VCA Animal Hospitals Anmeldelser 105

I’ve made the difficult decision to stop bringing my pets to VCA Encina Animal Hospital after years of increasingly disappointing experiences. What ultimately drove me away was a persistent pattern of poor communication, dismissive staff, and what I believe are questionable business practices that prioritize revenue over genuine care.

Communication at this clinic has been a consistent struggle. Phone staff, especially Emily and Christine, have often been curt and unhelpful, making it feel like I was an inconvenience rather than a valued client. My questions or concerns were frequently ignored or brushed off, which only added to the frustration.

I also have concerns about the medical decision-making at this facility. When my puppy Jameson was seen for a simple cyst, the proposed response was a full dental cleaning and biopsy—costing around $3,500. In the end, I received no real answers, and the cyst resolved on its own, raising doubts about whether the procedure was ever necessary. This wasn’t an isolated case; I’ve experienced repeated pressure to approve costly and seemingly excessive treatments, like being told to submit multiple stool samples when one would suffice.

Over the years, I’ve felt less like a pet owner seeking help and more like a target for upselling. Even treatment records are written in ways that subtly shame clients for opting out of high-cost procedures. It’s emotionally manipulative and inappropriate in a setting that should be focused on trust and compassion.

Even my conversations with the hospital’s leadership left me with mixed messages and little clarity, further damaging my confidence in their transparency and professionalism.

The only exception to this experience has been Dr. Yates, who consistently provided compassionate and thorough care. Unfortunately, her professionalism stands out as the exception, not the standard.

I’ve since compared pricing and services with other veterinary clinics, and VCA Encina consistently ranks as one of the most expensive, without a corresponding improvement in care. For example, I was quoted nearly $1,500 for a neuter procedure I had done elsewhere for a fraction of the price—with no compromise in quality.

In short, my experience with VCA Encina has been one of increasing disappointment. I can no longer justify entrusting my pets’ health—or my peace of mind—to this clinic.

Update to earlier review: June 11th - VCA Encina, who I have learned is self-insured, is no longer responding to me or my concerns.

March 25th I mailed a letter to the VCA medical director, the hospital manager and the CEO of VCA Corporate, Patty Wu, requesting the name of VCA Encina's professional liability insurance so I could pursue a claim of medical malpractice directly with them. After no response, April 4th I emailed a reminder of the request and was told: "Hello, We have forwarded your request to VCAs legal team after your response to the email sent on March 18th. From my understanding, our legal team has reached out to you and will assist you with anything further."

The legal team has not reached out to me as of 6-29-2025. This feels a little intimidating and threatening. My cat died last year in extremely unfortunate circumstances. My family has been and continues to be devastated, and now we're being told that 'legal is going to reach out to me' but instead they seem to have ghosted me.

VCA animal emergency hospital southeast caulder rd. Is GODS place with Angels that were there for me to take my baby Coco to go to heaven. Dr. Weston Moseley, Sarah and another sweet angel that (can’t remember her name) needs to be recognized carring me through this heart breaking time. Compassionate, loving, kind is not enough to say how wonderful these angels are. I am shouting from the roof tops to everyone how blessed I was to be lead by our loving GOD to them. It was April 7th at 5am. I am elderly, was alone and they were there for me and my baby. I could go on and on. I love these angels. Bless you.

I really like the staff at the local VCA hospital, New Hartford,that I bring my pets to but the costs are outrageous for general Basic surgery prices are ridiculous so much so that I decided to take one of my pets that needed surgery to an independent veterinary hospital where the cost was 1/4 of what the VCA hospital wanted. I am in the process of taking my other pets to the same independent hospital and that is only due because of the outrageous cost involved and not only surgeries but visits to the doctor and any blood work that’s done.

We have taken 6 dogs to what used to be Standish Veterinary Hospital in Standish, ME over the past 15+ years. Around 2020, this local small town practice with vets and staff who knew your pets was bought out by VCA. Overnight, it seemed, not only did prices jump massively, but 9 times out of 10 you simply cannot get a sick appt for your pet unless it’s a month or more out. Initially, they blamed this on the pandemic but here we are in 2025. Last year, I had a dog with a sudden and severe respiratory ailment. Well, we can’t see your dog for two weeks. So I went to the local petmedic office who was able to assess the same day. Got bounced around for a while to more expensive specialty vets because VCA couldn’t get her in. The issue finally resolved after three months of coughing and gagging. No idea what it was because we never got a definitive dx. VCA was in denial that it was the canine respiratory virus saying that “none” of their other dog patients were getting it. This week, another of our dogs had an abscessed molar which, once again, they couldn’t see her for until SIX WEEKS out, with an actual extraction appt not available for TEN WEEKS. WTH? Then her abscess burst and she had a steady drip of blood coming out of her face. I again tried to call VCA to ask what the heck I should do but got their voicemail because they were “in a seminar” I learned when I still hadn’t gotten a call back 30 minutes later. Thankfully, again, our local Petmedic (who had been able to get her in for an assessment the day before and prescribed abx) was able to instruct me over the phone in what to do, who to call, and then sent me a list of about 20 veterinary offices in our county who ARE accepting new pts. I immediately called the closest one who said they had appts available this very same week!!! So I moved all four of my current dogs that same day to that practice and told VCA Standish to transfer all records and cancel all appts. Since 2020, they have also lost a number of long-time vets and staff who knew our pets. Now it seems only a few long-timers are left with a revolving door of newbies who don’t seem to give a hoot. It’s too bad, because the original owner and one of the remaining techs are wonderful humans but VCA itself sucks. I have gotten the sense they want to focus on preventive care so don’t leave any possible openings for sick visits. Not sure what that’s all about but I don’t buy the pandemic excuse any more.

VCA Twin Rivers Animal Hospital does not really care about the animals. They just care about making money. They are overpriced. They do not care about the pets at all. As they stated they are a "BUSINESS!!!" Better vets are out there. Look for another vet.

If I could do less than 1 star I would. Do not do business with VCA. I was warned and didn’t listen. Lesson learned. I have a sick dog that I have already spent hundreds on and they did not fix the issue but want me to spend hundreds more to “see what works” and shove more medications down his throat or yet another jab (2 were required yesterday as I heard my dog crying while they jabbed him not once but twice!) I was charged $160 for a shot that was suppose to stop his itching. It’s been we’ll over 24 hours and he is no better and now this vet wants to charge me more money and shove more shit down his throat. I pulled my pets from VCA and only hope that in the interim my dog doesn’t get worse. They are rude and didn’t even care about my situation. Throw more pharmaceuticals at him and charge me out the ass for it. No thank you VCA. I have reported this to the BBB, have hired an attorney for the damages/emotional stress and fired VCA.

One of the many evil corporations in the USA. Weekend prices are $426 to walk in the door in Redding CA. without one look at one’s pet. When you try to research them good luck. If your pet does make it after hundreds of dollars and you get to your regular vet, that vet just looks at you with sorrow and says nothing we can do you got ripped off. RIP

VCA Asher Hospital in Redding CA is an emotional and financial drain. Do not go there unless you have unlimited funds and unlimited emotional resources.

They buy up rural vets leaving folks with 2 choices. Kill the pet or take them to Asher.

Lakeside Vet
I would give no stars if that was available. My 7 year old cat had dental surgery. They told me that the insurance would cover it and then they told me that my part was $500 when I brought her in for surgery. They lied to me. I have spent a small fortune there. When I told them I sold my mom’s house, that’s when it got even worse. I guess they saw me as a cash cow. They put her on several meds that cause aggression. It made her really sick. Then the vet tells me that the stupid vet that did the surgery missed a tooth. How do you miss a tooth unless it’s done on purpose. They kept having me bring her back and giving her injections of solencia for her tooth. Milking me for money. This is malpractice. I’m not happy at all about them. I even heard years ago they put a dog to sleep that was brought in for boarding. They’re the worst vet clinic I’ve ever been to. Now that my cat is off all their meds, she’s doing so much better. I wouldn’t trust them with a dog turd. They put us through hell for a few months. I won’t ever take her there again. They don’t care about animals, just money.

I bring my dog to VCA Bell Brae Animal Hospital in Collingwood Ontario, for the past two years while I was in Florida my daughter brought him to another Animal Hospital, this year brought him to VCA for itching problems and vaccines. Well I was charged for
30 APOQUEL $169.54
Exam $115.54
Lepto Vaccine $50.00
Bordatella Vaccine $50.00
I thought it was a bit too steep so I went back to look at the invoices of the animal Hospital where my daughter went and their prices were
30 APOQUEL $108.00
Exam $96.00
Lepto Vaccine $24.00
Bordatella Vaccine $24.00
I can understand there may be $20.00 difference in the exam but double the price on the APOQUEL and the vaccines that I don’t understand

The consultation (second opinion) I received did not shed much light on my dog’s condition from what I already knew from my own research or from our primary veterinarian who suggested this referral. Moreover, two previous veterinarians failed to make a correct diagnosis which in the end delayed treatment for our dog. The consultation was expensive $277 given the complexity (not complex) of the issue being consulted on plus additional x-rays with a final bill over $800. I have found that there is not much difference in these specialty clinics. The paradigm for treatment is the same and suggests a “group think” mentality without any creativity, innovation or intellectual curiosity in investigating repurposed drugs. I wonder how many veterinarians actually engage in continuing education to offer patients an alternative to the standard of care: cut it out, radiation and chemo poison. It’s a battle between the somatic mutation theory vs the metabolic disease theory of cancer. Not impressed with either the human or veterinarian medicine available nowadays. Our dog is being treated outside of expected protocols and despite the delay in treatment she is making steady process and we are optimistic she might be able to beat this. Perhaps others have found success with these specialty clinics for their pets, but we have not given our timeline that spans over 6 months of inadequate investigative examination and care to arrive at a proper diagnoses given her breed, age and propensity for cancer. It would have been helpful had this been brought to our attention earlier so preventive screenings could have been performed.

I just adopted a kitten. I received a voucher for one appointment. But I don’t want to do that because she got back from surgery before I got there and all they will do is a check up even know she though so many vets that are at spca . They been calling repeatedly and adding me to their email list and emailed me. Stop acting like a free appointment voucher is a written contract. It makes people want go somewhere else with some respect for their customers.

They are always personable. Cost seems way high. Neutering was over a thousand dollars and did not include sedation to remove staples 10 days later.

I don’t mind paying more for better care, but it did not seem that way. We took our baby home and 8 hours later, he still isn’t himself. Praying it is temporary.

Bringing him to us when he was still sedated was traumatic. His tongue hanging out weird and him wobbling around scared the crap out of us.

Bed side manner with Parents should count too!

TWTMC,,,
I'm not impressed, waiting 10 days still on a 72 hr biopsy. This is completely unprofessional and I've disputed price gouging of procedure quote. 50% less at a local competitive Veterinarian in San diego area. Seeking partial refund for overcharged services not rendered in a timely manner.10 days later and still no notification of biopsy results for my loving10 year old Bulldog family member. And unavailability to even communicate with Main Street Veterinarian. This really stinks. Filed dispute with CITI CARD
Sincerely Irritated, Charles Batsch

VCA did hundreds of dollars on unauthorized work on my dog yesterday and when I disputed the bill for which no staff member including vet tech, the vet himself, front reception failed to provide me the requested written estimate before he did the work.I was antagonized and berated by a front desk person for 8 minutes before I was given my dogs. I paid immediately upon entering. The front office person began raising her voice as I stepped back to distance myself from her, while she proclaimed she was acting professionally. I asked to to please stop and she continued. When I said I’d post my experience to Instagram, her and the other staff began grinning and holding back laughter. She then began trying to force me to co form a surgery appointment for the doctor I fired! When I didn’t she just went in for the final blow. I have indisputable proof of my review. Messages have been left with corporate and complaint filed with my bank.

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.