ACCESS Pasadena

I’m leaving an updated review as it seems my previous one has been removed. This is a one year update for my cat Gomez who was treated by this facility in Sept of 2022. He was brought in because he was open mouth breathing (he has been living with Asthma since 2020) Access got him in on a Sunday, it took about 3 hours to receive an update from them, they took him in and put him in an oxygen chamber, where he reminded for 3 nights (total for this visit was around 4k) Each night the emergency doctor recommended Euthanasia, I asked how his lungs looked and she said “really bad” (I have already known he has a collapsed lung lobe- he has had for two years) this was her first time seeing his X-rays, I asked her if she could compare them to his X-rays from 6 months prior to see if they are worse or the same, she said she would (the x-rays we’re never requested from my primary vet). She also proceeded to tell me, it is “very difficult to read cats x-rays” after this I asked if she could send the X-rays done at access to my primary vet, again said she would (X-rays we’re not sent while he was in their care at access, but finally were sent a couple weeks later when he went in for a follow up at our regular vet) she treated for a possible infection, but couldn’t confirm that he had this after running extensive tests. The one course of treatment she recommended would be very dangerous in his state (doing a lung rinse to get more information) she informed me of this and I decided against it. On two occasions, after an evening visit about 30 min after leaving she called me to recommend I come back in because she thought he was about to die- the first occasion she gave him a high dose of medication and then gave him something to reverse it. On both occasions, I came back and he looked exactly the same as he did when I had left, although she insisted he was declining quickly and had improved in the 30 min it took me to get back to the vet. Each time this doctor talked to me, it was in the ER during my visits with my cat. Finally, the day he was being discharged (full disclosure- they discharged him so he could be comfortable and pass at home) the doctor this day (a different one) took me into a room and explained to me the prognosis and his medication regiment. This is the first and only conversation that happened outside of the ER triage room. Every financial decision was made in the setting of a triage unit, which I do not think is an accident. I was brought paperwork to sign to pay for an additional night because we had exceeded the high end of the quote while I was sitting in a triage unit visiting with my cat on oxygen. One year later, Gomez has had follow up visits with his primary vet, we have added in a nebulizer (steam therapy) treatment and I now have a rescue medicine on hand neither of which treatments were ever mentioned at Access. He has lived extremely comfortably after being told he would likely die within a couple weeks of bringing him home and he would suffer. I fully believe access was not equipped to handle his case and rather then offering to move him to another facility, opted to make as much as they could off this case and Euthanasia was just another thing they could add to my bill. I highly advise against seeking treatment for feline respiratory illnesses at this particular access facility. Photo of my baby one year after being told by Access Pasadena I should put him down because his quality of life will be terrible.

This review is for Sarah, I believe she’s a tech here at Access Pasadena. I’ve been here many times and I always notice that Sarah goes above and beyond doing her job. She stands out positively and does everything with a smile. Thank you for helping our Lucky! Thank you for all that you do each day for pet owners. Your compassion for pet owners and their pets is something you should be proud of.

I've taken my pet here on two occasions now for emergency visits. On both instances all the staff I interacted with were kind and helpful. My pet was well cared for and emergencies were well handled by all staff. They do get quite busy so there can be a wait at times but I feel they triage care appropriately based on needs and severity. The veterinarians I interacted were very knowledgable and came out to speak with me or gave me a phone call directly to explain what was done and after care steps which was nice. I will continue to take my pet here for emergency needs.

This place is ridiculously expensive. I took my cat here, and they wanted $8k! I saw another vet who was more experienced and said my cat didn't need to do most of the procedures Access told me I needed to do. He already knew what the issue was with my cat. He told me to change 1 thing. My cat is fine now. I will never go back to Access. I almost put him down because they don't have compassion here. They (the owners) just care about money and ripping people off! I had asked the staff there why it was so expensive and they said because they have everything (all types of expensive equipment) in-house and of course rent (it's Pasadena).

This place is really great. You are allowed in with your pet, the people who work there are attentive and compassionate. It's a calm atmosphere. We have had to call to ask many follow up questions as things arise and they are always kind and helpful. When we were there is was well staffed with low wait times. They are also up front with their pricing. Thank you Access!