Frank Lavac, DVM

Our family cannot say enough good things about Dr. Lavac. We first met him years ago when we had to bring our parakeet in for a blood test, and he was nothing but kind, sympathetic, and helpful. Years later we bought our first dog and Dr. Lavac has been our vet for the past 7 years. We have a Wheaton Terrier who is very high strung and has pretty severe nervious aggression – especially while at the vet’s office. But Dr. Lavac has worked dilligently with us to handle our dog and he, along with the entire staff, has been nothing but warm, welcoming, supportive, gentle, compassionate, and understanding towards our family and our dog. They have gone out of their way to accommodate our dog’s «special needs» and we so appreciate that!
Dr. Lavac is also an excellent surgeon… our dog has had a number of cysts removed from various parts of her body, including a ruptured cyst that needed emergency surgery, and has had no complications whatsoever. Dr. Lavac consistently follows up with a phone call the evening and day after the surgery, and often calls again after a week to check in and make sure our pet is recovering well.
And finally, we love this practice because they have office hours 7 days a week, and it is so comforting to know if we had an emergency over the weekend, someone would be there to see us. For the few times that we’ve had emergencies when Dr. Lavac wasn’t available, we have seen his various colleagues, and every single one of them has been exceptional as well.
All in all, we think Dr. Lavac is the best and we feel very grateful to have such a wonderful and trusted veterinarian to care for our dog!

I got a new baby ferret and have taken him in to get his check up and shot. I mentioned that his eye was being weird but seemed like it was doing better the day of the visit. Dr. Lavac has called twice in 2 months to make sure Pizza’s eye was doing ok.
No, they do not let you go into the back (every place has its own procedures for their own reasons) and yes, this bothered me when i started going there. But now I’ve grown to trust Dr. Lavac and am ok with ‘the back’.

I have no idea why Dr Lavac’s rating is so low on Unilocal.Both my parents and I have been going to see Dr Lavac since we had our first dog over 10 years ago. I’ve even moved away from the area and still go to him for my dog’s routine check-​ups.
He’s very friendly and engages both you and your pet. He’s loving and caring towards the animal as well. I can even safely say that my dog loves going to see him!
In fact, the other day my new puppy was spayed by Dr Jack (also in the office; there was a mix up over the phone, and Dr Jack performed the surgery instead of Dr Lavac); nevertheless, Dr Lavac called me up after the surgery was done to inform me all about how my little puppy was recovering and what I should expect, and if there were any complications etc. It’s great to have a vet that cares for your animal even if it’s not him doing the surgery. He really does care for your pets!
I’m more than satisfied with the service that I’ve gotten from Dr Lavac.
On a side note, I see that the bad reviews come from people with birds so I wouldn’t really know about that since I’ve only owned dogs. Perhaps it’s just that people are just friendlier with pets such as dogs and cats as opposed to more exotic types. I’m just guessing. Regardless, if you have a dog, I know for a fact that Dr Lavac is a great vet.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Lavac since 2005 (it is now 2012) for my chinchilla. My pet has a chronic problem with his teeth requiring a trimming process that is difficult at best. Have you seen the size of a chinchilla’s mouth? Pretty tiny in there! Anyway, I travel 29 miles to see Dr. Lavac because I believe he is simply the best!
Dr. Lavac has ALWAYS been extremely friendly, kind, knowledgable, competent and caring. After my chinchilla has his procedure, Dr. Lavac makes sure he has spoken to me and explained exactly what was found and what was done. Once I had a scheduling problem and Dr. Lavac actually performed the procedure by coming in on his day off! This procedure, as I mentioned, is quite involved requiring anethesia, keen eyes and a steady hand. The good doctor has saved my pet from anguish time after time. What is more, days after the procedure, Dr. Lavac (or one of his staff) have ALWAYS followed up with a phone call to see how my pet is doing. I think this is First-​Rate service and care!
His staff has ALWAYS been very friendly to me and accomodating as well.
I am very grateful that I found Dr. Lavac as he has been an exceptional vet for me and my sweet chinchilla son! I highly recommend him and his staff!

i’ve been going to dr lavac since i had a bunny over six years ago that he treated. he is pricey, but that’s the way it is for vets for exotic animals that aren’t teaching hospitals… it goes with the territory. after reading some mean reviews, i thought i would chime in.
now, i have a parrotlet who has some health issues. dr. lavac is warm, shows a lot of concern about his (my parrotlet’s) well-​being and he’s a good vet. for two weeks over christmas break last year when we couldn’t come into the office, his staff worked with us to make sure our parrotlet was as comfortable as possible. at one point, dr. lavac called us on his personal time to discuss our bird’s health for about twenty minutes. this was all for free. he is a great avian vet and knows his stuff. i wouldn’t take my parrotlet to anyone else.
my partner (i’m a lesbian) and i never got the impression that he was sexist or discriminatory. those other reviews look like plants to me from a disgruntled person. he has always been professional and caring.

When I moved to the west-​side I was looking for a great, trustworthy and caring vet. I have unquestionably found one with Dr. Lavac. He was recommended by a local animal rescue organization where he volunteers on their board. I figured any vet who would donate their free time do this work must really care. I was right. I’ve taken my dog there 3 times so far and he is everything I hoped for and more. I could not be more emphatic in my recommendation for him.

I have been bringing my animals to Dr. Frank Lavac for over 16 years and I have to say I would not bring my animals anywhere else! I found out about Dr. Lavac from a dog behaviorist and heard many rave reviews about him and his practice/​hospital and decided I had to check him out. My animals all love him as he is very caring and compassionate and takes time to make a connection with your dog/​cat/​bird/​reptile (he sees them all!) You get the best of all worlds, with Dr. Lavac as he is always up to date with all the latest developments in veterinary medicine and even knows about things that are on the horizon. Dr. Lavac practices medicine with such integrity and a love for animals and compassion for their humans. Even when I lived in Northern CA (and my family lived here in Los Angeles) I would make a trip down to Southern CA with my dogs so they could get checked out by Dr. Lavac. On more than one occasion, Dr. Lavac has saved my animals’ lives… and even other vets have marveled at his diagnostic acumen and his instinct. And when it has come time for me to say goodbye to my beloved animals, Dr. Lavac is the one with the caring heart and hand… to usher my family member to the next phase. I do have to say to book ahead with Dr. Lavac as he is very popular… and deservedly so. Good luck with your animals!

I wish I could say I was impressed with this doctor but I was not. He is very cold and not as caring as a good vet should be. i have heard very good things about him but my bunny received less than acceptable care at this office. We had an emergency that required immediate attention but Dr. Lavac said he was too busy to take care of it that day, and that the next day was his day off. He was not the least bit concerned. It was also another doctor’s opinion that Dr. Lavac mishandled the spaying of our rabbit.
If you are looking for a good rabbit doctor, make the trip to san diego and visit Dr. Jeffrey Jenkins in Hotel Circle at Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital.