Firstly, administered an ultrasound for $515 that I explicitly asked not to have.Secondly, prices are outrageous, over double the national average (an already inflated average above fair cost because of scammers who... you know: charge more than double everyone else).Thirdly, cost estimates are fraudulent. While the national average for chemotherapy is just over $4K, they estimated $5K - $7K. Halfway through treatment, this got revised to $8.4K, at which point I decided to stop allowing these people to rob me. Common sense dictates that this revised estimate was still a lie, and linearly extrapolated from the midpoint of $6K at the start, the true final cost that they would try to extract, assuming the same degree of deception from start to midpoint, would have been $10.8K, approaching triple the national average.Fourthly, when fielding my concerns with the outrageous pricing and with the refusal to credit a wildly expensive diagnostic test that I suspect might outright be illegal since it was unnecessary and I explicitly asked it not be given, a request for a prescription for pain medications for my dying pet was simply ignored.I am astounded that this business has a 3.9 rating, which isnt low enough to reflect a plurality of people realizing they are being ripped off. I think thats profoundly unfortunate. Buyer beware: but if you do decide to take your chances on these people, compare how much they charge you to the national average. Youll be unpleasantly surprised at the triple figure percent disparity.
I do not have enough words to say how thankful I am for the staff at this VCA. Our pup was recently diagnosed with osteosarcoma and had to have his leg amputated, followed by chemo treatments. Dr. Garnett and Dr. Jones were extremely kind, informative, and helpful during the whole entire process of our pup’s care. It wasn’t easy making the decisions we had to, but knowing he was/is in great hands while receiving treatment has brought us some peace about the whole situation. We greatly appreciate how much everyone there spoils and loves on our Tucker. We are so thankful we initially brought him here for his treatment and are still so grateful for the care he receives as we continue his treatment.
I just cant say enough great things about Dr. Slusser and everyone at VCA Animal Specialty - Kearney Mesa. Dr. Slusser saved my then-16 year old cat Monster from dying from intestinal lymphoma right then, and he has helped Monster live a quality life since then. Dr. Slusser saved Monster two more times again in August, and he and his staff have helped Monster adjust to his new chemo program. Monster is doing so good that he just made it to his 19th birthday month today!!! Monster is my heart and soul and everything good in this world to me. Thank you so much, beyond words Thank you, to Dr. Slusser and his staff for being so good to us both, for giving him a quality life for the past over 3 years, and for being Monsters Guardian Angels.
Truly not enough words or time to explain my gratitude towards VCA Kearney Mesa. My cat, Puma, recently spent 5 nights in their care undergoing 3 extensive surgeries to help his diabetic ketoacidiosis, urethra blockage and stone removal. Dr. Andujal, Dr. Chin, Dr. Gordon, and all helping staff saved his life. They kept my husband and I regularly updated and gave extensive updates with compassion. Yes, it was expensive, I am grateful to be in a financial situation in which this was all possible. However, compassionate options and financial breakdowns were given daily. You may wait at times too, but please be patient, these workers are juggling many dire situations while remaining kind and professional. I waited an hour to pick up Puma but guess what, I saw multiple people running in with clear major emergencies. I think its important to remind people to lead with kindness, practice compassion, and lean into patience because this profession is being hit hard right now.
On May 3, 2021 I brought my beloved pet to be euthanized. I used VCA in Oct., when another one of my elderly pets needed to be euthanized. The weekend prior (May 1st & 2nd) my pet became ill. Due to covid I was having a hard time finding a vet who would see her. I finally found one who simply medicated her and alleviated her seizures with medication as well.Although my pet was declining I still was not convinced it needed to be done despite making the appointment. Nonetheless, I brought her to the scheduled appt. and was planning on asking the vet a question or two in order to ensure I indeed made the right decision. But, when I arrived they took my pet to the back and said they would wheel her to me in the room. When the Vet entered the room she said,” I went ahead and sedated her because she was getting a little anxious... I hope that’s ok”. 1. She did not have my consent to do so. 2 It was NOT ok.My pet was my baby. No vet has a right to do what they wish without consent.I recently sent them an email letting them know that her actions were wrong. They have not bothered to respond.I will be filing a complaint with the VMB, so that this is on record.Just because you have the power does not mean you get to make decisions for pet owners REGARDLESS of the nature of the appointment.
Dr Benco (and co) saved our puppy. He’s only 8 months old and what seemed like a tummy ache turned into pure blood diarrhea. He was so sick and had really terrible numbers that weren’t improving as much as we’d like. It took three days but eventually he came around enough for Dr Benco to feel comfortable sending him home. She knew that our budget was pretty strapped but he was a critical patient. He went from septic shock to a normal 8 month old GSD in less than two weeks thanks to Dr Benco and the staff that took care of our sweet boy. They all dealt with my crazy phone calls to check in and let me visit my sweet boy. I’m forever grateful.
My cat was very sick. Called early Saturday morning to say that we were coming. The lady on the phone said we only see animals that are not breathing or are run over by a car. Super rude and unprofessional.Had to drive all the way to La Mesa emergency hospital. Got great care there, they saw him first because he was in critical condition. Sadly he passed away. But apparently he wasn’t sick enough to be seen by the VCA because he was still breathing.As far as my knowledge goes, an animal that is not breathing is dead already.Will never contact that place again!
I brought my cat here because I couldnt get an appointment at my regular vet, they fit us in very quickly. Unfortunately, I ended up having to put her down, but I felt like the vet and vet techs were so helpful and comforting during a difficult time. They sent me this card and I really appreciated it.
Our 15 year old dog was injured after normal vet hours. Brought her to this hospital and they made a very stress-filled time much easier. They were able to get our pet right in, offered what turned out to be the correct diagnosis, and sent her home with medications. Dr. Julie Brown was caring, compassionate and professional. It was a great experience in a bad situation. I hope we never have to use them again, but if the situation warrants it, were definitely going back.
VCA Animal Specialty hospital is the most caring quality care for animals in San Diego.During a recent move out our home my dog started behaving very strangely. She was twitching around and not responding to us. We were worried she might have ingested some type of poison like mineral spirits from our garage.We brought her to VCA and Dr. Ann Benco checked her out and assured us that our little baby girl Sasha was fine. I expected to get hit with a bill for hundreds of dollars. Much to my surprise we were told there would be no charge.Superb care! No charge. I would highly recommend this facility to any pet owner.
Said my pets case didn’t sound like enough of an emergency to treat her, and turned me away, despite being the only car in the parking lot. (Severe lethargy, dehydration, constipation, eye discharge, URI flare up, kidney enzymes 2X as high as they should be, barely eating or drinking).Told me to see my regular doc even though her health was worsening and my regular doc doesn’t have any appointments for another week. Went to urgent care 2 days ago and she’s dealing with multiple issues but because of the holiday weekend, they had to send her home with me. This isn’t a case of the sniffles. Was so angry that I started to cry and now I’m leaving this review.
So had an appt for several months trying to get a consult for my dog that has a liver shunt. They did not even bother to look at her paperwork until the day of and canceled the morning of our appt as the Dr does not do this type of surgey. They had the imaging they knew what she needed. This is unacceptable my dog is very ill and has been waiting months for a qualified professional. We have already done all the imaging and they couldnt bother to look at her chart for months until the day of. Save your dog and your time dont bother with these people. THEY ARE HORRIBLE
Very friendly and honest staff. In a difficult situation they were calm, understanding, and caring.
You’re probably going here if you have a very ill pet in crisis, but you can relaxing knowing your fur baby will be in excellent hands. My baby had to spend 3 nights here in August, and I was a nervous wreck! The vet called me every morning with detailed updates, and I was able to call 24 hours a day to speak with the vet techs who were caring for her to get even more updates. Yes, it cost me several thousand dollars (my mistake for not getting pet insurance) but I know if I hadn’t brought her here she would’ve died a painful death. The ER service and the scheduled follow-ups were all great, and my baby girl is doing better than ever! Also, on your way out, ask for a sample of JustFoodForDogs. Your pup will thank you!
We rushed our golden retriever in on Saturday Jan 9. I was a skeptic bc of some of the negative reviews but I’m glad I didn’t let them sway me. My experience was positive, the female vet was detailed and talked me through each step and made me aware of the costs for each test and treatment before performing them. I was impressed with the compassion and care from the front desk staff, the vet techs and the Vet. I’m highly impressed and although I never want to use their services again because I love my pet so much, I will return here for any pet emergency my vet can not handle.
I can’t even begin to explain the gratitude I have for Dr. Garnet, Nadine, Gemma, and everyone else at VCA Animal Specialty Group. I had a beautiful senior Minnie Aussie Shepherd named Brie that was diagnosed with lymphoma. This team of amazing women helped me every step of the way until Brie took her final breath. We tried different treatments for her because of the gene mutation she had. They never gave up. I miss Brie and hold her close to my heart every day. Thank you Dr. Garnet, Nadine, Gemma, and the entire VCA Animal Specialty Group staff for gifting me so many additional moments with Brie that I never would have been able to have. I will be eternally grateful.
Had a horrific experience with Dr. John Nichols. He was very quick in explaining and unclear. He told us he would report us to the humane society, when we just needed more clarification. The rest of the staff was nice, just not him. A few hours later we went to another clinic where we decided to euthanize per the vets recommendation our. Dr. Nichols made the situation very difficult.
Very impressed, recommended by my regular Vet who couldn’t see. Dr Brown was wonderful & techs super helpful- paw infection procedure went well! Big thanks to VCA Animal Specialty Hospital. 👍
I had to come here a few years ago on emergency with my dog and Dr. Jackson, Dr. Slusser and their teams were amazing. Everyone from the reception team to the treatment team were outstanding. Returning a few years later the standard of care for the patients and the clients is just once again top of the line. Thank you Dr. Biegan and Natalie for the compassion and caring while working with my dog and I. Thank you agin to the reception team you are all so caring, comforting and helpful. Thank you thank you thank you VCA ASG
My dog was breathing heavily and I was extremely worried. They were so quick getting my information and seeing my dog. The doctor spoke with me and explained everything clearly and detailed possible causes, treatment etc. I am beyond thankful knowing there is a place in my community which shows such a high level of commitment and compassion. I wouldnt think to go anywhere else. Thank you Dr. Nichols and staff, so very much.
We sadly just had to put our old dog down and dr wegner was absolutely phenomenal. He went above and beyond to be so compassionate and professional. I had my 2 young children with me and he even brought treats to take care of them during the emotional time. The best treatment of an awful situation.
If you are looking for an excellent, caring, capable oncologist . . . I highly recommend Dr. Garnett. After having a melanoma lump between my dogs rear toes surgically removed, my vet wanted her to see an oncologist. Because of how well my kiddo was treated at VCA Animal Specialty Group during a CT scan for adrenal cancer in February, I decided to take her to see Dr. Garnett. Dr. Garnett is amazing! She took so much time explaining everything and was so kind and helpful. I cant say enough of how wonderful I think she is and how very thankful I am to have chosen her. Last year my other dog saw an incompetent oncologist at a different specialty hospital (to her detriment) so I feel qualified confirming Dr. Garnett is THE BEST! The staff here also need to be commended for how caring and helpful they are too.
I took my pug dog on September 2020 for some body twitching. He was diagnosed with encephalitis and they ordered an MRI.The MRI came up little suspicious but SPF was perfect, but they could not figure it out what it was. They prescribed my dog three different meds, including prednisone.After that, my dog was never the same, always tired and weak.Then they said that i might was just a REM sleep disorder, but kept him on the same meds. I wanted them to stop prednisone (of course gradually). They did it but just because I called them all the time to update my dogs doctor. Later on, they did not even wanted to answer my calls. My dog developed some kind of red spots on his skin. I called, and they told me to send pictures about it, but never replied me back.On november I rush my dog to the hospital for some diarrhea and vomit. I wanted to ask his doctor about it and they told me that she was going to talk to me but in several hours or I could take my dog to the emergency so I did.A doctor gave him metronidazole and Maropitant and then released him ( those meds were mixed with the ones already prescribed by the neurologist), i asked the doctor 3 times to be aware of the other medications to avoid a worse reaction.After Maroptitam and METRODINAZOLE, he seemed weak, numb, unresponsive, with heavy breathing and I called VCA right away. A receptionist called CARLA, answered me and said its normal, he had diarrhea and vomit, so just take him home to rest... so I did and then realized that she did not have to give advice, she was supposed to contact medical staff first.Hours later my dog was not responsive anymore and i called, and another person from the front desk told me that they were not going to accept him and i needed to give time for the meds to work.My baby stopped breathing on my way to the hospital, they said he had a heart attack but never new the cause of it.He was only three years old, the light of my life and I just wanted do to everything to save his life. The doctors does not want answer any questions if they dont get paid for it, even if I left this places more than $3000.The front desk personnel, act as if they were the doctors.Today I had to wake up missing my puppy, wishing to have more time to find him a better place to be treated and asking my self, was it the red spots that were ignored by the neurologist? Was it a bad reaction to the meds given by the doctor, was it the wrong dosis? Was he really aware that he was already taking prednisone, zenosamide and omeprazole? Could he be alive if I hadnt listen to the receptionsit CARLA and make her call a doctor to answer my medical question NOT her?
I love the vets on this place they really take care of my dog and they make sure to give me update.. I will definitely recommend this place they will going to take care of your loving pets
Stay away. They charged nearly $1000 for a “diagnosis” only to recommend another $2300 for a specialist to “confirm” and have another vet look at the radiology report from the first vet who charged us $500. Do not torture your animal. Charged us another $200 for hydration treatment and two medications.
The staff here is very kind and caring. The doctors are very detailed and really want the best for the animals. I highly recommend VCA. The specialty clinic rocks! Thank you to all the staff. Clover loves you all too Im sure.
They totally took care of my buddy. Dropped him off and let me pick him up later. Diagnosed my Kittys glaucoma and got me the drops and scheduled a recheck. Very reasonable prices and their staff is loving and sweet. No concerns about leaving my precious pal with them!
First thing I want to say is thank you so much for actually taking the time and listening to us in a time when no other vet or vet er hospital would. Our cat was extremely sick, i had no idea how hard it would be to get our regular vet, or any ER vet hospital to even see our cat during covid. Not VCA in kearny mesa, they actually listen to all our cats symptoms and said come in immediately, even though they had a 6 hour wait in the parking lot. Even though our cat was far past being saved, they were able to make her passing bearable. The staff was professional and they were compassionate, something we really needed. I just received a handwritten condolence card, so thoughtful. thank you again for being compassionate at a really hard time, it a meant the world to us.
I would highly recommend avoiding this hospital.My cat’s health deteriorated rapidly overnight so I took her to VCA since it was the only animal hospital open.Within the course of three hours, the care provided by the staff managed to rack up to a bill of $990, and even after that I still ended up having to euthanize my cat.They really push for you to sign paperwork while you’re emotionally vulnerable and try to get you to pay more for services. It’s not something you should have to undergo while losing a pet you love. I really hope no one else has to go through the experience I went through - choose a different hospital if you can.
My cat suffered from terrible constipation after a long road trip and I was very stressed when I was unable to get an appointment with a vet in San Diego. The staff at VCA took great care of my cat, listen to me and collaborated with me, and fixed her right up. She is doing great now! Thank you so much!
INCOMPITENCE AND GREEDThey diagnosed our puppy with parvo and said he might have distemper but said they couldnt test for distemper because it would take a week or more for the result to come back from the lab. They told us he needed to stay in their ward for the night and possible up to a week and were going to charge $2,300 to 2,800 for ONE NIGHT of supportive care. We couldnt afford that so we opted to take him home. We still went home with a bill over $300. The rescue we adopted our puppy from ended up offering to get him another test and treatment because they were sure the puppy couldnt have parvo as he was vaccinated and had been tested before we adopted him and hadnt come into contact with any unvaccinated dogs. They treated and tested him and found that he DIDNT HAVE PARVO OR DISTEMPER. We also noticed that the paper work this vet gave us said our dog was an entirely different breed and a weight that was far less than what he actually was. We called them to ask what that was about and they first said the test was negative but then when we said they told us it was positive they corrected themselves and said it was positive. Jokes on them because we knew at that point that they were lying. OUR DOG NEVER HAD PARVO OR DISTMEPER but they tried to make us believe he did so they could get thousands of dollars out of us. That or they are so incompetent that they cant perform a simple parvo test. I dont know which is worse but NEVER GO HERE. If I had the time and money to sue them, I would.
Stumbled upon 3 kittens on the side of the road and VCA was able to take them at 10pm on a Sunday night! They work with the humane society and have some kind of kitten nursery program which was awesome.Very helpful staff and friendly.
We have never had our boy Red treated here, when he passed away overnight at our house I was looking for a place to take him to get cremated. VAC was the first to come up on google. We took Red there early in the morning and was helped right away. The lady who came to the car with me was very considerate and asked a few questions about what had happened. She went over our options for after care and let me spend as much time with Red as we needed. The whole process was great here. What really made me come back and post this review was the fact that about 3 weeks later a card came in the mail from VCA with several hand written condolence notes in it. Our whole family thought this was awesome. We appreciate VCA taking the time to do this with its customers on a personal level. When our next 4 legged friend comes along we will be returning to VCA for his regular Vet visits. Thanks for a great experience when times were rough for our family.
Thank you very much to everyone at VCA, you all took such great care of our little boy Fudge during every visit and through his last days with us.Very Special thank you to Jessica and Dr. Vanessa! You truly care about your patients and even their families. Thank you for taking our calls and/or responding quickly to answer our many questions and concerns when our boy was having health problems. You both explained his examinations very clearly and gave us all the information that we needed in order to decide on the best treatment plans for Fudge.Lastly, thank you to Dr. Natasha for helping Fudge during his lasts moments with us. He is no longer in pain. What was so special is when he reached out to sniffed/kissed each of us, as if he knew that it was time to say his last goodbye.Thank you again to everyone at VCA for what you do for all of us (pets and humans) and thank you for sending us the sympathy card. It was a pleasant surprise and it means a lot to us.With great respect,Fudges family
They got us in right away even during a holiday time. The staff was really friendly and amazing!
They are unprofessional, they make diagnosis that they are not sure of, the way they answer the calls from clients . They should take responsibility of the diagnosis they give to the peoples pets .
My dog got a very bad eye infection (which he ended up losing his eye) but the staff was very kind and helpful. they must’ve explained things to us 10 different times to make sure we fully understood and they were very patient with our tough situation. would recommend. little bit of a wait but considering the small staff it’s understandable.
Looking back now a few days later after our pug was put down, I definitely feel like there couldve been at least one more option presented. My pug was taken in because of what started as a cough then turned into him having trouble breathing, It turned out that he had something pushing up adding pressure into his air passage limiting his ability to breath properly. The x ray could not determine what it was, maybe a tumor maybe this, maybe that, but I think maybe something to bring swelling down and wait a day or 2 shouldve been on the table. the decision to put him down offered by Dr. Nichols was so quick and even though he tried to come across as the humane one his quick decision seemed very inhumane, rehearsed and all business! He even took offense and replied defensively with his vast experience to me questioning how he seemed to know what the issue was just by touching my dogs chest which turned out was different according to the x-ray. There was no option to bring him back home, NONE ! I didnt and still dont appreciate what felt like the sequestering of my dog with only the 2 options, put him down or go bankrupt trying to figure out what was wrong. How do they take possession of an animal they had nothing to do with in caring for in his life? Because they are more humane than the dog owners? What gives them the right? It seems like a dog killing business. I miss my dog and I very deeply regret taking him there, in my view now, taking a dog to any of these places is basically taking him or her to their death where you will have no say in. Something I will never ever do again.
This is an updated review. Sonni, the business manager, went above and beyond to correct loose ends explained in the previous review. I am convinced she really cares about her clients and staff. Sonni very quickly assessed a difficult situation and improved it with style and grace. If anyone experiences problems at VCA, I would highly recommend discussing the issue with Sonni to ensure a satisfactory outcome.
Called in asking for a quote.. No run around- they gave me a quote on exactly what I was asking for and by far the lowest out of the 20 other places I called (or from the ones that actually gave me some sort of estimate). Just waiting on a followup call from the specialist to hammer out the details but Im pretty sure this ones a winner. Just something from the call alone totally differentiates them from other businesses, like a feeling of satisfaction. Not a full review yet, but so far so good. Will update again later.I called back. Quoted me 5x the amount of the original quote. Sweet.
We had to bring our dog Sadie here after she collapsed at home due to her heart arrhythmia and again a few months later when she was experiencing heart failure. Sadly, the second time we had to say goodbye as she wasnt going to be getting any better. The staff was so kind to us during those awful hours when we had to say goodbye. They never rushed us and let us take our time to walk her outside and sit and lay with her until it was time. We couldnt be more grateful to the staff for their care of Sadie and of us. We just received a signed sympathy card from them as well- another wonderful and thoughtful touch.
We had an excellent experience despite a difficult point in our 17 year old dog’s life, where his health was deteriorating rapidly. The recommendations and alternatives for his care were professional and sympathetic and helped us make a very difficult decision for him to be put to sleep as he was beginning to suffer from his condition. The hospital took great care of him with dignity and grace down to his last moment where we could say goodbye as he passed on. For any pet parent to say goodbye to a family member is difficult, but VCA guided us through the process and stood by our dog Jake to the end. Thanks VCA for helping us through this.
Hospital is clean and modern. Service by the staff is professional. Dr. Jackson was very personable and helpful. He was very good with my dog and offered the best care without making me feel pressured to make a decision.
The staff and doctors at VCA have been amazing. We were referred to them by our veterinarian for treatment for our dog Jackson. Jackson was diagnosed with lymphoma and we thought it was a death sentence for a beautiful Lab who has so much life left in him. He is a big lovable boy. When we talked to Dr. Michael R. Geist. He gave us many options and we decided to do the chemo treatments along with some diet changes and holistic things on our own to add to his chances. Im happy to say that he is in the final stages of his treatment and has been in remission since the first month. He is doing great and has handled the treatments very well all the way through. Everyone there knows Jackson and he is actually excited every time we go there. Dogs know good people vs. bad and he loves his friends at VCA!
If its after regular vet office hours and youre worried about your pet, an emergency visit for a vet to check out our cat was about $100. (Getting a cat checked out at other vet offices during regular hours runs $50 - $60, so honestly not that much of an increase for peace of mind and round-the-clock availability). Our cat was very sick and treatment became drastically more expensive, and VCA hospital definitely has the facilities and capable staff (including specialist veterinarians) to provide your pet with whatever treatment your pet might need. Beyond the initial assessment, they go over all costs item by item, explaining everything before any care/tests/treatment, so the bill will not be a surprise. They present a cadillac treatment plan first, which is ideal if you had a huge budget, but will work/explain to help you prioritize treatment items if the entire cadillac plan is beyond your budget, and still get your pet as close to the ideal outcome as they can. You pay before leaving your pet at the hospital, and if any additional treatment is recommended they call and get you to approve it (any time of day or night). The doctors and other staff are knowledgeable (making sure youre provided the information you need), capable, compassionate, and honestly seem to really care.
They are a talented and caring crew. They treated my dogs as if they were their own and I truly appreciate that. Weve had dogs pass from complications due to old age and they advised and cared for all of us our pets and ourselves. They are the best!
I was referred to VCA from the San Diego county humane society. After I read a lot of reviews, I was a little hesitant. But they were so great dealing with us on the Christmas Day. We had to put our much loved Yellow Lab down. I called and talked to them and then headed in. They we ready for us. Dealing with all of my emotions and that of my family, and our sick dog; it was great to be treat with so much respect and compassion.I would recommend these people to anyone.
Took my dog in when she had a severe UTI one night. Received the absolute best care and treatment from every single person we interacted with, from receptionists to technicians to the doctor. They got us in and out in like an hour and a half, and my pup was already doing better by the time we left. That was last week and she is already back to her old self. She is kind of a nervous nelly, and I really appreciated how gentle everyone was with her and the time they took to make us feel at ease. Will definitely be using this hospital in case of emergencies in the future.
My dogs surgery with VCA was 3 years ago. I called around for quotes for a pretty common procedure, repair of a luxating patella. No one else would give me a clear quote over the phone & instead of an all-inclusive price, x-rays & lab work were additional. I went with VCA Animal Specialty Group because I liked that they were up-front with a price & that price included everything, plus they had good Yelp reviews. I was not disappointed. Everyone was very friendly and they took great care of my dog. Dr. Lenehan (now retired), Dr. Jackson & all the techs were great! The one thing I would say was a bit lacking, was detailed advice about keeping a hyper 1-year-old dog calm & contained for 8 weeks. I was very worried about re-injury. The tranquilizers worked wonders, but more detailed info about how to increase the dose (it varies based on the dogs size/weight) & knowing that Id basically need to keep her crated for 8 weeks (which wasnt a problem with the tranquilizers) would have helped me a lot.
It took 4h of waiting and watching my dog suffering before a doctor spoke to us presenting unaffordable, ridiculously expensive options - most of them were totally unnecessary. They ignored my suggestions and details concerning symptoms and suggested waiting until the next day ( if I wanted to wait Id go to a normal vet not emergency). They informed us that their ultrasound doesnt operate at emergency hours which is ridiculous. After 5h we refused to pay for unnecessary procedures and agreed to give our dog a painkiller as well as a few other shots ($200) and were charged $99 for talking to a vet who tried to convince us that spending $580 for maybe finding out what is wrong with our dog is a good idea. I think guessing for free and phoning my vet in Europe who helped us free of charge over the phone is a better option. Very expensive very poor service. It seems the people care only about money. I will never go back. I do not recommend it.
Traumatic. Horrible people overcrowd the few good ones.. It was a terrible experience, and I fully regret trusting my baby girl to those people whom weve encountered. Dr. Nichols is the only exemption..
Care is good. Follow-up after a visit is poor.
Incredible service after dog mauling. No way Sarge would have lived without their work. Forever grateful.
Probably good surgeons but set up to extr@ct maximum dollars from grieving pet owners. SAD
EDIT: Updated after follow up from medical director.Initially, we had a terrible experience at this VCA hospital. My 14.5 year old dog was referred here for an ultrasound due to chronic kidney disease so this was our first time visiting this location. My dog was treated by Dr. Dong and Casey (Vet assistant). Immediately, it became clear that Casey was not experienced. She didn’t know how to properly hold a dachshund (even though she claimed she owned one). It is well known that dachshunds commonly suffer from IVDD and there is a specific way they need to be handled, something that every vet assistant prior to this one seemed to know without needing explanation. Our initial experience with Dr. Dong was great. She was thorough in explaining next steps and she was very loving towards our dog. She came back after the ultrasound to report she found a mass that required a biopsy. We agreed and proceeded with treatment, which would require mild sedation. About 30 minutes later or so, she came in with my dog who was violently trembling and looked like a complete zombie. She reported the Vet tech (Casey) was supposed to inject him with 1 mg of butrophanol but accidentally gave him 1 mg per kg (which equaled 4.7 mg of this opiate—almost 5 x the amount he was supposed to receive). We were in major distress at this point, listening to all the terrible side effects and possible complications from this grave mistake. They had us stay for another hour or so to monitor him. We did not allow them to take him to the back for treatment as we naturally didn’t feel our dog was safe in their care. The veterinarian never came back out to speak with us. Instead, she sent another vet technician to monitor his vitals every 20 minutes. When we left to pay, they had included the sedative ($87) on our $1,000 + bill. We were appalled that they didn’t offer any discount after all the stress they put us through. When we mentioned this, they came and took off the $87 from the bill. They did not send us home with any instructions. It’s now almost noon and we haven’t received one call to check on our dog and see how he is doing. We will not be returning to this clinic ever again and would advise you to consider alternative options when seeking care for your pet. The Vet tech is negligent and the veterinarian seems to not care to follow up on patients or make up for serious mistakes. This could have cost our dog his life. He’s a senior dog with kidney disease and I have no idea how this mistake will impact his prognosis.The following day I did receive a call from the medical director, who has since worked with me to correct the mistake that occurred. He expressed genuine remorse and has taken steps to change protocol at this center so this never happens again. He also compensated future labs at my personal vet so I can have peace of mind that this does not have a long term impact. I have appreciated the corrective steps that were taken and have changed my review from 1 Star to 3. I have only frequented this Vet clinic one time so my review is only based off of this one negative experience.
The staff and Dr. Biegen are amazing! Took care of our Mollie and have her on the road to recovery. This place is a blessing♡
Love everyone here....The BEST Drs and techs. I highly recommend . 😁
Lived in Palm Springs, New York, and San Diego. THIS IS THE BEST VET IVE EVER BEEN TO! not just the esthetics, but the staff! Nurse was my beautiful sister from another mista Sam! Wonderful and ultra friendly. Dr. Wagner was PHENOMENAL! Ive worked my whole life in sales jobs, so I feel like I know when someones trying to sale me something....NEVER got that feeling here! Dr. Wagner was nothing but caring and professional! Had nothing but helpful information and great vibes to get us through our doggy trauma. WILL/WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS VET!
Last December my little girl Yahoo! Got really sick really fast, she had a csizure and became unresponsive, i called the V.C.A. in hotel circle which is the after hours emergeancy facility. By the time i got there i was a wreck. They immediately took her to the back and started to work on her. Come to find out she had developed a severe intestinal cancer. And the was so much that it wasnt treatable. They were so kind and compassionate and treated her with so much respect.
This place is terrible. They have this idiotic system where you have to sign a paper saying youll pay for whatever procedure theyre about to do. My cat went into cardiac arrest and the nurse came out to tell me that I need to sign to approve CPR, and I nearly killed her. Seriously, do the CPR first, sign papers later. If theyre concerned about people paying, they should give you a form up front and have you write down how many dollars your upper limit is, and have you sign for overage if that occurs.The other thing is that they will not allow pet owners to accompany their pets. My cat has abandonment anxiety (I go EVERYWHERE with him), and Im certain that the reason his heart stopped was because they took him in without me, shaved him, stuck needles into him, etc. and he freaked out and got a heart attack. When they finally did the CPR, they ruptured his stomach (or small intestine - not sure which) and the minor infection he had in his gut spread to his abdominal cavity and then his bloodstream, so he died.And then on top of that, I got billed for euthanasia. He died in the ICU without ever getting administered the shot. I called them about it when I received the bill, and they refunded it. But seriously?The one nice thing I can say about the whole thing is that I think my cat spent 6 hours in the ICU and I got billed for only 4. I guess thats considerate.
My cat Pearl Jam got transferred to this clinic today as he might of had a blockage in his intestines. The case was assigned to Dr. John Nichols. I had the chance to speak with Dr. Nichols in depth about my cat and what my options are and what he reccomended. I would like to first say that this guy (Dr. Nichols) is crazy SMART! He is the real deal. Ive met a lot of Vets as when I was a kid I was a Vet Tech so I had the chance to interact with quite a few vets. I can tell you that Dr. Nichols really knows his stuff and is incredibly knowledgeable. It would not suprise me if he was Mensa also, as he had the ability to rapidly analyze data and information way faster than any Vet Ive seen before. I highly recommend him to anyone that needs a top emergency medicine vet! As for the clinic, the girls in the back are so kind and highly knowledgeable all of the vet techs there were really on top of their game and they were all so sweet and treated my cat like royalty. I really appreciated it. The girls all told me how sweet my cat was and how they all loved him. I thought it was really cool that they all dropped what they were doing to come over and talk to me and tell me how awesome my cat was because he really is the sweetest little boy in the world but really hes a big boy hes massive probably gave him too many treats over the past years but I figure he deserves it . They put him in a nice cage and with lots of blankets and a litter box I could tell that he was in really good hands. Also the two men at the front desk were also incredibly kind and went out of their way 2 walk me through the process and one of them actually went outside to let me know when I was in my car that the that the ultrasound was done and that I could come in and talk to the doctor if I wanted. All in all I just felt so good about this place and I highly recommend them for everything. They have MRI machines, ultrasound machines x-ray machines, a radiologist, Internal Medicine surgeons, emergency medicine doctors, neurology... I mean these guys and girls are the real deal! My cat is staying the night right now as we speak while I write this review and I literally feel a hundred times better that I took him to this hospital and not somewhere else. They are worth every freaking penny. My cat is incredibly important to me. Not only do I consider him a son to me, but he is my only family. He saved my life while I was in Afghanistan, as we were walking down a road and heard a kitten cry and so me being a cat lover I decided to tell everyone to go look for him in the field and sure enough right where we were standing was an IED that went off so him crying saved Our Lives. I knew he would never leave my side again from then on out. So for me to be comfortable leaving him overnight for the very first time ever since that day, trust me when I say I am very picky about who I would do that with. I really truly sincerely mean what Im telling you that this really is the best place Ive been. There exam rooms and surgery centers are state-of-the-art and the place is super clean and well-kept and as I said before the nursing staff in the back and all of the vet tech assistant and text and Dr were super kind and super smart. I think this will be the place I go till the day I die with all my animals. And for me thats really saying something.So I would also HIGHLY reccomend Dr. Suzanne Benedict is amazing! She is super smart also. Honestly I keep saying one doctor at the other is good so Ive come to the conclusion that all the doctors at this Hospital are outstanding and really know their stuff. To give you an example, medical students shot of these doctors for educational purposes. So that should tell you they are at the top in the field and outstanding at what they do. Listening to the doctors talk about how they come to the conclusions of diagnosis incredibly fascinating. I felt like I was inside of a Harvard or UCLA emergency room and they were analyzing humans which was really refreshing to see. So honestly they ALL (Nurses & Doctors) kick ass!!
I came home from work to find one of my cats unable to walk. I took him to another hospital initially, and they came back with a probable saddle thrombus diagnosis, which has a very negative outlook. Needless to say, we were devastated. I wanted to have more tests done to confirm this diagnosis before making a life or death decision. They did some more tests, and it started to look less and less likely that it was a saddle thrombus situation, so they decided to send Sam to this VCA hospital because they had an MRI machine opening that we could get right away. The onsite neurologist (Dr. Biegan) noticed right away that he was exibiting signs of vertigo, so she took over his care and correctly diagnosed that he had a stroke, which has a much better prognosis for recovery than saddle thrombus. The care of Sam while he was admitted to this hospital and underwent tests was top notch, and the doctors seem highly competent and really care. I cant rate this place high enough with only five stars. Thank you Dr. Biegan for saving our beloved family member!
My little furry buddy got something stuck in his left front paw and I didn’t want to wait all night to get him to my regular vet. RVT Peggy took Cody and worked her magic by removing some debris from his toes that from a fence project where the contractor hadn’t done a thorough cleanup on the area.😡In and out in forty five minutes 😋 VCA rocks!
Amazing facility, caring staff and the latest medical technology. My vet referred my rabbit, Luka, here for a CT scan of his skull. There was some problem in his mouth that conventional xrays did not show. After two months of treatment with antibiotics and pain meds, we visited ASG. I cannot express my gratitude enough to all the staff and Drs. Slesser and Geist. Within 45 minutes, they knew exactly what the problem was and he is having our regular vet take care of it today. Thank you all for your care and concern for this 11 year old bunny. We both appreciate you!
After an unpleasant experience with another vet, its a joy to take my dog here. They really care about my pets health and they do everything they can to make sure you know whats going on. My little one had a severe case of pneumonia (Bordatella) and the previous vet just wasnt aggressive enough in treating it; my puppy was sick for weeks. One visit here and the vet knew how serious it was, my dog was hopitalized and treated appropriately. Two days later he was a puppy again, running around full of energy and life, and by the end of the 4th day his cough was completely gone. I only wish I had gone here in the first place, my dog would no have had to go through so much misery.
Staff is wonderful and my dog is well taken care of.
Absolutely love them! They saved my 8 month old puppy that swallowed a poisonous Palm tree seed!!
Very poor and crew only care about the money and how to charge more and make more money instead of treat the animals as they should. Ashamed of this place. Dont recommend at all
Beautiful facility. Friendly staff.
The best!
They care Soo much!