UC Davis Veterinary Medical Center San Diego

They saved my dog Cassandra’s life yesterday. Through fate or luck or divine intervention we live 15 minutes from a world class veterinary cardiology hospital. My mother is a physician, I grew up in people hospitals, and I work in Healthcare IT. I don’t know much about medicine, but I have learned how to spot the bright ones. Dr. Orvahlo is brilliant. Aaron the tech, and really all of their staff are incredible.

My little maltese Max was diagnosed with a heart murmur when he was a just over 12 years old. We were referred to and became patients of Dr. Orvalho’s at that time. Dr. Orvalho ran a complete series of tests and determined that Max was in heart failure with likely 6 to 18 months left to live. Max was prescribed medication that managed his heart condition very well. Other than fatigue, you wouldn’t have known that he had a heart problem. He was also able to participate in a cardiology study that Dr. Orvalho was running.
Casey @ Dr. Orvalho’s office would consistently call to remind me it was time for a check-​up and I always felt like Max was being given the very best medical attention and care. Max lived almost the full 18 months and one morning I quickly recognized the signs Dr. Orvalho had cautioned me about. I knew it was the end and Max passed swiftly. I truly believe that Dr. Orvalho and Casey gave me a year longer with Max than I may have had otherwise. I would highly recommend them to anyone who has a dog with heart problems.

I came here via referral after bringing Oscar, my 13 year old kitty cat, to the vet for an emergency visit due to labored breathing and a «lame» front paw. I’d had an exhausting and emotional few hours prior to my visit, but Dr. Orvalho, Aaron, and the other staff were amazing — intelligent, compassionate, and sincere — amazing! It’s unfortunate that Oscar needs a cardiologist, but I’m happy to have found this amazing facility!

Yea yea yea, its expensive.
Yea yea yea, the thorough testing they perform doesn’t come cheap.
Yea yea yea, they have specialty vet’s just like humans.
Yea yea yea, this is one of the best specialty vets in the US.
Seriously though, Dr. Orvalho saved my puppies life. I had «picked-​up» a pup; long story short, she was in heart failure and didn’t have much time left. Dr. Orvalho got her into surgery right away and mended her broken heart.
Dr. Orvalho and his team were very kind and patient — answering every type of question my wife and I had. He even took the time to call me on Saturday after I left a message on Friday!
Not only that, but as another review mentioned, even Melissa at the front desk was very compassionate.
This type of service doesn’t come cheap, but when you’re furry friend means the world to you, come here.

Our experience was through VSH North County with Cardiologist Dr. Hodge. We made an appointment for our 10 year old pug. He had been experiencing a chronic cough for about 4 months and our primary Dr. could not figure it out, so we were referred to VSH. They found an abnormal heart rhythm on our pug and referred us to Dr. Hodge through UC Davis. Long story short our dog was diagnosed with mitral valve stenosis causing his left atrium to enlarge over time and push up onto his trachea, causing the cough with no cure, just medical management. So far he seems to be improving slightly but it is something he will have to live with for the rest of his years left. Dr. Hodge and his Cardio Tech, Anna, were beyond amazing with our dog and explained everything to us in detail. My husband and I are both medical professionals and understand the disease process, but they explained everything in a way anyone could understand. What a phenomenal asset to have to our San Diego area. We are so very grateful for their expertise and they way they followed up with us. Hopefully our little guy will be able to give us much more joy thanks to Dr. Hodge and Anna.

My kitty has seen both a cardiologist and a kidney specialist here and received excellent care. I also loved their pharmacist! And the receptionist who listened to me talk about nothing because I was so nervous. Prices are a little high, but worth it for the occasional visit to a specialist because they are that good.

Dr. Orvalho saved my dog-son’s life last summer. He was a 7 year old boxer at the time. We picked him up from a weekend at a boarding facility and when they brought him out to us, he was choking, coughing, and dripping foamy blood from his nose. I had no idea what those symptoms meant, but I took him to the first ER I could google and luckily for us, the one attached to the UC Davis Hospital came up. They got him stabilized and transferred him over to Dr. Orvalho in the morning, and he called me to discuss his recommendations and calm me down.
My dog has been on meds for the last 9 months and has been fine, but this weekend (it’s always on a weekend when you need to take them to the ER instead of the normal doc) he started to choke again and have trouble breathing off and on. I called the ER and emailed Dr. Orvalho, who responded to recommend altering his dosage slightly. My dog ended up getting better but the following evening, Dr. Orvalho called me to check in and spent at least half an hour listening to my concerns, asking questions, and giving me his honest opinion. For FREE.
I truly wish the healthcare I receive was as excellent as what my dog does thanks to the UC Davis center and Dr. Orvalho. He and his staff are worth every penny.

I went here today with my 8 year old Doberman, Ajax — who means the world to me. I was told there was a possible enlargement of his heart on the left side — very common in dobermans. I was referred to Dr. Orvalho by Dr. Kurowski of scripps ranch veterinary hospital.
Dr. Orvalho was very informative, patient, and kind. He explained to me what I was ultimately dealing with and took ajax back for his ultrasound.
Results came back and showed that Ajaxs heart was perfectly fine! He went on to explain why it may appear large on an X-​ray and other possible reasons for his coughing.
His cardiologist techs were also very friendly, including one who had to act as receptionist due to someone calling out.
The staff is very friendly and informative. I would recommend this place to anyone who needs the extra mile to their pets health.
Thank you Dr. Orvalho!

Came here to seek last-​resort help for my BF’s 8-​year-​old Doberman, Kush.
Kush had a heart issue that caused him to retain fluids in his chest and belly. After working with his regular vet for about a year, we were referred to these guys because they have a vetrerinary cardiologist named Dr. Orvalho that has extensive experience with these types of cases.
Dr. Orvalho had the most incredible bedside manner! Not only did he candidly explain all of the ins and outs of Kush’s condition, but he also gave us best and worst case scenarios to manage our expectations. We left there with an understanding of what Kush was experiencing and were armed with a plan to help comfort him while we tried out different medications to combat his loss of appetite and fluid retention.
Ultimately, the condition got the best of Kush and we had to put him down, BUT we are grateful for having a few extra months with Kush thanks to Dr. Orvalho.
If your pet is battling a cardio condition, don’t give up. See Dr. Orvalho and he’ll give you the low down.

Dr. Orvalho is amazing. Spends plenty of time with you to make sure all of your questions are answered and has a very good bedside manner.
I’ve been here twice and would recommend anyone who has a dog with heart problems to visit.

Joao Orvalho is one of the best Vet’s I have come across in my dogs 12 years of life. If you need his specialty, you cant find a better doctor.

Dr. Orvalho is my little girl’s cardiologist.
one day, she was running about chasing tennis balls, the next I know, she is falling over on her side, eyes rolling to the back of head, muscles contracting, tongue and lips turning blue.
3 seconds later, her seizure was over, but almost causing me a heart attack.
we take her to the vet.
the vet does a few tests and recommends she go to the uc davis vet med ctr to see a cardiologist.
an animal CARDIOLOGIST? who knew.
she was diagnosed with severe mitral valve defiency. She was originally given a 6 month to 1 year life expectancy since her diagnosis.
2 years later, thanks to Dr. Orvalho’s watchful eye and treatment, Kibbs has a pill cocktail 3x a day, but she is alive, energetic, and happy.
what a little fighter! but certainly, with Dr. Orvalho’s excellent bedside manner, ever curious demeanor, and sincere desire to help your pet, you know the tests and medications recommended are not just to pad the vet’s wallet. Plus the medications are cheaper through UC Vet Med than through your typical vet, little to no mark up!

My dog Monty has a cardiologist. Not because he’s old… he’s only one and a half years old… but because he was born with a pretty serious heart defect. He had heart surgery when he was 7 months old because the breeder that we got him from knew he could live a long life if his heart could just be ‘fixed’. Monty survived the surgery and now only has a moderate heart murmur.
That is where the cardiologist comes into the picture.
We adopted Monty not long after his heart surgery and anytime a dog has had heart surgery they need to go see a cardiologist just like us humans.
I can’t say enough good things about Dr Joao Orvalho at UC Davis Veterinary Hospital. Dr Orvalho has been an amazing doctor to Monty. He is never hurried when we see him and always takes his time (sometimes over an hour) to make sure we understand all that he is saying to us about Monty and how his heart condition is doing. He speaks to us in layman’s terms and has let us see Monty’s actual sonogram while explaining what we are seeing in his irregular heart beat, which was very cool by the way!
The entire staff is also very nice and from the moment you enter the building it is obvious how much everyone loves animals here. They coo & pet & cuddle & give multiple treats to each and every pet that comes through the doors.