VCA A Breed Apart Animal Hospital

05/20/10

they lost 2 potential clients!

by Dees

My sister decided to try this place. Bad idea. The staff was rude to us and seemed put out by all our questions. The Dr with the lazy eye eas nice enough to us and very sweet to my cat, but I overheard her being very very rude to the staff. I'm out. I'm going back to my moms vet closer to me in Arcadia

• Cons: unfriendly lazy uncommunicative staff

04/16/10

EXCESS FEES

by constu

I took my dog to this place because I got a coupon for a free exam. When I got there, of course, they told me that there were a million things wrong with my dog and that it would cost a billion dollars to fix it. So, they are nice and polite in person, but that's because they know they will rape your wallet.

They advertised a $250 dental cleaning with a **does not include blood work**. Well, the blood work is needed in order to safely put your dog on anesthesia and it costs $100. So, why the heck don't they just advertise it as $350? This was the first sign of ridiculous hidden charges and a reason why I should have just left. But, since my dog really needed a dental cleaning, I agreed to use their services.

On the estimate they gave me, they tried to put as many unnecessary procedure as they could (and the charges were exorbitant). This included a $75 miscellaneous charge, which they claim was a buffer for unforeseen costs (i.e. medications, blah blah blah). The lady said, "We usually try to OVERESTIMATE your costs so that there are no surprises." I had to ask them to remove everything that was absolutely unnecessary to make the cost of the procedure more reasonable. When they came back with a revised estimate, it was $250 less than their original quote. This was the second sign that I should have just left. But at this point I had already agreed to pay $100 for the blood work so naively, I agreed. Little did I know, I was actually signing away my life savings to this place.

During my dog's dental appointment, they called me telling me that they had charge me more money because of tooth extractions. The vet said that she extracted 2 teeth (which were painful for my dog) and 3 fell out on their own when she was cleaning but I still got charged for it~ an extra $160! Then she said that there was a mass in his mouth and that a biopsy was needed to make sure he doesn't have cancer. I didn't feel comfortable with it and asked several times if this was really really needed and if it was really a cause for concern. Of course, she said yes and of course, it cost me~ an extra $250.

Now, guess how much the medications came out to be? You guessed it~ their "overestimated buffer" of $75. The vet actually said the words "I was trying very hard to stick to estimate." Which means, that whatever they put on that piece of paper, they will try their best to charge you that amount and much much more.

Yesterday, I got a call from the vet. I'm sure you can guess what it's about. She said, "The biopsy results look great. It looks like your dog just had an inflammation because he needed dental work. Nothing cancerous." Exactly what I suspected. But stupid me agreed to pay an extra $250 to find out.

I would actually rate this place 0 out of 5 stars if I could. I would not take my dog here if I were you, unless you were ready to declare bankruptcy.

• Pros: nice people
• Cons: hidden fees, keep asking for more money, excess charges

01/03/07

no no no

by lustforfood

You do not want to take your pet there. It was an experience to avoid. There is no staff vet, only subs. The office receptionists are busy talking to each other . I was told that they like to leave early, so the vet would not see my pet. It was early in the afternoon.