VRCC - Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital

About mid-December we received a diagnosis of cancer in the upper jaw of our 12 year old Bichon. Our vet referred us to VRCC and we met with Dr. Gustafson on Jan 6, 2015. From first contact by phone until checkout at the facility the experience was positive. Dr. Gustafson, her colleagues and staff at VRCC were at the same time efficient and caring, truthful and encouraging, honest and gentle. Through the process they were supportive and relieved our anxieties and provided a number of alternative plans for our consideration with compassion and integrity. I believe their skills and abilities to be comprehensive and excellent and their counsel credible and trustworthy. If the need arises again I will have no apprehensions about seeking the help of this fine facility and the people in it who make it so. more

My pet has been treated at Veterinary Cancer Specialists and I have nothing but great things to say about the practice. Caring, compassionate and extremely knowledgeable. I read these reviews and can only say that most of the negative reviews are about other, independently owned practices that operate out of the same building/hospital. You will not find better care for a cancer patient! The costs may seem higher than regular vet prices, but these are specialists with extensive education and specialty equipment. Of course it's going to cost more! more

Our experience with VRCC was one of the best we've had with any of our pets thus far. The staff answered all questions, were available and relatively punctual all of which was appreciated. The staff that directly interacted with our dog were also understanding of his past (we rescued him from an abusive situation) which we had shared. Past situations can be overlooked at times and we were extremely pleased that this was considered when our dog began acting out in an aggressive fashion post-surgery.\r Dr Elmslie was absolutely fantastic. We feel she was truly empathetic with our situation and it showed through her handling and interaction with our dog. Ruby was also a pleasure to interact with. We feel both ladies are a reflection of the type of person a pet owner wants in the positions they hold. \r It was a delight being greeted by Sean upon entering or leaving the building. She was very attentive to all needing assistance at the front and has an amazing ability to juggle all that occurs at the front which seems to be a lot at one time. Being greeted by somebody that seems to enjoy her job allows the visit to VRCC to begin and end with some positive energy. We strongly recommend VRCC to everyone with a furry friend needing specific care. more

Our Golden Retriever was recently diagnosed with cancer by our local vet. Fortunately it seemed to be encapsulated and hadn’t spread. Our vet recommended VRCC for follow up care and we met with Dr. Robyn Elmslie. After she had examined our girl she recommended that we do chemo treatments to reduce the odds of the cancer returning. Since our Golden is about 7 years old and still very active we felt that if we could increase her chances of spending more years with us that it was worth the expense. Yes, it is expensive but anything in the medical field (human or canine) usually comes with a significant cost. We have nothing but good things to say about Dr Elmslie and the staff at VRCC, they seem to care almost as much about our dog as we do. While the circumstances for our visits to VRCC aren’t pleasant it would be much worse if it weren’t for the kind compassionate care that they provide. I would recommend them to anyone who is going through this. more

I love VRCC!! The front desk staff are always so friendly, and I know my pet is getting the best care possible whenever I take them here. My dog loves to eat anything and everything, so we have had to visit VRCC for a couple emergencies, and they have always taken such great care of us! The doctors even called several weeks later to check in to make sure our little one was feeling better. I can't speak highly enough of the vets that work here, or the vet techs - they are always so great at understanding what you're going through while you're here with your pet. I can't believe there are so many negative reviews - yes, it's expensive, but you get what you pay for! I am happy to pay a little extra to know my pet is in great hands. Thank you all at VRCC! more

Such an EVIL SCAM! 82 year old widowed grandma with a $7000 dead baby. My grandmothers 12 year old relatively healthy and in shape standard poodle (who was literally her entire life, but thats what they prey on is your LOVE so BEWARE!!!!!) visited here, where they convinced her to have $700 worth of blood work and ultrasounds done. The oncologist proceeds to tell her that her dog has a small mass on her spleen and if she does not have a $3000surgery the dog will die a slow painful death in 3-6 months (who says that to a little old lady like that?!). Of course at any expense my grandmother wants to keep her baby. So we (I say we because my husband and I stayed with her during this terrible time to help physically) took her in for surgery, three days later we rushed her back in because she was not recovering, not eating, and now was throwing up. Before they would even touch the dog they charged her a $500 deposit. They then admitted the dog overnight because she was now running a 103.5 temp (dogs should run between 101-102.5 degrees), did more blood work where they discovered her white blood count was extremely high, but sent her home the next morning with antibiotics, a $1200 bill and told us she would be fine, yet gave no explanation of what was causing the sickness. 4 days later, after still having no appetite (my husband and i were feeding her high protein food and chicken broth through a syringe, at the directions of the doctor) her poodle began moaning and becoming extremely uncomfortable, we rushed her back in again, another $500 deposit before they would see her, then performed blood work and an ultrasound which they collected another $500 deposit before they would do!!!!! We were then informed that her baby is suffering from peritonitis, an abdominal infection, which in her could have only come from surgical wounds, and has a fair to poor chance of survival if they performed exploratory surgery, otherwise the dog needed to be euthanized right away. At this point our personal vet arrived and advised her that it would not be wise to put a 12 year old dog through anesthetic and surgery again, even though VRCC was more then happy to take her credit card and start another dead end procedure. In all, even though they obviously botched the surgery, didn't catch the peritonitis even though we paid to have her admitted, they came back to collect her credit card 3 times this last horrible day!!! Each before they would take the next step, in all they collected about $1400 the last day. My point is these people care far more about your money then your pet, they killed an innocent healthy dog and charged her around $7000 to do it, luckily this did not put my grandmother in financial devastation but someone else it easily could. My problem is not the cost but the complete lack of care they give for the cost. Please search other review sites as yelp edits first time reviewers, but obviously people have had the same devastating problems we experienced. I take my dog to Wheatridge animal hospital and I have never been treated like this horrible place treated us, they don't collect your credit card 2-3 times when you're in with your sick dog? I will say that our Vet Techs at VRCC could not have been sweeter, Blair and Kay were amazing! But everything else was a joke. A very expensive deadly joke. For your reference our oncologist was Dr. Elmsley, our surgeon was Dr. Devitt and the doctor who we admitted her to when she got sick, and who released her was Dr. Rump. Please, just take your baby somewhere that they care more about your BABY then your CREDIT CARD. This is such a sad story to tell and I don't want anyone else to have to tell theirs later on.\r more

DO NOT TAKE YOUR PET HERE!!! This company isn't concerned about your animal in the least bit!! IT'S ALL about how much money they can get out of you! We took our cat here previously because he wasn't breathing normally and he had drastically lost quite a bit of weight, not only did they want to charge us $500 just to see what was wrong in the first place, but then they came out 2 hours later and told us that our cat had an enlarged heart and needed to be put to sleep (which would have costed even more money). We didn't know what to think nor did we have the funds, so we decided to take him home and think clearly what had to be done. After many tears, we thought it'd be best to take our furry friend to his own vet and have it done. HOWEVER OUR regular vet looked through the x-rays and paperwork to find out that it was JUST A THYROID PROBLEM!! He just needed to take a thyroid pill everyday to regulate his body! THE VRCC WOULD HAVE PUT HIM DOWN FOR NO REASON!!!! They didn't read the blood work tests properly and totally missed it! So pleasantly surprised, we took the cat home and gave him the right meds and guess what, he's still here (a year later!). We vowed to never go back to VRCC.\r \r However, we recently came home one night to find that the same cat was laying on the floor gasping for air. Scared that we might loose him, and extremely desperate, we rushed him back there. The first thing they asked us was how much money we had on us! We figured we had just about $300 total, and apparently that wasn't enough. They put him into an oxygen cage but wouldn't help him any more until they knew for sure we had come up with the $500. Since we didn't have cash, the receptionist pressured me into applying for the CareCredit, and made me feel like a bad owner for hesitating. I ended up getting approved for $500 dollars (I got the impression that if I wouldn't have been approved at all, they would have let my cat die!). When they knew we had about $800 total (with the credit and cash), they made sure to nickel and dime each little procedure including the exam its self, blood pressure, lab work, IV, the ten times they administered different meds, the oxygen cage he was in (for each hour), and the ultra-sound. Not only were the charges insanely expensive, the technicians were so emotionless! They didn't make us feel welcome or reassured. They were never even available for us to ask questions. I could tell they had their sights set on my wallet. Our cat ended up having fluid in his chest cavity which was constricting his lungs from expanding. They had to relieve the fluid which was yet another charge. We were so thankful that we didn't get the bad news that we got last time, but so irritated because we sat there for 1 and 1/2 hours before we knew what was going on with him. Then another 2 hours after that we finally got an update and more charges. We didn't even hear from them again for 4 MORE HOURS! We sat in that ice cold waiting room for 7 hours total! By the end of the night/morning, we had an ""Estimated Treatment Plan"" of $2500! Being middle class citizens, there was absolutely no way we could afford that! WE took the cat home so we could bring him to our own vet the following day. In addition, I'm not an eavesdropper but from what I heard it seemed like a coincidence that all the other pet owners were being told the exact same thing that had just been said to us! I can't believe this place is still in business. Judging from the other reviews I've read, I'm not the only customer who has had an experience this lousy!! I am highly grateful for them as far as stabilizing my cat for the night, but I can't recommend this place to anyone! If at all possible, find a different animal hospital to bring your friend to, because these greedy people only want to cheat you out of your money!!!\r \r \r \r more

We were devastated when our dog Timber was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in March of 2009. We are very thankful to have been referred to Veterinary Cancer Specialists (VCS) for Timber?s treatment. more

I was devastated when I learned that my best buddy had Leukemia! We were referred to VRCC oncology and met with Dr. Ringen in June 2012. She did such a great job of explaining what the diagnosis meant, available treatments his prognosis and answered my endless questions. My buddy's cells are quite stubborn and we continue to seek remission, however, his blood work shows much improvement since the diagnosis.\r \r Cancer care is expensive, but Dr. Ringen and staff can often offer treatment options that vary in cost so *you* make the choices. They want to help you!! We have never once felt like ""just another dog with cancer"". The staff takes a personal interest in both pet and guardian which is so comforting when managing through such a horrible time. They are tremendous! We mostly see Monique, but chat with Jennifer, Shantell and Ruby (hope I didn't leave anyone out!) often with concerns/questions...they all are terrific and show endless patience. more

I've been very pleased with the care we've received so far at VRCC Veterinary Cancer Specialists. It isn't cheap but I feel that we've experienced nothing but top quality care for our dog. more

Oh VRCC we don't miss you but we do love you!!! Since my dogs were puppy they have been coming to you guys for emergencies. Always greeted with a smile at the front desk and always responsive to our phone calls. Scar and his stitches from playing with his brother to Buddy and his ear mites when we first brought him home. Having a great variety of specialties we love having it one place. Thank you for always taking care of our kids.. I am happy we have not been there recently but we do miss you and think of you guys often. more

Oh my home away from home!!! Well it used to be and I am happy it was with Dr Elmslie and her staff! It is never fun having to be there because your dog has cancer but they treat you like family. Stymie was only 4 when he was diagnosed with cancer and passed 3 days after his 5th birthday. VCS took the most devastating situation into giving us love and support. Just like human cancer you never know if the treatment will work you just hope it will be the right one. We at VCS always had the option of which treatment and were giving so much time to ask questions, call if we second guessed ourselves and they never said DON'T get a second opinion. I used to go to Dr Elmslie with a list of information that I found on the website and her tons of questions of why aren't we doing this treatment why are we doing this one and she ALWAYS took the time to answer them explain them to me. When mentioned other options she was always willing to say try and let me know how it works. I have learned Cancer is a tricky thing and every dog reacts differently. What I love most about VCS is their upfront and honesty as well as making us feel like family and as if MY dog was the only one going to them. Every time I walked in I felt as if Stymie was king. We love them and have nothing but such love for the help they gave to us. we truly hope we never have to go back but we have large breed dogs and you just never know and i we do we will be going to VCS!! We love you!!! more

My experience at VRCC was very troubling. I am sure Robyn Elmslie's credentials are genuine but somehow her vision for treatment has been lost. The course of action she recommended for my dog would have left her permanently crippled. I am thankful every day that in my distraught state I didn't continue treatment at VRCC. The goal of this review isn't to convince you that Robyn is incompetent but rather encourage you to visit the CSU veterinary hospital to get a second opinion to anything that VRCC recommends. I know it is an hour drive up to CSU (Fort Collins) from Denver but if you need oncology treatment for your dog I highly recommend visiting CSU before moving forward at VRCC. more

Don't take your pet to VRCC. They are not real VETS or VET TECHS. They will hold your pet hostage and make you think they are receiving care , until they get $1500 out of you if not more. This is a HORRIBLE PLACE and should be shut down ! I'm calling every single news agency to have them investigated ! RUN !!!! more

What a shame when Vet Hospitals become million dollar operations for profit! Took my dog in last night in subzero degree tempatures for an emergency C-sec and was turned away due to lack of financing! Then I get a knock on my door today from animal control saying the vet called and was concerned for my dog and the puppies! They were not so concerned last night when they refused to help! They could have just called me directly to see if everything was ok! BTW the mother and puppies are just fine, no thanks to these guys!\r \r This Hospital overcharges and it is obvious why, they house a huge building that was obviously professionally designed, their operating system is made up of high end Mac computers (I had to apply for care credit on a Mac book pro and there were 3 very large ones at the front desk) then there are the flat screen TV's. Oh and yes they are open all night but in my opinion overstaffed, while I was worried and waiting for them to give me back my still in labor dog I had to listen to the ladies in the back chatting about apratment hunting, obviously with nothing else to do!\r \r I have never felt so humiliated when it came to a pet hospital! \r more

I am about to take my dog into this place on a referral, and have had many concerns about this. First my vet mis-diagnosed my dogs problem, so we had another vet from the same place take a look at him, and that vet came back with something else for a diagnoses. So one more time we had another vet look at him...same place and yet another different diagnoses.\r \r So now we took our dog to different vet all to gether and guess what?....another different diagnoses. Four vets later and my dog still hasn't got any real treament. And I find myself going here because my first vet reffered us here! Sure wished people would get it together and start making the correct diagnoses. Four vets four different diagnoses. Soon to be number five here?? I hope not, poor dog has been in pain for almost two months now. Will come back here and let you know! more

As a pet owner, pet emergencies never happen at 11 AM in the morning - they usually happen at 11 PM at night. I have taken two of our cats for different issues to this vet in the past couple of years. I cannot speak to their veterinary specialist day clinic. However, regarding the emergency room care, it has been excellent. The staff and doctor immediately jump in and get the initial stabilization done. You are then presented with an estimate. No, this is not a cheap service. If your pet is staying overnight, depending upon the nature of the emergency, it can range from $500 to even $2,000 if extraodinary care and meds are required. Our pets are worth it. The care they received was worth it. I will always take our midnight pet emergencies to VRCC. more

And my loving Golden Retriever is dead.\r I would highly recommend against doing business with this organization (esp. the Neurology department). I was referred to them by my vet, whom I trusted. On the day that my dog was admitted, I was in a poor emotional state. They asked me to sign a number of papers, including an estimate for the various costs. I was shocked at how expensive the diagnoses and possible treatments might be. The estimate was about $2400 - way too expensive for me, but my dog was worth it. The next day the Dr. called me on my cell phone and discussed the treatment with me. Another day passed and the phone calls stopped. I visited my dog and a tech gave me the status. I later found out that they were calling my home number (a phone I don't have access to during the day and rarely use). I don't know why they stopped calling my cell phone (as we had agreed that they would do). Long story short, when I visited my dog, the tech told me that the Dr. said that my dog was improving each day. However, I could see that this was not true. I challenged the tech, and she insisted. It seemd to me that she had lied. On the 3rd day I found a couple of messages on my home phone - 1st indicated improvement and a cost of $3100, the second indicated more improvement and a cost of $3600. I was tricked, I thought. I got up early and demanded that my dog be released. I had to wait another 5 hours (and another $1000) to release him. The Dr. told me that my dog would be better off at home under my care anyway. He prescribed a medication to alleviate his paralysis and another medication to treat seizures. My dog was not having seizures - the Dr. made another mistake. Now I don't blame this Dr. for my dog's death, but I do seriously question his ethics. I feel like I was swindled out of a very large sum of money while I was in an emotionally distraught state. And, I didn't realize it until it was too late. He's definitely in it for the money. I'm happy I was able to spend several happy days with my dog after the VRCC debacle. My dog was miserable in that small confined cage. What a horrible place. more

My terrier has been in the care of the Oncology department at VRCC for over one year. When I first got the diagnosis , I was really upset and leaning against treatment. Once the treatment options were explained, I started to feel hopeful. Quality of life has been great. We still hike every weekend. Chemotherapy really went well. I never felt any pressure to start treatment but very glad that I did. No regrets. more

My experience with the VRCC has always been excellent. When I adopted a kitten and found out he had a life threatening congenital defect we went straight there and had a surgery scheduled for the next day. The services aren't ""cheap"" but you pay for what you get. Competent, experienced specialists that know what they are doing, technicians that care and are highly trained in their field and a 24 hour facility that has important medical resources available at all hours. Five years later my cat is happy and sassy whereas he had less than two months to live before. more