VCA California Veterinary Specialists-Carlsbad

Reviews

• LM

  Lindsay Moran

  4 days ago
  1.0
  In June 2019, my dog Skippi underwent elongated soft palate surgery along with another procedure performed at the same time in a sensitive area that was bound to cause postoperative pain. She was discharged afterward with trazodone only and no pain medication, despite having had two procedures that day. The following morning she began hyperventilating and struggling to breathe as the medications from surgery wore off. I returned to the original veterinarian, where she received a steroid injection and I was advised to go to an emergency hospital. I then transported her to VCA on Faraday in Carlsbad and explained that she had just undergone airway surgery and was experiencing labored breathing. I was very concerned that swelling and pain from the procedures could be causing further inflammation secondary to respiratory distress; stabilization and airway protection are time-critical in these situations. She was placed in an oxygen chamber and given another steroid injection, but her breathing continued to worsen. She remained in distress for approximately three hours before the team attempted to intubate her. During the intubation attempt, her heart stopped and Skippi died. She arrived alive and in distress, and she never came home. I later met with the hospital’s review board to discuss the case. During that meeting, I was told the hospital would waive the remaining balance (approx 1-3k) if I agreed not to write a review about the experience. I declined. The bill was never my concern — accountability and learning from what happened to Skippi was. Losing a pet this way is devastating, and it is something I still think about every day. If an animal is struggling to breathe, minutes matter, and pet owners deserve urgency when their animal is in respiratory distress.
• CH

  Christy Holman

  Apr 5, 2026
  1.0
  Incredibly heartbreaking experience. We were referred to this hospital by our vet because they had ultrasound capabilities for our three-year-old cavapoo that our vet did not have. We spent nine hours in the hospital with him to get an ultrasound done. The staff upfront could not be more rude and unfriendly. The young vet, Dr. Hight called and told me he had cancer in all of his organs and immediately tried to upgrade the testing so I would pay an extra $600 on top of the $1300 we already paid. The extra testing was completely unnecessary being how aggressive his cancer was. I hadn’t even got off the phone with her and they were texting me an invoice to pay for the extra testing. The “doctor” never said, “I’m sorry, this happened”, “Our condolences ,,,” absolutely NO BEDSIDE MANNER AT ALL, Within 30 seconds of hanging up the front desk called to have me pay the $600 for the extra testing they said I could get. I was in tears as you can imagine and couldn’t even process the fact that they had just told me my dog had aggressive cancer and probably wouldn’t make it a few weeks so I told her I would call her back. 19 hours later my poor baby passed away from internal bleeding. They poked and prodded him to do biopsies on his organs without sedation. He was already a very nervous dog. He couldn’t even get his fingernails clipped without sedation so how they managed to get three needles into his lymph nodes, liver and spleen without a fight I have no idea. The next morning, I came home and he was bleeding out of his nose. We rushed him back, and Dr. Hight came in and turned an awful situation into an unbearable situation with her lack of experience, knowledge, and bedside manner. Her lack of compassion was so clear and shows she’s in the wrong business. She said he probably had sinusitis. She was incredibly rude. When we went into their “comfort room“ to be with him while he passed, it was no comfort room at all. It was an office with two chairs and a bench. After we said our goodbyes, we stayed with him for a half a hour loving on him. We let them know we were ready to leave and they made us sit in there and wait for an hour. No one came in. No one checked on us. Absolutely nobody cared. I had to watch him bleed through his nose and eyes as we sat in there waiting. This is such a private and personal matter that I would never share it in public, but I am only posting this because I’ve seen in their reviews that we’re not the only family that took our puppy in and within days he passed away. The vet we saw was young and inexperienced, she should still be in training. My husband called and asked them if they would refund us back for the extra testing they said we needed. They did agree to that. I am filing a formal complaint with the Board and the state of California for malpractice. No dog, especially at three years old, should get a diagnosis of cancer with a prognosis of weeks to months to live and pass away in less than 24 hours after being poked and prodded where the tumors were. I’m sure they will respond to this review to try and protect their reputation, but what happened to our puppy is absolutely unbearable and traumatic. The least they could have done was show some signs of compassion. It was an absolutely awful experience that has left us even more devastated than we already were knowing our puppy was so sick. Shame on this establishment.
• VC

  Val Chao

  Apr 2, 2026
  5.0
  My Dog got into chocolate so we drove to the closest urgent care that had a 5 hour wait on a Saturday night . So we went to Carlsbad to this clinic buried in an office park Got in within an hour ! Saw Dr Frisch Female doc with a fantastic gentle bedside manner for Cleo and my daughter and I who needed calming down . She offered a conservative economical solution to monitoring Cleo and treating her at home ! This is the ONLY place I will ever take my dog for an emergency . The best kept secret in North county when other places are so overpriced and kinda cold.
• MG

  Mike Greenan

  Mar 6, 2026
  1.0
  We had a terrible experience at VCA California Veterinary Specialists in Carlsbad with Dr. Brian Hranek. We brought our cat in around 9 PM on a Sunday because she had sudden weakness, was falling over, and was clearly having trouble using her front leg and part of her body. We repeatedly tried to explain that something was seriously wrong. Instead, the visit became heavily focused on the claim that her carrier smelled like marijuana and that she may have ingested THC. Their own notes said she had “no apparent lameness,” normal pupils, and no neurologic abnormalities, even though later vet visits found serious neurologic issues. We were also told, “yeah don’t worry, there is nothing absolutely critical right now,” which turned out to be completely false. We were sent home with reassurance that it would likely self-resolve. Because of that, there was delay before we got her proper treatment elsewhere. We later learned she had a very serious condition affecting her brain, and vets are now telling us it may be either lymphoma or a fungal infection. Either way, this was not minor and it was not something that should have been brushed off. In our experience, this hospital minimized major red flags, focused on an unlikely explanation, and gave false reassurance when our cat was showing obvious signs of a serious neurologic problem. Do not go here.
• KT

  Kelvin Tanaka

  Feb 23, 2026
  2.0
  Brought our dog Kody in because he ingested chocolate. Had to wait about a half an hour to see a vet because there was only one vet. I brought in the total vomited chocolate and morning feeding in a plastic bag. I also brought in the exact sample of the uneaten chocolate pastry as an example of what Kody ate. What I didn’t like or trust is the question the vet asked, “how much did he eat, what type of chocolate?” I was thinking to my self the exact evidence what was vomited and the chocolate pastry that he ate was presented, why was she asking me that question? To me that means she didn’t bother to see what I brought in. Beware of this veterinary hospital. I don’t trust them.

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