San Marcos Animal Medical Center

I am beyond grateful to live close to a vet like Dr. Hosking. In fact, I don’t know what I will do if I ever move far enough away that I can’t take my animals here. I really do not trust anyone else to take good care of my dog, or give me an honest opinion that is not driven by greed for money.
Three days ago, on Christmas Day, my sister’s dog attacked my dog. The result: a laceration on her neck bigger than the size of a quarter. I feel, as most of you probably feel, like my dog is my child, so we rushed her to an emergency 24 hour vet. We spent hours there just to be quoted almost $ 1300; which I knew was a bottom line and the bill would most likely be much more. I felt so inadequate when I had to tell them I just could not afford that. She ended up getting antibiotic and pain killer injections to get her through the night, and I took her to Hosking first thing the next day.
My fiancé met the girl who was opening SMAMC at the door the next morning, and although the doctor wasn’t in yet, although they had a short staff that day, and although they usually do not do surgeries that day; they told my fiancé to go get our girl and they would figure it out. They called Dr. Hosking in early that day, and scheduled my baby for her surgery. After all was said and done at SMAMC, my total bill was $ 212.
A larger bill does not equate to better service. In fact, the way Dr. Hosking charges cements the fact in my mind that he is there to make my pets feel better and not there because he is in a lucrative business; contradictory to the mindset of most veterinarians these days.
Please, do not pay any mind to the bad reviews on here. This man works so hard, spreads himself so thin, and always returns my pets in the best of conditions. The girls that work here are understanding, helpful, and friendly despite the severe amount of stress they are always under.
Thank you so much San Marcos Animal Medical Center! You take care of my babies as if they were your own and I am so grateful for your service!
P. S. to the lady that says she has researched him and «blah blah blah» your research is absolutely meaningless if you don’t put in the correct doctor’s name. His name is Dr. Brian Hosking, NOT HOSKINS.

I would like to thank Dr. Hosking and his staff for the wonderful job they did on Mokie my long haired weiner dog. Mokie had large growth on eye lid that looked like a large blueberry. So we had it removed. This was not easy for Dr. Hosking, it took all night. Then he wasn’t happy with the eye lid and keep her another couple on days. On course Mokie had too tear out some stitches on go back and stay a few more days at the medical center. They did all this without charging us any extra fees and the price he quoted was a lot less than than the other we received. In all it was a great experience and I would recommend them to anyone! Thank you, Dr. Hosking and staff!

At first the Unilocal reviews for this place scared the crap out of me, but I tried anyway. And here’s what I found:
Yes, the wait can be long — but it’s not forever.
The staff is awesome. They truly care, not just about your pet, but about you.
My 8 year old chihuahua, who is my baby, had an ear tumor (not malignant), and my normal vet wanted over $ 1,000 JUST for the removal. Every vet I’ve ever been to wants thousands and thousands of dollars, and then give you this judgy look like you’re a bad pet owner because you don’t have thousands to just drop right then and there.
My husband’s friend told us about Dr. Hoskins, and we were hopeful. The experience I’ve had has been WONDERFUL!!! Papi (my chihuahua) had his ear tumor removed and is doing wonderfully!!! His quality of life has improved exponentially– thanks to Dr. Hoskins. Let me break down the costs I incurred, so that you feel hopeful like I did.
–tumor removal
–anesthesia
–antibiotics
–pain medication
–bandage
–change of bandage if necessary
–free follow up checkup
For all of this, I paid $ 375. Compare that to other veterinarians who wanted $ 1000 just for removal.
During my times at this office, I have met so many great people in the waiting room who have been going to Dr. Hoskins for years — one lady for 30 years!!! They all love him, and I am officially a convert to his practice! Thank you Dr. Hoskins and staff for your excellent care of Papi!

We used to be clients for YEARS (although truth be told, we were never «thrilled», it was more about «it was affordable and they did a decent job»). Things have definitely gone downhill over the years and our last appointment was the final straw. Our appointment was at 10:00am, and like many others, MUCH time went by. We chit chatted with others in the waiting room, only to hear things like «Oh, this isn’t the longest we’ve waited, we’ve waited over 3 HOURS before». Finally over 2 HOURS after our «appointment time», we were called back for our «appointment». When we walked into the room, there were piles of dog hair (looked like it was from a husky or some fluffy white dog that had just been groomed) ON THE examination table! As if that wasn’t gross enough… on the little bench/​seat where we were supposed to sit, there was a wadded up paper towel with BLOOD on it. Yes, BLOOD. Clearly they don’t bother to even clean the rooms before bringing each new animal back in (which can easily pass on all types of sickness and whatnot). SO GROSS! We were seen for all of 10 minutes and then asked to come back «in 30 minutes» to pick up medication. I knew it would take longer than 30 minutes so I purposely took 1 hour so that I wouldn’t have to wait around. After I came back, I STILL sat for almost 2 MORE HOURS waiting for «the vet to write the prescription». Just so you know, there is only ONE vet (not much of a people person, btw). He is the only one doing ALL exams, ALL surgeries (which he goes into daily from a certain time to a certain time… meaning you can’t call for lab results, etc to talk to him during those times), writes ALL prescriptions, etc. ONE person cannot handle everything (clearly), and majority of his staff is rude and in a bad mood because they have to deal with all of the pissed off customers who have been waiting for HOURS. I even heard one employee ask another «Are we getting paid this week???» (insinuating that there may be times where they might not be getting paid). Our dog just turned 12, and I knew there was know way that she was going back there. I couldn’t imagine her THERE if god forbid the time comes to have to put her down. There’s no way it would be in a dirty room, with an uncaring staff… and after probably having to wait 2−3+ hours in the waiting room for the «appointment».

DO NOT IGNORE THE 1 STAR RATINGS OF THIS PLACE!!! I don’t normally leave negative reviews, as matter of fact, I have NEVER left a negative review on Unilocal,but this place is absolutely the worst veterinarian I have ever been to and I’ve owned pets my entire life! Upon research I have discovered his license was revoked in 2010 for
4883(a) – Conviction of a crime
4883(g)(2) – Self use of controlled drugs
4883(i) – Negligence, incompetence
He was put on 10 year probation for this and is today still practicing at a horrible customer service and animal service place. Please do your own research, he is not the most ethical human. And I would not put my dog in his care for a second ever again.
My dog needs medication every day for the rest of her life to prevent her from urinating herself. This is a not so uncommon side effect of early spaying and it a well known prescription (Proin) that many dogs take with very few (if any) known side effects. The cost online at the time I first took her to this vet was approx $ 0.20 per tablet.
When I was shopping for a new vet for my dog when I moved to San Diego, I came to Dr Hoskins from an online search. On my first visit, I waited 2.5 hours (with an appointment!) to be seen. The doctor spent no more than 5 minutes with my dog (checking her ears because I told him she kept shaking her head) and then wrote the prescription for her meds. At checkout I told the staff I just needed prescription as I would be buying it online but they said they would match the price for a year, after which my dog would need be seen again. I agreed to the yearly check up and bought a 3 month supply with the understanding that they would provide a refill at the same price for a year.
Three months later, I called to get a refill, and the price almost double and went from $ 36 to $ 69 ($ 0.38 per tablet) for the 3 months supply. I said I would order it online at the price I had paid earlier but then they said they would not approve the request unless the doctor saw my dog. I asked why, and was told because they wanted to «keep my business». I then asked if he would have to see my dog every 3 months (and pay for a visit every 3 months), they said yes unless I bought the medication from them at the higher price.
Every time I called I was put on hold for 30 minutes and the 3^rd time I called I was HUNG UP on by the staff because I was trying to explain what a horrible business practice this is; if they want to keep my business, they should not be forcing me to bring my dog for a check up every 3 months and waste 3 – 4 hours during my work day just so they can make $ 30 (thats the cost of the office visit). They should focus on keeping me as a customer that will bring my pet when she gets really sick or injured, not for a ridiculous «check up». This is a horrible place, the customer service is absolutely the WORST i have seen, and everyone sits there waiting for hours to be seen, even if you have an appointment.
There are so many good vets in San Diego, please take your pet to one that cares about his customers and the pets he treats. No vet should leave you without medication for your pet because he wants to make $ 30! And no paying customer should ever get hung up on!

We have taken our dog to Dr Hoskings for at least 10 years, he was fine– decent care at a low price. But earlier this year when our Westie was not doing well, we took him in a few times. He didn’t really have answers as to what was happening, maybe a spider bite, an infection, all sorts of random ‘maybes’. He was having seizures and we would see the aftermath, dazed and confused then he’d be fine.
3 weeks later it happened again, rushed him to the vet and he recommended all sorts of $$ tests, but we were told he was in critical condition and he may not make it thru the tests. Was the worst day ever. I spoke with my husband and we decided it wasn’t humane to try to prolong our 14 year old dogs life, I told the nurse of our decision and she acted so surprised. He’s critical… Is it so wrong putting him to sleep would enter our minds? I was already devastated and a crying mess, now I had guilt on top of saying goodbye to our family dog. Left with an empty blanket and broken heart, disgusted at the way the staff treated us. Dr H is a jerk. Would never go back.

Have been going here for 3 years and the wait was always long. Made an appointment earlier this week for 9:30am on Saturday. Got there at 9:25. Went up at 10:30 and said that my appointment was an hour before and I needed to be somewhere at 11:15. They told me I was next. Went back up at 11 and told them I had to leave. They told me I was next and I let them know I couldn’t wait any longer. They do not respect your time or the fact that you call to make an appointment. They take the walk-​ins during the appointment times so it’s not even worth it to make the appointment. Most likely that I will not return. The prices are unbeatable, but if you value your time, it’s not worth it.

OMFG the WAIT! The waiting and waiting and waiting. I keep telling myself to go somewhere else but after a year i forget and it’s only a block from my house so I go back. I keep thinking theyll get it together but they just can’t. The exams are cheap but they make up for it on the drugs. You WILL get attitude if you don’t buy THEIR drugs. Dr. Hosking is like a «cheap» mechanic that overcharges for parts. If you value your time at all you should realize that this man does not. I’m talking TWO HOURS or more. It’s incomprehensible to me that a person can get through medical school but not be able to remedy his scheduling disfunction. I don’t know if its caused by incompetance or passive aggression but the dude needs assistance.

Had been going to Brian for over 30 years. Many dogs later I will not be seeing Brian ever again. He misdiagnosed my dog. Treating her for arthritis when in fact; she had an infection in her spine which was causing paralysis and her to be unable to walk. He is to busy. Not taking in another vet to help him out is just crazy. He probably knows he couldn’t get along with another doctor, so he continues to be overwhelmed daily and his patients suffer because of it. In all these years I never have seen him smile. He must like rude, unpleasant people because those are the only type that work there. If one goes, you can be sure that there will be another equally incompetent /​arrogant person to take thier place. But he does have a way with dogs. Thats why I put up with him all these years. But not anymore.

The last time I went there, I literally waited for 3 hours… The stuff looked overworked and tired, but it was only around 12pm when they checked us in when our appointment was scheduled for 9am.

I came to Dr. Hoskins 8 years ago bases on a friend’s recommendation. We was great at that time. Fortunately I haven’t had to bring my pets to the vet much in the years since. But I recently needed to bring my cat in for what turned out to be allergies. This experience has caused me to start looking for a new vet.
First my appointment was at 10:15. At 11:50 I was shown into an exam room. At 12:25 Dr. Hoskins finally came in to see my cat. It was a 45 minute exam with the recommendation for lab work that will cost $ 110. I was told to call back Monday morning for the results. I called and was put on hold for 10 minutes only to be told they don’t have the results and to call back later. I called back later and was put on hold for 25 minutes only to be told the doctor was too busy to talk to me to call back later. I told them I didn’t have time to keep calling back only to be put on hold and to have Dr. Hoskins call me back when he’s available. But if I don’t hear back I will dispute the Visa charge for the lab work. (Needles to say by this point I was frustrated over their complete disrespect and disregard for my time and efforts to help my cat). I waited until the end of the day on Monday and didn’t hear anything. I waited until the end of the day on Tuesday, still nothing.
I called my bank and was setting up to dispute the $ 110 charge. They conference called to the vets office and said they were trying to resolve the situation before they disputed the charge. Suddenly Dr. Hoskins had time to talk to me! Wow! First thing he says is «Why are you trying to extort from me.» No, no sir. It is you who extorted $ 110 from me. After confirming with my bank if he gave me the lab results they would let the charge go through, he was only too happy to go over them with me. But not before dramatically saying to someone «The emergency will have to stay alive until I’m done in the phone». (That’s always their excuse, don’t fall for it. They’ll say theirs an emergency even when there’s not).
Conclusion, I got my lab results, he got his $ 110, and a new vet got a new customer.

Horrible staff! If you enjoy spending your entire day waiting with rude & disrespectful staff then head on in. I’ve never had someone be so disrespectful of my time or the time of other paying customers. The nurses clearly hate their jobs & show it thru their demeaning attitudes. News flash the people in your waiting room fund your bank account!

I have to say sorry l’m leaving. Have found new vet that takes me when my appt time comes and I don’t have to wait 2 – 3 hours to be seen. Then get put in the smaller room and wait another hour. I tried to be very patience
Not complain and be nice. Well the quiet wheel doesn’t get heard. Spent the last 3 months knowing there was a foxtail in my baby’s chest and you didn’t have time to find it. Took him to you 3 different times and 3 new surgeries of only repairing stitches only to have him be put on the back burner each time and excuses made that emergencies came in. Dr Hosking you are a Great Vet but are spending your self to thin. Emergencies should be direct to the emergency hospital. I know I know you have hospital in the title of your business. People are tired of waiting. Go back to being the great vet you are and send the emergencies to the hospital in Escondido like you told me to do. Figure out what you want to do and stick to one area not doing or not trying to do a hundred things. Your staff is mega stressed out. Good luck in the future no hard feeling stay healthy Dr. Hosking. And yes I have to say my new vet did find the foxtail. And in the 3 months it had worked its way down my dogs neck and was just short of entering his lung. And yes it took the new vet roughly 20 mins to locate. Thank God.

This place is a HORRIBLE respecter of time!
My husband and I brought our dog in here at 8 am this am rushed here cause he had vomited 7 times had the runs and peeing. Needless to say this was an emergency. From 8 we weren’t seen untill 10 in which he was taken and said X-​ray etc and in a few hours he should be able to be picked up. Call them at 3 to check in and told to call back in an hour call then and told to call back in 20 call AGAIN and put on hold for 25 min. Finally hang up and just drive here cause it’s 10 min away. To say the least I was very upset it was 5 pm by the time I got here. Get seen in 30 min and then told me he needs an enima and more fuilds which would only take another 30 min. That was at 6PM!!! I AM STILL HERE! Waiting for my dog who is crying and in pain when I actually saw him. The front girl was rude
Constantly on the phone and told me that they are treating my dog as a «favor» –her exact words… Favor … You mean there is no passion and love for a dog who is obviously very sick from something !!! WE WILL NEVER EVER BE COMING BACK HERE. And I suggest if you think of this place plan a whole freaking day of sitting in their lobby with no answers unless you push them to hurry up.
I would t even give them any star if I had that choice! I have had 4 family dogs and been a part of 2 friends dogs lives and never have been treated so poorly by a vet clinic in that whole time!!!
STAY AWAY!

We have been taking are dogs here for yesrs! Dr Hosking ’ s and his staff are wonderful, pet loving, caring people. There is no other vet I would trust to bring my dogs to. Not only honest but extremely fairly priced. I know some people have left reviews about a waiting time that is extremely long. All I can say is yes sometimes you might wait and wait for a little while but that is usually because there has been a emergency that has come in. And I know if my animal was the emergency I would want my dog to be seen right away. The people who work here are working there tails off so remember to have patience and be kind you never know when your animal might have a emergency. Fantastic receptionist and vet techs and vet!!! Would never go any where else! These are animal loving people!

Not sure how the vet is, never made it to that point ted. I waited 45 minutes for shots but they never called for my dog. I went up there to check and they asked me all the same questions I filled out on the paper work. The lady kept asking me about my dog referring to him as a her after I continued to correct her. They are too slow for me.

I’ve been bringing my dog here for years and at first they were pretty good. Unfortunately the last 5 – 6 times I’ve come the wait is over an hour and sometimes just as long for just picking up flea mess. I thought I would give it a chance maybe just a couple of bad days but it seems to be the norm now. I will not be coming back again. I’m pretty sure I can find a vet who is considerate of their customers time. Waiting over an hour each time is ridiculous!

I took my dog Abraham here upon 2 friends recommendations.
He lost his bark. It was strangely right after I cleaned his ears. I thought maybe I flushed too much fluid and it affected him. I don’t know, maybe it drained down his throat??? There was also 2 lumps on the side of his throat. I thought it might be inflammation.
I took him to a vet by my house. Upon his examination which I would equate to a Jiffy Lube inspection. They told me a ton of things that had nothing to do with his bark. They suggested I do blood work and they need to put him under to test his ears. Their diagnosis — «class one» ear infection, needs meds, I should have a mole on his eye lid removed, he should be neutered, his teeth need to be cleaned. Nothing about his bark! I left disgusted that I paid $ 700 for that!
That vet called about a week or two later wanting to follow up and do the procedures they mentioned. I said no but I got a copy of the blood work to take to the next vet.
I took Abraham to Dr Hoskins office. I waited for over an hour. When Dr came in the room he sat on the dog bed and looked my dog in the eyes. He felt his body and did a thorough exam. He asked me questions and then informed me WITHOUT TESTS OR BLOOD WORK that my dog has lymphoma. Those lumps were actually inflamed lymph nodes. He said he had seen many cases over the years, his experience led him to the diagnosis.
Dr gave Abraham a couple injections of antibiotics and steroids. We went home with some medicine. I believe that visit cost about $ 125 INCLUDING meds! Dr Hoskins also said Abraham probably won’t make it to another warm weather season.
Abraham was immediately better, he was barking the next day!
The weather is warm now and Abraham is still alive. He’s not in the best health, but if Dr Hoskins didn’t see him, I don’t know if Abraham would be around at all. He helped extend his life for us. He takes time with you. Yes, you wait for him, but this guy cares.
They don’t fill your meds before you get there. I was told this allows them to keep a low overhead by not keeping meds filed and ready to go because sometimes people don’t pick them up. I will gladly wait so I don’t pay a higher price.
I will not go to another vet! My time is important but good care and low prices are priority. I take a magazine with me but often the other people waiting are very friendly and if you want to chit chat, that’s no problem here! The staff are nice but they are probably overworked and understaffed. Again, that keeps costs low. Just smile and they open up to you!
If you are not stuffy and suck up this is a wonderful vet! You just have to scratch the surface and see what’s really underneath. A wonderful vet who cares about animals and is very knowledgeable!

I am an owner of a pet salon. Hairys on Sycamore in fact. I bring both my fur kids here Buddy and Dexter. I just want to let everyone know that regardless of what the naysayers say about the front desk, it is Dr Hosking that saved my dog Buddy’s life!
I went there as an emergency before they closed hoping he would see Buddy because he had a severely swollen eye and wasn’t feeling himself. The front desk must have known Buddy’s condition was serious enough to ask Dr Hosking if he would squeeze him in at the last minute. He said he would. I was relieved!
After checking Buddy’s condition and listening to my responses he decided to give him a blood clot test. Buddy’s blood wasn’t clotting suggesting the ingestion of rat poisoning. I was so emotional and mostly saddened by the diagnosis but, can’t thank Dr Hosking and his staff enough for their competency.
Dr Hosking prescribed and injected Vitamin K to aid his blood in clotting. In addition to that antibiotics. I did everything he told me to do to cure Buddy and I’m so grateful to say that he is alive today because of it.
When customers ask me about where a good vet is I always refer them to Dr Hosking and for the record I have never had any issues with front desk personnel and if I ever did it wouldn’t make a dam bit of difference to me.
Thank you to everyone involved at the San Marcos Animal Medical Center for saving my rescue dog Buddy, the big and sweet Labrakita’s life. I also want to thank them for doing a wonderful job neutering our little AKC Pekingese Dexter.

Don’t trust your first impression, Brian Hosking is a wonderful vet. My sweet kitty Ozzy appeared to have tremendous pain and I wanted to take him to a really caring vet. Dr. Hosking has a reputation of excellence with a down to earth price.
I had to deal with an extremely rude lady on the phone who put me on hold for over 20 minutes and had some sort of charade going on before denying me an appointment. I am not sure why she asked me if the cat was indoor or outdoor and what my emergency was before putting me on hold to check the appointment book. All of the appointments were long gone three days ago so I can only assume that she was trying to deter me from walking in to see the vet.
We arrived at 9:15 and were #6 on the walk in list. There were 6 dogs waiting and several being treated. I was not sure how my precious kitty would like waiting in a room full of big dogs so we waited in the car for about 30 minutes until the thermostat hit 90+ degrees when we moved inside.
The doctor takes his time with each patient so we waited and waited for our turn. After nearly three hours I went to see where we were in the queue. Everyone that was there when we arrived was long gone and so were plenty of others. I was informed that we had been called an hour ago, which is impossible. I listened to every name she called carefully (she has a thick accent that is hard to understand). She obviously did not try hard to find us, we were sitting RIGHT THERE! Even once she realized the error she decided to make us wait for 4 more people to go first.
When we got seen at 12:30 there were no other animals left waiting to see the doctor. He carefully examined Ozzy who is a small cat who weighs less than 7 pounds. He is so thin that the doctor was feeling his spine through his fur and his concern was obvious. He recommended sedation and xrays, we were instructed to return at 3:30.
The X rays revealed a fracture in L7 that was hitting the sciatic nerve. Dr Hosking manually manipulated the bones and prescribed some medications. He mentioned that the damage was less severe than he anticipated and that he would recover nicely. Ozzy seemed quite relieved and we left with a kitty on the mend.
I recommend Dr Hosking, he is worth all of the hurdles that you have to go through to be seen.