VCA Castle Shannon Animal Hospital

If I could give ZERO stars I would and I totally understand why VCA Castle Shannon Animal Hospital has such a low rating. My cousin was emergently admitted to the hospital, underwent surgery, and was intubated in the ICU unresponsive I took her dog home to take care of her and wasn’t sure if her immunizations were up-​to-​date. I have two other dogs and wanted to make sure they did not contract any illnesses. I was told by my cousin’s close friend that the dog probably has not been to the vet for over a year and her immunizations are probably not up to date. I thought no problem, I will just call the vet where she goes tomorrow. I was told that they could not release any information to me even after I explained the situation. She does not have a POA, and I was told that the only way they would give me her immunization information was if the ICU physician confirmed via a letter that she was in the ICU unable to answer any questions. I even asked if I made her an appointment with my vet and they requested the shot record would they send it directly to them and they said «no». I asked for the office manager who checked with her boss and they all said the same thing. They were VERY rude, not friendly like they claim, and were not helpful what so ever. I even asked if I made an appointment with my vet would they release the information to him and they said «no». I am only trying to take care of a helpless dog and keep my dogs safe at the same time. I understand that if it was a human being there are laws protecting PHI but this is a totally different situation and there are no laws governing animals. What could someone possibly try and gain from requesting a dog’s shot records. The end result is that I had to do what I was trying to prevent and that is to surrender the dog to a shelter.

If the rating would go to no stars that’s what I would give them! No compassion for animals and just want the money I took my dog there yesterday because his neuter incision opened, not only did I wait 2 ½ hours to be seen it re-​opened not even 24 hours later while he was wearing a cone and was NOT running jumping licking climbing or anything else that was suggested that he shouldn’t do, so I called and told them that it reopened not even 24 hours later and the girl that answered response was brushed «Oh well we are booked, you can bring him in for an emergency visit for $ 90 but that’s all we can do.» no emotions that my pup may be in pain or that they messed up and put something on my dog that didn’t even hold for 24 hours not to mention my bill from the night before for an emergency visit and to get him seen for nothing was obscene! Way to much go be payed for it not to be fixed and to re-​open! Very dissatisfied and will NEVER return to this place. Most of the workers need to get a new job cause they clearly don’t care about the Animals!

I have never gone on my appt time and gotten in on time. I think the parent corporation pushes for too many appointments per hour. Most of the staff are very good. But certain days you can see they are over worked. This place was much better in the past before VCA purchased them. If you see VCA before a animal hospital name. Think twice. Again I don’t have a problem with the staff but the corporation that owns them

I had a decent experience my first two times here, but this time will be my last. I waited for over an hour past my appointment time to get my dogs nails trimmed. No one offered any explain action it apology and acted really rude and put out when I asked nicely if they knew how much longer it would be (because my dog was getting visibly anxious from waiting in the waiting room for so long). Terrible service.

Our dog visits here on a regular basis and has always had a wonderful experience with Dr. McGowen. During his last visit, however, he was seen by Dr. Lopez, who was incredibly rude and insensitive to my parents regarding our dog’s heath. She basically advised that there was nothing that could be done to treat his health problems, because he was older. Rather than discuss a difficult subject in a compassionate manner, Dr. Lopez was extremely unpleasant and insensitive, stating that she would be «surprised to see him last beyond a few months.» This visit was several months ago, and he is actually doing much better following medical treatment advised by Dr. McGowen. I’m frankly shocked that a professional with this kind of attitude is allowed to treat animals. I was completely disgusted by her behavior. We will continue to see Dr. McGowen only, and avoid any interaction with the other vets (especially Dr. Lopez) working at this clinic.

I visited the animal hospital on August 16^th, which was a Saturday. I had called them in the morning to see if they could fit me in, and they did. I was very happy with the doctor. She was very thorough and friendly. From the time we walked in the door to seeing the doctor was about 20 minutes. They did a few tests and then after final consultation we were checking out. We were happy with the length of time it took. While checking out, the girls made a clerical mistake and I waited for 15 minutes (only one person in front of me for 5 minutes) before I was acknowledged and waited on. I then left realizing they didn’t give me my medicine. I went back in and stood there for another 15 minutes (one woman acknowledged me and said someone would be with me shortly meanwhile she was playing arts and crafts with files) then I had to rudely say «excuse me can I get my medicine?» I am not exaggerating times either there is a clock up on their wall. Doctors are great the only thing I didn’t like about the doctors is you go in for one thing, then they start tacking things on and don’t tell you pricing. Medicine is also pretty pricey. Customer service from desk/​clerical people horrible. Hope this helps.

I may seem like the crazy cat lady, but I don’t think 2 spoiled rotten kitties put me in that category… yet.
I’m very particular about where I take my cats for veterinary services. The reason for this is Maggie Mae, my sweet black & white tuxedo kitty has allergies. There are many doctors who have pushed certain medications or treatments on us in the past. Unfortunately only one injection actually works.
The staff at VCA Castle Shannon has been wonderful with Maggie. They ran their diagnostic tests and, when they realized that the injection was the only treatment, they agreed to it. Now when Maggie gets «the itch» we’re able to go in and meet with a vet tech, instead of a full appointment every time. We still have a full appointment every so many months, but it’s nice to have a vet understand your situation and work with you, instead of charging you big bucks.
The hours are also very convenient. Since it’s a 24 hour animal hospital, their doctor appointments are much easier to schedule. I can usually call and get an appointment for Maggie within a few days, or sooner!
I want my fuzzy kids to have the best care possible… so much so that I drive 30+ minutes to VCA Castle Shannon now. Sure there may be other vets closer, but they don’t compare. Now we just need to work on the kitty car sickness…

A haiku
No no no no no
Total ripoff nightmare
unnecessary vet test
I brought my cat is in to have a tooth pulled. Suddenly we need to do an echocardiogram a chest xray and blood and urine analysis. Why? I felt like I was completely being scammed so I don’t trust them to bill me or take care of my cat. I strongly urge you to go elsewhere. Literally a single exam and blood work cost me 239.00. This is insane.

The Veterinarian and the Vet Techs were awesome with my dog. The price was considerably less than I expected too, which was nice. I have brought my cat there for vaccines throughout the past 3 years. I will continue to use these individuals. You can tell they truly love animals.

Thanks Dr. Eyrich and the techs at this hospital (open ALL the time) for treating our beloved little cat Dusty and his pink eye. Everyone was nice to us and the cat. We were given neomycin drops for Dusty, and his pink eye cleared up considerably overnight. By the end of the following week, he was all better. We’d bring our pets here again if necessary.

For a fortnight, our feline Dusty had been experiencing runny, swollen discomfort in one eye and later both. We monitored the infection, waited it out, and noticed little if any improvement in Dusty’s condition. Considering that Kay and I both work weekdays, getting a appointment with the Cat Clinic in Bloomfield would not be possible for another 6 days. Not wanting Dusty to suffer with this any longer or have Kody or Dokken (our other cat and ferret respectively) catch whatever virus Dusty was afflicted with, we decided to take our ill cat to this top-​drawer ²⁴⁄₇ veterinary facility in Castle Shannon.
The most excellent Dr. Melinda Eyrich saw Dusty immediately, quickly diagnosed him with conjunctivitus (‘pink eye’), prescribed some Neomycin eye drops, and less than a week later, Dusty’s a new tom!
Dr. Eyrich and all of the staff were compassionate, polite to us, and seemed to genuinely enjoy what they do for a living, even though they were all working late on a Friday night. We experienced not one problem nor any curtness during our visit. Dusty barely fussed while Dr. Eyrich and a tech examined him and administered his initial doses.
They even had «The Goonies» on the tube as we waited. It had just started!

I think that is is only fair to give an update of my poor review. A few days after I posted the review, I was contacted by Unilocal notifying me that the office manager at VCA saw my review and would like to speak with me personally.
To make a long story short, I ended up voicing what happened to the woman who runs the office. She was able to show me evidence that my dog was given the correct vaccination (thank God), and was very apologetic and understanding of my frustrations. From a customer service standpoint, she did a great job, and I appreciated her taking the time to reach out to me. It seems like she truly does want things to improve there.
When I called in and visited the location again (sans dogs) to talk with her, the desk staff was again rude and short with me, both when I called to speak with the office manager and when I arrived in the facility, which was weird because even the ones that were tolerable the first time were rude on round 2. I appreciate the thought that was taken to assure that my dogs were safe, and that my complaints were addressed and corrected to the best of her ability. In my opinion, if she cleared out the entire desk staff, or at least taught them how to work with some compassion and understanding, maybe VCA would be worth revisiting.

It was a long wait to get in when I brought my animal into their emergency services. (2+ hours. Kinda like going to the ER.)
It was worth the wait, though. The staff and vet were personable and knowledgeable and provided immediate relief and assistance. The final bill was also considerably more reasonable than I was expecting.
They won me over with the emergency visit and are now my regular vet!

I brought Misty, my poodle, here a few weeks ago when she was having bladder issues. The wait was super long, but the staff and quality of the vets care made up for the delay.
The staff was great with both pets and parents :)

Have you ever searched for a vet online and looked at reviews? Holy scary. Here’s my straightforward experience.
My mom has been coming here for decades and I decided to check it out after adopting a dog a few weeks ago. I got a coupon for a free first visit via their website, which saved me about $ 45.
The vet techs and vets were all very nice, but some things were a bit off about the whole experience. I asked the vet some questions about food and medicine and she answered them. She also said she would write it down for me. My dog also had to get a shot, so she took him out of the room and a tech brought him back. I didn’t realize until after I left that I never got that info written down.
Secondly, my dog needed heartworm and flea treatment. When I asked if I could find it cheaper online, they were really defensive and rude about it. The girl was like, well, yeah, but you don’t get the $ 5 rebate and extra treatment (he only needed the six that came in the package, not sure what bonus nbr seven would have done). She said they would price match anything I found online, but only if there were shipping charges. Their reasoning was they could charge $ 5 for the product and $ 30 for shipping. I went home and found those items for much cheaper. The next day, I went back and was able to get them price matched, saving $ 75. They were much nicer about this then. They also wrote down the missing info that I needed.
I will most likely return because it is very close to where I live, the hours are convenient and everyone was so nice to my dog. But, I’ll be bringing printouts of the meds so I can get them price matched and not have to make a return trip.