VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital

Where do I start.imagine choosing to work at a veterinary hospital and not caring about the well-being of animals or having compassion for the owners of sick animals. It doesn’t take long at the VCA before you realize the goal of every employee there is to maximize the total costs of your visit with total disregard for your pet. If only the employees spent half the time and energy they do getting you to sign the credit card authorization for theyre exorbitant prices as they did actually providing care for the animals, I might have something positive to say about our visit. Taking advantage of the love we have for our pets in order to make maximum amount of money when we’re most vulnerable is the lowest of low. I hate to make this all about money because the care we received was honestly worst than Bill. Do not come here at all costs.

Dear Jocelin,

I would like to reach out and extend my frustration toward your staff at the ER and how she poorly handled the situation with my pup, Jeff, while waiting for nearly 2 hours for nothing. Her name was Shalleen (forgive me if I mistyped her name), a veterinary assistant.

At around 7pm of last night 03/09/21, I called to inquire if they'll be able to accommodate Jeff even though it's not that "critical, " he's been having diarrhea and vomiting for a month now! The customer representative I spoke with said there's a long waiting time for about 3 hours. I said I will just call back if things get worse; and true enough, he had 4 loose bowel movements for the next two or so hours! So I called back at 12 midnight 03/10/21 and I explained the situation. The customer representative clearly told me that I had to bring him to the ER as soon as possible because it may not have been just a simple diarrhea, he could have a parvo virus even though he had completed his vaccination and it's fatal. So I rushed him to the VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital ER at 12: 20 of 03/10/21.

I waited for almost 30 minutes, which is understandable, before I could check him in and filled out the form since it's my first time here. After a long wait, there she came up to me (Shalleen, veterinary assistant) very unprofessional and the rudest vet assistant I have ever met! She showed no compassion and concern about my pup's situation. I understand the ER protocol, but the way she took us away and pressed us to just come back in the morning because they were currently at "maximum capacity" and the waiting time now would be 6 hours was the most discourteous service I have ever received! She even said that they would only accommodate Jeff only if he's extremely critical - to the point of dying! I waited for nearly two hours for no service at all!

My extreme frustration gets worse as no one is concerned about Jeff's case - because it's only diarrhea. Diarrhea for 1 month now, treated with panacur and metronidazole by another vet, and continues to have the same issue. I wish they take a look and further investigate what's causing him diarrhea for a month now. As a responsible pet owner and being a firstline healthcare worker, I want to make sure that my pup is taken care of, healthy, and protected avoided from unexpected diseases at all costs, just like any other pet owners.

Thank you and I would appreciate your kind response regarding this matter.

After taking my daughter's kitten to two other vets, VCA immediately suspected what turned out to be the eventual diagnosis (FIP) and methodically and economically (I received a refund of several thousand dollars for procedures that ultimately were unnecessary) confirmed their hunch. Both neurologists I spoke with, Dr. Sammut and Dr. Thai (sp?), were kind, patient, knowledgable and helpful. To top it off, they pointed me to an alternative treatment for this incurable and fatal disease that is turning out to be extremely effective. Thank you, VCA!

Money is king at VCA West LA. My 3 month old puppy contracted parvovirus and subsequent aspiration pneumonia and I had to take him here for emergency treatment. If you're unfamiliar with parvovirus, a puppy with the virus has a 90% mortality rate without emergency supportive care. However, 80-90% of puppies with parvovirus make a full recovery if they are taken to a veterinary facility in a timely manner. I believe VCA takes advantage of the severity of this illness and charges desperate pet owners insane prices to keep the dog alive. I was warned that some slimy businesses in LA will rip you off since they assume everyone in the city is sitting on some cash. I am a COVID nurse from Philadelphia who came here during the third surge. I couldn't shoulder a $16,000 veterinary bill for my fatally ill puppy. I took him here as soon as he started showing symptoms (at 1 am, mind you). My puppy stayed for at VCA for 9 days. VCA is the most expensive animal hospital in LA and they do not offer payment plans under any circumstance (except if you get approved for a CareCredit card). My dog was too unstable to transfer to a different facility for the duration of his illness, even though they tried incessantly to push me out. As I mentioned, my total bill ended up being over $16,000. On the day before I had to put my puppy to sleep, they threatened to take the dying dog off oxygen if I didn't pay them $10,000 that day. Evil management and the vets are all new grads. Don't come here, even in an emergency. Seriously.

I have brought my dog to both Dr. Tai and Dr. Kwong for a very confusing neurologic issue that has resulted in extensive testing and also led to needing rehabilitation. They have been nothing but kind and very straightforward with their recommendations and treatments and even though I haven't been able to go into the hospital they have been prompt and very communicative via email and phone and in person when possible. COVID has been tough for everyone and having a sick pet in the middle of this is very stressful but I feel confident that everyone in this hospital cares and only wants the best for the patients they see.

The most caring vets ever! They treat Lola so well and she even tolerates her nails being cut even though she hates it.

They did a hip replacement on my dog and it gave him a brand new life. No more pain and limping, he can go on walks, he even got to go camping with us. And he didn't have to spend too much time in the hospital. It was great.

Just started taking my cat ozzy there. So far they're very detailed and helpful. Friendly staff as well!

I've seen quite a few doctors here now and they've all been very wonderful. Appointments are easy to make and things are relatively automated based on your phone number when calling!

Very clean facility and very friendly staff.

My dog was hospitalized here for 4 nights and I felt so comfortable with him in their hands. They called me daily with updates on his progress and clearly explained all procedures. The neurologist Dr. Haines called me before the surgery and walked me through his process. The staff were so nice. The facility is clean, and extremely professional.

The hospital is run purely for business. They charge an arm and a leg for any little thing they do and they do it all with a bad attitude. There are many other animal hospitals a block up and down Sepulveda that are much more friendlier and affordable.

I have been bringing my babies here since it was WLA Vet. Medical Group and located in the 1700 block of Sepulveda. It was the 80's. Obviously they must be doing something right. I am an Advanced Practice RN and have had 3 dogs and 6 cats receive care here. I receive my own care at UCLA and receive care by the UCLA Medical Professional Group. My pets get care equivalent to mine and care for all of us is expensive. I have visited both UC Davis and UPenn and they are just as expensive. The staff at VCA are wonderful with me and my babies. It is easy to be wonderful with my babies but I can be a handful! They are like family to us. Just as I will only go to UCLA my babies will only go to VCA-WLA.

I had a terrible experience at VCA West Los Angeles. My regular vet was treating my 9 year old female golden retriever Maizie for vomiting but she was not getting better. The vet recommended that I take her to an Internal Medicine Specialist (an internist is a vet with advanced schooling and training) for an endoscopy.

VCA West Los Angeles’ Sean Yoshimoto is an internist who lists endoscopy as one of his specialties so I made an appointment for a consultation. Dr. Yoshimoto recommended that he put my dog under general anesthesia and perform an endoscopy on her stomach and small intestine to see what the trouble was. I agreed and the procedure was done. The biopsies determined that she had a mild case of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which Dr. Yoshimoto said could be treated with a course of steroids. The endoscopy cost over $2,000, but I was relieved to finally know what the problem was and that it could be treated successfully.

My dog was under Dr. Yoshimoto's care for 33 days. She was seen six times at this hospital (three times by Dr. Yoshimoto). She never responded to his treatment and continued to deteriorate. I became increasingly worried so I made an appointment for a second opinion with an internist at ASEC, the emergency animal hospital just north of VCA on the same street.

This internist told me he had treated a lot of dogs with IBD and my dog's symptoms did not seem to fit. He read the chest X-rays Dr. Yoshimoto had taken 7 days earlier and immediately determined there was an area that needed further investigation (Dr. Yoshimoto had read the same X-rays in my presence and had not noted any area of concern). He took more X-rays and did an ultrasound and determined my dog had a four inch mass pressing against her esophagus which was causing her vomiting. In one afternoon he correctly diagnosed a problem that had eluded Dr. Yoshimoto for 33 days.

Unfortunately the mass could not be successfully surgically removed and I had to put my sweet puppy to sleep. She was a wonderful creature and I loved her dearly. The post mortem biopsy revealed the mass to be a fibrosarcoma.

I filed a complaint with the Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) and asked them to review the care my Maizie received at this VCA hospital. After investigating, the VMB prepared a legal document called an Accusation. In the Accusation the VMB states that Sean Yoshimoto’s treatment of my Maizie “fell below the standard of care and/or was incompetent”. An Administrative Hearing was scheduled to consider revoking or suspending Yoshimoto’s veterinary license!

Shortly before the hearing was to be held, Yoshimoto agreed to a Stipulated Settlement and Disciplinary Order with the Veterinary Medical Board. Effective December 6,2017, Yoshimoto’s veterinary license was suspended for 10 days and he was placed on three years’ probation.
The documents I have referred to are public records and I encourage you to read them for yourself. You may find them on the VMB’s website.

VCA was amazing, everyone super helpful. Our Buster needed a Hernia surgery operation. Everything was well discussed, qualified surgeon. Job well done and patient is doing well.

I saw an ophthalmologist here for my bulldog, the appointment was pretty standard, but the dealings with the pharmacy following that have been really difficult. They never answer the phone, and you have to leave a voicemail, and then they don’t get back to you for about two days. I also wanted to get my prescription adjusted so that the two medicines I was using in equal doses were the same, they had given me 50 drops of one and 100 drops of the other, which didn’t make any sense considering I was giving the same dosage of each to my dog every day. I called to ask for 100 drops of each and they told me to come in, when I got there they told me that the vet was in surgery and that a previous vet had refused my request for 100 drops of each medicine because I hadn’t made a follow up appointment. I had called to report that the medicine was working well so I didn’t see the need for an additional appointment.

Simply the best animal care anywhere. Took incredible care of our Leonberger, our German Shepherd and our Newfoundland. Not the cheapest.only the best!

If I could give them 0 I would. Horrible, night mare experience! Those people care only about how to charge you more money, not about how to help your animal faster. Doctors made many crucial mistakes and performed unnecessary painful precigers which cost me a lot of money but didn't help. Looks like they don't know what they are doing.
I would never bring my love ones to VCA again! Stay away from this horrible place!

VCA West LA is the only 24-hour emergency vet on the west side, and they fully take advantage of owners. They perform unnecessary tests and charge outrageous prices for routine procedures. Puncture wound ended up costing $4k from all of the crazy stuff they added on! If you can, definitely worth waiting to see your own veterinarian and make sure you review the charges before they see your dog!

Very clean, very friendly. Lauren Schmidt helped us and was very warm, professional and knowledgable. She clearly cares a lot and it shows in the work. We had an inferior vet do the neuter for a shelter animal we adopted, and it was done poorly. She reconstructed the surgery and cleaned out the area, and even helped us coax the poor guy out into the car after her shift ended. It looks great and even the day after we could tell that the dog wasn't as bothered by the surgery as the first time.

If I knew that these veterinarians were upselling their services, I would have completely avoided this place. The doctor completely disregarded my pet's diet and current health during his overpriced check-up, and instead persisted on conducting exams for my pet's infection that were, of course, overpriced. Gladly, I only wasted about $150 to these greedy vets and plan on spending my money on veterinarians who value animals over money.