I brought in my 11 month old dog for urgent care -- a puncture wound. Dr. Hall advised sedating and x-raying would as she could not be certain it was just a bite wound. She also told me she detected a level 2-3 heart murmur and that I should take Tasha to a cardiologist for a full work up. The would was left unsutured, and I paid almost $400.00 for the exam, c=would cleaning x-ray and medication.
I brought Tasha in to her regular vet, who emphatically stated she had no heart mumur (he even called in a second colleague to listen), a stated that the VCA vet probably neglected to make sure my dogs mouth was closed to avoid misidentifying normal breathing sounds. He also told me that Tasha clearly had a dog bite wound, and that the x-rays had been unnecessary.
Needless to say, I will not be taking any of my pets to VCA again. I've since learned of two other after hours vets close by that are excellent. Apparently VCA hire many young vets and does not supervise them; they tend to overdiagnose and run up charges.
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