Carlsen Animal Hospital

Dr. Carlsen is a most incredible, loving, educated Blessing in the world. When God created Veterinarian’s, God broken the mold when he made William Carlson.
Our precious tea cup Maltese, Tykie passed away last Thursday at the age of ¹³¹⁄₂ years old after a seven year courageous battle of heart disease. It was through his love and caring for Tykie that Tykie had the hope and strength to fight and play like a puppy until her battle and race ended a week ago.
Though Dr. Carlsen is not a heart specialist, his protocol for research and treatment in animals is beyond remarkable. He is truly the Rolls Royce of his field in treating and giving long, healthy life to our animals as well as blessed with the gift of compassion and love for human beings Thank you, Dr. Carlsen. May God grant you many, many years.
P. S. Santa brought us Princess Sailor and she loves you, too!
Roger and Angelle Grace

I love Dr. Carlsen and most importantly, my cat adores Dr. Carlsen. He simply has a wonderful calming way with all animals. I live in the Valley and drive to see him when my kitty needs attention.

I have a rescue that is a Newfoundland mix that has major allergy issues. Had taken her to several other veterinarians including an allergy specialist but wasn’t happy with how it was going. Dr Carlsen really zoned in on the problem in a straight forward and logical way. Molly still has allergies but it is under control with diet and medication and she is a very happy dog again. He is happy to either sell medications or write a prescription (if needed) to buy them online. The staff is great and the office is run well. He is across town for me but worth the drive for the care my dog is getting. I find his prices very fair compared to what I was paying for services at other veterinarians and he has done a couple of follow up visits for no charge.

I felt like there were alot of things on the bloodwork that should have been explained better

I have been going to Carlsen Animal Hospital for almost 20 years. I started when I went to have a German Shepherd that I bought from a breeder checked out at VCA (there was a 24 hour time period from the breeder to do this). The vet at VCA said she had worms, some sort of major intestinal problem and another host of issues. When I checked with the breeder she was stunned. I asked for some more time to check with another vet (everyone on my block raved about Dr. Carlsen) and she agreed to do so. Dr. Carlsen took a look and said 1. she does not have worms. 2, She is a German Shepherd and she is suffering from separation anxiety and that always goes to their guts. He was right on both, gave me some special food and in a week she was just fine. When she was 12 years old I took her in for an issue, and which they discovered was a massive tumor on her spleen. He performed a lot of tests without checking with me (yes pretty pricey), but he was correct in doing so as he knew me and my dog and needed that further information to give me the entire story and it was a rather short-​time related issue. She had a massive tumor on her spleen and the tests showed there was nothing else wrong with her. I needed to decide whether to do the surgery to remove the tumor and make that decision fairly quickly or it could burst and she would bleed out. I think he acted properly in this situation and he did work with me on the costs as I had been a long time client, after I thought it over overnight. He is an excellent diagnostician, amazingly good in that arena as a matter of fact. He felt the surgery would give her another year, and I opted to go with it and he was right on, she lived 13 more months. FYI at the very end of her life, she had an issue (I thought maybe a stroke or something) and when I took her in he was very frank with me. He said I could do something for you (as in extend her life), but it wouldn’t be good for her. A kind way to say it is time to put the dog down, which I was expecting to hear. If he were truly greedy he would have just gone with how to extend the dog’s life for a few more months and lots of $$. Instead he told me the truth.
I now have a rescue German Shepherd with a lot of emotional issues and he has been very helpful with that. Initially she needed some meds to calm her down but he said to work with her on behavior training and then we could go off the meds which is how it worked.
Someone on this site complained about his medication costs. OK first of all he can’t possibly purchase as a place like 1−800-Pet Meds does in huge quantities, so his initial costs are going to be a lot higher. Not to mention his West LA overhead. I have never found him more than 3x the cost and sometimes close to the same, just depends on the product.
This is not a bargain vet. He is not cheap. He is, however, the best vet I have ever worked with and I highly recommend him. Plus he has finally found an associate that people are happy to use as well, she is equally excellent so that solves that issue that someone else mentioned.

Having moved to the Westside some 15 years ago, I found it practically impossible to find a vet that lived up to the standards of my old one in Studio City. For a while I drove from Venice to Studio City with my cats, but with the traffic, that soon became impossible. After 15 years, I finally found DR CARSEN. The throughness of his exams and the confidence he exudes in unsurpassed. Somehow you get the sense the can communcate directly with your pet to get a complete answer to the problem and the correct treatment. He has a fan for life. I assume there are others since his waiting room is usually filled with other satisfied pet owners.

I took my yorkie/​poo mix to Dr. Carlsen in October 2013 for behavior problems (he was attacking our other dog because of anxiety issues). Dr. Carlsen prescribed a medicine called Reconcile (a dog form of prozac) for him. I bought a few bottles then and went back and bought more bottles from him and gave this medication to my dog for a number of months. Unbeknownst to me, this medication had been discontinued by the manufacturer because of inconsistency issues. I first found out about this from my sister in law (a vet in New Orleans), but trusted Dr. Carlsen and continued to give Reconcile to my pooch.
My dog abruptly started to become aggressive again, attacking our other dog five to six times a day-​more than he had before we started giving him medication, so I called the manufacturer who confirmed that, in fact, Reconcile had been discontinued in August, 2013 because of inconsistencies. I took my dog to our vet in Las Vegas (we have a second home there) and he was appalled that any vet would prescribe a discontinued and inconsistent medication. He gave me a better prescription for my dog, and the next time I was in LA I took the two unopened bottles of Reconcile back to Dr. Carlsen for a refund and left them there because he was out of town. They said they’d ask him and get back to me.
It took over five months for a response, and they called this morning and said Dr. Carlsen would not refund the $ 138 ($ 69 a bottle) for the medication and wanted to know if I wanted them back. Really!?! Not only is this very bad business practice, it is. quite frankly, dumb. It’s a $ 138…is he so desperate for cash that he prescribes bad medication and then won’t make a refund for unopened bottles of this bad medication?! Very scary on so many levels.
I strongly urge you not to use this vet because he is untrustworthy, prescribes bad medication, and had bad business practices. My dog suffered unnecessarily because of him, and if he can make this kind of unscrupulous medical decisions for my dog, he can make them for your pet. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS VET!
I will say, however, that his staff is great and I appreciate them following up with me and trying to get him to do the right thing. Very sad that they couldn’t succeed. Again… DON“T USE THIS VET!

My dog has been going to Carlsen Animal Hospital for about a year. Both of the vets — Dr. Carlsen and Dr. Bhuta — are awesome. Last Friday my dog got in the car and broke one of her nails. Blood got everywhere and I rushed over to Carlsen Animal Hospital as they were closing. The door was locked, but the vet tech let me in and Dr. Bhuta was incredibly helpful fixing my dog’s nail.

We have been coming here to see Dr. Carlson since our dog was a puppy, and now she’s 15. Dr. Carlson and his staff are very knowledgeable and helpful. They even stay late when we need to come in unexpectedly. They will do same day appointments and drop offs.

I’ve know Dr. Carlsen for 20 years. He’s a great guy and has always taken great care of my dog.

Back in 2011 I wrote a very negative review about Dr. Carlsen and his practice Carlsen Animal Hospital. I stand by that review. That being said, I feel I should also give credit where credit is due. A dog I’ve been boarding for three weeks had a very stressful experience at the groomer and left there pooping liquid bloody diarrhea. Carlsen is his vet so I immediately called over there — it was just a few minutes before closing. The receptionist was quick to blow me off but when I insisted it was an emergency Dr. Carlsen got right on the phone with me. He waited for me after hours and attended to my little client dog. Honestly, not many vets would have even gotten on the phone let alone waited to see the dog. In this case, Dr. Carlsen was dead on with the diagnosis and just hours later the little guy is already improving. Had Carlsen not gotten on the phone we would have ended up at the emergency room which would have been more stressful for the dog not to mention costly.

Love Dr Carlsen but hate the HUGE mark-​up on Pet Medication.
They charged me 8 TIMES the price as 1−800-Pet-Meds OR Omaha Vaccine.
What a horrible way to screw concerned pet lovers.
i had to buy them from Carlsen since I ran out and my pup could not wait for the company to get a new supply and mail them to me.
Seriously this SUCKS!
This place is good but they LOVE your money.

I went to Dr. Carlsen on the recommendation of a new neighbor and so glad I did. I had gone to West LA VCA per the advice of a trusted friend, but it was cold and creepy and way too big, very impersonal. I felt like I was at the DMV… eek! Carlsen Animal Hospital is the opposite. Dr. Carlsen has a very comforting demeanor (and is a very good vet and knows his stuff, because we all wish kind words alone could heal, but…). I have been taking my American Bulldog there for 3+ years now and would highly recommend if you want to find a vet you can trust. Staff is awesome too!

I came here a few weeks ago with my 18 year old cat. I’m still on the fence about the service I received. I dropped off my cat on a weekday morning to have them run some tests — she’s been peeing outside the litter box, and had lost some weight. I know it was my fault for not inquiring how much the tests would be or give them a limit on what I wanted to spend… so I guess that is on me. However, when I returned to pick her up, I was stuck with a $ 650 bill! This was for x-​rays, ultrasound and blood tests. It just seemed quite high. When I expressed this to Dr. Carlsen, he did work with me and lowered the costs. However, that made me think that if he was able to lower the costs, maybe he was overcharging? Again, this is just speculation. I can say that Dr. Carlsen seemed to have my pet’s best interests at heart, explained the situation fully to me and I am currently hopeful about returning my pet to her optimal health. So I than them for that!
I will also say per my observation, that everyone who brought their pets here seemed to respect Dr. Carlsen and were happy with the service and treatment they received.

My puppy, Duke, was diagnosed with renal failure and given 6 weeks to live by the vet at VCA. I brought him to another vet, who declared that he might last a little longer if given IV fluids at a cost of several thousand dollars. I went to Dr. Carlsen (on the basis of his Unilocal reviews) and he agreed to do the same IV fluid treatment at a much lower cost.
Over the next year, Dr. Carlsen monitored Duke’s kidney levels and prescribed medications and diet guidelines. He always took the time to explain his recommendations, and never pushed costly or unnecessary treatments. His staff is competent, courteous, and professional.
Dr. Carlsen is not only a skilled vet, he is clearly a man of genuine compassion, both for his patients and their owners. Although Duke died far too young, I think he had a good life until his final days, and I thank Dr. Carlsen for making that life possible.

Excellent. In every way. Clean. Staff is attentive, professional, and helpful.
Dr. Carlsen is hands down the BEST vet on the westside, and possibly beyond.
His simple approach to providing solutions, with a stark honesty, and skilled practices– extensive experience, make Carlsen Animal Hospital the only location i hope to ever have to bring our pets.
Prices here are what they are. Good care is expensive. At least here, i rest assured that needless expenses are not generated.
Not a mistake to bring your pets here.

So why do they charge so much to treat animals again?
1-​They have low malpractice insurance costs.
2-​They overhead isn’t the same as is for medical doctors and they staff they have to hire and pay. A nurse is paid more that treats humans.
3-​Over night stays. Think about that one.
4-​Why can’t the estimates be more accurate? Haven’t they done this for years? How much different is each case really?
In general I think DVM’s are way over paid!

Dr. Carlsen cared for my dogs for over 12 years (one of them from cradle to grave) and I can honestly say he does an outstanding job. My animals liked him and his staff and even tolerated boarding with them on occasion, which considering how cowardly my pups could be, says a lot about the caring and humane atmosphere of the place.
His ability does have its drawbacks: his patients make it very difficult for Carlsen Animal Hospital to expand its practice beyond the eponymous proprietor; I have seen several qualified, able vets join the practice only to leave again, because hardly anyone would see them in place of Dr. Carlsen. During the times when he has been away for some reason, the office is empty and quiet; every other day, though, it resembles Times Square on New Year’s Eve, only without Ryan Seacrest and his dye job. Given the great demand for his services, and the insufferably self-​entitled attitudes of his West Side clientele, Dr. Carlsen can charge a premium for his goods and services, and he does so unblushingly. However, I have to say that he never had me regretting the fees I paid; rather, I felt thankful to have such a talented vet and a compassionate person in my and my dogs’ corner.
The parking lot is small, and the wait can feel long. For goodness sake give the other vet (s) there a try and you’ll get in and out much quicker. But if you simply must have Dr. Carlsen, you’ll never look back once you get in to consult with him.

Our precious Golden Retriever came down with bloat at his doggy daycare over the holidays. We were devastated to be all the way across the country when he was so seriously ill. Luckily the daycare rushed him to Carlsen Animal Hospital just in time, where our dog was very well cared for and ultimately, given emergency surgery.
The vet was very kind, reassuring and patient with our constant calls to check on our dog. Luckily, by the next day, our dog was doing great. We credit his healthy outcome to this great vet and his staff and will likely change our regular vet to Dr. Carlsen going forward.

Had a great experience with my dog here — sadly I moved out of the area, otherwise I definitely would’ve kept going back.
Dr. Carlsen was actually a vet school colleague of my vet in NYC, who recommended him highly. Various people in the waiting room also commented on how great he was when they heard I was a new patient.
They seemed very up to date on things, office staff was fine, etc. Solid.