis of what comfort should have been for our beautiful little rabbit. *It should be noted that NO ONE from Dr. Rettig's team met with us when we came to pay the $750 bill after our loving bunny passed away in their care. Empathy on their part was obviously out of the question. Do not take your rabbit to Dr. Rettig! She is not an expert on rabbits! Vehemently insist on using only Dr. Tia Greenberg!!

Ginger Newman

I brought my 14 Y/o dog for a visit, I gave a history and stated she seemed to be doing better with the senior dog food i switched her to. The veterinarian didn't even look at my dog before she started recommending tests and "hydration" xrays etc. I do not feel she has good experience. At the minimum she could have taken into account my dogs age, if she had experience she could have recommended some non invasive treatment to start but I felt me and every animal owner walking thru her door was a price tag she could order hundreds of dollars worth of tests and treatment before ever even looking at the animal, very disappointed in this office

Sarah Stephenson

If you want your rabbit to live, do yourself a favor and bring it to a hospital where they have all the equipment necessary to find what's wrong with your bunny. I lost 2 bunnies coming at this exotic vet. They failed big time!