VSEC - Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center Thousand Oaks, California

If you love your pet I wouldn’t bring them here. Staff constantly makes mistakes. While waiting I saw the staff give bad news on the wrong pet. The estimate has two prices low and high. Our estimate came out $200 more than the highest. On …

I want to thank the staff at VSEC for their tender treatment of Darcy as she was being euthanized on Sunday morning, 1/9.They were also very considered of my feelings

Couldn’t be happier with these folks. Our cat was in critical condition from a urinary obstruction and they went to work on him immediately. Unfortunately he was too sick and didn’t recover. But their attention, treatment, thorough explanations, and empathy were so appreciated. Can’t say enough

I wrote a short novel about our horrific experience with VSEC on Yelp months ago and have since been contacted by numerous families who had similar heartbreaking experiences to ours. They lack compassion, critical communication skills, and are clearly only concerned about the financial aspect of veterinary care. Stay far away from this awful establishment!!

Horrific experience with this vet hospital. After several calls to ensure they could address our cat's serious medical situation, we made time for an emergency visit, which is the way they suggested having him seen (versus a scheduled appointment). The person who greeted us kept explaining the difference between what they are able to do versus what our cat needed. We knew this intimately and didn't need the explanation (repeatedly). Instead, we wanted her/them to take responsibility for having told both us and our primary vet (who I asked to call to verify that they could in fact handle his care) that they could address his condition when in fact they couldn't. They sent us on our way. The attitude was dismissive and disingenuous. We compare this to the care we received at our next stop and there is none. The next hospital was incredibly professional. Avoid these guys if you can. Or, better yet, VSEC vets/management, train your employees to seek out answers from your vets on staff before answering questions of your customers or take the call yourselves. There are animals' lives at stake.

I have taken my dog to VSE and spent an incredible amout of money. My dog is still suffering and I have tried three separate times to set up a new appointment and have been put on hold for anywhere to 5 - 15 minutes before I hang up in anger. Whenever I have been there, there have been at least 3 - 4 at the front desk, so I am at a loss as to why they can't answer the phone.

If you are looking for help & it is an emergency, definitely DON'T go here. Your pet could be dying & walk in's are definitely UNWELCOME. I recommend finding a different place.

I called at 9:00 am to schedule surgery at the direction of my vet in malibu. I was told I would be called back after they checked with a vet who was soon to go on maternity leave. I called back at near 1:00 and was told to call back in an hour when that receptionist got back from lunch. I gave up and called another surgeon. I never heard back.

Our dog suffered an attack of Old Dog Vestibular Syndrome last week at 3:30am. We brought him here by 4:30. The techs and the doctor were kind, listened well and took terrific care of our Lab. By 6:30am they had him on the way home in much improved condition. And the price was way better than our Westlake vets. Terrific care here.

Only place in the local area with 24 hour care for our furry friends. My dog was attacked by another dog and needed stitches. They took her right away to give her a sedative and relieve the pain. Only thing is we “couldn’t leave” until we got an estimate. Me thinking okay an hour or so. Nope, no chance. 6 hours! Well it was about 10 at night so my GF and I decided to sleep in my truck. Long story short they should definitely change that policy but they patched her up good and I paid 1200 vs 2300 what they originally quoted me. Thanks again for making my pup happy.

The place is under stuff and keep receiving dogs that are not emergency cases, I will never bring my dog back to this place.

We came as an emergency this Sunday. Our dog gave birth to a dead puppy this morning and showed no signs of contractions to proceed giving birth to the remaining puppies. We came on behalf of our Vet and begged for JUST a xray to know about their positions and how many. They rejected us. No words for that!! Don't go there!!!

We live in ojai and Our two poor dogs had diarrhea and vomiting at one in the morning. They are 3 months old and we were afraid they might have parvovirus. We were on hold for 30 minutes at both clinics in Ventura only to hear that the clinics were at full capacity or they didn’t have staff available to treat our pups. Both were listed as 24 hour care facilities and this is the second time that we were told that they were at capacity. Luckily we called here in Thousand Oaks and staff picked up immediately and told us our dogs could get in as soon as we drove 45 minutes to see them. Mandy was extremely helpful in getting our dogs tested and provided great service! If you are in the Ventura area and are having problems getting your dogs emergency treatment, I highly recommend that you come here!

Took our little girl in per our Vets advice to see if they could help with the more difficult issues she may have. Instead they admitted her and treated her for what we already knew about and was already being treating for. Long story short they missed diagnosed her and just a few days after she came home she is now passed. They also charged us $6,000 for not much of anything just ran simple blood test which had already been ran and done and never addressed her real issue that killed her. Charged $45.00 for each time they gave her a pill and charged $78.00 an hour for an IV. I'll pray for them because I don't believe God can or will forgive them!

$900 and 6 hours later all we got was an xray and solution for our dog. Take your pet anywhere this place isn't worth the stress.

Go anywhere but here. All about the money above pet care, tried to charge us for services not rendered to meet their goal total. Staff was rude and judgmental. You have to call them, they will never call you.

This place is an absolute joke. Brought in our dog that got attack by a coyote and made us wait in our car for 1 hour. We walked in after an hour and asked how much longer and was told another hour. The lady at the front desk was very rude and has poor customer service. If you care about your dog, please take them anywhere else than this sad excuse for a pet emergency center. If I could give negative stars I would.

Dr. Ghormley at VSEC is excellent. She is incredibly responsive and dedicated to her patients (our 13 year old kitty has been under her care for over 6 months now, diagnosed with uncontrolled diabetes, pancreatitis and severe IBD after a routine dental procedure in July 2020). Our previous vet had incorrectly diagnosed her with cancer and had put her on chemo as well as nearly 3 months of Prednilosone which had severely adversely affected her pancreas and made her incredibly sick. Dr. Ghormley has finally been able to stabilize her and give her most of her quality of life back. The VSEC staff are also very caring and proficient. I've rated 4 instead of 5 only because of the cost. It cost nearly $3K to have our kitty spend one night in the hospital there and another $2K+ for an endoscopy. Cost aside, however, we are so grateful to Dr. Ghormley for all of her help. She is efficient and extremely knowledgeable and always quickly returns phone calls (and emails) even when she is swamped with patients or on leave - if it is urgent she is there when she can be which is so reassuring when you have a chronically ill pet. You are in very good hands if Dr. Ghormley is your pet's internist.

Great after hours care which saved our pet's life. For a late night emergency, it was this or go into LA and pay more, so I am glad we tried this place first. Thanks to all.

$3,000 of tests and they will not share my results with me because the particular vet that assigned the tests called out sick. It has been a week and my dog is unreliably eating. They prescribed medicine that is causing him more pain than help and they will not give me advice over the phone but also are at full capacity and do not allow me to come in. Please help

I had two 10 month old pups, and their parents, in my truck. I forgot to push the window lock. One of the dogs pawed the passenger button. Ace fell out 1 mile from my house. His right rear leg totally shattered...They took him in, it was pricey , and did an amazing job saving his leg.

my puppy was in critical condition with a broken leg and all i asked for was for them to take a look at it. they said it was not an emergency and told me to go elsewhere bc it was not an “emergency” and didn’t require them to look at it. so unprofessional

I have had many pets, and with that, many emergencies. I Brought my dog in for vomiting and diarrhea. Several phone calls I made and seven hours later they are going to bring her out and almost $800 later, they are unsure why and just going to treat symptoms. Very poor communication! They waste no time giving you an “estimate” but you hear nothing all day! I came here as my vet was at full capacity. I will Never be back Nor recommend! The price gouge for this is unheard of!

Took my dog in she was in pain 6:30 PM at 10 PM I’m still sitting in my car after they told me the doctor will see your dog in 10 minutes and that was at 8:30 then at 10 PM I went in and ask what is going on and she said it’s gonna be another 2 to 3 hours if we decide to do x-rays so I took my dog and went home horrible horrible place

Went to VSEC for an X-RAY because my dog had a possible obstruction in her intestine. We told them our primary veterinarians X-RAY machine was down and we wanted to get the X-RAY and take it back to our primary veterinarian for treatment. Before they would do the X-RAY, they wanted us to agree to pay a $3100 dollar bill which included all kinds of miscellaneous testing, blood work and ultrasound. When we asked for just the X-RAY and IV fluids so our dog could stay hydrated, they kept trying to convince us to get the treatment/surgery done at their facility, which meant agreeing to the $3100 dollar bill upfront. This $3100 dollar did not include sugery! After several hours of going back and forth, they finally agreed to do just the X-RAY and the IV fluids. After another hour or two, the X-RAY still was not done and our dog still had no fluids. When we tried talking to Doctor Pinkerton about why the IV fluids were not started, she lied and said we refused to pay for anything outside of the X-RAY. We told her we were very specific when we asked them to do the X-RAY and get our dog on IV fluids because wanted to keep her hydrated. Doctor Pinkerton refused to talk to us about this topic any further saying she wanted to move forward, but yet again she pressured us to get the surgery at their facility with still no X-RAY to determine if there was an obstruction. Once I asked them for the estimate for surgery, we were provided with an estimate of the original $3100 plus another $4000-$8000 dollars by the time they were done with all the "treatment/sugery." I guess VSEC thinks money is grown on trees. After about 5-6 hours of drama and going back and forth, we grabbed our X-RAY and our dehydrated dog and returned to our primary veterinarian. We looked at the X-RAYs with our veterinarian and within 5 minutes, our dog was ready for surgery. Total bill out the door $2000, NOT the same as VSEC trying to charge us between 7 and 11 thousand dollars. If you use VSEC for your veterinarian, I would suggest you question every test and charge before agreeing to pay anything. They obviously only care about making money.

If you care about your pet, take them literally anywhere else. Absolutely zero communication, borderline neglectful. Unless it’s a true emergency, you’re much better off driving to Conejo Valley veterinary hospital.

Do Not bring your animal. This is the worst place we have ever experienced. They do not care about animals, they have a terrible bedside manner, they lie, overcharge, and are awful. They need to be shut down for negligence

Thank you Dr Murphy for taking such great care of our Bailey. I hope you see this review and know that my husband and I appreciate everything. You are literally just the kindest, most understanding, and compassionate person. You are everything someone looks for in a vet. Thank you!!!

My cat had saddle thrombus, but we didn’t know that. The lady at the front figured it out but still told us we needed to wait 3 hours there, and if we left it would be a 5 hour wait. She wouldn’t even give her an pain meds even though she was crying terribly. She was in so much pain and waited for so long and that was the last day I saw her. Go to Conejo Valley Veterinary Hospital, they are open 24 hours and actually care, I wish we knew to go there earlier so she didn't have to suffer for so long.

We rushed our English bulldog of 4 years old to there emergency room because it was the only one open. I think it might’ve been the biggest mistake of my life. They kept him for over 2 nights before they even got back to us on how he was or what would happen. At that point he was practically dead. We whent in to see him one last time and while we were there they told us he would make it and be fine soon. Shortly after they came back into the room asking for $400 for an ultrasound which we payed for. 4 minutes after leaving we got a call and they told us he had passed. I would never recommend these sick money hungry pigs.