VCA Sawmill Animal Hospital

Reviews

• OO

  okome

  5 days ago
  2.0
  After my dog underwent extensive dental extractions, his tongue has remained deviated to the left, leaving him unable to move it to the right. As a result, he has difficulty licking himself and has experienced difficulties while eating. I scheduled a follow-up appointment because I wanted to better understand his condition and whether there was any possibility of improving his tongue function. However, I was told that the cause of his loss of tongue mobility was unknown. I was also told that everything was normal and that his inability to move his tongue was not considered a problem. I was further told that the loss of tongue movement was unrelated to the dental extractions and that no improvement could be expected. In addition, I never had the opportunity to speak directly with the surgeon, including on the day of the procedure. What disappointed me most was not simply the outcome itself, but the lack of a clear discussion about what might have caused these unexpected postoperative symptoms or what options, if any, might be available going forward.
• CS

  Chloe Shang

  Aug 4, 2026
  3.0
  While the baseline competency of routine wellness exams is there, VCA Sawmill should not be a first option if you’re seeking treatment for any concerns beyond that and value your pet at all - it may cost you your pet’s life as it did mine. My family brought in our 2 year old cat Pluto for sudden appetite loss in April. After 3 weeks of 3 VCA visits with a different vet each time, bloodwork, and an ultrasound, everything came back normal, even though we had mentioned several times an intermittent clicking noise when he breathed (even providing videos) and asked if Dr. Ash could include the lungs in the ultrasound (both were ultimately disregarded). The following night, Pluto began breathing rapidly which resulted in an overnight ER stay where x-rays showed inflammation that suggested asthma but didn’t exclude infection. After transferring back to VCA, Dr. Ash locked onto asthma as the diagnosis, noting that it was her first time diagnosing a cat based on appetite loss and how unusual it was. After 3 more weeks of seeing no real improvement and constantly calling Dr. Ash with our concerns, asking if this could be some other illness, and being told that no, it was definitely asthma and to just give the medication more time, we decided to bring Pluto to urgent care elsewhere and then to an internal specialist who suspected infection and did a lung wash test. It came back positive for histoplasmosis (fungal infection), and from the point of this diagnosis in mid-May, Pluto was hospitalized for 7 days before we ultimately had to let him go, as the infection had grown too severe by then. Although nothing can be said with certainty, it’s hard not to feel that if VCA hadn’t spent so much time shrugging their shoulders and stopping at “everything’s normal so it must be this diagnosis,” Pluto would still be here. It feels almost negligent. Even with weeks of our consistent calls, visits, and explicitly expressed concerns, we felt no critical thinking or intent to problem-solve further: not from Dr. Ash (who acknowledged how strange it was for a cat to have asthma but none of the typical symptoms) or the other vets, and not from the vet support staff, some of whom weren’t even able to pronounce the medication Pluto was prescribed and even forgot to give us one of the prescriptions until we caught it ourselves. Our baby was only 2 years old and fundamentally changed our lives, and this 1.5-month ordeal was extremely traumatic. The amount of time, love, and care we poured into advocating for him unfortunately fell on deaf ears at VCA Sawmill, and it will forever be our deepest regret that we trusted them with his care. If a vet is at a loss and can’t provide a clear answer, that’s perfectly fine. They should at least be trusted to recognize this and give us guidance such as referring out to internal medicine or another clinic for second opinions, instead of telling us to wait it out or just bring him back in. We did our own research and outreach every step of the way as best we could with no support from VCA. When we emailed them about Pluto’s passing, Allison, one of the Medical Directors, called us in June and offered sincere condolences, promising that they would plan to address this with individual doctors. We intended to leave this as a 1-star review, but decided to change to 3 stars following Allison’s most recent update for us this morning: she shared that they had reiterated to staff the importance of checking details and conveying a clear message without ruling out other possibilities, and that more fungal infection cases had been found lately and the team is on alert and further educated now. We appreciate this follow-up and the time they’ve spent on their training and practices - it’s clear they’re trying to make an effort to improve. With that said, this review still needs to be shared as a cautionary tale to other pet families and hopefully a lesson for future reference and accountability.
• GT

  Gabrielly Tiburcio

  Jul 28, 2026
  5.0
  Recently we needed to take our puppy Missy to this unit and we were very well served, even though we didn't speak fluent English, the employees were very patient and welcoming. My family and I love this place and I definitely recommend it to everyone.
• KB

  Karl Band

  Jul 28, 2026
  5.0
  Hey took care of my little buddy and got him snipped. He's doing fine as of now.
• MC

  M C

  Jul 23, 2026
  5.0
  I was so Impressed with the staff.WONDERFUL AND CARING GIRLS; ESPECIALLY (KAY)- KAY SCHEDULE SAME DAY APPOINTMENT. OUR DOG WAS VERY SICK. THE DOCTOR- (CLAY) AND HIS ASSISTANT NIKKI WERE AMAZING- THEY WERE VERY NICE AND VERY EFFICIENT. THEY EXPLAINED ALL THE STEPS THAT WERE NECESSARY AND PUT US AT EASE. I HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE IN THEM. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND: (VCA-ANIMAL HOSPITAL). THANK YOU (VCA) !!!!!! I