VCA California Veterinary Specialists - Murrieta Murrieta, California

We recently had to put our dog down which was very devastating for our family. The staff and doctor here made us very comfortable and helped ease us through the process.

Receptionist who answered the phone is extremely rude!!!

We had to bring our Zoey girl in Wednesday afternoon as she had an abscess that was on a tumor she had in her shoulder area. The abscess started leaking and they patched her up. We knew that our time was limited and scheduled Euthanasia at home on Tuesday. Unfortunately, life had other plans and we had to euthanize her sooner, on Sunday. The staff was so compassionate and apologetic for what we were going through. Sharon was fabulous, she was so helpful that saying “thanks” doesn’t seem enough. We were given an ink copy of her paw prints. This place is so AMAZING! Yes, it gets busy and yes the wait can be long. However it is so worth it for the level of care and compassion you get.

Like many who contact this practice, my pet was in crisis. My frantic calls were answered with sympathy and clear direction on how to proceed. Upon arrival a technician met us at our car and took our girl asking for permission to start an IV and administer comfort if needed. While she was whisked away, the receptionist, well-versed in handling frantic pet owners - calmly walked us through our options and helping us complete the necessary procedures. Once it became 100% clear that our sweet girl was going to need a gentle ending to her life, we chose to be with her and were gently guided to a comfort room into which our beautiful girl was brought, gently placed in a soft bed with blankets covering her little soft body as he had been medicated and in no pain or consciousness, we were told we could be with her for as long as we wanted and when ready, to let them know. The vet gently told us what to expect as she injected the medicines into the IV - and she just went peacefully to sleep. I am so incredibly grateful for CVS for their care and compassion during a traumatic time. RIP Chloe - 11/30/2006 - 12/26/2021

Our 115 lbs husky, Teddy, past away tonight. Unfortunate events we could not control. The staff at VCA at this location in Murrieta were extremely polite, professional and sympathetic. They provided me with options and have a very organized process for everything from start to finish. I highly recommend this place and I wouldn't have preferred any other animal hospital to have gone through this sad day with...thank you VCA and RIP Teddy...

Called earlier about openings for a friend and the lady that answered could not be any more rude and far from showing compassion.. Instead of listening to my questions she automatically went on a defensive front and wanted to give me names of other emergency vets. Don't take your anger out on me smh

Took my puppy there, she had been throwing up for hours and had a lump in her abdomen. Triage nurse was rude. Didn’t even check her fully. They seemed thoroughly convinced she had parvo so they weren’t going to touch her. Scolded me for giving her vaccines myself, giving her milk (the only thing she would drink) and for taking her to the dog park. All things I didn’t need to hear when my dog was shaking and wasting away in the passenger seat. So I had to do a parvo test to be seen. $180 paid. Then I was able to Check in officially at 10pm, since the parvo test was negative. I was told I was next…I was not seen until 6am! Even though the ONLY doctor there came out of surgery at 4am. Was not told the wait was going to be 6-8 hours until I had already waited 4. I should have been given pain killers and fluids to make my poor pup comfortable at least while we waited, nothing. Asked if I could come back later, nope. She was shaking and vomiting in the car while I waited for 8 hours. I asked multiple times, is this an emergency? Should I just go home and see a vet tomorrow? Told it was an emergency, but not bad enough to be taken care of apparently. Then the new Doctor that came in at 6am saw my pup. She was nice over the phone, but was going to charge $6-8000 for a surgery I got elsewhere for $1400. Long story short, I will never take my dog for emergency care here in the future. Staff seemed nice once I could be seen, but didn’t seem that concerned for me or my dog for the 8 hours we waited. I was there so long the staff had switched a couple times. Also Their prices were insane.

I am an equine veterinarian in the area and my own dog had an emergency. We are all drowning in work and emergencies, I 100% understand that every veterinarian is busy. Therefore, I called before hand to see if they had time to see her on emergency to be respectful of their schedule, and they said they did have the time. I had my significant other drive all the way there to only be told it was an 8 hour wait due to the fact that their veterinary technician disagreed with my own physical exam and deemed her a “non-emergency.” I don’t expect to be seen before a HBC, but 8 hours is too long for a dog with a possible FB and frank blood leaking out of her rectum. I personally never let emergency cases wait longer than what it takes me to pack up as soon as I can and drive there. Unacceptable. We left and went somewhere that was willing to help a fellow colleague.

Writing this review with tears in my eyes..the first time we brought our fur baby, Cally to see Dr Fitzpatrick- was the best thing we have ever done. Our fur baby was diagnosed of bladder cancer, (of course my world fell apart) It’s a tough news to process. However, our experience with Dr Fitzpatrick and the oncology team was a blessing. They walked us through all option of treatments and procedures. They took time to discuss each stage of bladder cancer and guided us at each step. I’ve put my trust in this team to help us fight and keep our fur baby safe throughout this journey. Our gratitude goes out to the VCA Oncology team in Murrieta, Ca. Highly recommend this team to anyone going through any types of cancer battle. They’re very confident of what they do as professionals. Our Cally fought a good fight. She has gone to heaven now, I’m sure she’s running around playing with all the other fur babies.

So far I am giving this vet a 2 star. I am still sitting in parking lot. I have been here since 4:45 pm. It is now 9:00 pm. My puppy was very sick throwing up and diarrhea. They were testing for Parvo. They took a sample for testing at 5:45 pm. I still haven't gotten any results. Everyone I have talked has been really nice and professional, but how hard it is to check the test and call. I asked to go home and wait for the results and she

Absolutely AMAZING hospital and staff!! I cannot say enough good things about this place. Our poor 3 month puppy was not doing good at all and it was a huge mystery as to what he had going on. The vets here treated him for everything they thought it could be (at an affordable and fair price) and we brought him home completely healthy! They are extremely busy, yet I never felt neglected or not being attended to. The staff was very sweet and attentive. Our puppy had to stay overnight and they kept us updated the whole time. I 100% recommend this animal hospital!!

I have been to many different animal hospitals and this has been one of the best facilities I've taken my dogs too. I had newborn puppies and momma dog that needed emergency help and they were able to see them in a timely manner with great attitudes. All of their employees were kind and down to earth. My dog loved everyone that worked their and came out very happy and well taken care of. The front desk was so kind and informative. I could not have had a better experience anywhere else.

woke up to my chihuahua screaming in pain went to this place at 1am, this place and the staff including doctors did not care did not help me at all "because of covid understaffing" let my baby be in miserable agonizing pain continued to not do anything or minimize her pain in there care extremely neglectful and uncompassionate

Took our cat to be checked after giving birth to a large litter of kittens, she was expressing mild symptoms of pain and a small amount of spotting. Our worry was that her placenta was stuck inside her. First, the wait is extremely long! When they took the kittens and cat back for an evaluation they wanted to run an extensive amount of test, reasonably, I'm sure. But the amount was far too expensive for most families to afford. We narrowed down the test to just a couple necessary test... such as a ultra sound, still expensive yet necessary. The findings of this test showed there was some fluid in the uterus.. not a placenta! The vet said if we did not do an emergency spay our cat would drop dead in two days.. the cost of this surgery would be upwards of almost 3 grand! Again, more money than a typical family can afford. We decided to search elsewhere for a more reasonable price. Like what most people would do. We look our cat home and infact she did not die, nor have any one of the dying symptoms! Because we didn't use this clinic to perform the highly priced surgical procedure that was not needed they decided to report us to animal control. Completely insane! When I called to speak to a supervisor a lady named "Lisa" answered my call, she was extremely rude, condescending and completely unprofessional! Im positive this isn't the first time she or anyone in the clinic has been told that. She should be fired asap! This office is a complete scam praying on the fear of loving animal owners. If the surgery was so Dire why wouldn't you help us set up a payment plan or give more options. Moving forward I have filed a complaint against them with animal control, cvs corporate and the vet board!! and they are absolutely behind our complaints! How dare this office lie and use up the time of our cities resources for loving animal families. Ultimately the cat was misdiagnosed and has been recovering with zero issues,. My advice would be to get a second opinion before you let this clinic diagnose or cut into your animal. They are only after your money putting false fear into yor mind without full testing..making huge mistakes and untrue diagnoses. I will continue to spread the experience we went through to social media and all my clients! Sick r

Staff is rude and do not seem to care about our pets situation. I had my huskey sick and near to dying in my car on my way to their location. I had called to see if they could see him and the staff had told me they only took in animals in serve emergencies. I was crying on the phone with the staff and the fact that they thought it wasn’t serious was disrespectful. Minutes later he died in my car. This happened 4 days ago and today his sister is having the same symptoms and they did take her in.

Very bad experience we had

This is the second time I've taken our Australian Shepherd to this emergency clinic and the services provided were top notch on both occasions. Great news being that both events ended up as non-life threatening. From check-in to discharge our experience has always been seamless. I'm really bad with names, but kudos to the VTs!!! Really grateful to you all.

My dog had an episode of fainting on July 4th. This was the only emergency hospital accepting patients and we were warned the wait could be 6 hours. When we arrived they accepted our pup as an emergency case and he was taken in immediately. We then received many calls throughout the evening from the Dr on the evening of the 4th. She was kind, patient, and very informative. We knew we made the right decision coming here. It's been two whole days that our dog had to stay here to get stable. I'm still giving 5 stars but I did not get any unprovoked phone calls from Dr's on Monday. With that said when i finally did talk to someone they were great. I understand they are exceptionally busy so I am sure that is the cause for the delay in communication. Be prepared to be patient! Cannot put a price in saving my best friends life. I highly recommend vca!!

I took my 18/19 year old cat to them for euthenasia, last week...it was horrible experience....whoever l talked too, l felt like she was trying to talk me into spending thousands on kitty to prolong the inevit itable...l was told kitty was full of fleas...she never went outside...and was dehydrated..lve always had good experience at this facility...NOT THIS TIME!!

I just had the sad necessity to have to let my 15 yr old baby CJ go . But the emergency late nite staff was so nice and caring about not only CJ but about Me also. Very professional and lots of human decency that lots other places lack. Thank you for not making a already sad situation worse , but make me feel that I chose the right place.

Awful awful service. I called when I arrived and the lady said “Can I place you on a brief hold?” 30 mins later I was still in hold. I hung up and called back. The lady said the same thing about a “brief hold.” When I told her I had already been on hold for 30 mins and asked if she could give me an estimate. She said no and said that since I hung up I would go to the back of the cue. Don’t take your pets here and bless you want abysmal services

I Checked in at 544 am contacted them several times while waiting to see where I was in the Que -- told I was next they just called me at 1247 pm to come inside ? 7 hours first in line with multiple people and pets going in and out. Ok just ridiculous my regular vet accommodated me after I stated I was still siting outside at 8 o'clock am . This is not the first time. I was told that my cat was not panting or severe respiratory distress on initial screening-- no my cat is elderly and has pneumonia severe and needs treatment. Wow what idiots. Must be on deaths door to be seen. I work in an ER so 7 hours for pneumonia---- Not acceptable

I brought my cat there to be checked out after having babies as she is a first time mom and she was still having contractions and had a little spotting a couple days later so I rushed her over to cvs as they were the only ones open at the time. They performed a ultrasound and took her temperature. Some liquid was found in her uterus, which could be a stuck placenta. They said she needed to be spayed immediately or would be dead within 2 days. They offered to spay her for $2000-$3000 ! I opted for antibiotics and to find a more reasonable and affordable option. The next day I recieved a visit from animal control. CVS employees notified animal control that I was abusing and neglecting my cat because I wouldn't allow them to perform the procedure. When I called to speak to a supervisor she stated it is their policy to notify animal control!I do not recommend this place as they are over priced, try to pack your bill with procedures, call animal control if you don't have the procedures done there.

Do not waste your time

They took great care of our kitty Bear. Would have given 5 stars but it was expensive as is all Emergency vet care.

A Pet ER that refuses care. Without even a cursory exam. Pathetic and heartless. Hope you people rot.

My dog has a pretty large lump on his neck and they refused to help him. Unless your dog is non-responsive they won’t help. I had to wait on hold for 30 minutes just to check in and then another hour or so for them to take one small look at my boy and say they weren’t going to help. All they said was to call my vet who is booking 5 weeks out. As a dog mom that’s pretty scary not knowing why my dog has a lump on his neck at least the size of a baseball and now I have to wait 5 weeks to find out. I sure hope he doesn’t get worse in that time because I will not be back to that hospital. They did not sympathize at all. It felt like they didn’t care in the slightest.

It was Sunday, May 2 and I wanted to bring the cat I had to put her to sleep that day so they said to bring her down when I got there they told me I needed to wait in my car with her until they could come out and get her to put a catheter in. We waited in the car over 1/2 an hour. At the time I was having second thoughts and was uneasy about this place. I should’ve left but I didn’t I kept calling to find out how much longer it was going to be. Finally they came to get my cat and they put me in a room by myself for another half an hour by myself. I kept asking what’s the problem what’s going on they could not get the catheter in the cats foot. Once the doctor came in she said nothing to me they took the cone off of her head and she just explain to me which medication that I wanted . I told her I wanted to get her relaxed first and she agreed she said nothing else to me did not talk to me did not comfort me said nothing she look like she was about 25 years old. I don’t blame the staff but this place was not where I should’ve brought my cat to end her life. It was a big mistake and I will regret it for the rest of my life there was no compassion whatsoever I gave it a one

A horrible experience taking my sick cat in. The staff were all caring and respectful. Pleasantly surprised for an emergency Vet in the evening on s Sunday still being less expensive to euthanize than the regular vet I couldn't get into see until this Tuesday! I cannot say enough about the Dr. Caitlyn Hwe!! Such compassion and patience! Answered my questions honestly but without directing any blame! I honestly believe she was very careful with how she answered to help alleviate my guilt. My cat was well loved for his entire life and I was able to let him go without fear or worry for him! It always hurts to lose anyone you love, yes even cats are that important to many of us but compassion, tact,honesty and the feeling this person actually holds your babies life in their hands make it a lot easier when you feel trust towards them! Thank you Dr. Hwe and your amazing staff! I can't say how grateful I am!! Sincerely, G.Grundl Moo' mom.

Unfortunately these are the type of people that will take advantage of others when most vulnerable. Very sad. In it for the money. Plan of spending your entire day waiting in the parking lot.