VCA Northwest Hills Animal Hospital

Reviews 6

JO

Jonathan Ellis

Gotta be totally honest; I called in because Im a refugee from the banfield pet massacre. My animals were misdiagnosed, and almost negligently cared for by banfield, so I reached out to try and get info from other vets in my area. I live right by these guys. I asked about getting my dogs shots up to date, and wanted to know what that would entail. What i got was the most salesy "just bring him in, well come up with a lsit of treatments he needs"; I have to say, what you do not understand, is price was never a concern for me, but being a refugee from a vet that has consistently told me the exact same thing as you, but killed 3 cats, Im not interested in the pitch. What i really needed from you was just some upfront honesty, not some salesy pitch about how you camt quote a price on the legal vaccinations required by city of Austin; I even went so far as to say "treat it like a blank slate on vaccinations, he needs everything the city needs" which should have made it very easy to quote. I have 2 cats and a dog, and i actually get vet work done when its needed, so Im sure i would have been a great customer to you. I understand theres call scripting, and things you need to say, so this is a arrow straight at your management; People who get care for their animals want to feel like they trust you, and the "free diagnosis visit; I cant explain over the phone" approach is the last thing you need as a business. I called in around 11AM on Friday 6/6/14; I suggest you revamp your outreach, because my call felt like i was speaking to a meat grinder with a pricegun with no interest in full disclosure. This is not the type of attitude I want from my vet; Ive already dealt with that once.

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BR

Brian Burkle

Youre bill will be bigger here, you can bet on it. Decent care. But I felt somewhat railroaded when one of the Drs. Refused to do a spay and a dental both at the same time because of concerns over the length of time for the two procedures (dr said 3 hours ). Im thinking.... 3 HOURS??!! I didnt mention it, but I worked at the humane society for few years and helped assist the TX A&M students during their visits to spay/neuter animals at the shelter so I know how long a spay takes. The students, once efficient, could do them in 30-45 mins or less per spay. And the dental literally takes a couple minutes with an ultrasonic pic like tool they have to easily flake off any tarter or muck on any of the teeth, and a few minutes to each for extractions (its literally a few tugs and twists with some pliers and pop, the tooth is out.). So were talking maybe an hour to do both the dental and spay together surgery wise. Thats no "3 hour procedure". The bottom line was that I declined the VCAs proposal of $800-1200 for the two procedures broken up into two, which also means another anesthesia session, and accepted another proposal from Dessau Vet clinic for $650 with both procedures being done the same time and only 1 time under anesthesia! Thats a huge difference. And I didnt feel railroaded.

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A

A Private User

I just moved to Austin from San Antonio, where I had used a VCA Vet. I needed my dogs heartworm pills refilled, so I took all his records and the heartworm prescription from San Antonio to VCA Northwest Hills. They told me they could not fill the prescription unless they examined the dog, even though the prescription showed one refill and I had proof of a test for heartworms. They told me that the law required them to see the animal. I took the same records and prescription to a veterinarian in my neighborhood, who filled the heartworm medication after checking the records for a heartworm test. Because I had been impressed with the VCA Oak Hills Vet in San Antonio, I bought stock in the company (symbol WOOF). Because I own stock in the company, I went out of my way to find a VCA Vet in Austin. I am selling my stock and will not use a VCA Vet again. I wish I had read the reviews listed here before going out of my way, and out of my neighborhood, to visit this clinic. Either they do not know what the law requires with regard to filling prescriptions, or they were trying to increase revenues by charging me for an unnecessary office visit. In either case, it is bad business and poor business ethics.

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NI

Nicole Sullivan

Took my pup here for his first check up 1 week after we adopted him. Dr. Lauri was very professional, friendly, and had positive and encouraging things to say to us as new dog owners. The pup was due back several weeks later for his booster shots. We took him back to VCA and this time he was examined by Dr. Sarah. Over the course of 1 month and a half of training our new dog, we learned he had some aggressive tendencies towards other dogs. I figured, where could I find a better person to give me advice about dog behavior in addition to a recommendation for a trainer than my vet? I was sadly mistaken. Dr. Sarah rushed me in and out of my consultation, was condescending and rude, and told me "this dog isnt for you and you should consider bringing him back to the shelter" after I asked for advice on how to socialize my dog better and did not make a recommendation for any sort of trainer. I left the vet in tears from frustration. I was completely humiliated by someone whom I thought would be encouraging and positive with someone who is concerned about their pet. I will never return back to VCA. If you go to VCA, ask for Dr. Lauri. I would not recommend seeing Dr. Sarah.

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A

A Private User

I can support the previous reviews--ridiculously expensive and they push unnecessary amounts of care excessive vaccination (ie. more bordatellas than recommended), as well as dental work, extra medical care. My one dog has a lipoma that she has had forever, no changes in size with prior negative biopsy. Vet there was pushing me to have it biopsied and removed, thinking she would scare me by calling it a fancy long word. So, be cautious, get a second opinion if similar happens to you. Worse for me was that when I boarded my dogs there, they returned two traumatized dogs with urine saturated dog bed and the dogs drank when they got home for about 5 straight minutes. After only a few days boarding, I still wonder what they were doing to these two certified therapy dogs to cause them to urinate in the cage. I would NEVER board at this place again. Ironically I chose the vet for the short boarding because I felt it would be safer. I also was surprised at a long wait when I was the first patient of the morning. I was not pleased with the care at this vet and will not be returning.

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MA

Mariah Suarez

I will start by saying, I will NEVER go to another animal hospital while I live in Central Texas. The staff has gone above and beyond what I expected when we first brought in our rescue pup. In my experience, most vet offices are filled with people who care, but are also out to make money. I do NOT get that from anyone who works here. Our puppy was cursed with an autoimmune disease and I cannot even count how many times we have been into the office. That being said, every time we went in, we were greeted upon walking through the door and the entire visit was as if we were visiting friends. They were extremely attentive to our puppys needs (and even wants, as he loved to greet everyone) and our questions and concerns were answered every time. Our puppy recently passed from this disease. But even the visit in which he passed away was better than I had expected. The staff was extremely accommodating and they were very supportive of us in this horrid time. I would recommend this animal hospital to anyone; you will be welcomed to your new extended family.

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