Animal Specialty & Emergency Center Melbourne, Florida

I am writing this 6 weeks after the accidental death of my beloved 5 year old Alice at the hands of the Sunday surgeon during what was supposed to be a routine surgery to place a feeding tube. Unfortunately, the surgeon cut a vein in her throat and she bled to death after the surgery. I understand that accidents can occur but I have some complaints about how this was handled by VCA. 1. No management reached out to us to offer any discount to the charges or any apology for killing our cat. At no time were we told that this was anything other than a routine surgery that would allow us to bring her home. 2. The surgeon left after the surgery and had to be called to return while our Alice was bleeding to death. Why do they allow their surgeons to leave before their patients are stable? They lost valuable time in finding the source of the bleeding and by the time they did it was too late. Read less

I called to try to schedule an appointment and also find out about ER. The lady that answeted the phone was extremely abrupt and very rude. I tried to call back to speak to someone else and she answered again and put me on hold then hung up.in my face. My dog is eextremely ill if this was the only place Ithat wa.s open I would not admit my dog to this place. Absolutely ridiculous the manner in which I was treated. There should be a negitave number of stars as a choice.

Terrible service, it says their open 24 hours but they just say they’re busy or full capacity. So basically a lie. Don’t count on this stupid place if your dog is literally dying and suffering.

I had an amazing experience here at this VCA. It was 3:30 am when my dog almost passed out do to breathing issues. We rushed over and they were so kind and acted very quickly. We didn't even grab his leash or harness and they made him one, took him in and gave him great care. I feel it was fairly priced, and would recommend them to everyone. Thank you to the staff and doctors.

Our dog was treated by 2 specialists at VCA, a neurologist and an oncologist yet in our dogs true hour of need we were told the ER was unable to see them. Our dog passed away the next morning. I'm not blaming VCA for my dogs death but they sure were willing to collect big dollars for treatment and when push came to shop we're unwilling to treat them in their emergency room. No concession for existing clients! It's truly disgusting. Meanwhile the remodel is still underway.

These guys were really nice and helpful during what I thought was an emergency but just turned out to be something that I could take care of at home. The advice that they gave me was great. My dog was able to heal up perfectly. I appreciate all the help, thank you guys.

It’s very bad service. My dog was in the hospital for two nights and they only called once a day to gave an update and called two three times for the bills. I couldn’t even see my dog while he was in the ER room. I tried to ask if we can do face time they said yes but it never happen. I just worried about my dog so much because he got hit by a car. I tried to ask about my dog updates with a guy name Austin in the ER room and the only thing he said was there was only one doctor in the ER room he couldn’t give me any answer about my dog and he said we not gonna discuss about this conversation right now and he hung up on me. The bill came out 10k and I’m very disappointed in the service.

I have been meaning to write this review for a long time now. I would like to thank these angels that saved my dogs life. My dog Apollo was transferred here from VCA of Bakersfield because he had suddenly lost strength in his back legs. He was so sick. He could barely hold himself up, eat, and drink water. He was also throwing up and this all happened suddenly. After not being able to find out what was wrong with him at VCA Bakersfield they recommended we go here. And it was the best decision i have made. Because of them my dog is alive. I will never be able to thank Doctor Sengewald and the whole neurology team for what they did for my baby. I would often leave messages for her to call me back because of the concerns I had with Apollo during his recovery and either she or doctor Kwan would always get back to me. They were there and are still there for Apollo and I. Thank you so much doctor for saving my babies life.

Steven Katz needs to spend his time reading all the negative reviews and reaching out to all of us personally by phone. Literally horrible human beings work here and consider themselves “support staff,” no doubt. Many echos, especially when poor treatment of owners is discussed. Very antagonistic. Both management and the nobodies under them. I look forward to karma smacking all of you in the face when you need help!!!!

VCA Animal Specialty Group 24hr Emergency-4641 Colorado Blvd | Los Angeles, CA 90039 I am leaving a negative review for VCA Animal Specialty Group because unfortunately the people who work at this location only care about getting paid and they show no interests in your pets health. It was a mistake taking my pet here and I do not want anyone to go through my experience. I called in as an emergency because my pet was having issues with her health and they only cared about getting my billing information first: (name, address, phone number, email,....). Meanwhile a long conversation over the phone I had to start driving because my pet was having issues breathing. Unfortunately my pet stopped breathing half way before getting to  VCA Animal Specialty Group. It was already too late however when my mom gave my pet to the people who work there they did not let us in and left us waiting standing outside the door. They told us that we had to call again. When they came out they made sure that they grabed my billing information correctly and the lady intentionally blocked my view because she noticed I waned to see where they have taken my pet. They supposedly did an emergency exam-$144 and CPR per 15 min -External-$236. Total change was $380.10. For not even 7 minutes of their time. They stated that they can put a tube through her and that might bring her back to life however they did not want to provide additional information and I had to tell them no because they were taking advantage of the situation and they wanted a quick response without providing enough information. They left us waiting again outside and they were going to cremate my pet without my permission. I told them that I wanted my dog back and that they had no permission to cremate her. 5:45 - is when I got to that place and in reality I believe that they did nothing. They did not want to give my my dog back and I threatened them that if they did not give my dog back I would call the police. They still made time to create an invoice and make up a number $380 for 7 minutes of their time. Willing to pay showing them that I had the money in hand I told them I wanted to see my pet first. They did not bring her out and they were retaining her until I paid. I was worried because I saw a men come out with a black bag from the building. Then that was when I called the police at 5:53. They came rushing with my dog in a white box at 6:04 - and told me they will send out the bill by mail. I called to make a complaint that same day and the guy who answered had no phone etiquette and said yeah its $380.10 for 7 minutes however I would get a call back on Monday. The day I went to VCA was on September 25th I never received a phone call on Monday. The only phone call I received was on Tuesday, October 5 and their actual words were: "You have an outstanding bill of $380.10. Did you receive our billing letter?" They sent me a text to pay with a credit card. They also made sure my payment went through and stayed with me over the phone. Again the people who work for this company had no interests in my pets health. They only wanted my billing information. They did not care about my opinion as a customer and they did not even show any sympathy. They only cared about getting paid.

Our dog was gravely injured by our regular vet, and feeling completely dissatisfied by their response and distrusting of their assessment, we picked up our dog and headed straight to VCA Animal Specialty Group for a second opinion. We’d never been to an animal urgent care before, so we were flying a little blind. We arrived and called in for instruction on the process for care, and were advised they’d send someone out to talk to us and take a look at our dog right away based on what we’d told them on the phone. Victoria came out and was extremely kind and helpful. She gave us her assessment of our dog’s injury and advised we should get another opinion from a trusted regular vet before going to the emergency urgent care route. She gave us a referral, that turned out to be great and sent us on our way without charge. While our dog wasn’t cared for by ASG, Victoria was a great help to us and we’re appreciative.

They don’t care about your pet they are only interested in your money

I was referred to Dr Wendelburg from my dog “Coffee’s “ orthopedic doctor. He said Dr Wendelburg is the best in the business for hip surgery..I took Coffee to see Dr Wendelburg and he examined and x-rayed her and gave me several options for treatment. I chose total hip replacement. The operation went smoothly and they kept her for 2 days to get her off to a good start.When I got her back she could walk immediately,but of course she had to take it easy for a while. It’s been 4 months since the surgery and she is better than new. There was zero complications. Dr Wendelburg and his staff at VCA Animal Specialty Group Los Angeles are phenomenal.

I don’t leave reviews often but I felt the need to. I want to thank Dr. Thompson and her assistant. Thank you for being honest, kind and flexible with us. Thank you for giving us options and listening to our concerns. It is very refreshing especially for calling over 10 different emergency vet hospitals all day trying to get my little peanut seen ASAP. I appreciate you all for squeezing her in and making this process so Covid safe. And I especially want to say thank you for working with us financially and giving us correct and thorough information. And also yours and your assistant’s patience with us . This is definitely eye opening and sets you guys apart from others.

I had an amazing experience with VCA Animal Specialty group. I had to travel to them from over 200 miles away and leave my dog for surgery and recovery. It was a very stressful experience for me, but they made it so much easier. I received regular updates on his surgery and recovery, never once did I have to call to ask them. When I had questions they were always answered thoroughly. If the person to whom I was speaking didn’t know the answer, they would seek out who could answer the question. Over the course of the scheduling, pre-op appointment, surgery, and recovery, I worked with a number of different staff and had good experiences with every single one of them. While I did not want my dog to need surgery, they made it all go smoothly and took great care of my dog, and me.

Rude representative! They call themselves an emergency room, but just tell you they are at full capacity and won't accept new patients!!! and wanna hang up as soon as possible without listening!

There is not such thing as emergency care . My dog was screaming because of pain and they didn’t even gave me appointment. It’s just advertising and don’t care about nothing but they own .

I had to bring my senior dog (15 years old) on 06/25/21 to be euthanized because she was in pain and struggling. From the initial call to saying my final goodbye, I felt every single staff member was caring, compassionate and genuine. Saying goodbye to my best friend since my late teen years was extremely difficult but knowing I was around such amazing people made the situation less negative. This was also the first time I had to go through this. They supported my decision and made sure I knew it was the best for her given the circumstances.

So sorry I called them. Extremely rude, pushy and unhelpful would be the way I would describe my experience with Christlin. Will not be coming here with my kennel dogs. She kept screaming we dont do internal medicine and would not refer me to any other VCA.

Avoid this vet. We got charged thousands of dollars and they required our dog to stay two nights because of a lab error. We could have transferred to our original vet, otherwise. UPDATE: They refunded us a 5th of the initial charge after fighting with them.

My cat was dying. He was severely dehydrated and another vet said that his intestines may be perforated due to the fact that he would vomit bile and a tiny bit of blood. He was lateral and very unlike himself. My cat blew up after being “fixed”. I honestly believe that they accidentally snipped his intestine or something to that nature. A week after the procedure he blew up twice the size. He was a young vibrant cat with no health issues what so ever before going to ASPCA for that procedure. Everytime I take my cat to some healthcare facility they end up with a shorter lifespan whereas my healthy cat who has never been to a vet is still strong and healthy and had never had any issues. It’s a pattern I’ve noticed, but I digress —-back to ASG. My cat was suffering so I took him here to get help. They didn’t help him. After an exam they recommended a 10,000+ surgery without first giving him any fluids to treat his dehydration. I know my cat was septic or was on his way to that point. I gave them blood test documents from the last vet emergency room we went to and other documentation. They literally did NOTHING but check his vitals. What a money grab I knew if I took him home, he’d die there. I could not afford a $10k-$15k surgery and tried to do what I can but this places charges 3x the amount the average cost of basic services and I was pressed for time. My cat was dying. He was not his usual self. My cat was pressed for time. I had already ran across the town from city to city to find a vet with an emergency room that wasn’t filled to capacity. I didn’t have much time to save my cat. I asked about euthanizing cost though it was the last thing I wanted to do after spending thousands of dollars and lots of hours racing around to save my cat. The doctor said the heart rate was fine and so was his blood pressure, but didn’t nothing to save him knowing that he had gone septic and was severely dehydrated. I took him home and just as I imagined. My cat passed away. ASG called me in a casual tone to “check on my cat” after the fact they did NOTHING to save him. The audacity. He was dead hours after leaving the hospital. This was my cats last chance and ASG failed him in his last moments Thanks a lot for “saving” and “helping” my now deceased cat.

Very responsive , caring doctor and staff.

I've been here several times this year, both for specialty surgery and emergency visits. One of my dogs had surgery here to correct an angular limb deformity and the vet and staff were so caring and professional. My dog was excited to see the vet techs every time we had to come in for a follow-up visit (they called themselves his aunties which made us feel like we was well taken care of). I also recently came in with my dog for an emergency visit and they took really good care of her, as well as took the time to explain everything to us over the phone. They were also great with calling back and helping us with some advice a few days after our visit. All in all, this is a great animal hospital for specialty needs and emergency care. It's pricey, but it's also one of the better 24-hour pet hospitals I've been to.

Terrible service. Always at "full capacity". Always put you on hold when its an EMERGENCY obviously thats why were calling an animal EMERGENCY hospital. Really really terrible. Dont even bother with these guys. Go ANYWHERE else.

Customer service is trash. Would not recommend with the way they answer their phones let alone leave my pet with them. If they can’t answer the phones with respect who knows what they’d do to my pet.

My puppy of 5 months needed to be seen and they told me I was able to come in, since they accepted walk-ins. However, they kept my puppy for approximately 2 hours and left me without an update for a good hour. They wanted to do all these tests and their attitude changed when I declined. They didn’t maintain their professionalism and just because one declines a service, doesn’t mean they should give attitude. She said, “Well it’s your pet, you do what you want.” They called and told me my puppy would be discharged but kept me waiting at the parking lot for 52 minutes. None of the employees maintained their professionalism and had attitude. After they came out to give me my puppy, the female employee gave me horrible attitude, bad service, and transferred my puppy to me without care. The employees on the phone were the ones with the most bad service, especially since they didn’t maintain their professionalism. Save your money. And if you care about your puppy, don’t come here. How they treat you here says a lot on how they would treat your pet.

I took my cat here for an emergency a few days ago. She had to stay overnight for a few days and the vets gave me two calls everyday to update me on her status. It helped ease my worries and I really appreciated it! Every time I’ve interacted with the any of the staff, they’ve been very kind and have happily answered any questions I had about treatment or paperwork. I also received an estimated treatment cost beforehand. It ended up being below the lower estimate, which was nice. Although costs are can be high due to the nature of emergency treatment, I have pet insurance which covered almost all of it. Overall, I’d say I was satisfied with treatment and now my cat is back with me healthy and happy! Thank you!

I only take my boys to this ER room when my vet is closed or unavailable. They saved my dobie and I can't thank them enough for being so supportive during his recovery here. Some of the estimated they give may likely give you heart palpitations but at the end of the day its wasn't ever that bad. Plus, my fur babies are family so they deserve the best. If you do get surgery here for your babies; ask for Dr. Robinson (She is the best!).

Sunday morning suddenly I noticed my little boy can not walk and his hind legs are not responsive, so he was sitting in one corner and looking at me with those big black eyes. When I picked him up sure enough he could not hold himself up. We called around and every vet clinic was full! Then we called VCA and they said sure come hear. When we got there a nurse assistant came out and asked us what is wrong, by then I was sobbing. He took my little boy in, shortly after a nurse came out and said doctor is examining him, Then another nurse came out and said he is all ok. The doctor called me twice so I could understand in between my sobbing she said he is all ok no problem with his hips or anything else structurally, he is already walking. She said it is a strained muscle, we gave him some pain medication and you can take him home. Since I am a hypochondriac, when it comes to my boy, I insisted that they take an x-ray. The doctor said he does not need one, he has only a muscular pain. But no, I insisted and finally they gave up and did an x-ray. Off course there was nothing wrong with him. When a emergency vet tells you he does not need an x-ray, that is a sure sign that there is nothing wrong with the pet. As I was writing this long note they called to see was doing. I want to thank the whole staff for taking good care of my little boy and me.

Not helpful at all. I couldn’t get past the girl who answered the phone. My dog needed to be seen urgently. When I called they asked what department I needed, and I told them I needed an appointment for internal medicine. I was told appointments weren’t available for weeks for an internal medicine issue, so I asked about emergency walk ins. She told me I couldn’t get internal medicine through emergency walk in. Seriously?? They don’t take care of internal medicine related issues through emergency walk in? Of course I went elsewhere. She could have at least asked me what the issue was before telling me they couldn’t help through emergency walk in.