Animal Hospitals

I do not recommend anyone to take any animal to VCA Alpine Animal Hospital in Issaquah, in any situation. I felt that they held my dog hostage to try and coerce us into getting an expensive procedure that was not necessary. They held him hostage for two hours, would not let us see him, and would not treat him unless we agreed to a forced overnight stay.
After two hours we left with our dog, still untreated, and saw a different vet the very next day who verified that he did not need overnight hospitalization and quickly resolved our dogs medical needs.
I definitely felt they were trying to use the emotional aspect to milk us out of money while leaving my dog locked up, untreated and suffering. Upon reading Yelp reviews, and researching this hospital online, it appears that this is their standard operating procedure.

Sadly, after being a client for 40 years at this hospital, the last month was a nightmare. My 15 year old bichon took very ill, 2 weeks after the Vet I had been seeing abruptly left, despite knowing they were already short one Vet. That left one full time Vet to carry the entire load in Wellness & I was told I had to use ER because I had no Vet. I had to make a meet and greet appointment with the only Vet on staff in order to have her see my very ill dog and they couldn’t give me an appointment for almost a month. I told them, Kristy, would not be alive in a month and again, they told me if she got worse, to use their ER. Kristy continued to decline and all her tests showed kidney failure, yet when I ran it by the only Vet on staff, I was told, it was not Kidney failure and the tests showed nothing physically wrong with her, so they assumed she had a brain tumor, which was ridiculous. I made Kristy an appointment with another private Vet and asked for a record transfer from them. A week later, the new Vet sill didn’t have her recent ER and test records and it delayed her treatment a few more days while they repeatedly contacted BRAH to transfer her records. When they finally got her records along with the tests they did, Kristy did indeed have kidney failure and she had to be euthanized by this new caring Vet, one day before her appointment would have taken place at BRAH. It’s sad to see a veterinary hospital decline to this state, after going there 40 years. The original owners, worked very hard to build up the reputation and now a big corporation takes over and destroys their reputation within a few short years. They no longer care about pets and the owners and only care about making as much money as they can. I am so glad that my Kristy did not have to end up back at BRAH, ER for her final moments with me, and instead spent her last moments with another caring Vet, that truly cares about his patients and not how much money he can make.

Every time, I have had to use BRAH, ER, I have had to spend 4 or 5 hours and they take your dog, as you arrive and you can’t get her back, until they say she is ready. I have heard numerous complaints about their ER and now the Wellness hospital is not doing any better.

Aftet two years of medical treatment from VCA Westerville we have chosen to switch vets. Treatment plans were always inconclusive and never sustained results. During our time at VCA we experienced bouts of positive results, always followed by return of the problem. This always meant restarting the treatment plan, rarely a new plan. Parasitic treatments typically need a balanced plan with stratigic planing in place. VCA’s plan was always, “let’s try”, with no follow-up.

The services are pricey. Most testing is not in house. Emergency services are very limited. Each staff member seems to hold more than one position. I have never had the same ‘receptionist’.

Our last straw was when we knew the canines had been exposed to fleas in July 2017. Although, they were on preventative drops, the reapplication was due within the next week. I called VCA to order the next three months of flea treatment. Keep in mind that VCA plans for accurate or adequate treatment don’t seem to exist. The tech on the phone stated a new three month chew was available. She stated that they received no complaints or problems with it. She also starred that it would begin working immediately to help tackle the potential problem before the fleas actually became a problem. Also, the meds came with a guarentee. Long story short the medication did not work. But it was a three month treatment. After doing my own research I called VCA two months later to confirm thatI could treat the pets with frontline even tho they had been tasted with BRAVECTO. Additionally, we scheduled am appointment after signs of parasites returned.

We took a fresh fecal sample in for parisite testing. We could see the parasite without microscopic testing. I photographed the worms in the stool. The vet insisted on testing. Testing returned normal, no parasite present. Out of two years, for fecal tests, only one came back showing possible signs of worms. Luckily, due to history, the vet had Rx-ed dewormer. But failed to suggest further pest treatment. We were directed to contact Bravecto about the guarentee.

Bravecto stated the vet is to implement a treatment plan to correct the now pest problem. As well as to supply refund to us for the failed medication, and cover the cost of the medications, sprays, and such to eliminate the pest and any pest caused problems. Then VCA is to file the claim(s) through Bravecto for reimbursement.

VCA will not issue a refund, nor cover cost of treatment. They had no idea on what to do next beyond a home treatment spray that they carry. Even so, she didn’t know if it actually would help the problem.

We changed vets.

Although we continue to battle the lifecycle of the flea (which can take up to 3 months for severe cases), we have seen drastic improvement in just one month. The vet agreed with the current DIY treatment plans for the home and yard. Suggested another spray that holds guarentee to use on the property. She suggested this because our probkem has grown from an irritant to a full-blown infestation. None the less, with new treatment/prevention drops, and the homesprat, Our canines’ skin is no longer irritated to the point of needing antihistamines. Our canines’ can lay and sleep without being disturbed by biting and itching. They no longer need anti-anxiety meds.

A good treatment plan from VCA with quality veterinary knowledge of currently sold products coiupke have prevented hundreds of dollars of medications, sprays, visits, etc.

Our new vet stands by only three flea meds that uphold their guarentee. Further, she had nothing positive to say about Bravecto.

OUR DOGS ARE HAPPY AGAIN! And so are we.

Save yourself time & stress & money. save your pets too. Go else where.