VCA Animal Hospitals
reviews and complaints

We originally brought our dog in to address issues with her coordination on July 8th, 2019. The attending neurologist was Dr. Casey Berkel and nurse Denise Young. The recommendation was an MRI and a Spinal Fluid sample would be taken to determine the cause of her health issues. After examining the MRI, Dr. Berkel believed the issue was an autoimmune disease affecting the right side of her brain, but the spinal fluid sample would determine 100%. We took her home after a long day and waited to hear back regarding the sample.

When the call came, the Doctor informed us they had misplaced her spinal fluid sample stating that they were very sorry and gave us a refund. Obviously an MRI and Spinal Fluid extraction is very taxing and not something we can just go back and get done again. She assured us from the MRI that it was indeed an autoimmune disease, but we never got the peace of mind that we would've received from the sample. We don't care about the money, we care about her getting the proper diagnosis and treatment that she needs, and this is unacceptable, but we continued with treatment.

As the steroid dosage started to taper off, we noticed changes in her condition, she was suddenly unable to jump on the couch.

September 26th - We scheduled an appointment with Dr. Berkel who did a neuro exam and advised us not to change the steriod dosage as she did fine during the exam. She failed to mention the chances of relapse/warning signs to look out for and prescribed Gabapentin for the pain.

September 28th - Her condition did not improve. We called to see if we could bring Bella in for an emergency appointment, and we were told she could only be seen by an ER doctor.

October 1st - Her condition was worsening. She stayed up all night panting and shaking. We called again and the Nurse told us to increase the dosage of pain medication (Gabapentin).

October 2nd - Her condition continued to get worse. We called AGAIN and got the same answer to increase the dosage of Gabapentin. When we argued with the nurse, asking her to address the REASON this is happening and not to only focus on managing the pain is when she contacted Dr. Berkel and advised us we could slowly increase her steroid dosage.

As her condition worsened, she yelped in pain any time anyone came close to her. We fed her water with a spoon and food by hand. We held her while she peed/pooped outside and she stopped eating. We sat up all night with her while she was panting, shaking, and clearly in discomfort from pain. All of these symptoms were addressed during our calls and we were advised to give Gabapentin every time. We even took her to our vet twice, and we took her to a Animal Chiropractor throughout this whole mess and they would redirect us to the Neuro who clearly did not help.

We rushed her to a different ER at 4 AM on October 3rd, and they contacted the neurologist. At that point, she could no longer stand. She is now on a more aggressive dosage of steroids and additional meds due to her relapse. The neurologist there advised us what to look out for (i.e. small signs such as not being able to jump on the couch).

It goes without saying that we will NEVER be returning to VCA. Even when we called on October 2nd, not once did Dr. Berkel ask us to come in for a follow up examination, and we have not heard anything from them since. It was so hard to watch Bella get worse day by day, and no one wanted to help or felt the need to ask us to bring her in. We still have not heard anything from her doctors since.

The workers ken and Aaron at the vca sawmill animal hospital location in Ohio treat animals with poor respect. They yell at animals and are sometimes physically abusive. They punch cages and scream at their coworkers and provide a harmful and toxic environment. Animals will become terrified to be in our kennel and the other kennel workers are terrified to work with Aaron. Aaron will yell at his supervisor violently. Ken and Aaron will both yell at animals unnecessarily man many times. Ken has hit and thrown animals in many many situations and I think that is not what an animal hospital should represent.

First let me state that we have been taking our dogs (all dobermans) to the VCA clinic in Ridgecrest, CA for at least 18 years. All our previous visits had been for routine visits such as annual check ups, vaccinations, dentistry, etc. On 06/10/19 we had an emergency with our 8 year old doberman that just weeks ago this vets office said our dog was in good health. While explaining our dogs' situation to the person on the telephone she seemed to be on a "one track" sight unseen diagnosis and told us to put cold cloths on him and come into the office the next day. We explained all the symptoms he as experiencing and she still insisted they would not make time to see him that day. This was in the AM. During the day our dogs' condition continued to worsen until early evening and we concluded he may not survive the night. We immediately contacted AV Emergency/Urgent Care and they said "bring him in immediately." It is my opinion that had we not taken our doberman to the urgent care facility in Palmdale, CA we may have lost him. I put the blame for complacency squarely on the VCA clinic in Ridgecrest, CA. and will no longer trust that facility.

I took my dog in about a skin allergy. I spent almost $300.00. I left with 2 prescriptions that had 1 refills each. It clearly said on the bottles that the refills we're valid for 1 year but when I tried to fill them online the office refused to fill them. I then went to the office and they refilled 1 and told me I needed to come back the next day because the vet that issued the medicine was not there. The following day I received a call informing me that they refused to honor the refill and that I needed to pay for an office visit in order them to honor the refill. Total rip off.

I took my dog to the vca location in Newport News, VA because he had a small tumor on his left side. The vet extracted a small sample of cells but gave no diagnosis. The vet technician drew up a surgical removal proposal and I was told to watch the growth of the tumor and bring him in for presurgical lab work and X-rays. I told the vet I was concerned because my dog was 13 years old And I was concerned about him surviving surgery at his age. The vet never once mentioned a diagnosis and told me there was no concern regarding surgical survival. The tumor grew and I brought my dog in for pre op X-rays. At this time the vet never mentioned a diagnosis and after the X-rays I never received a follow up call. I called several times and left messages for the vet to get with me to discuss further treatment. Since I received no communication from the vet, I took my dog to another vet on August 22, 2018. When the vet requested the records from vca he noticed a diagnosis of Sarcoma. None of the paperwork I received from vca ever mentioned sarcoma nor was it ever mentioned in any conversations. The new vet said my dog would not survive surgery at his age and if the sarcoma was caught and treated in the initial exam on March 2, my dog would have had a better chance of survival with appropriate treatment. My dog passed away on September 3, 2018. I don't blame vca for his death but I do question the ethics of the vets who saw him and suggested pre op X-rays knowing surgery was not in the best interest of my dogs treatment. My current vet agrees with me 100%. I am requesting a refund of the $503.40 that I was charged for the X-rays on 5/24/2018. I have consulted an Attorney and am prepared to persue this legally if necessary. I am also prepared to go public with this issue if this is not resolved.

Horrible intake! Do. Didn't listen to my rntire story which included key information (multiple wasp stings) -lack of professional customer service, no one there seemed to know what they were doing, doc was not clear onuch, no dextrose on hand so I had my friend run to neighbors of hospital to get honey, no way to do blood work, girls at front desk were so unprofessional and discussing who's turn it was to tell me if my dog died.
Left with 800$ bill only to go to emergency vet where I was able to get exvellent service.

Our family pet Claire had a Dr. visit that took place back in December. I spoke to the branch manager a couple days before your conference and left detailed notes to resolve this matter. We have had a difficult time connecting over the past few weeks playing phone tag. My puppy was seen, the day of the visit we spoke to the dr and told her our concerns of Claire's age and expenses for treatments she stated the ultrasound can tell us whether or not she was pregnant or not and the X-ray would let us know the size of the puppies skeleton and determine whether or not a natural pregnancy is best for Claire. The Dr insisted upon the tests and stated she is more than half way to term based upon her size. After pregnancy was confirmed via ultrasound they took her for a X-ray. The X-ray came back blank. The puppies were underdeveloped and nothing was seen on the X-ray. I explained to the dr as well as the receptionist at the time of checkout I couldn't afford to pay for a service with no results. We were still at a loss of how far long our dog was. How many puppies she had and when to bring her back to determine whether she would actually need a c-section. Since none of the puppies skeletons were developed to see on the X-ray, we were advised to wait And come back to have another X-ray done at a later time and to consult you, the director to resolve the financial side of this matter . My family has patronized Bradshaw VCA for over 20 years for all of our family's pets. I pray to resolve this matter asap as other pets need to Resume routine services ASAP. I followed up with the staff and they let me know you will be in this evening if you are able to give me a call I'd greatly appreciate it.

I was sold medication for my dog's liver, but not told the details. When getting the medication home I read that the medication was to be given to the dog for the rest of its life. That is $80/month. I returned the medication and told the Vet I could not afford $80/month for the rest of the dog's life and wanted to return the Denamarin. It was not explained to me that this was a life-long dosage. The hospital would not accept the medication returned and said I was stuck with it. I was deceived. I will have to eat this deception, but VCA lost this customer. To all those reading this, be careful of the tests and medication they talk you into.

I take my animals there and one of my best friends is a receptionist there as well. They wrongfully vaccinated both my animals. The way the treat their receptionist is horrible. They're so rude towards them. My bestfriend also tells me the [censor] that happens there, they don't care about the animals out back, they're always yelling at them. The way they're towards her and a few others is ridiculous. I heard the manager has no idea what to even do half the time. They're so dishonest to their customers and to their staffs. They either need new people or they just need a new manager to actually come in and do their job correctly.

We brought in our pet at approximately 6:50am on 3/3/18 and encountered staff so incompetent, she risked our pets life. We left after waiting for over 20 minutes, to take our pet to Dove Lewis animal hospital where they brought us back within 60 seconds of walking through the door, with a lobby full of patients. Our pet was in critical condition which I made abundantly clear (I am a healthcare provider) and the staff at VCA had us wait without apparent reason (nobody else was in the waiting room) and quite literally treated me like a dog-ordered me to sit down repeatedly. I was confused by the delay and asked "do you need a credit card? Is there a Dr. here?" Had I not opted to leave and bring our pet to Dove Lewis I believe she would have died in their empty waiting room due to staff's negligence. When this staff member initially told me to sit down, I replied "thank you I'm fine." She then appeared to become annoyed and repeated it as though she was demanding I sit down. She told me x3 each time more forcefully "you can sit down." I was confused by her fixation with my body position (standing at the counter expecting to be called back momentarily as should have been the case given the circumstances .) After waiting for 10-15 more minutes while looking for an alternate care provider open at that hour, we left to Dove Lewis. Given the circumstances of waking up to a pet in sudden onset, acute & critical condition, and being from NY, my manner may have been received as abrupt, which is irrelevant and should not dictate patient care or lack thereof, yet it appears to have resulted in just that. My daughter stated her observation that "the first lady was fine" "the second lady got annoyed and insecure and was pushing her authority and seemed like she wanted to show that she was in charge."