Aloha Veterinary Center

Lost my doggy yesterday. Took her into ALOHA VET and they elected to do surgery. She was very sick and I only wish I had taken her in earlier. Of course they wouldn’t do anything until I paid over $ 700 dollars. They just left her laying in the exam room until I got that squared away.
Got a call at 2pm from doctor as saying surgery went well but they were going to keep her overnight to monitor. However, I believe there was no monitoring. Not sure when they left the facility but got a call the next morning saying she didn’t make it through the night and not by the doctor. Thanks! No explanation whatsoever.
So my choices are to spend another $ 400 for cremation to get ashes back, $ 2.50 a pound to get her cremated with other animals and no ashes back, pay $ 25 for them to dispose or pick up. And… they’re charging extra on top of what I paid for a dead dog. I’m just sick with this vet. I’ll never ever go there again. The doctor spent less than 5 minutes with my kids and I and I paid an extra $ 40 on top of the $ 35 visit fee just to walk in there. Yes I feel like they nickel and dimed me and left me with nothing. I guarantee they all just left for the day and didn’t check on her until they came to work the next day.
ALOHA VET, never again!
We will miss you Mele.

BEWARE! If you love your pet, do not use this clinic. They cannot be trusted. Where do I start…
First off, I’ve brought both my dogs here for years and have spent thousands of dollars on their care. On multiple occasions, they were eager to conduct unnecessary surgery on them. SO GLAD I got a second opinion before putting them under the knife.
Secondly, one of my dogs suffered from epilepsy and needed emergency attention on 3 separate occasions for grandmal seizures over the course of 5 years. All 3 times I called their hotline, paid the emergency fee & NEVER got a call back… Not even an apology. Just excuses that the doctor on-​call lives in an area with terrible cell phone reception. If that’s the case, why is that Doctor even the on-​call emergency doctor??? Hello people. Breaks my heart that I called them for emergency help the 3^rd time with no avail, and my dog passed away in my arms while I waited for their call that I NEVER got. I hate this place. And I never use the word «hate.» I will never bring another beloved pet to them, ever again. Where’s the option for zero stars… They don’t even deserve one star.

Calling your business «ALOHA Veterinary» is a sick joke.
I had a really messed up experience at the vet’s in Hilo today and need to share.
I will preface this story by saying I believe a vet’s first responsibility is to HEAL not HARM, and their second responsibility is to lead, inspire and educate.
Anyway, first visit to this vet I noticed NO rescue flyers, NO spay and neuter posters. I thought that was odd. In my experience, vets are Ground Zero for helping pets.
Then, this morning I’m standing at the counter for my second appointment and I open a notebook filled with dozens and dozens of snapshots of dogs with their ears hacked off. I ask «what is this for?» thinking it is a «please don’t do this» pictorial. One of the workers chirpily says «Oh, we do ear cropping here!»
THEY LITERALLY HAVE A SHOPPING CATALOG FOR YOU TO CHOOSE THE STYLE OF DISFIGUREMENT YOU WANT TO INFLICT ON YOUR PET.
So I say «Are you telling me this vet’s office purposely mutilates dogs?» And she says «Well yes, lots of our clients request it.» So I say «So if I requested you amputate my dog’s leg, you’d just do it cuz I requested it?» She says «Oh NO, we wouldn’t do THAT!»
I say «Please inform the doctor that I am a new client that will not be returning after this visit, because cutting dogs’ ears off for fashion is WRONG.»
She looks at me like I’m completely insane and says «Oh, I guess SOME people might feel that way». By this time the whole office is staring at us. I am so agitated by now I say «SOME PEOPLE??? You know what? Forget it! I’m cancelling this appointment NOW! Mutilating dogs for fashion is WRONG and you shouldn’t be doing it!»
Then I stormed out of there crying…’cause you know, Crybaby.
PS I understand that many people chop their dogs’ ears off, not for fashion, but for FIGHTING. Since this makes me even MORE agitated, I didn’t mention it.
Again: I BELIEVE A VET’S FIRST RESPONSIBILITY IS TO HEAL NOT HARM, AND THEIR SECOND RESPONSIBILITY IS TO LEAD, INSPIRE AND EDUCATE.

Last time i was here I waited over an hour before my dogs were seen. 260 $ later my dog STILL has an ear infection.

We came in primarily to get a stray kitten we had found checked out.
First impression of the place was that it was busy. Extremely busy. Although we had an appointment we still had to wait about thirty minutes for a visit that lasted only about five. They took a fecal sample and after ten minutes of more waiting we got the results back. The kitten had round worm. The vet quickly prescribed the right medicine and instructed us how to apply. Everyone was nice and even with the wait I didn’t feel slighted.
As a whole we got our dog and new kitten checked up, had two fecal tests done, and received antibiotics and round worm medication for the cat. The grand total was $ 200. I have no idea if that is good or not so I’ll let you be the judge.
Place could’ve been cleaner, wait faster, and vet a little more friendly so I rate this as an average place for average run-​of-​the-​mill pet owners.

First impression wasn’t good. Dr Rodriguez had a nice manner about him but felt there was alot of push to pay for unnecessary things. I did go back later that year to Dr. Kapust and will stay with this hospital as long as she is there. So compassionate and has current knowledge of her field (some vets very old school). The front staff and tech staff are also some of the friendliest I have met and they seem to know and care about your animals as much as the vets.

We have always received good treatment for our pets here. Dr Lei is very caring and engaged with her animal patients. I feel they are in very good hands with her at any point. I did feel less confident with an earlier doctor we used to see but now that we’ve changed to Dr Lei, this is the only place we come to.
The waiting time is very long at times and it has felt rushed in the treatment room too. I don’t know if this is due to poor organisation or just unpredictable with patients that doesn’t precisely have the same calendar management like us.
I would like to have time to discuss and learn more about the care and conditions during the visits. As I have a deep interest in learning I want to learn everything about my animals condition. I want to know what causes a condition and what various alternative I have for treatment. I am not a big fan of just medicating and getting rid of the symtom… I need to know the cause.

Dr. Rodrigues, Dr. Lei, and the rest of the staff is great. Parking is a little tight here, but location is good. We get a pet mailer that has interesting articles from Aloha vet also. We would recommend this vet for any pets and their parents. Keep doing great work!

Horrible!
Called for emergency care for my cat who had a dime-​sized hole in her belly on a Saturday night and never received a call back — ever. I was told I would not be charged until I spoke with the ER vet but was charged anyway. At least one person at the call center hung up on me 3 times! I got better free service when I called a vet hospital in California where I got FREE advice until I could get her to a vet.
There is no actual emergency vet hospital in this area that is available ²⁴⁄₇ like in larger cities, and most vets, disappointingly, will not see your animal unless they are already a patient, even in an emergency. Sadly, my cat had been seen by Aloha before and they still ignored her.
I did get a refund after calling back during regular business hours.
She has a new vet but I am not optimistic of quality care in this area.

I would give a five star but sadly four only because of the wait time is way too long. Expect to wait at least an hour to hour and a half after your initial appointment. I tried to think maybe the doc was behind with emergency but nope. It happens everytime. And you will literally only have 5 min with the doc. Other than that I love the friendly service and the workers and doctors who really care about animals. Two of my dog are under the care of dr lei and dr Rodriguez. They are both caring. Price is reasonable. Except for the ursine analysis. The plain dip stick test for my dog costs $ 32. I would highly recommend this place for anyone who wants a caring vet for their animal.

The doctors here have a wonderful way with the animals and give top notch care. Dr. R showed us how we could save almost ½ off our dogs monthly maintenance meds. They were recommended to us by our previous vet from our home town. Having a relationship trusted vet is a great piece of mind.

I’m giving 4 stars «yay I’m a fan» because:
1) they have a bench outside where I can wait with my dog, so she doesn’t fantasize about making love with (or eating, I’m not sure which) every cat, chihuaha, and rabbit waiting inside. It’s a «win-​win» because their floor doesn’t get covered with her drool while she’s imagining getting her mouth on all the other patients, and I can relax and enjoy the fresh air without worrying about my dog choking herself trying to «meet» all the other clients.
2) they’re the only vet center I could find on the east side of the island that offers 24 hour emergency care including holidays (back on the mainland, I had a dog die on Thanksgiving once, and had to drive her several hours to find treatment on a holiday, so that taught me a lesson… be prepared… chances are about one in a hundred that it will be Thankgiving, Christmas, or New Years Day when your pet has an emergency!)
3) Dr Rodrigues has actually taken my dog off medication that her mainland vet said she would need for the rest of her life. I guess Hawaii agrees with her… time will tell if he is correct. Still, I admire a vet who will take your dog off medication instead of just trying to sell you more.
4) The staff is always pleasant and helpful
5) They are always busy when I go, so I guess other people like them too.
6) Their prices have been very reasonable.

These folks truly love animals! When my mom passed away, our family had to decide what to do with her two aging kitty cats. The staff was very kind and the Doctor was an obvious animal lover who was caring and professional who helped us decide the best plan for mom’s favorite four-​legged friends.