ADVANCED MEDICINE. PERSONALIZED CARE. ONE LOCAL VETERINARY TEAM.
Veterinary care does not always fit neatly into a routine wellness visit, an urgent-care appointment, or a specialty referral.
Sometimes a pet comes in for vomiting and needs bloodwork and imaging that same day. A limping dog may need X-rays followed by consultation with a board-certified veterinary surgeon. An abnormal heart finding may require evaluation by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist before anesthesia. An unexplained abdominal illness may call for specialist ultrasound or advanced CT imaging.
At Aliso Beach Animal Clinic, our goal is to make that progression of care as coordinated, efficient, and personal as possible.
Our independently owned Laguna Beach veterinary clinic combines individualized primary and preventive care with same-day urgent veterinary services, advanced diagnostics, rapid specialist interpretation, and access to board-certified veterinary specialists.
For many patients, sophisticated diagnostics and specialty services can be coordinated through the same familiar veterinary hospital rather than sending the family from facility to facility every time a case becomes more complicated.
A comprehensive veterinary hospital should be able to do more than perform an annual examination. It should help answer the next question when something unexpected is found.
At Aliso Beach Animal Clinic, our veterinary team can coordinate care that may include:
The purpose of having access to these services is not to perform every test possible. It is to give the veterinarian better options when a pet’s examination raises an important medical question.
When a pet suddenly becomes sick or injured, one of the most important questions is often:
Can we determine what is happening quickly enough to make a good treatment decision today?
Aliso Beach Animal Clinic provides same-day urgent veterinary care in Laguna Beach for many non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries during regular clinic hours.
What makes urgent veterinary care more useful is the ability to investigate the problem when necessary.
Depending on the patient’s symptoms and stability, an urgent visit may include examination, in-house bloodwork and diagnostic testing , digital X-rays, fluid therapy, medication, wound treatment, pain control, supportive care, or specialist consultation.
Please call (949) 499-4190 before arriving with an urgent medical concern so our team can assess your pet’s situation and confirm availability.
Aliso Beach Animal Clinic is not a 24-hour emergency hospital. Pets with severe breathing difficulty, collapse, major trauma, uncontrolled bleeding, repeated seizures, or another life-threatening condition may require immediate treatment at a 24-hour emergency and specialty hospital.
A physical examination tells us a great deal, but many illnesses cannot be diagnosed by looking at a pet alone.
Our diagnostic capabilities allow our veterinary team to move from:
“Something is wrong.”
to:
“What is most likely causing it, and what should we do next?”
Our veterinary diagnostics and bloodwork services can provide important information about:
When more specialized testing is needed, samples can be submitted to appropriate reference laboratories.
Aliso Beach Animal Clinic provides high-quality digital veterinary X-rays and diagnostic imaging for dogs, cats, and many exotic pets.
Digital radiographs can help evaluate:
Our veterinarians interpret many routine studies directly.
When a case is subtle, complex, or medically urgent, images can also be submitted to a board-certified veterinary radiologist for specialist consultation.
For urgent cases, stat radiology review is available, with specialist interpretation often available rapidly depending on case complexity and specialist availability.
This can be particularly valuable when a treatment, surgical, or referral decision depends on obtaining expert imaging interpretation quickly.
Some abdominal diseases cannot be adequately evaluated with bloodwork or ordinary X-rays alone.
Aliso Beach Animal Clinic can arrange specialist abdominal ultrasound examinations at our Laguna Beach hospital with Leyla Fatourechi, DVM, DACVECC.
Dr. Fatourechi is a board-certified specialist in veterinary emergency and critical care. Her advanced clinical background is particularly valuable when imaging medically complex or acutely ill patients whose ultrasound findings need to be considered alongside laboratory abnormalities, clinical signs, and overall medical stability.
Abdominal ultrasound may be particularly useful for pets experiencing:
Ultrasound findings can be integrated with your pet’s physical examination, laboratory results, X-rays, medications, and previous medical history so that imaging remains part of the patient’s complete medical evaluation rather than an isolated test.
Because Dr. Fatourechi is also a critical care specialist, Aliso Beach Animal Clinic has access to an especially valuable level of clinical expertise when evaluating complicated patients whose imaging findings may influence urgent treatment or referral decisions.
Some conditions require more anatomical detail than ordinary radiographs or ultrasound can provide.
For selected patients, Aliso Beach Animal Clinic can arrange mobile veterinary CT imaging that comes directly to our hospital.
CT may be useful for evaluating:
CT studies performed through our mobile service are interpreted by a board-certified veterinary radiologist, who provides a formal specialist report.
This allows selected patients to obtain highly advanced imaging through their familiar veterinary hospital rather than automatically traveling to another facility simply to have the scan performed.
Not every surgical condition can or should be handled as a routine procedure.
For complex orthopedic and selected soft-tissue cases, Aliso Beach Animal Clinic works with Zachery “Zack” Smith, DVM, DACVS, a board-certified veterinary surgeon.
Dr. Smith performs eligible procedures at Aliso Beach Animal Clinic by appointment, allowing selected patients to receive advanced surgical care in the same hospital where much of their diagnostic testing, preparation, and postoperative follow-up can occur.
Potential procedures may include:
Our veterinary team can remain involved throughout the process, including:
Learn about board-certified orthopedic surgery at Aliso Beach Animal Clinic.
Not every surgical patient is appropriate for treatment in a daytime general veterinary hospital. Patients requiring immediate intensive care, continuous overnight monitoring, or other specialty resources may be referred to a 24-hour specialty facility.
A heart murmur, abnormal rhythm, breathing change, fainting episode, or concerning pre-anesthetic finding does not automatically mean that a pet cannot safely undergo treatment.
It means we may need more information.
When medically appropriate, Aliso Beach Animal Clinic can coordinate cardiology evaluation with April Durtschi, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology), a board-certified veterinary cardiologist.
Dr. Durtschi provides advanced cardiac expertise that can help our veterinary team evaluate heart findings while maintaining continuity between specialist recommendations and your pet’s ongoing care at Aliso Beach Animal Clinic.
Depending on the individual patient, cardiology evaluation may help investigate:
Advanced cardiac testing may include an echocardiogram, electrocardiography, Doppler blood-pressure evaluation, and other cardiology diagnostics when appropriate.
Specialist recommendations can then be incorporated into the treatment, anesthesia, medication, or long-term monitoring plan developed for the individual patient.
Advanced technology matters most when it is combined with a veterinarian who knows the patient.
A healthy eight-month-old puppy does not need the same preventive plan as a 14-year-old dog with heart disease. An indoor cat has different exposure risks from a cat that spends time outdoors. A desert tortoise requires completely different nutrition, environmental management, and preventive care from a Labrador retriever.
For that reason, we do not believe good wellness care should be reduced to a standardized checklist.
Our individualized wellness plans may consider:
Recommendations can change as your pet changes.
The goal is not simply to complete an annual examination. It is to build enough knowledge about your pet over time that changes can be recognized earlier and medical decisions can be made in context.
Aliso Beach Animal Clinic is independently owned and veterinarian led.
Rather than forcing every patient into the same standardized plan, Dr. Bryan Hayter and our veterinary team can evaluate the individual pet, explain the available options, and recommend the approach that makes the most sense medically.
Sometimes that means monitoring rather than immediately testing.
Sometimes it means performing diagnostic testing the same day.
Sometimes it means asking a board-certified specialist to become involved.
And sometimes the most responsible recommendation is referral to a 24-hour specialty hospital.
Good veterinary medicine is not about performing the greatest number of tests or procedures. It is about choosing the right level of care for the patient in front of us.
Advanced medical capabilities should not come at the expense of personal service.
We believe families should understand:
Our goal is to provide sophisticated veterinary medicine in an environment where pet owners can still know their veterinary team, ask questions, and participate meaningfully in medical decisions.
That continuity becomes especially valuable when a pet develops a chronic disease or complicated medical problem.
A pet’s medical needs can change quickly.
A routine senior examination may identify abnormal laboratory values. Those findings may lead to X-rays or ultrasound. Imaging may identify a condition requiring specialist interpretation. A surgical problem may require consultation with a board-certified surgeon. A heart abnormality may lead to evaluation by Dr. Durtschi before anesthesia.
Instead of treating each of those steps as an isolated service, Aliso Beach Animal Clinic works to coordinate them as part of one medical plan for one individual patient.
That continuity is one of the greatest advantages of comprehensive veterinary care.
A regular appointment is generally appropriate for:
Call us when your pet has a new illness or injury that should not comfortably wait for a routine appointment but does not appear immediately life-threatening.
Examples include vomiting, diarrhea, limping, wounds, painful ears or eyes, allergic reactions, sudden loss of appetite, urinary symptoms, foxtails, burned paws, and other sudden changes.
Learn more about same-day urgent veterinary care in Laguna Beach.
A 24-hour emergency hospital may be necessary for:
When you are unsure during our regular clinic hours, call us first and tell us exactly what you are seeing.
Veterinarian-led medical decisions and personalized care.
A longstanding local veterinary practice caring for generations of pets and families.
Recommendations tailored to the actual patient rather than a one-size-fits-all protocol.
Evaluation of many unexpected illnesses and injuries during regular clinic hours.
In-house laboratory testing, digital radiography, stat specialist imaging review, abdominal ultrasound, and mobile CT access.
Specialist abdominal ultrasound at our hospital with Leyla Fatourechi, DVM, DACVECC, a board-certified emergency and critical care veterinarian.
Cardiac consultation with April Durtschi, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) when advanced cardiovascular expertise is medically appropriate.
Selected advanced orthopedic and soft-tissue procedures can be performed at our hospital by board-certified veterinary surgeon Zack Smith, DVM, DACVS.
Your regular veterinary team remains involved as a case moves from examination to diagnostics, specialist consultation, treatment, and follow-up.
Clear communication, thoughtful recommendations, and an individualized approach to your pet’s medical needs.
Aliso Beach Animal Clinic provides comprehensive veterinary care for pets in Laguna Beach, South Laguna, Three Arch Bay, Monarch Beach, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, and surrounding South Orange County communities.
Our hospital is located on Coast Highway directly across from the Montage Laguna Beach.
Whether your pet needs an individualized wellness plan, same-day evaluation for a sudden illness, advanced diagnostic testing, specialist imaging, cardiology consultation, surgery, or long-term management of a complex medical condition, our team can help determine the appropriate next step.
Aliso Beach Animal Clinic
30816 Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Monday–Friday: 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m.–12 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
CALL (949) 499-4190 | REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT
For urgent medical concerns, please call before arriving rather than submitting an online appointment request.
Bryan Hayter, DVM
Owner and Medical Director, Aliso Beach Animal Clinic
Dr. Hayter earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Auburn University and completed an internship at the San Diego Zoo. His professional interests include internal medicine, dentistry, exotic-animal medicine, and integrative veterinary care.
Medically reviewed: August 2026
This page provides general educational information and does not replace examination, diagnosis, or individualized veterinary advice.
