VCA Lakewood Animal Hospital

Reviews

• CE

  Ciara Enage

  2 days ago
  1.0
  We spent over 8 hours here to get our dog diagnosed and treated for a UTI. We went in 12 midnight, and at 2 am they let us know that the vet hasn't seen our pet yet and that it'll take a while. Everytime we get to talk to someone it takes 2 hours before we proceed to the next step. They make sure to make you wait here. It wasn't until 7 in the morning when the lady who just came in for her morning shift that we finally saw some progress and assistance. Do not go here 11pm onwards, staff where slow and not really helpful. They seem "nice" but nothing was really happening.
• TT

  T R (tz)

  4 days ago
  1.0
  Brought my cat in 11/18 as he wasn’t his usual social self. He would meow in pain as you pet along his lower half, wasn’t moving very much, and out of concern i brought him here. $2.5k later i wish i hadn’t. I had explained to the vet that he hadn’t pooped in probably 1 1/2-2 days, struggled to defecate, and he had no issues with constipation until a diet change. The vet said she felt him around his abdomen and he had a high fever for cats and recommended we do tests to make sure there’s no underlying issue. We left him there while the tests were being done, saw his x-ray which signaled there was no blockage as the vet thought was a possibility. However what we did notice was very obviously hard poops in his colon. He’s been struggling, hasn’t gone in over 24-48hrs, he’s going to be backed up. We were told it wasn’t excessive and he would be fine. They prescribed only a mild sedation for pain and i had to request a stool softener be prescribed to him after seeing the x-rays. After coming home (11/19), he was better with the pain reliever but could tell he still wasn’t well. We went about our day, monitoring him, giving him medication, and usual feedings. Later that night, bloody mucus started coming out of his bottom. I wanted to wait for the test results but a cat not pooping going on possibly 3 days and now bloody mucus starting to appear, in my eyes, isn’t a good sign. I called VCA for a suggestion if I should bring him back in or to hold out. After explaining that he was relatively fine in mood and appetite but bloody mucus starting coming from his bottom, i was told it was probably the stool softener and to give him less. I also shared how he still hasn’t pooped and was told to bring him back in the morning if he hasn’t defecated yet to see if there was a blockage. I had explained that we already did x-rays and there was no blockage. Needless to say, that wasn’t any help. I called Central Orange County Emergency Animal Hospital for a second opinion and while I understand not wanting to switch doctors on a case, VCA didn’t feel right. COCEAH said I was more than welcome to bring him in so I did. They very quickly took him back to do vitals, got us in a room, and within 15 minutes the dr told us he had a ruptured anal gland and hard poop stuck in him. She sat with us, explained the anatomy, his issue, and was also concerned if maybe there was an underlying issue that may have caused this. However, since we had already called for tests at VCA we had to wait for the results. Luckily we received the results that same night as we were at COCEAH. They gave us 2 options, both cheaper than VCA. His test results were clean, no other issues, and the dr said it was most likely the diet. We picked the hospitalization route while there. We were lucky that the vet was readily available/let us know when she would be available back at COCEAH, answered any and all questions i had in clinic and out, hardly any wait time, better service, cheaper price, and much more peace of mind. COCEAH also requested test results from VCA and allegedly VCA front desk did not know their protocol when it comes to sharing results between patients. I can’t even imagine what would’ve happened had I listened to VCA when they told me to just wait for him to poop after having a ruptured anal gland. His anal gland started showing signs of necrosis and his other gland also had discharge that needed to be expressed. He’s a much better kitty with no more hard poop stuck in him.
• CL

  Charisse “Tamii” Lewis

  Nov 15, 2025
  1.0
  A disappointing interaction — lack of empathy is a huge red flag I booked an appointment for my fur baby at VCA earlier this week, fully expecting a smooth experience given their reputation. Instead, I received five separate text messages since Thursday & today is Saturday appt Monday) asking me to confirm the appointment — all of which I did confirm. Then on Saturday morning, I received yet another text stating that if they didn’t hear from me, the appointment would be canceled. Even though I had already confirmed multiple times, I confirmed again. A few hours later, I received a call from the office asking me to confirm yet again. When I mentioned that I had already confirmed several times, the staff member immediately launched into a scripted explanation about “an influx of people not showing up.” Her tone was cold, dismissive, and lacked any empathy — not the kind of energy you want from someone responsible for caring for your pet. Because the interaction was so off-putting, I decided to look at their Google reviews… and unfortunately, I saw the same pattern: multiple reviewers mentioning rude or apathetic front-desk staff. Suddenly it made sense why they struggle with no-shows — many people likely feel uncomfortable before even arriving. After this interaction, I canceled my appointment. If the first point of contact is this dismissive and unkind, I’m not comfortable trusting them with my fur baby. I hope VCA takes this feedback seriously. Pet parents deserve compassion, clarity, and empathy — especially when entrusting you with their little ones.
• RF

  Randee Fish

  Nov 3, 2025
  5.0
  Take your babies here. 24h emergency. They have an endoscopy department. Literally saved our girls life. My mom recommended them as this is her primary vet. Her cat has arthritis and gets regular shots. Thank you to the whole team, and especially to Dr. Chung for all your help getting our girl home safe. I was having a hard time with everything and everyone was calm and helpful, but also worked quickly to get her treated. The procedure was performed quickly, they called us with updates throughout, and had her home to us by the end of the day. They truely went above and beyond. Took care of our girl like she was their own.
• MS

  Melissa Slater

  Oct 23, 2025
  1.0
  Avoid this place, all they want is money and will not answer questions. I have a 16-year-old senior cat with stage 4 kidney failure. I brought her in based on the recommendation from her regular vet, so she can receive fluids. I also requested fluids, so I can give them to her at home. When I picked up my cat from receiving fluids at the hospital, they gave me the I. V and the fluids, so I can give it to her at home. But they did not explain anything to me. I was told by a receptionist that I would be shown how to give the fluids. But I was not. I have never hooked up an I. V line before and so I was asking the tech questions, and she seemed very annoyed and just told me that I could look It up on YouTube and that the information would be on the papers. I understand that the clinic's very busy, but I didn't think I was asking anything outrageous. I just paid almost $600, just to be told to look it up online. Whats the point of coming to you guys then. I was just simply asking, how do I apply the line. So I had to look everything up myself. I was also not given a paper explaining how to give the fluids. The only paper I received was how to dispose of the dirty needles and my invoice. The only reason I knew the right amount of fluids to give is because it was on the fluid bag. So I administered my cat the fluids based off of videos that I saw on youtube.Just like the tec said. But I ended up running out of needles, so I stopped by the clinic to try to get a refill, and they refused because they told me I didn't follow the doctor's instructions about giving the right amount and that the fluids only last two weeks and are now expired. Yes, I wasn't able to give my cat the full amount of fluids every single day because she was squeamish, but nobody told me that the fluids only last two weeks I wasn't giving any doctors instructions besides just the amount of fluids to give. There's no expiration date on the label for the fluids. The receptionist told me that the doctor was uncomfortable with prescribing more needles. Because now that the fluids are expired, they won't be doing anything.And if I wanted to get more fluids, I would have to make another appointment and do more testing. And she told me that I should have listened to the doctor's instructions, but I wasn't given any instructions. If I knew that the fluids expired by a certain date, I would have made sure to use all of it. Avoid this place, there are much nicer clincs with techs that will actually explain things. Because these people will not help you. Update I'm just updating my review since the office has responded to my original review. This is a response to the claims that they gave me papers on how to administer the fluids. As I stated in my original review, I did not receive any papers on how to administer the fluids. The only papers I received were an invoice and how to dispose of the needles.

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