VCA Buckhead Animal Hospital

Reviews

John Auspex

VCA did a horrible job making me and my baby comfortable in his final moments on this Earth. While there are some really friendly workers here, one vet even going the extra mile to give my cat extra fluids when I couldn’t afford it. HOWEVER—the euthanasia process was nothing short of traumatic. My cat had a urinary blockage. I didn’t have the money to undergo treatment, but was able to scrounge up the money to get him unblocked after requesting 3-4 different treatment plans to lower costs. Overall I felt like a bad pet owner for NOT having these extra treatments done, and felt pressured into spending more. They tried their best to explain why each line item was necessary/helpful, but ultimately it felt like fear tactics with the final answer being, “We just don’t know what could happen in these situations.” So, got the cat unblocked—cool. I received regular calls from the vet about his progress while he recovered from his operation. Ended up taking him home even though he hadn’t peed, hoping he was just uncomfortable. Didn’t pee all night, brought him back first thing in the morning—blocked again. There was an entirely different staff working in the morning than when I had previously visited in the evenings. They brought me into a room and left me to wait for quite some time. The vet who saw my cat this time was quite cold and distant. After looking at him, they told me he had become blocked again. I immediately broke down crying as I didn’t have the money for a second treatment. I tried telling them I could not afford it and the only option was euthanasia. Again, I felt like a bad pet owner due to the fact that they continued to push credit options, and “gave me some time to think it over.” I didn’t want time to think it over. I had been preparing for this situation for three days prior. I barely got him treated the first time. They left me for what felt like half an hour before coming back in to see what I had “decided”. I repeated what I had said prior, they left to get paperwork. Another 15-20 minute wait. Finally they come back with paperwork and to explain what was going to happen. I waited another half an hour before someone came in and said “He’s being a bit difficult and we’re having a hard time getting his IV in. Just a couple more minutes.” So I waited longer. Mind you I’m sobbing my eyes out this entire time, wishing I was there with my baby to comfort him in his final moments. They finally brought him to me. As if the waiting process wasn’t enough to traumatize me, my cat was beyond stressed. Usually a very cuddly cat who had no issues being held, was prying his way out of my arms, meowing, and just overall did not want to be near me. This was supposed to be my time to visit with him before they came in for the process. I was told when I was ready to flip a switch on the wall and they’d know it was time. I ended up flipping the switch before I was ready because he was just so overwhelmed and I didn’t want him to be in pain anymore. I spent less than 5 minutes with my cat on his deathbed. I sat with him after it was all over for as long as I could, but it eventually became unbearable as one could imagine. I didn’t leave feeling good. I didn’t leave feeling like he “was at peace now”. In his final moments he was terrified—and of me out of all people. I walked away wishing I took him somewhere else. I walked away wondering if he would still be here if I took him somewhere else. In your pets final moments you want to feel like you did everything you could. VCA failed to make me and my pet comfortable. I hate writing this because there were many friendly, comforting faces along the way. But overall—I’m still scarred weeks later not just because he’s gone, but also because he didn’t get to go out comfortably. A damn shame. I used to really like this practice. I really can’t encourage you to go here—on my cats deathbed I felt like a nuisance, like the veterinarian had more things to worry about than my grief. See attached photos—my baby was very clearly in distress.

Beatriz Rodriguez-Gomez

Super friendly staff. Clean and safe environment. Dr. Binkow and Dr. Clifton have treated and continue to treat all of my 3 fur babies. They are kind, understanding and very informative. Thank you so much.

Caroline Donini

I really did not want to do this, but after a week of trying to communicate with the staff at VCA and receiving no explanations regarding my two pet’s medical records. After having one of my cats for less than a year, I called in the middle of the summer to ask why his breath smelled so bad-they informed me to bring in a fecal sample and pay $90 to find out that it came back normal. (I was also informed yesterday when I eventually got someone to answer the phone that a fecal test would not detect any oral complication). I have continually asked when I called VCA and mentioned the smelly breath, why I would pay for a pointless fecal sample and told to wait until April to bring him in. I fortunately brought him in a month early to be told he has stomatitis and immediately needs all of his teeth removed. Instead of explaining exactly what’s going on, they mentioned buying pet insurance in excess of 20 times plus the blood test and oral surgery that we’re going to cost an excess of thousands of dollars. Thank God, I found a place called LaVista Animal Hospital (which has been around since the 60’s, the Vet Clinton Walton was absolutely amazing, and I wish I had found them before wasting so much time and money at VCA). After this was said and done, getting my records sent over to this new vet-there are records that my other feline has minor dental issues that have never been mentioned to me. So if you’re cool with bringing a 1/yo cat and then wasting $90 on fecal samples to find out that the now 2 y/o has had every tooth removed and then finding out on your own your 4 y/o cat has a dental issue to be addressed but never mentioned- sure, use VCA. I was promised to call back with an explanation of why I was told to bring a pointless fecal sample, which I feel I should be reimbursed as it proves that I was trying to resolve the issue before it became stomatitis, but I was informed by the staff just to wait until April. I hope this never happens to anyone in the same situation because this has been stressful and devastating. Last note- I did not get the procedure performed at VCA and if you are a current customer, just count how many times they mentioned buying the pet insurance or care club is I believe it’s called- it is absolutely the biggest rip off and wouldn’t have even covered the extractions, but was the only thing emphasize during my entire visit… I hate to write poorly about a veterinarians office, but I do not trust these people with my animals any longer, and I don’t think that you should either :(

Damon W

The staff on every level/visit are so professional and caring. My dog Simon is so well cared for in their clinic that I don't mind a slightly higher price sometimes for great care. Simon is now 17 years old and blind with some arthritis aches occasionally but so healthy and cared about here. Thank you!

Elena Ortiz

I can’t say enough good things about VCA Buckhead. Our dog went through heart worm process with Dr Willy. It was a difficult time for the dog and honestly us as well as it was hard to see our dog go through the process but Dr. Willy, the vet technicians, and office staff helped make the process as smooth as it could be. Dr. Willy always explained his test results thoroughly and was quick to answer as questions we called in with. Arthur is now healthy and heart worm free :) Our dog came from the shelter and can be quite frightened easily and is slow to warm up. We appreciated that the staff didn’t rush through his appointment and took the time to gain his trust through treats and pets. The vet techs were especially patient with Arthur and you can tell they truly enjoy being with animals. The front staff were always friendly greeting us upon arrival. Their prices were always itemized and explained to us before treatment. His records were quickly updated to the VCA app. We are moving out of state and will no longer be going to VCA Buckhead. We wanted to make sure the staff knew just how much their kindness and patience meant to us and I’m sure if our dog could talk he would say it too :) THANK YOU. (My only regret is I didn’t get the staff members names so I could include them specifically in this review!!)

Namrata Kolla

We were referred to VCA Buckhead by the Atlanta Humane Society where we adopted our dog. The first two visits were good with Dr. Clifton, just general health checks and a concern we had about his eye. The vets appeared busy with heavy / more difficult cases, so sometimes our appointments felt a bit rushed. But generally Dr. Clifton was considerate and gave complementary preventative drugs and supplements to try. Then we had an unplanned visit when our dog started passing bloody stool and were connected with Dr. Willey. The most egregious issue was we had a stool test come through where she called and left a message saying my dog’s results came out fine. I called the office for a copy of the records and reading it myself saw that he had tested positive for several GI parasites. I sent her a screenshot and her response was “oh I don’t know how I missed that”. I lost trust after that in long term care at VCA Buckhead. Some other issues - She pushed pretty hard to check whether our dog had a blood disease because I’d mentioned he’d bled from the mouth from sticks a few days before. We paid $300 for a test that came back healthy. - When she called after the tests came back “ok”, she started the call by asking me what I want to do about his stool. I prepared several questions because I had no idea, and I felt rushed the whole time.

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Business Hours
Monday:08:00AM - 18:00PMTuesday:08:00AM - 18:00PMWednesday:08:00AM - 18:00PMThursday:08:00AM - 18:00PMFriday:08:00AM - 18:00PMSaturday:ClosedSunday:Closed

Popular Times

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible entrance
• Wheelchair accessible parking lot
• Wheelchair accessible restroom
• Wheelchair accessible seating

Amenities

• Gender-neutral restroom
• Restroom

Crowd

• LGBTQ+ friendly
• Transgender safespace

Planning

• Appointment required
• Appointments recommended

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