VCA Vets & Pets Animal Hospital

Super friendly atmosphere! They remember your pet no matter who you see! Been taking my dogs here for several years, squeaky clean teeth after every dental — I love it! Follow up calls after every visit and your pet’s name on the board at the reception, how more caring can it get :)

Please read — you might be in my shoes.
My ten year old cat had lost a lot of weight and was vomiting. I took her to the VCA and I was told my choices were blood work, x-​Rays, and a poop sample testing. Unlike a doctor who treats humans, I was not guided to the best choice (s) and picked blood work which didn’t end up identifying the problem. Both vet and vet tech tried to sell me their cat food and the cat «health plan» where you pay around $ 125/​month. On the paperwork I took home, the vet had typed in that my cat needed a dental cleaning. Nothing else. Nobody seemed concerned that my previously fat cat’s spine was poking out of her skin and that her vomit smelled like poop.
I went to another vet in Berkeley who, like a doctor that treats humans, TOLD ME what he highly recommended doing and that was a sonogram. The sonogram showed a tumor in her intestine and that in front of it, her intestine was swelled like a balloon. She had declined in health and weight dramatically between the VCA visit and the second vet visit, so I made the difficult decision to put her to sleep rather than see what surgery would do besides cause her more pain.
Had I listened to the VCA’s highly recommended verbiage, I would have spent a ton on having cancer kitty’s teeth cleaned, joined their health plan and bought their food — then watch my cat die.
Also — note that when the vet comes in the room they don’t want you to reach in the pet cage to get your cat. Nope, that would be too easy. Instead, they ask you to completely dismantle your cage so the top comes off. My cage made a lot of loud popping noises that scared my cat. Putting it back together wasn’t fun, either. Why do you think it has a door? At the Berkeley office the doctor did everything to make the cat feel SECURE. He placed her in a homemade narrow furry sheep skin thing so that she wasn’t on a cold table to be prodded at like at the VCA. The warmth and slight pressure made her calm and immediately lay down.
Think twice before heading to the VCA.

This place is nothing more than a profit machine. They suck $ 70 out of you even if you don’t need your dog to be seen by a vet, just to get a friggen refill on a prescription. Then, beware of their up-​selling and price mark-​up. Beware, you’re gonna get sucked dry by this place! Much better vets elsewhere.

I recently brought home a new family member, Buster! A 2 year old Sheltie I rescued from the San Jose Animal Care Center. When adopting from the shelter you get a free check up at any VCA location and any treatment needed for shelter related illness (up to $ 250) if you set up your appointment within 5 days of the adoption. Well Buster started showing some funky symptoms a couple days after coming home so i booked an appointment. Booking was really easy, they were able to fit me in the next day at a time convenient for me. It was nice to not have to take time off work for the visit. They did a new patient physical. They were able to answer all the miscellaneous questions I had and gave me some tips for getting Buster settled in his new home. They were quickly able to diagnose a case of kennel cough. I really irritating dog cold which is pretty contagious and commonly spread around shelters. The vet prescribed an antibiotic which was covered but would have cost me $ 41 if I had gone in a day later. The $ 60 visit was also covered. They did recommend I have a few other tests done to the tune of several hundred dollars, but after reading some Unilocal reviews I decided to call around for pricing at other places before committing to VCA for Buster’s care. I’ll update this review as I navigate this new pet owner challenge.

Ojo, my fur baby, can only receive the best of the best care and Dr. Lem and her staff provide that. I really appreciate that they have a kitty entrance and a kitty only exam room complete with kitty toys. Everyone from the vet techs to the front desk staff are super friendly and welcoming. I really appreciated how they had a little welcome board with all of the pets names that they would be seeing that day. As for the pricing, it is pretty comparable to any other legit vet spot, so if you don’t want to accept that high quality vet care can cost quite a bit, then perhaps you should invest in pet insurance.duuhhh. As for Dr. Lem, she is absolutely amazing with animals and definitely knows her stuff. Overall, if you’re looking for a great and caring place to take your fur baby then definitely come to this VCA location.

Been bringing my cat here for about half a year now for routine procedures, boarding, and sick calls and for everything I’ve been nothing but satisfied. The customer service staff is awesome and always make me feel welcomed and like they truly care for the well being of my cat. Dr. Lem and the fellow vet techs are also very caring, warm, and informative with my fur baby. Dr. Lem never makes me feel like she’s just on her J-​O-​B, she WILL take the time with you to answer all your questions and make you walk out the door feeling confident that your pet has been well taken care of (she’s also straight up with you too about EVERYTHING) I also especially love the facility and how it’s kept clean and very open.
I would recommend this VCA location to anyone with a pet. It’s awesome that they even offer careclub wellness packages for routine office visits and services to keep prices as low as possible for ppl on a budget like me, but still guarantee the high quality care that every single pet deserves.
Thank you Dr. Lem and the VCA team!

I went to this Vet Clinic on and off since 1996 for several of my cats. I am still recovering from the trauma of loosing my cat in 2012 from interstitial bowel cancer. When I brought him in I was not treated with compassion. I was accused of starving and neglecting him. His decline was rapid in the time I had made the appointment to the time I brought him in. They made me feel like a bad person. My whole life revolved around taking care of my pets. To add salt to the wound, I came in a few days later to return some prescription food. The receptionist who I had known for 14 years did not even say she was sorry. All she said was he only weighed 5 lbs. I had someone else in my household that did not want me to take my cat in earlier. Throughout the years of going there, one vet was respectful most of the time with my interest in using a holistic approach also for treatment. One other vet made a mockery out of it and was dishonest about making a follow through appointment. I also had a tooth extracted from one of my cats when she was younger based on their opionion. I now wish I would of gotten another opionion at the Cat Hospital. I was overwhelmed with responsibility then taking care of an elderly parent. I had an 18 year old cat who had kidney and liver failure. Instead of letting her have dignity the last few weeks of her life, I did the overnight fluid treatment. She passed away anyway. There are many animals in the shelters that could be adopted. It is vet clinics like this one who are only concerned about making a profit. They make having one animal extremely expensive. One vet was trying to make me do radiation for a cat which I did not do after her surgery. She lived another 3 years. They even ask on their questionnaire if you have equity.

OVERPRICED! They are very nice and helpful but they charge 3 times as much as many other vets in the area. $ 100 for a heartworm test! $ 33 for each vaccine. On top of the nearly $ 70 exam fee. I got pills for my dog here and they charged me $ 8 a pill. When I looked online I found them for $ 0.30 each. I’d rather stick with the same vet as it’s easier but I’ll be switching because I don’t like being overcharged.

I have been a client of VCA Vets & Pets Santa Clara since I moved to San Jose in 2000. I have always been confident that my cats were getting the best care. All the doctors are very compassionate and considerate. One of my cats had to stay overnight at an eye hospital in San Mateo and a VCA doc who worked at both places actually brought my cat down to Santa Clara upon his release… way beyond the call of duty. Pets are a necessary luxury in my life… and VCA is not cheap by any means… But they are absolutely the best. The entire staff loves our pets as much as we do

Came here numerous times to pick up «Polyethylene glycol» for my Chihuahua numerous time ($ 10 for 2 – 3 month supply) until a family friend told us that it’s just OTC Miralax. Thanks for overcharging me Miralax, VCA.

Over the years, we have taken our animals to numerous vets – most of which were VCA clinics and have had great results. We recently relocated to the South Bay and our golden retriever showed signs of a UTI. We were pleased that they could get us in right away. They did a series of tests on Saturday. When we hadn’t heard about the results on Tue (after they promised us we’d know Monday) my husband called. He was informed the vet that ordered the tests was out of the office until Thursday and she and only she could discuss the results. That is completely unacceptable. Luckily our dog is feeling better, but they need to make better accommodations for when vets are out of the office – esp since we were told the results would be available to us on Monday.

If I could give them 0 stars I would. We have an Olde English Bulldogge whom we took to them for loss of hair, scratching and some kind of skin infection. They put him on antibiotics, steroids and sent us on our way. After finishing off the medication, he did not get better. He was now losing more hair and had oozing sores all over his head. Again they gave him more antibiotics & steriods. Never did they do a scratch test to see if it was something different that just a skin infection. He become progressively worse within a week with open wounds that were now bleeding. I finally had enough and rushed him to the emergency pet hospital in Campbell. This was back in 2009. At the hospital he was diagnosed with Demodex Mange and it was the worse case they had ever seen. What made it worse was that he was on steriods for almost 2 months which just made the mites multiple by an extreme number. He still has not recovered as he still has to take medication just to keep it under control. We were advised by his dermatologist that he will probably never recover which is very sad for him & very expensive for us. I would never ever take another animal to this facility… EVER!

I get to travel for work occasionally and VCA takes care of my dig, Louie. They take such great care of him while I’m away! It truly is his home away from home. Knowing that he’s being cared for allows me to focus on my work. I recommend this VCA branch for any of your pets needs. They are friendly and professional as well as caring and pay close attention to their guests. We call it the SPA!

I have a weakness for adopting «broken» pets, so I have high expectations for vet care. Fortunately, I have family in the veterinary industry and got some great advice for finding the right clinic.
My cats and dogs have seen Dr. Barron, Dr. Lem-​White, and Dr. Veit. I’d recommend any of them. I’ve had pretty good luck getting an appointment when I’ve needed to be seen.
Sometimes I can’t afford everything they recommend, but I appreciate them advising the best for my pets. They have packages which end up being good deals over buying everything separately. I’ve tried a couple different vets in the area and prices are pretty comparable.
Oh yeah… another thing worth mentioning is that they have certified vet nurses on staff. Apparently it’s not required that vet assistants go to school. I feel better knowing the folks taking care of my little ones have been through college specifically for animal medicine. Awesome!

Wow! So many bad reviews! Anyway, i’ve been bringing my chihuahua dog to VCA for 5 or more years already. And been happy with my dogs health.
I also boarded my dog here once and he came home very happy unlike when i brought my dog to Petsmart.
Had my dog taken care by someone for three months when i left overseas for business and when i came back to pick him he was suffering with bad breath and bleeding gums.
I brought my dog to VCA to be treated. My dogs vet is Dr. Lem.
She was so nice and helpful and suggested to extract my dogs rotting teeth.
Yeah, its a bit pricey coz’ it costed me $ 800 with meds but the result with my dog was great and he regained his health back and was playful and happy again. Besides that ever since my dogs traumatic experience with dog baby sitters i decided to bring my dog with me on our travels to the Philippines,
Dr. Lem helped a lot with my dogs papers and for 3 years she has done that for me and had no problems whenever the USDA doctors check my papers and dog and also when we arrived our destination my dog was never quarantined because he is in very good health. :)
Thank you Dr. Janice Lem-​White!

Finding a good veterinary clinic for your pet is a lot like finding a good mechanic’s shop for your car. I begin my search by asking friends, co-​workers, the guy in line ahead of me at the ATM, who they go to. After that, I take to Unilocal for recent reviews of the businesses in my area and create a list of choices. Then, I begin making phone calls to find out things like pricing, availability, do we have a language barrier, and how friendly and willing to answer my questions the person answering the phone is. I had my search narrowed down to five vets within five miles of my house when I made my first call this morning, which was to VCA in Santa Clara… and I didn’t have to make the other four calls.
Toni was so incredibly friendly, and not the sickeningly-​sweet kind of phone-​friendliness that makes you want to barf. The kind of friendly that is genuine, interested and professional. She gave me straight answers to all my questions, appointment time options for today, and offered to back me up if I had any problems getting my dog’s records from the last vet we’d been to. (Follow me after reading this to see who NOT to chose for your pet’s vet in Santa Clara county!)
My closest friend, Robin, uses VCA for her dogs and just looooves Dr. Veit and the rest of the staff at the clinic. She accompanied Little and me to our 3:30 appointment today, mostly because she’s very good at keeping me calm if I sense things aren’t going to go my way, and as luck should have it we were seeing Dr. Veit! I must agree with my friend and all of the Unilocalers who say Dr. Veit goes over and above the call of duty for her clients. She was extremely informative and forthcoming with her recommendations, very gentle yet playful and natural with my dog (and me!) and 100% honest about what was necessary and what was optional.
I had the pleasure of meeting Gisele, Laura, Mythila and Deanne in addition to meeting Alison (Dr.Veit), and am highly impressed by their team. And, if I would have been blindfolded walking in the front door, I never would have guessed I was entering a veterinary clinic. It was clean, organized, and quieter than «other» places I’ve been, which have more resembled a horse barn or a petting zoo.
Did I mention the FREE coupon that Unilocalers can download and save $ 65 on their first pet’s exam? (New clients only!)
Thank you VCA Vets & Pets! And, once again, THANK YOU Unilocal and UnilocalERS for taking the hassle out of life for me… and thank you to Robin, too.
Happy Little + Happy Chawn + Happy Wallet = FIVE STAR RATING

Not sure why this place only has 2 and half stars but I think its great. I always can get a appointment in even on last minute and the vets there always have been super friendly even the front receptionist are nice. I can’t remembering ever waiting a long time to for any of my appointments like when I go to the doctors.
They have a small parking lots but finding a spot has never been an issue.
They even upload all your pets vaccines online so you always have them just in case you need them for boarding or grooming.
Overall my dog loves so if she is happy so am I.

After years of taking our cats to vets farther away, I tried out the nearby VCA for our cat’s worms. Their administrative staff was very helpful and friendly both on the phone and in the clinic. I appreciated their special touches of offering a dark, quiet space for our cat to wait in and spraying Feliway in the exam room to help her relax.
Fellow cat lovers, Dr. Barron and the vet tech made me feel right at home and took good care of our cat during her exam.
Appreciated Erika’s follow-​up call the next day to see how our cat was feeling and reminded me to get flea meds to prevent the problem from reoccurring.
Glad to know they are just a few blocks away. I’m only sorry the previously negative Unilocal postings kept me away so long.

Surprised at all the crappy reviews. I’ve brought my cat here for a couple of exams and a couple of dental cleanings, and I’ve never been anything but perfectly satisfied. Our kitty sees Dr. Lem, and I really like her. She spent what I would call an above-​average amount of time with me just talking about my cat, going over her eating patterns, activity levels, weight, and so forth. Dr. Lem has a gentle touch, which is great for my cat, since she’s high-​strung and generally hates having to go anywhere, including the vet. Fortunately, my kitty is generally quite healthy, and I’ve never had to take her here with any serious ailments. So I suppose I can’t comment on the emergency care.
The main reason I’m writing this review is because of the huge contrast in price between VCA and my prior vet (who shall remain nameless, but who has also been reviewed by me). I had switched away from VCA when we moved, since Santa Clara is no longer a particularly convenient location for us. However, when I started comparing prices, I realized that my new vet was charging anywhere from 100% to 300% more than VCA for the same services. Crazy. Yes, my cat is a beloved member of the family, but I would NEVER spend over $ 1100 on a kitty dental cleaning. I don’t even spend that much out-​of-​pocket on my own dental cleanings! Crikey. So what you may not necessarily realize is that the prices at VCA are very competitive compared to some of the other vets out there. That, combined with the fact that I very much like Dr. Lem, makes the trip to Santa Clara worth it.

Today I took my lil doggie in to VCA Vets and Pets to have her annual exam and shots done. We are longtime VCA customers but this was our first visit to this location, as we’ve recently moved to the area. Our visit was a simple, but nice one.
I picked today because on Thursday, they have a clinic vaccination discount day. Because this was my doggie’s 1^st time visit with this VCA, I also had a coupon for a free first exam. You can’t combine the discount vaccine prices and coupon so when the bill comes, just decide which gives you the better discount. For us, it was better to use the free first exam and pay full-​price for the shots.
Our veterinarian was Kristin Barron. She was very kind and gracious with my little Bella. I wish I could remember her assistant’s name because she was nice, as well. My doggie liked both of them and they were quick and efficient with the necessary evils they had to inflict on her. Afterwards, she liked them again. haha
One thing I will say is that a vet can be pretty pricey. If I can afford it, I don’t mind and I do everything I can for my little Bella. Today, however, when they brought in the sheet of recommended services, I scratched some off the list and they had no problem with it and gave me no guilt. I like that. In fact, they were so nice and not pushy that I plan to go back as soon as possible to have Bella’s teeth done.
I’d recommend Dr. Barron to others and thought this VCA was just fine!
PS I liked the cute sign on the wall that had Bella’s name on it. haha
See ya there!
**Next day edit — they just called to make sure Bella was doing ok. :-) **