Skyline Veterinary Hospital

I’ve only been here once,. I moved to the neighborhood two years ago with my old, formerly feral cat who is terrified of being enclosed and driving in the car, so I chose Skyline because it was close. I feel very fortunate to have stumbled on this place. I really appreciate the doctor and his staff. It was a very difficult day and they were capable, steady, and warm. The doctor explains everything he does as he’s doing it and is kind and practical. Thank you so much, Skyline.

Dr. Braun is one of the kindest people (along with his wife and staff) you’ll ever meet. A Cornell Alumni, he is very thorough but grass roots in his methods. He’s up to date with every new approach to animal medicine, but advocates non-​invasive ideas; if you have a 15 year old cat (or one as old as 19 as did I), he’s going to roll with your program — after all, it’s you who helped your pet to live that long in the first place. He epitomizes the small town local doctor and will do house calls if needed. He’s a true gem in the East Bay!
Thank you Dr. Braun for your help!

I love the good doctor and his lovely wife Jean. Jim and I have bringing our pets to Dr. Braun for maybe 20 years. I hope he never retires
Philip Anderson
HDR Remodeling
Berkeley Ca

I really like Dr. Braun and have brought our entire menagerie of dogs and cats to him for years. He truly is old school, no nonsense with his approach to your pet’s health, but is also a really sweet guy. He really cares about animals and their people and loves what he does — that comes through so clearly in his level of care and attention.
Be prepared to get more info from him than you may be able to process all at once though — his encyclopedic knowledge can be a lot to take in when you are stressed about your pet, so I recommend bringing a notepad or a 2^nd person to help retain all the info and ask all the appropriate questions. But that is precisely why we take our beloved pets to him — he will actually tell you everything that’s going on, give you his straightforward opinion on how to proceed, refer you elsewhere when necessary for your pet’s wellbeing, and not charge you a mortgage payment in the process.
If you insist upon all the latest gizmos and gadgets of «modern» veterinary medicine you’ll be better off elsewhere. But if you want a doctor who is capable, kind, thoughtful and truly has seen it all and knows where he can help and when to send you elsewhere, then Dr. Braun is your guy.

Great Vet, Dr is straight to the point. Provides your options and doesn’t recommend add-on’s that are not going to be beneficial to your pet. Always ready for you when you arrive, no waiting. Would highly recommend.

If I could get away without a star at all I would! Their receptionist is EXTREMELY RUDE! I will not be taking my pets here. The vet may be nice but perhaps he should give his receptionist the definition of customer service because she clearly has no idea! There are better clinics elsewhere.

10 years ago we brought our 6 month old puppy to Dr. Braun on a neighbor’s recommendation. Pup had been hit by a car and spent 4 days in ICU at Pets Unlimited SF, and needed daily wound cleansing on his mangled paw.
After moving from SF to Oakland, wanted to support the local business and headed up the hill.
Took the injured dog in, was registered and then treated. Doctor, without assistant, tethered the dog and attemepted to twist his injured paw. Dog snapped at vet and he slapped the dog. Could understand this reaction a little better if the vet had an assistant or a muzzle. No prevention, no pain med, but okay for a old school vet to slap a dog. We left. Never to go back.
Went back to Sf to our SPCA main vet, found out dog’s wounds were majorly infected (which the Oakland vet had not detected) and had not been rehabilitated.
Love my local everyone businesses, but let’s make sure they are all up to date on life.

I have a cat who vomits a lot which I know is difficult to diagnose. I have taken her to other vets without any luck and I left those other vets feeling like I spent a lot of money on nothing. I just took my cat to Skyline Veterinary Hospital and the vet spent a really long time with her — he even cleaned her teeth and clipped her claws at no additional charge. My cat, like most cats, hates the vet and she likes to hide under blankets and clothes when she is scared or stressed. The vet brought her a couple of towels to hide under which was really smart and thoughtful. He gave me some medication for hairballs and said that maybe it’s as simple as hairballs! Oh my gosh, if that’s the case, then I really feel like I wasted my time at the other vets.
Even though I don’t yet know if hairballs are the problem, I feel confident this vet really knows his business and he’s not going to charge me an arm and a leg for unnecessary treatments. My cat has also been licking her fur off and he brought out a textbook to show me pictures of other animals that have the same issue and the causes of those animal’s over-​grooming.
I thought these folks were really nice but the thing that is really important to me is getting my cat healthy. I feel like I can do that here.

So, we’re new to the area, and didn’t know who to call when our recently adopted kitten started loudly wheezing and gulping any time she purrs. Choosing by proximity to our neighborhood and by the general ratings, I called Skyline Veterinary Hospital — SO glad I did!
I explained to the receptionist what was going on — this wheezing and gulping when she purrs, but otherwise acting like a perfectly normal 3 month-​old-​cat (lots of energy, eating and drinking fine, etc.)
She politely asked if I’d mind holding. I thought she was just checking the schedule, but after about 2 minutes, she got back on the phone. She’d consulted with the doctor, who said that since the kitten is up to date on shots (adopted from Oakland Animal Shelter), and otherwise acting healthy, he suggested we wait it out, and that it would probably resolve on its own — a little kitty cold. Of course if her behavior changed for the poorer, to let them know.
I love this! He addressed my concern without me even having to come in to the office — I could have been told the same info after a 3 minute office visit, and been charged.
I will be taking my whole crew in when they need anything.
Thanks, Skyline!

Very bad experience took my 17 yr old cat in Dr. told me some cats don’t deserve to be kept alive within 48 hours cat was dead

Dr. Braun not only saved our kitten’s life but saved us $$$!
Our kitten, Lola, suddenly started throwing up (she’d swallowed a piece of ribbon…) and would not stop for 5 days. In the meantime, she stopped eating or drinking completely and had lost all of her kitten ways, looking miserable all the time. First, I took her to a «chain hospital» where they charged me almost $ 800 just for x-​ray and fluid & stomach meds. Then they urged me to take her to the emergency hospital for ultra-​sound & surgery which would cost upwards of $ 5 – 6000!!!
At this point, I was an emotional wreck because we simply would not spend that kind of money on a pet (we still have young children who need braces & college funds!) which meant what?! Just letting her suffer & die?!
However, as God would have it, my husband ran into a neighbor who recommended Dr. Braun for the second opinion. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. So, I asked my husband to bring Lola home from the other evil hospital at our own peril (I think they made him sign her life away!?) and took her to Dr. Braun first thing in the morning without an appointment.
I’m so glad I didn’t call — I just walked in and begged to be seen! Because it is a small office and not a hospital with proper «procedures» or «policies», they showed compassion and just let us in. Even though he had three surgeries scheduled that morning, he made the time to look at the x-​ray and offered to have an exploratory surgery the next morning. He kept her at his hospital that night and when I called the next morning after the time scheduled for her surgery, guess what?! They said he didn’t have to cut her open!!! After I left her with him, in the x-​ray he noticed that she was constipated so gave her an enema just so she would be more comfortable. And that did the trick! She started eating right away and was back to her perky self again. Why couldn’t the other hospital do something simple like that to begin with!!!
He kept her for two nights just to observe her bowel movement and he charged me next to nothing for all of that. I cannot be grateful enough for this wonderful doctor & all of his staff!
«Old school» rocks!

Full disclosure: Dr. Braun gave me my first job in the veterinary industry in 1986!
I was a pre-​veterinary student, and he hired me as a kennel assistant, and trained me to become an excellent veterinary assistant. He paid me very well for having no experience, and kindly sold me his old car for next to nothing, letting me make payments. He obtained a membership to the local health club so that I could use the pool, since I love to swim. He was super sweet when I accidentally injured a dog while grooming it too, I will never forget that. I went on to a 20+ year career as a veterinary technician, and will always remember his kindness, and his wife Jean as well. I was in the area recently and thought «no way is he still practicing.» It’s nice to know he is, I should drop him a line, but if anyone sees this, tell him Paula says hi, the blonde kid way back in the 80’s he sold me his Chevy Cavalier station wagon!

Dr. Braun has been my vet for all of the 16 years I’ve lived in Oakland. He has saved the lives of three of the four dogs in various ways. He is direct, gentle, caring and he follows through with his cases. Dr. Braun has an amazing memory in terms of your history with pets and what they have been through over the years. Even so, he keeps fastidious notes so that you don’t have to rely on his or your memory. His office staff over the years has been amazing, and I never have had to wait more than ten or fifteen minutes. One one occasion, an emergency came into his office while I was there. Dr. Braun came to personally explain and offer a different time so that I could make an informed decision as to how to handle.
Dr. Braun has endless experience and resources, but if he is stumped by a case he doesn’t hesitate to tell you and he will refer you to another vet. I’d much rather have a situation like that than spend thousands of dollars on a misdiagnosis or trial and error as I have with other veterinarians.
The offices are always clean, the front desk staff is always friendly and patient. They put up with my hectic schedule with a smile. I don’t know what I would do without Dr. Braun!

Dr. Braun is wonderful. My dog had an upset stomach for 3 days. Dr Braun was so patient and kind. He is so knowledgable. He diagnosed my dog and gave us medication to take home. He fed my dog to be sure he could keep his food down before we left. So nice! I’ll be back for sure. The bill was ¹⁄₅ of what I was charged at another vet’s office for less caring treatment. I’m so happy to find Dr. Braun. Good affordable vets are hard to find.

Good vet care doesn’t come from a fancy state of the art building, it comes from caring, experienced individuals– which Dr. Braun definitely is. He’s coming up on his 50^th anniversary (being a vet, that is)! He also said how being a vet is a wonderful career, if you like it of course. I think it’s safe to say he likes what he does and as a result, he’s good at it.
I brought my cat and my dog, my furry babies, in for their annual exam which I was anticipating to be pretty expensive. It wasn’t. It was the most affordable AND thorough vet exam I have ever witnessed. For two animals he took an hour and 15 minutes– I didn’t wait in the waiting room and I was with my babies the whole time. He scraped the plaque from the teeth of both my cat and my dog. He clipped their nails. He reviewed their vaccination history and spoke about the risks of Leptosperosis (for both them AND me) as well as the likelihood of heartworms. When he said the cat probably wouldn’t need to use heartworm preventatives since she is an indoor cat, I admitted that it wasn’t worth the risk to me because I know that if a cat gets them they probably wouldn’t survive. Instead of being annoyed with me for being a know it all (as far as I’m concerned, I do know best when it comes to my babies, even if I don’t have a veterinary license) he replied «very good» and seemed to appreciate my stance. I haven’t had that response in some places– other vets have gotten butt-​hurt. They also are the same vets that muzzle a dog for an exam.
Speaking of muzzles– there was none of that. No cold restraints from a vet tech. Dr. Braun bribed with Milkbones, which my dog didn’t complain about. He must’ve eaten 8 of them, and the Dr. gave him some even after the exam was complete. My boy appreciated that. He also appreciated how gentle the Doctor was, because when he was done getting poked and prodded he rolled over for a belly rub with a tail wag– it was clear he liked the doctor, as do I.
The bad: truly, when this guy retires it will be a bummer.

What a great vet! Old-​school, they are very straightforward and take great care of your pet (s) without any upsell. I’ve been going for 17 years now! Dr. Braun shares all kind of vet-​related information with me so I can make informed choices.

Full disclosure: Emmy F. is my mother.
Now, for the good: Dr. Braun and his staff have provided quality medical care for four of my family’s toy poodles. The latest is my dog, Telly, went in on Tuesday for a routine teeth scaling (with anesthesia, Telly’s fault, not Dr. Braun’s), and had to have two teeth pulled after Dr. Braun discovered pockets of decay and bacteria during the procedure. Two days later, the patient is doing fine and on three weeks of antibiotics, but I just looked at the bill and could not identify a charge for the extraction. (The only difference was a small charge– $ 7 or $ 8 — for an extra week of antibiotics.)
I echo my mother’s sentiments that Dr. Braun and his staff provide quality medical care at reasonable prices. And, better yet, they understand that the pet is a member of the family and encourage pet owners to be in the exam room and assist as needed. For example, my dog needed to be held to have his temperature taken, and I was able to stay with him when he was given the anesthesia and wait for it to take effect. Other vets I’ve been to have taken my dog away from me and made me wait in a waiting room, which was traumatizing to my dog (and didn’t make me feel very good either).
The bad: I don’t know what I’ll do when Dr. Braun eventually retires.

Once again, I sing the praises of Skyline Veterinary Hospital. I brought my homeless friend’s dog, who had a very painful spinal injury, in my van. Dr. Braun came out to the van in the blowing cold and examined the dog carefully and thoroughly. He diagnosed the dog and referred him to UC Davis for followup. His diagnosis was echoed by UC Davis who provided the follow-​up treatment. Dr. Braun even refused any payment for the exam, which was a very big deal for my pal. Thanks again Doc.

«Friendly, compassionate care for your fur-​kids» at Skyline Vet in Oakland? Are you sure you’ve got the right clinic? I took my little one there expecting to find a pet-​friendly, compassionate, 5 star vet and was actually fooled during my first visit with Pereesha. However, when I went in the 2^nd and 3^rd time, Pereesha wasn’t there and instead I was greeted by another cold receptionist (his wife?), and the not so pet-​friendly Dr. Braun. Don’t get me wrong, he is a nice man, but don’t expect him to interact with your «fur-​kids», instead expect a «place him here, umm uhh, does he? Ummm uh, how is… would you like me to???» Not to mention the place is in dire need of a renovation, I felt I was stepping into an old veterinary morgue…

We are coming to the first year anniversary of our dog Monty’s passing, after fourteen yearsthirteen with us. Dr. Braun was his vet since the time he got hit by a car in front of our house! Monty never really minded going to the vet, because they treated him so well, especially the tech, Pereesha. But they’re all great.
In Monty’s last days, we brought him over to Dr. Braun, who knew we weren’t ready to part just yet, so he thought we might want to keep him with us a few more days. We are so glad we did, and when it was time to go, Dr. Braun was there for Monty, and for us… what more could you ask for in a vet?
Oh, they also board their client pets, so that’s a huge plus!