VCA Advanced Veterinary Care Center

I have had a great experience at this place. Very polite and accomodating front desk.

Dr High is one of the finest dermatologists in the LA area. She truly cares about pets. She was very diligent in her assessment of my dog allergies and a few masses she did cytology on. She did not overcharge biopsies like other dermatologists I have been to.

To me it’s not just about money as I have insurance but her true care and politeness. Thank you!

I am sharing my experience with VCA from January 2021. My beloved Shih Tzu, Asia, began experiencing severe shortness of breath. Upon arrival at the ER, I explained my pup's symptoms. The Vet tech asked where I was parked.she rushed out to retrieve Asia. After a few hours, the vet called explain that she needed to remain, and be placed on oxygen and evaulated. She was hospitalized for 5 days. The staff and veterinarians were compassionate and accommodating. They extended my time with Asia by 7 months. I am forever grateful to the entire team at VCA Lawndale.

All VCA does is rob you. $500-$600 for an X-RAY, $120 just to be looked at, can’t get you on a plan until you schedule an exam, emergency wait up to 8 hours. Ridiculous.

I hate that I have to post this because I genuinely loved this location when our vet transferred here during Covid. They were amazing in the beginning until they weren’t. There have been small issues in the past but this one was my final straw which has led me to leave this review so that you all have some slight warning of their practice.

My 14 year old pup has Congestive Heart Failure. I reached out a couple weeks ago because one of the pharmacies I use to compound Vetmedin told me that their request to VCA was improperly handled and there would be a delay in my pups medications, forcing me to pay for rapid shipping and still not be able to get his medications in time. This was also when I was made aware that our doctor was no longer going to be at this location and that the entire cardio department would no longer be available starting in April. I asked if there was an appointment available to see our doctor before he left and they said no.

Fortunately, my primary care was able to supply the meds for me.

However, this time around was not the case at all. I contacted my local pharmacy this Friday morning to let them know id be in to pick up some meds, and they told me I had no more refills left and that VCA has been unresponsive in their attempts to request more meds. I then contacted VCA to see what was going on and they told me they would leave a message. They never responded so I called back today, where they told me they couldn’t do anything for me but that I should try calling my primary care. I did that and he told me he could not help me. I then went back to VCA who basically responded with a text telling me they wouldn’t fill my pups medication. When I called back, their response was to visit the ER, which DOES NOT HAVE A CARDIOLOGY DEPARTMENT.

I then also found out that they had prescriptions on file for my pup but would not have anyone sign them even though I explained the severity of this issue and made myself very clear when I told them no one had contacted me to let me know we would be left in the dark should an emergency arise.

The fact that there was no heads up with the option to schedule an appointment before we lost our doctors, and zero plan B other than to recommend you go to the ER, is disgusting.

I’ve been all over Los Angeles today, trying to find a location that will take my pup to prescribe him meds and let me tell you, it has not been easy because of his history!

I would steer clear of this location if you want to find a space that actually cares about your animals. I don’t even want to get started on the way the staff handled the conversation. Zero empathy, zero compassion. A complete 90degree difference from our first visits.

I’m now sitting at VCA Animal Specialty Group at 1am, with the highest amount of anxiety from the multiple panic attacks I’ve had today dealing with all of this. I will never return to this location and would highly encourage you to find a location that will treat you with care and empathy instead.

Took my little one as I freaked out he broke his paw nail. The staff were very helpful and I overacted but I wanted to be safe. I appreciated Enya, the vet tech, who was extremely helpful to us!

I've had mixed experiences with VCA over the years, but a very bad experience today has prompted me to write this - and recommend you take your pet elsewhere if you can. Staff were unhelpful and unsympathetic to my request to try and get urgent medication for my dog (which he has been getting refills for through VCA for a year).

With references to 'process' which prohibits them from continuing to refill the medication, no possibility to get him seen to anytime soon, and a blunt explanation that his previous doctor is 'not here anymore', I was firmly palmed off to my old vet.

I am sympathetic to the constraints of process, and the likely arduous conditions your customer care staff work in, but felt thoroughly put out by the experience. You could stand to improve in your ability to work with empathy.

I dropped off my fur baby because he stepped on a bee and the bee stung the pad of his foot. After a while I received a call to say they could not find the stinger; too much hair. Unbelievable.the vet did not think to shave the area to make sure the stinger was indeed no longer there? Yet.they wanted to inject the dog with pain meds and charge me extra for the injectable plus send me home with with pain meds. The dog favored his paw but no more than when I first brought him in. But to add insult to injury I had to suggest to be thorough and shave the area to be sure. Stay away from this place if humanly possible. The only reason I dropped in was because my Vet had a family emergency and was not in. This place cares more about the add-ons then the pets welfare. Stay away from this place. If I was not so concerned that my fur baby might be feeling adverse effects from the bee sting I would have taken him to City of Angels ER in Culver City. A much better choice.

I had a dog emergency on 12/13/21 and this vet ER claimed to be at capacity and could not see my dog. I am having a dog emergency now on 1/4/22 and they claimed the same thing and said there is not a doctor there tonight. They put me on hold before telling me there is not a doctor tonight so something feels fishy.

Don’t recommend here nor the one they want to sent you after 5 pm in Torrance all they want is your money please listen to me people

We went to VCA a few weeks ago because our baby was not doing well. We knew something was terribly wrong, so we rushed him to VCA at 4: 00 in the morning. When we got there, we had to call, and someone came to take him to be seen. Our baby had 109 fever and had a seizure. He, unfortunately, did not make it. It was such a sad time for my family and me. All the staff that was there was super kind, and you could tell they were sad as well. But the lady that really helped us was Coral. She was very sorry for our loss, and she didn't rush us to leave, and she just helped us get through this painful situation. Yes, the bill was over $1,000, but it included a lot of essential items, including the cremation and the beautiful urn. They even gave us a discount on some things which they did not have to do. It took about a week to receive the ashes, which we truly cherish.
I guess my only negative issue would be calling them before you get in. We honestly had an emergency, and every minute counts. So I feel that the minutes it took to call and wait to be let in could’ve been used to help our baby boy Harlow.

I want to Thank them for their kindness & compassion when I had to put my Golden down. They let me have time with him and I feel at peace with the entire event. Even though I’m so sad and missing him I know my dog is in a better place.

Today I buried my best friend. The Doctor. I wish I could remember her name African American woman with glasses and braids handled the passing of my dog with care and patience as it was very hard for me to let go. However, the front desk staff. Natalie in particular and back office were unprofessional. After I expressed my urgency I was "parked" on hold for 7 mins. My sister informed one of the techs that my dog was crying non stop in pain. She was rude and dismissive. While on hold I walked in and demanded to be seen.once I told the front desk my dog needed to be put to sleep they finally took me seriously. The entire time as this was extremely difficult the staff was outside our door while my dog was crying in the next room laughing and joking around. Just the lack of compassion was the most disappointing. The girls seemed to have an attitude as if they didn't enjoy there jobs. Miserable and insensitive. Granted some may of not known of the situation at hand, but could've of conducted themselves professionally and respect the hardship of putting your dog of 18 years to sleep.

I want to give a special Thank to all the vca hospital staff specialy Vetenerian Kim, Technician Ryo, Coral and Veronica for saving my cat Oreo life, I didn't think she was gonna make it but you guys did a miracle and oreo is making a full recovery Thanks to you're guys Attention it's not the first time you guys have saved my pets life. I highly recommend this hospital for your Furry
Family members

I took my 11 year old Min Pin here to see a cardiologist. The process was relatively easy and the wait wasn't bad at all. Everything moved along in a timely fashion.

The doctor's assistant was awesome and very thorough. My one complaint would be that they did not have my girl's medical records from the regular vets that she sees. In addition, there was an issue in regard to her seeing a different vet than intended. However, after voicing my concerns, the issues are being resolved. Therefore, all in all, it's been a pretty good experience thus far.

Came here for emergency services. The receptionist and vet.techs lacked sensitivity given the situation, there were errors on the bill, wait time was long, they charged the wrong amount, released the pet late, released the treatment plan, records late, and did not send the meds…. Pet is still experiencing a medical emergency and is not receiving adequate care from this agency.

Absolute worst experience I have ever had as a pet owner coming to this place. Was told 1-2 hours wait just for my dog to be able to be looked at. Okay, fine. Called 2.5 hours later to check the status of my dog being seen, was told to come back in another 1.5 hours and then they'd "maybe" have a spot for him. Don't call yourself a ER vet if it takes nearly 4 hours to just merely look at a dog having respiratory issues and can hardly breathe. I even called them while he was hardly breathing so they could hear the stridor just for them to walk out 15 min later look at him and say "well he's fine now so he can wait another 1.5 hours". Despite me relaying that this was happening every 10-15 minutes and lasting for 20 minutes at a time. I have a lot of patience for facilities like this cause I work in a hospital but this service was absolutely atrocious. Do not take patients if you don't have adequate time management skills and the ability to be transparent about your wait times from the very beginning.

We took our boy Clyde here to see Dr Wang after weeks of him suffering a corneal ulcer that would not heal with the advice and medication prescribed by other vets (not ophthalmologists, in their defense). She was direct and quick to the point with his diagnosis and treatment options and really seemed sensitive to his suffering and also to our distress as his owners. She was careful to warn of unlikely possible failures, none of which manifested.
Soon after his treatment he was bouncing around happily like his usual self.
Joyce, if you’re reading this, I can’t tell you how grateful we are that you helped Clyde and for the peace of mind we enjoyed with him in your care. Thank you.
Also, thank you to all the nurses and staff who were very caring and professional and awesome

Unfortunately I have to give this place a low review, but it’s for the corporate management not the local staff. Dr K, our internist, is amazing and so is the staff. The issue is corporate still after almost two years won’t allow owners inside with their pets. While this is fine for some, for those of us with large animals (90lb dog) with severe anxiety, it has caused a barrier to getting proper treatment. We’ve been so lucky that my dogs health has been decent this time, but if something were to go wrong this policy would really hurt him.

If I’m fully vaccinated, why can’t I accompany my dog to the back like before? It doesn’t make sense that we can dine indoors, go to events indoors (with masks) but can’t see a healthcare provider while wearing a mask (and again, I’m also fully vaccinated).