VCA Colonial Animal Hospital

Reviews

• SR

  Stacy Rice

  Jul 15, 2026
  5.0
  We brought our 17 week old Yorkie to an Urgent Care Center. We paid a small fortune and they were of no help at all. They diagnosed but could not treat. Our regular vet then referred us to The VAC Colonial where we met DR. THORNE. She was absolutely amazing. She was able to sedate our puppy to get proper x rays and splint her broken toes. The radiologist, surgeon and vet all viewed the x rays. I felt very confident in their treatment plan. The staff were all great right from when we first walked in the door. I highly recommend going here for ANY urgent/ emergency needs. You will not find better care.
• LL

  Lex L

  Jul 8, 2026
  1.0
  Dr. Purdy's bedside manner and demeanor are deplorable. When I first met with her to discuss the upcoming CT procedure on my cat, she was bizarrely upbeat, peppy, and cheerful when telling me that it was likely my cat had terminal cancer. I was startled by the disconnect between what she was saying and how she was delivering that message. She expressed no compassion or empathy that the message she was delivering was devastating. In addition, she kept rearranging her hair and grooming her nails while talking to me about the looming death of my beloved pet and I just couldn't wait for her to leave the room. Later, when she called me to let me know the CT procedure was complete and my cat had woken up from sedation, she had the same peppy, cheerful attitude when telling me that the preliminary results were consistent with nasal lymphoma. She never once expressed condolences or acknowledged how upsetting this news would be. She was annoyingly and inappropriately cheerful, peppy, and bubbly. It was completely shocking and I could not believe what a terrible bedside manner she had. A few days later, she called me with the results of the CT and said that the images were consistent with nasal lymphoma, a terminal diagnosis as chemo/radiation are not financially feasible nor do I believe they will offer my cat any meaningful quality of life. Once again, her attitude, demeanor, and delivery were terrible and completely at odds with the somber and serious news she was delivering. Even when I choked up and started crying, she never expressed compassion or empathy - she just continued with that terrible chipper, upbeat attitude. At one point, I mentioned how difficult it was to administer the pills that had been prescribed for my cat because he kept spitting them out and was starting to avoid me when I came towards him with the meds. In a bright and cheerful voice, she said "Yep I wouldn't be surprised if this interfered with your relationship with him and possibly shortened his lifespan!" I could not believe she said that - it made a difficult situation so march harder to handle. I have never experienced a healthcare professional with such a terrible ignorance and unawareness of their inappropriate demeanor. She needs targeted education and training on how to deliver bad news about her patients to their owners. Losing a pet is devastating and if she can't handle owners' emotions appropriately and carefully, she needs to find another job. Finally, I have a complaint about what I was charged. When I dropped my pet off, I was 100% clear that I wanted to be told about any and all "extras" that appeared on the invoice before anything additional was done. Dr. Purdy assured me that nothing additional or extra would be done without my permission. Later in the day, she called me during the CT scan procedure to say that a pharyngeal mass had also been identified (in addition to the nasal one) and asked if I gave my permission for this to be biopsied as well. She told me this would be an additional $400. I gave my consent and they moved forward. Later, when it came time to pay my bill there was a fee of $200 for the histopathology associated with this biopsy, which Dr. Purdy never told me about. She only said it would be $400 more. When I expressed my disappointment, nobody was willing to acknowledge that a mistake had been made. I spoke to the clinic manager and she just kept pointing to the "extras" listed on the original invoice as proof that it was ok to charge me this additional money, even when I told her that I had asked to be informed of all "extra" fees before anything was done. She then told me that they could just not send the tissue samples for histopathology, even though I would still have to pay $400 for the procedure. So in essence, I would have to pay $400 for nothing. After the upsetting interactions with Dr. Purdy described above, this added insult to injury and I just wanted to get out of there and go home and cry. I will not be coming back to this hospital if at all possible and I do not recommend it to anyone else.
• DW

  Danielle Winterton

  Jun 26, 2026
  5.0
  Dr. Whalen has given my sensitive dog incredible care, and she has gone above and beyond to make sure I feel informed, empowered, and comfortable at every step of the care plan and treatment. Her guidance, suggestions, and issue-spotting have proved to be accurate and effective. She recently handled my dog's dental cleaning and extractions, and this too exceeded my expectations. She developed a specific post-op medicine treatment plan that didn't aggravate my dog's other health issues. I could not be more grateful or recommend her more highly. Thank you Dr. Whalen and Colonial!
• BI

  Bethany Innella

  Jun 10, 2026
  1.0
  We recently lost our dog after she was hospitalized at Colonial Animal Hospital for a diabetic emergency. Before anything else, I want to make it clear that this review is not directed at the veterinary staff or the medical care she received. The doctors and veterinary technicians were knowledgeable, compassionate, and acted quickly when we arrived. We left feeling cautiously optimistic despite understanding the seriousness of her condition. Our experience after our dog passed away was extremely disappointing. At approximately 3:30 a.m., the doctor managing her case called to inform us that our dog had unexpectedly passed away overnight. During that conversation, she told us she would call back in the morning to discuss what had happened and answer our questions. After hearing nothing, we waited until about 9 am and called the hospital ourselves. We were told the doctor was unavailable but would call us back. We called again around 1:00 p.m. and received the same response. During that call, staff had time to discuss cremation arrangements and payment, but no one could provide any information about what had happened to our dog. By nearly 5:00 p.m., after multiple calls and multiple promises of a callback, we still had no answers. The most troubling part of this experience was my interaction with Client Service Supervisor Guthrie. When I explained that we had already called several times and were still waiting to hear from someone, he interrupted me and sarcastically responded, "Oh, so you've already been told the doctor is practicing medicine?"... Less than 24 hours earlier, our dog had died in their care. We were not calling to complain, argue, or demand refunds. We were simply trying to understand what had happened. At no point should a grieving family be met with sarcasm, condescension, or made to feel like they are inconveniencing staff by asking for answers. I was eventually transferred to Hospital Manager Kimberly Baldwin. While she apologized, the conversation largely consisted of repeated explanations that the doctor was busy and that information should come directly from the doctor handling the case. I repeatedly explained that we understood the doctor was treating patients and were not asking anyone to abandon a critical case. We simply wanted answers after being promised a callback that never came. When I asked whether anyone could review the notes and provide basic information, the conversation continued in circles. At one point, Kimberly asked, "What would you like me to do?" Frankly, I found that question surprising coming from a hospital manager. The answer seemed obvious: communicate with us, follow through on promised callbacks, find someone who could provide information, or otherwise assist a grieving family that had been seeking answers all day. What was most frustrating was the contrast between the urgency shown when discussing payment and cremation arrangements versus the complete lack of urgency shown when providing answers to a family who had just lost their pet. If Colonial Animal Hospital or VCA chooses to respond, I am not looking for another generic apology or a request to contact a corporate email address. You already have our names, contact information, and complete case history. If this feedback is truly being taken seriously, I would expect leadership to reach out directly and explain what actions, if any, are being taken regarding these concerns. Specifically, I would like to know whether Guthrie's conduct was reviewed and what steps are being taken to ensure other grieving families do not experience the same lack of communication and professionalism that we did. The purpose of this review is not to receive another apology. It is to ensure that the way our family was treated after the loss of our dog is acknowledged, addressed, and not repeated. It's remarkable how quickly the professionalism of an entire hospital can be undermined by a Client Service Supervisor who appears to have forgotten that grieving families deserve compassion, respect, and basic communication.
• PA

  Peter Aiello

  Jun 5, 2026
  5.0
  The entire team at VCA Colonial is wonderful. Our dog required services from both the oncology service (Dr. Rassnick) and surgery service (Dr. Ross) and both doctors (and teams!) made a scary situation manageable. Their care and compassion reassured us through the entire process. Everyone goes out of their way to communicate and make sure all questions are answered and always followed up to see how our dog was doing. We will be forever grateful to VCA Colonial for the amazing care they provided us and will always recommend them for specialty care. Thank you so much for everything you do - in a world that needs a little more compassion and kindness, you provide just that to your patients and clients.

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