Lack of communication
If you are bringing a special-needs or critical animal to Oakland Veterinary Referral Services, please be aware of their severe failures in communication and ICU oversight.
My 10-year-old paralyzed cat, Earl, was admitted to their ICU on Sunday, August 30, 2026. On the night of August 31, he suffered a stroke at 9:00 PM. I was never called. When I proactively called at 10:00 PM and midnight to check on him and ask to see him, I was turned away and told visiting hours ended at 4:30 PM (a policy never previously disclosed to me). I was instructed to call back at 9:00 AM the next morning to schedule a visit.
The next morning, Tuesday September 1, 2026, records show Earl suffered a second stroke at 6:00 AM and entered a completely non-responsive state. Again, no staff called me to report his severe deterioration. When I called at 9:00 AM as instructed, staff scheduled a routine visit for 11:30 AM—treating a patient in active central nervous system failure as if he could simply wait 5.5 hours. Earl passed away at 9:33 AM before I could ever get there to say my goodbyes, and I was not given the privilege to let him go peacefully. Had I not contacted them at 9am I never would've heard from them until Earl died.
When I brought these timeline breakdowns to Hospital Administrator Jim Thompson, management refused to take internal accountability, claiming standard of care was met.
Leaving a dying animal in an unresponsive state for hours without owner notification, denying visitation during critical shifts, and failing to provide basic emergency updates deprives owners of informed consent and the chance to give their pets a peaceful end. Seek care elsewhere if transparent ICU communication matters to you.