VCA Sandy Lake Animal Hospital

VCA is simply the best. I have never seen a more caring person than Dr. Cowser. This man was truly called to take care of our pets. The technicians, reception are all caring professionals. We have been taking our pets here for years and will continue to do so. We had a little angel named Angel that had a heart defect and these people cared for her like she belonged to them. When the time came to have to prevent her suffering Dr. Cowser was very upfront and so compassionate, knowing how hard that was for us. We may have lost our beloved Angel, but found a group of angels at VCA. We love and appreciate all of you that take care of our other «kids».

Our furry boys have been going to VCA Sandy Lake ever since we became dog parents. Dr. Cowser and Dr. Alleman are so great — they’re really reasonable when it comes to treatment options. No upsell here, and very realistic approach which my husband and I both appreciate very much.
I should clarify that it’s not always been smooth sailing with our boys. We’ve been through stomach bugs, ear infections, embarrassing aggression, tooth extractions (ugh, x2!), growth removals, and here’s hoping that’s where the list ends, but we all know that’s impossible. Through it all, VCA Sandy Lake has been honest about cost and taken great care of our boys. They’re pet lovers who care about their patients, and it shows.

I highly recommend VCA Sandy Lake Animal Hospital. They have a super caring and knowledgable staff! Dr. Cowser and Dr. Alleman are the best!

This place is a gem. They LOVE your furbaby like he/​she was their own.
Great staff all the way around!

UPDATE: Received a call from their new office manager. Very polite, very friendly, very helpful. I am a firm believer that success lies not never making a mistake, but in what you do to make it right afterward. They definitely made a solid effort to make this right today, and the gesture was much appreciated.
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Worst vet I have ever been to. A year ago we brought one of our fur babies here to change her antibiotics for chronic bronchitis. She had been on clavamox for a long time and it wasn’t working as well anymore. They prescribed a new medication. I specifically asked them if the new meds had any side effects. They said no. I took our dog home and gave her the medicine. Within an hour she was vomiting so hard she was passing out and falling over. She was completely disoriented and walking in circles. I took her back to VCA — not even 90 minutes after I left to come home — and they said there was nothing they could do for us because they were about to close for the evening. They basically kicked us out and suggested we take our dog to the VCA emergency hospital in Irving. Long story short, our dog had a severe allergic reaction to the medication, began pooping bright red blood, began showing signs of organ failure, and we had to put her down the next day. When I called and told them about this, they offered nothing but hollow apologies — I had to ask for them to at least refund the price of the medicine, which was never used except for one dose that killed our dog.
We brought one of our other dogs here after this incident, but we didn’t like the way she was handled roughly by the staff. After that, we decided not to bring our dogs here for veterinary care anymore, but we still brought them for grooming.
Well, after today, that’s over too. Our smallest dog is 2.8lbs. Our biggest is 6.5. We have repeatedly told them not to use clippers on our dogs’ bellies/​abdomens, because that little web of skin between the dogs’ legs and abdomen gets caught in the blades. Nevertheless, they often come home with lacerations from the clipper blades. Today, we dropped off two of the dogs at 9:30am. At 5:45pm we called to find out what was taking so long. The receptionist then told us the dogs were done at 2:30 and that the groomer had sent us a text to let us know. We never got any texts from them, nor did we authorize them to contact us by text. They had always called in the past. When we got there, the groomer was already gone, and our dogs had not been let out to use the bathroom for several hours, judging by their mad dash to the grass and the length of time they spent peeing.
Won’t be going here anymore for anything.

This is probably the best vet office around. Doctor Cowser was so friendly and genuine. You can tell he loves his animals. Office manager Cassandra was also friendly.
I gave my dog new type of food same brand and she started throwing up with diarrhea. At first I thought she was trying to get use to the food and just throwing it up. It always happen when I buy a new bag. After the third day I felt something was wrong because she started to lethargic. I took her in to the vet and got her some medicine. She felt better once she was put on medication. I couldn’t be happier. I like that they told me what to expect in the future so I can prepare for it. Also like that they call day after you came in to follow up.

Kassandra, the manager at VCA Sandy Lake, was gracious enough to offer their services to me when my youngest cat needed a checkup on very short notice. Let’s be honest, after my first review, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away… but I was.
From start to finish, VCA Sandy Lake got it right. Their customer service was just impeccable. I was happy to see smiling faces and was greeted with great attitudes on my visit as the reason I was there was not such a positive one. It made the whole experience less stressful for us. Their clinic cat (apparently there are two but I only met one) is adorable. But I am bias since I LOVE cats!!! She was in her comfy-​looking bed made out of a basket just chilling on the reception desk without a care in the world.
But I digress…
We were led into an exam room almost immediately and the tech who assisted us was very sweet. Her questions were very thorough and she listened and took notes as my boyfriend and I energetically talked about Hexe (my baby girl). After a few moments with her, she left for a little bit and came back with Dr. Cowser.
My first impression of Dr. Cowser is positive. He had great energy, was very kind, patient, a little talkative but I like talkative — I PREFER talkative doctors and Dr. C was absolutely willing to talk and answer all of our questions, which, after the diagnosis, came almost incessantly. I’ll mention that I suddenly burst into tears when Dr. C told us what was wrong with Hexe and he was very kind and said some very comforting things. He allayed our fears but was also very up front with what to expect as well.
Overall, I am glad I gave VCA Sandy Lake another go. Their team is very competent and professional.
Thanks again Kassandra, Dr. C, and team!

VCA Sandy Lake earned my respect and my business.
I took my dog in to VCA to have a tumor removed from his tail; the attending doc pretty much explained all of my options and didn’t upsell me on extra tests and diagnostics. I didn’t expect to have surgery performed the same day as my first visit, but the opportunity became available when they discovered an opening that afternoon. I know my pup didn’t expect me to abandon him there, but I also knew that the mass on his rear was bothering him, and we needed an immediate response. The staff seemed really nice, friendly, and very gentle with my dog and, because VCA also accepted Carecredit financing, dropping him off was an easy choice.
Contact during the day of surgery and afterwards were constant and much appreciated. The staff called and left VMs explaining my dog’s condition and progress and made follow-​up calls. My dog’s attitude coming home was stressed and anxious, but the surgery didn’t leave him traumatized as I was expecting (he’s a sensitive pup). He was back to his normal self the next day and his tail healed up pretty nicely.
VCA has a welcoming space and attitude toward their visitors and patients (noticed the whiteboard of all the day’s appointments), The cat boarding space is pretty cool too (attractive little house-​like windows and ledges). I won’t hesitate to bring all 3 of my furkids to VCA for regular checkups and pet healthcare needs.

They can special order animal food if you need. Fast and easy to deal with. They take ccard which is also great!

I’ve been taking my dogs to VCA Sandy like since they were pups… Great service everytime. Employees are much nicer than the ones at my PCP.
Dr Stanley and Dr Cowser are fantastic.

Let me begin by saying that the doctors at the hospital are very professional, patient, caring and seem to genuinely care about their patients (furry and human), that was the only reason I had chosen them to care for my dog for the past 2 years.
However, a few members of the staff are very rude. I actually saw one of the technicians drag a small dog on her leash across the floor, then when he saw me looking, he picked her up and carried her into the back. On a previous visit, the same tech was very rude and seemed very annoyed that he had to answer my questions during the preliminary exam. Unfortunately, this and several rude encounters with the receptionist has helped me to decide to change hospitals.

I’ve been taking my little Cairn Terrier, Vincent, to Sandy Lake since he was a pup. From puppy vaccinations to flea prevention and beyond this is a great one shop stop.
They don’t push extra treatments on you and keep your pet’s documents up to date. I love that all of my pet’s vaccination information is included in every receipt print out. It’s really helpful!
On the day of your pet’s appointment he’ll be welcoming with his name up on the wall. Awww how special. Everyone here loves animals and I trust them to take great care of my little furry baby.