Please DO NOT take your pets to VCA! We brought our new Yorkie puppy 7 days after bringing it home from the breeder. The puppy was sick and they diagnosed constipation. Within less than 12 hours the dog was dead. A few days later, a friend?s dog that had contact with our puppy starting having the same symptoms. VCA agreed to test for Parvo at no cost, since it was obvious they had missed something. The test came back positive. We found out later, our puppy?s symptoms were classic & should not have been missed by any good vet. 2 months later, and a lot of precautions later such as cleaning everything with bleach, we purchased another yorkie puppy. We brought the new puppy in for a wellness check. Dr. Kyle looked at the puppy (I say this loosely as she only physically ?examined? the teeth) and advised to treat for worms as a precaution because as Dr. Kyle said, most puppies have worms. She also advised to bring the puppy back in a week for another series of shots and bring back a fecal sample to check for worms. The wellness visit -$45, the ?prepaid? fecal sample - $60.40. Dr. Kyle also highly recommended we purchase a ?Puppy pack? for $399, but I had to purchase it that day. The puppy pack includes 3 complete physicals, complete series of shots, and a micro chip. I advised I would have to consult with my spouse first, and Dr. Kyle indicated that if we changed our minds we could ?for this one time only? apply the $105.40 to the $399 total when we came back in a week for the shots. If we didn?t choose the puppy pack, all future visits would be at a higher rate. 4 days later the new puppy appeared to be constipated, lethargic, cold, and visibly shaking. In a panic, I took her to VCA. I told the receptionist I had given the puppy the worm pill, Sentinel, the night before as instructed by the doctor. Could this be why she was sick, or could she also now have Parvo? The receptionist said I could bring her back at a scheduled timeframe a few hours later (because I HAD to have an appointment) and test for Parvo. The cost $77. She noted, this cost was outside the ?Puppy package.? I scheduled an appointment for 2 hours later & immediately went home and called several other local vets. Here?s what I found: The Sentinel had been recalled from the manufacturer and should not have been given to us, but most likely wasn?t the cause. All the other vets could see us immediately. Their Parvo test cost; $38.50. I decided on Dr. Miller in Angleton. Wonderful doctor! He tested for Parvo and it came back negative, Dr. Miller also tested for glucose which came back positive. The constipation had caused a hypoglycemic episode, which according to Dr. Miller is not uncommon for small breeds such as Yorkshire Terrier?s. He advised we change her diet, and give 2 TBS of Karo syrup if it happened again. His exam was thorough and informative. His prices reasonable. We immediately left there, returned to VCA and demanded the $60.40 returned that we had been forced to prepay for the fecal test. Dr. Miller had tested for worms, which came back negative. He was baffled as to why a fecal test was ordered as a precaution as she had no symptoms. After review of the invoices from both vets it became apparent that VCA prices were literally double compared to the other local vets on every item. We compared with 3 different local Vets. And the new Vet was also puzzled by the $399 puppy pack as the complete shots and micro chip at his office didn?t even total $150. Dr. Miller is located in Angelton, a few doors down from WalMart.
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