VCA Animal HospitalsReviews of vcahospitals.com

I had apprehensions going to another VCA as I was pretty sure the usual sales pitch for (mostly unnecessary) vaccines and (very) toxic flea & tick prevention would likely be part of the visit. It was worse than I thought and felt more like a time share presentation selling their 'care club'. My dog has 4 of 42 teeth left and I was still told yearly ( anesthetized) dentals were important. For crying out loud!! Oh yeah worth mentioning is that she didn't even bother to look in his mouth.

After years of automatic payments, my wife's credit card got lost & re-issued w. another number so automatic payments didn't go through. I didn't get any notices from VCA CareClub (although I guess it could have been missed) and it wasn't "on my radar". But by the time I called, fully ready to pay whatever was owed & give them my new card payment, the (very rude) "customer service" person told me that there would be a $50 sign up charge. I did not pay based on principle and my 30 years working in the business world, understanding best practices in Customer Service. I have been going to the VCA bringing Bella (17.5 years), Tai (9.5 years) and now Minne (3.5 years). We incurred roughly $15k in bills treating Tai's cancer. We're taking Minnie to a cardiovascular doctor (Orange County VCA) and have run a huge bill there also. So I'm not usually one to argue over $50 except if there is principle involved and somebody is being very rude to me.

I Highly recommend them for all your pet care needs. Everyone is extremely friendly and knowledgeable, I have taken my babies here for all range of care. From initial visit after adoption, general visits, Emergency Services. They were very passionate when I had to let one of my babies travel over the rainbow. Dr O’Neal is one of the best Vets I have been to. Very compassionate, caring, knowledgeable, and HONEST as to what care needs to be done and provides different options.

The location Is Falcon Road in Lower Burrell, PA. This past week we made an appointment to put our cat down which, we didn't take lightly. My husband has been going to this veterinarian for our Pumba since 2006. But he has been taking his dogs and cats there even before this...just to give you some context. So when we went to put him down we were told it was the law he needed to have a physical since he has not been seen in over a year. I advised the vet and the tech that that is not a law & the vet stated it is policy. This one cat has been going to this office since 2006. There was no need for a physical that was less than 15 minutes and cost close to $100. And that doesn't Include the cost for the euthanasia. If you can go somewhere else that won't rack you the coals you should. The techs may be nice and the vets may know what they are doing but at what cost to the owners. To require an examine after being a patient for years is uncalled for.

I'll be fair and brutally honest in this review. My experience was at best mixed. I found 1 doctor that truly understand both animal and owner. She gets a 5 star review from me. Initially they tried to charge 2550$ for a surgery to my cat. When I told them it was way out of line, loudly, they brought it to 1150. Amazing why didn't they do that right away? Cause they are located in a rich area and prey on the wealthy not balking at their prices. Keep in mind this is a 24 hour animal hospital. I had no choice during the emergency. The front office staff was non responsive at times or completely out of touch. 1 receptionist after seeing me 6 times, asked if I had been here before. The initial staff for treating was mixed, from very slow to good to very good. First night 17 hours waiting, and people went in before me even after arriving later. The rest of the wait times were ridicules, even 2 hours just to pickup. Really? They picked and chose who got treatment first. They told me repeatedly, they do not take appointments. Last day there a lady walked in with a dog saying aloud she had a 9:30 appointment with a doctor, She went right in. Six weeks later he is recovering home still with an exposed wound but it is healing. total approx 3300$ later. My local vet is also a VCA Animal Hospital but non emergency. They are very good at animal care and owner concerns. I personally think the hospital needs better communication and more reasonable prices for everyone. Towards the end of continuing treatment, they did work with me more, financially bending a lot, letting him stay till I got out of work to pick up, I appriciated that. I believe the doctor care and treatment there was very good, the rest that goes along with such an experience like that could have been handled much better. And if you say you are a first come and first serve treatment, then do it.

The lakewood location never has appointments. My dog had coughing spells...I guess it wasn't too important since the only thing available was a month later. The wait list is a joke. Luckily it was Banfield to the rescue and I was able to get my pet within 2 days of scheduling.

I took my bearded dragon there who is 7 years old. They wanted to keep him overnight so I put down a hefty deposit. I left there around 3:30. I got the phone call around 5:30 he has no heartbeat. The lady said since it’s a reptile they need to keep him 24 hours so I can pick his body up the next day at 4. That means he died 30 minutes after I dropped him off. When I picked up the body they charged over 500$. They did exrays and a bunch of things to bring the bill up. I stopped at captive bred to get the things the vet said I need for him. I told the pet store owner my dragons symptoms and he said his did the same before he died. The vet should have known this the body language and symptoms were clear. If you have a reptile, DO NOT take them here.

AVOID! I went there with a sick dog, they charged me $525 for the visit and bloodwork and came back saying she needed all sorts of treatments from blood transfusions to surgeries. When I couldn't afford those options, They told me my dog was going to die, recommended we put her down. Talk about devastating. Even their quote for putting her down was exorbitant so we decided to go home and let it happen naturally. I reached out to a couple of other vets I know, both were *appalled* that VCA urgent care sent me home without antibiotics, the obvious first line of defense with a dog presenting with a fever and high white blood cell count. So I took my dog to another local vet once they opened; the vet examined the dog and put her on a course of antibiotics. It worked, the dog is fine. Unlike VCA urged, I did not need surgery, or a blood transfusion, for thousands of dollars - I needed a $30 round of antibiotics. These people showed themselves to be all about the money, dishonest, and NOT the place to take a pet that you care for.