I am still not over the emotional agony of my dog's death - perhaps he would still be alive if I had brought him to a vet clinic that cares about its patients and the families. But, I did not. I brought him to Howard Animal Hospital, where I sat on the ground with my convulsing dog while the staff had their lunch. I had called them, frantic, and said that my dog may have had a stroke and seemed like he was dying. I was told that their lunch break was until 1:00, so he couldn't possibly be seen until then. So I had to wait in the 115 degree heat, holding my dying dog in my arms. They would not even open the doors so we could get out of the sun. I was losing my 15-year old dog, yet was greeted by a cold, distant receptionist who insisted on the paperwork being done before the vet would see my dog. And oh, no, my friend could not give her credit card over the phone. "If you had thought to ask, I would have told you that we don't do that here!" Once the payment method was settled, the doctor finally shuffled into the exam room, looking like every one of his 90 years. He never touched my dog during the exam, just pointed at him and said "Something is wrong with his brain." I felt as if I were in a bad dream - watching as my dog lay dying in front of a vet for whom I had raced over desert roads for 50 miles. He just directed the vet tech to turn him, just pointing a finger. I ended up having to make the decision to have my loving companion euthanized. Two months later, the questions and memory still haunt me. If we had not been forced to wait in the hot sun, if he had been examined by a vet who actually cared, would he still be alive? This man and his entire staff need to be on a permanent lunch break. Please, folks, do not take your animals to this nightmarish hell hole. read more

This is, by far, THE WORST Veterinarian I have ever been to in my entire life. If there was a way that I could single-handedly get this entire place shut down and put the entire staff out on the street with nothing but the clothes on their backs, you can bet that I would do it in a heartbeat. On the morning of Monday, May 21st, I brought my friend and his dog here in an emergency situation, as his dog, a small Chihuahua, had just been attacked without provocation by a very large dog. Mia (the Chihuahua) had been bitten in the head, and unfortunately, her entire left eyeball had been mostly severed and was hanging outside of her skull, held on by nothing more than a few tendons. We filled out all the paperwork they gave us as fast as possible, and when we got done, they first told us that in order to even have a "doctor" LOOK at Mia, it was going to cost us $1,000. That's right, A THOUSAND DOLLARS. Well needless to say, neither myself nor my friend have that much money in our savings, even between the both of us. I asked if there were ANY options at all. Keep in mind that while all of this is going on, my friend is cradling and trying to comfort Mia, WHOSE EYEBALL IS STILL HANGING OUT OF HER SKULL. I asked if they had any kind of discounts for veterans (both my friend and I have served), and the answer was a cold, heartless, "we don't DO that here". I even tried applying for their in-house credit card, and got denied. I was literally willing to go into debt in order to save my friend's dog's LIFE, and these heartless, unprofessional, money-driven people did NOTHING to help us. Actually, that's not true. They suggested (with smiles on their faces, no less) that we could just have Mia put down, because there was "No other options for you here" (exact quote). As long as I live, I will tell EVERYONE I KNOW who has furry, 4-legged FAMILY MEMBERS to never, EVER go to this house of heartlessness and death. DO NOT BRING YOUR ANIMALS HERE UNLESS YOU WANT THEM TO BE MURDERED. read more

Brought a stray kitten in and got a full blood work/ wanted anything wrong with it diagnosed. Was told it had an infection and malnourished, but nothing else major and brought home antibiotics. They worked but a few days later he was sick again so I brought him back. Was then given the same meds and herpes was mentioned and I had to straight up ask, "are you saying he is being treated for herpes now?" I was given a yes, that is what the vet thinks is wrong. That was the first time I was even hearing that he was diagnosed with herpes- At the first appointment I was not told that nor what the effects of herpes are and that it is HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS to other cats. That he may have to take these meds for the rest of his life and it is uncurable. None of that was mentioned and I practically had to force it out. You take an animal to the vet and you expect them to plainly tell you what is wrong, how to treat it and any risks and I was not given that. My resident cat is now coughing due to the fact that I was not told that the stray had a transmittable virus that would affect my resident cats health. I did not recieve a writeup from the vet that summarized the visit OR even speak to the vet on the phone. They put my resident cat in danger and when I mentioned it on the phone I was given a 'sorry for the inconvenience'. Makes me wonder how much they cared for my animals or if the vet even looked at the cat and discussed it with the vet techs. I have never been so disappointed in a vet. Update #1: COINCIDENTALLY me, my dog and my other cat contracted ringworm after the vet said the kitten did not have ringworm. I have never had ringworm in my life and theres no reason my pets should. Spoke to him on the phone because a simple google search says that visual ringworm tests aren't always accurate and instead of offering to treat my new severly infected animals, he wants to take a sample of the kitten and send it to a lab and wait for 4 weeks for results to prove if he does or not- he repeated this to me ten times while I just asked him if he could treat them for it. The signs are there now and my pets shouldn't have to wait four weeks to be treated. This is not a vet I feel I can trust to give me all the information or even the correct information. I honestly question whether he even could find ringworm if it was there. He has consistently put my pets health at risk and the only response was, "well I don't know what kind of situation you have going on there." I hope these pictures let you know. Update #2: After the second set of viral medication ran out, I got more from the vet and I was also offered a random anitfungal treatment for my pets (even though he says we do not have ringworm. This treatment is not specifically a treatment for ringworm). Took the kitten to another vet who said his tail "lit up like a christmas tree" with ringworm. The new vet does not doubt that that is why it is missing patches of fur. The cat, after THREE WEEKS, is STILL coughing and sneezing, and the new vet said that the antiviral medication prescribed by Howard had not helped the entire time because it is a BACTERIAL infection- he is now on Doxycyclin and doing much better. We have also been prescribed ringworm medication. I do not know if this is because he is 90 years old, or doesn't care or whatever the heck else could have made him get this all so wrong, but I am reporting it (especially since there are so many other horror stories at his hospital). Three people, 5 dogs and two cats now have ringworm and who knows what else due to this 'vets' inability to do his job. You are putting yourself and animal at risk if you go here and he should not be allowed to practice. He failed to diagnose ringworm, a bacterial infection and put me and so many others at risk, while denying it to save himself. I. am. appalled. read more

For the love of your pet, please DO NOT bring them here. I brought my dog in 12 days ago, as she was vomiting and I left with an $80 bag of food, after being told it was a food allergy. When she wasn't getting better, and started having difficulties breathing as well, I took her somewhere else just 2 days ago, where I was told she had late stage cancer and may only make it the night. Despite giving her a steroid to help her make it a little longer, we had to say goodbye to our baby girl last night. My heart is broken that I didn't have more time with her. If Dr. Howard had diagnosed her two weeks earlier, it's very likely she still would've died last night, but at least I would've been able to book a family photo shoot, or get her paw print, or simply spend those last few days making extra special memories with her instead of thinking she just had an allergy. To make matters worse, when I called to tell them why I would be returning the dog food, and that my dog was dying, what Dr. Howard misdiagnosed, the response was "that's fine." I honestly have no words, except to beg you not to risk the same thing happening to you and your family. read more

I had to write a review because I feel compelled to let people know not to come here. I brought my dog in because I thought he was sick. The doctor didn't run any tests and just looked at my dog and said to just treat him as if it's parvo and whatever it is he will get better. He is a two year old dog with all of his shots. Luckily the vet tech recommended some antibiotics because I told them I would wait on any treatment. It's been a week and my dog is fine. It sucked that I had to pay 80$ for nothing though. read more

Open on some holidays when everyone else is closed, friendly staff and Dr. Relaxing eco stress free clinic inside with live plants. They have called twice to check up on our dog feels homey and like they care. The staff was great also. read more

Howard Animal Hospital - Veterinarians Near Me - Brawley, California

I wanted to walk out the second I walked in the door. There was dirt and fur everywhere. When I went to pick up a pet brochure, a thick puff of hair, dust and fur got caught on my hand. There was a photo of the sex organs of an animal taped to a lamp right in front of my face when I sat to sign in. From the time we arrived until the moment we left, the employees were gossiping, quite loudly, about personal matters and other people. As if this wasn't enough, my husband and I were shocked to walk into a tiny, unclean room with a bag of saline just hanging in the corner, grime lining the edges of the floor, equipment laden with dust, and an older gentleman that I can only guess is at least 90 slowly shuffling in with a walker. We assumed he was another client until our ears were assaulted by an assistant literally yelling at him, repeating what we had told her earlier. We tried to communicate with the doctor, but apparently we were never loud enough as the assistant had to repeat in an extremely raised voice what we said. This continued as the doctor attempted to treat our animals. Once he understood half of the problem, he slowly grabbed some swabs to take samples from our little guy--holding the swabs in. his. mouth. He then took the sample to look at and we waited. And waited. And waited some more. We noticed the door to our room was never once closed and the staff even yelled personal details from the room to the front desk/lobby. After more waiting, our ears were finally back to being assaulted as the doctor did not tell us what was wrong, simply give them this medicine he brought. We went on the ask about the other major symptom our pets had (yelling all the time) and the vet looked frustrated--as if we hadn't mentioned this symptom to begin with (we had). He continues to shuffle out of the room and take his time bringing a second medication. Upon arriving back, he told us to give them this other one, too; he continued to say he was purely guessing as to if this medication was right and if it didn't work in a week, we had to bring them back for another med. He took out his personal, dirty pocket knife to open the new, carefully sealed oral medication. We went to check out as soon as we were able and were surprised by a bill of over $170 for services received--as the nurses continued to gossip and speak very rudely to clients over the phone. We walked out decidedly to never walk back in, to make do with any other vet available because surely no one else could provide service akin to this. read more

See all

Our experience was horrible. A lot of it was so outlandish it seemed surreal, like something from a sitcom with a laugh-track. Seriously, if you have the means to go elsewhere then go elsewhere! The customer service standard needs some serious improvement, the patient privacy has long been forgotten, and HGTV really needs to give this place a makeover. The staff here has clearly grown complacent about what it means to provide quality service. While we waited for our guinea pigs to be seen we tried to decide which was the least of the tattered chairs we would use for our wait. My wife started looking at the brochures, pulls one out and then showed me how a clump of fur that was among the pamphlets was now on her hand! It wasn't long before we heard the staff gossiping about patients 'being very difficult' and then we watched one of the ladies make some very apparent, short, and snide remarks while on a phone call with a customer. I'm a people person so while I tried to liven things up a bit for my wife's sake by conversing with the staff all my conversation was met with a connotation of negativity and pessimism. At this point we had only been in the door about 8 minutes. During all this I saw some dude leave his dog with a staff member and he did not look like was having a good day. I was beginning to understand why. My eyes were being opened. As we were being led to our examination room we had to stop just outside the door as an old gentleman shuffled slowly with his walking cane into the exam room ahead of us. We soon realized that this man was the doctor! To our understanding he is the only practicing doctor at this facility. It was sad and odd to see that he was still doing this in his limited physical state. The attendant who led us to the room also joined us and the doctor for the duration of the examination. This is apparently the normal protocol because the doctor has such poor hearing that the attendant had to shout everything that we were saying! Mind you, the door was not closed after we all got into the exam room-not that it would have made much difference. He seemingly didn't know where anything was in the exam room (which has very old derelict equipment that is secured to the walls with spiderwebs) and whenever he had to shuffle out of the room for any reason he gave us no heads up as to why he was leaving. He used an otoscope that looked like it may have been used in WW2 alongside some of the other equipment. He began handling the guinea pigs and I must have looked like I was staring into the face of Lord Jesus when he pinched two cotton swabs in between his lips! After a time, and times, and half a time, the doctor puts forward a small bottle of medicine which he then breaks the seal with a dusty multi tool that he pulled out of his pocket! We get out of the door after about 40 minutes and having paid somewhere around $180 for these services. read more

Have been going here for 6 years with my dog... who absolutely LOVES this place!!! Staff is friendly and Dr. Howard is quite knowledgeable and caring. Clean and calming environment also. Would defiantly recommend!!! read more

This was the worst vet place I have ever been to. I knew more than the doctor. I'm sitting in the office crying because my dog ate rat poison and the doctors is laughing at his own jokes. Every step in looking at her was wrong and what they gave her to throw up is more harmful than good DO NOT COME HERE. read more

I took my pet in on an emergency basis yesterday. Doctor Howard and his staff were amazingly compassionate, efficient and helpful. While I did have to put my little girl down, I was very comforted by Doctor Howard's advice and assistance. You get the feeling that the staff really does care. I wish I had gotten the name of the lady who was assisting, since she was great as well. I doubt I will ever get another pet, because there is no replacing the one I had, but I would recommend Doctor Howard to anyone I know who does have pets. read more

Everyone is very helpful and caring. Dr. Howard seems very passionate about helping animals. My dog really trusts the staff and it's very comforting to know he's actually enjoying his visit so I don't take him anywhere else. read more

If I could give out -100 stars I would, I am overwhelmed with emotions right now, my mother took our beagle into this vet and trusted his life in their hands for what was claimed to be a simple and "not a big deal" procedure to help him with his anal glands. She wakes up to a phone call that our dog is dead. They referred to him as "the beagle" and not even by him name. No Emotion was shown towards the loss of this animal, which was entrusted to them. When she arrived she confronted the staff as to why he died, was it during surgery? Medication? WHY did our dog come in healthy and leave dead? They could not provide her with any reason as to why he died. Either they screwed up the surgery or it was just pure negligence. They attempted to take my mother to the back of the vet to turnover the dog in seclusion so their other customers in the waiting area wouldn't see that they killed an innocent pet, she made them bring the dog to the front to let everyone know what they did. Upon further questioning she found they do not even staff their clinic during the night to look out for pets who are sick and have just had surgeries, they just close the doors, turn off the lights and leave for the night. Hopefully none of the post operation animals have issues right? The "doctor" who performed didn't even have the decency to show his face to my mother to apologize for his lack of caring, understanding and attention to our dog. This dog has been with us for YEARS and was a member of the family, but he died alone in a cage in the dark, I just hope it was a peaceful sleep and there was no pain, but I will never know. I will never go to this vet, my family will never go to this vet, my friends, co-workers, associates and anyone I can ever tell our story to will never go to this vet ever again. I hope you are exposed for what you've done and I hope others see this and turn the other way because this vet will kill your animals. read more