VCA Alderwood Companion Animal Hospital

Absolutely great vets here

Best Vet experience we’ve had yet! We have a Chow so he’s very nervous around strangers. We called several places because he needed his rabies shot and also needed to be sedated so he could get his nails trimmed. A couple places turned us down since they heard he was a chow or couldn’t really give us an upfront cost for how much it would cost to sedate him.
We called VCA and they were able to get us in right away! When we arrived the staff was friendly. The doctor that worked on our Chow was very friendly and gave him his space when we first met. She was very professional and knew how to handle a Chow. We didn’t have to hold down our dog or help to sedate our dog because they handled everything for us. 30 minutes later they were done!
As a chow owner it can be nerve racking sometimes when other people are handling your pet. However VCA was very professional and knew what to do and made our experience seamless!
We will definitely be coming back!

I originally brought my dog here because she was unable to urinate due to bladder stones. They got her in quickly and did the surgery and she recovered well. I’ve since brought my other dog for care and my cat got neutered here. I would feel bad giving them 3 stars because I’ve always received good care and I like that they print out the treatment plan with prices so I can choose what I want to do next. However, I agree with another reviewer that they don’t exactly explain much to guide you in the next steps. Usually the techs are the ones that present the plan when I would rather consult with the vet about what to do. I’ve stayed with this place because it’s close and the vets have all provided good care. My only gripe is the price. I usually can’t get out of here without spending at least $ 200. I don’t want to sound like a bad pet parent but cost is a consideration. I usually leave wondering if I should change vets to get more reasonable pricing.

I moved to the Seattle area in December 2014 and needed a vet. I took my cat to VCA Alderwood Companion Animal Hospital in January 2015 because he was acting lethargic and coughing. My cat is 13 years old and diabetic so I decided to do their senior wellness package which included a full blood panel, fecal test, x-​rays for a lower price than if I needed to do them individually. The cost was still somewhere between $ 4 – 500, but I’d do anything for my ill kitty and his cough was extremely concerning to me and VCA made me think the X-​rays absolutely needed to be done. His blood results were normal. They said his trachea looked small on the X-​rays and that it was a concern to them, but didn’t really suggest where to go from there and surgery may be option down the road.
Fast forward to April 2015, I bring my kitty in for a blood glucose curve to monitor his insulin intake. Glucose levels look really good, they tell me to keep him off the insulin for a week. I needed to bring him in for a second glucose curve and they told me to give him a dose of insulin in the voicemail they left me before bringing him in. Why would I give him insulin if we are trying to see if he is in remission? I decided not to give him the dose and brought him in. End of the day rolls around and great news, my cat has gone into remission! I would also like to add that the price of their glucose curve was outrageous. Before I moved to Seattle, my previous vet charged $ 67 for a curve. At VCA they charge $ 132.
During the first week in my cat’s remission he started acting very strange. He had horrible diarrhea, was having accidents outside the box and was hiding in cabinets. VCA was kind enough to squeeze me in for a same-​day appointment that afternoon. I also brought in a fecal sample for testing. They told me nothing was wrong with him and the fecal sample (bloody diarrhea) was fine. I got sent home with some shampoo for his flakey skin and diarrhea medication. They told me I could stop giving him the meds when the diarrhea was gone. I stopped for a few days, but he was still hiding in the cabinets. The diarrhea came back and VCA told me to finish giving him the medication. I spoke with them multiple times about a concern for cancer and that I believe he needed a blood test. VCA said he had full check-​ups in January and that it wasn’t necessary. If I did decide to bring him in for a blood test they told me he needed the senior blood panel which costs $ 230.
At this point I had spend $ 4 – 500 in January and $ 462 in April. I was done giving this vet anything else. Clearly they don’t have a clue about ill animals as my cat was not as healthy as he was in January and didn’t think he needed a blood test. I took him to another vet and within 5 minutes of examining my cat they felt a mass in his abdomen. I immediately had blood work and an ultrasound done. Now I’m no cancer expert, but if VCA had done a thorough exam even ONE OF THE THREE TIMES I was in their hospital in April I could’ve gotten my cat the proper treatment he needed sooner.
My mother ended up calling VCA and asked them why they were so ignorant. They told her I had denied services. I’m not sure how I could’ve denied services over the phone when I asked multiple times (over the phone AND in person) about getting blood work done. Needless to say, I will never again go to this overpriced vet that doesn’t provide their patients with proper exams. If you care about your pets and have a gut feeling you need a second opinion don’t second guess yourself. I’m just thankful I didn’t waste anymore time and money at this place.

Not good customer service I brought my cat in for a emergency cost me 400 $ which was fine but when I tried to bring my dog in for a new patient exam and wanted to used the coupon they denied it what idiots I didn’t use the coupon before and I know I would have needed a follow up appointment to have skin tabs removed for my dog I guess they don’t want to wave a 40 $ change even though I know I would have Spent a lot more after the fact thanks SARA for nothing you guys suck oh yeah it was not under my name anyways dicks it was my boyfriends name so it should be excepted

WARNING — We took my dog here because I was concerned about some health issues she was having. Including excessive thirst and then vomiting. After a lot of blood work, test and a lot of money. They said they did not know what was wrong with her. That all the tests were inconclusive. Frustrated we took our dog home and started monitoring her water intake and just kept an eye on her. After awhile she actually seemed to be doing better. Unfortunately that didn’t last long and she quickly declined. I took her to a different vet where after one blood test and exam (and a LOT less money) I found out she had kidney failure. The new vet did all they could to give me more quality time with her, but sadly it was not very much time at all. I am very VERY upset that VCA did not catch this and treat her sooner. I don’t see how they could have missed all the signs, which I’ve later found out to be very typical signs of renal failure. And how could all their tests be inconclusive? Please find a local vet that you feel comfortable with and more importantly you feel cares about your pet!

I have been taking my pets (cats and dogs) to VCA Alderwood Companinon Animal Hospital since 2002. All of our pets received outstanding care from the veterinarians and the vet techs, and I recommended them to my sister who took her three dogs to this clinic for years.
There are a number of veterinarians on staff here, and I do think that the trick is to find the vet that you and your pet «click» with the best. My cats preferred a different vet than my dogs, and there are a couple of vets here that *I* don’t click with well, so I don’t make appointments with those vets. The point is, there are options, and you can choose the vet that you are the happiest with.
It has absolutely not ever been my experience that any of the vets have ever tried to «sell» me unnecessary care or products; in fact, I find their care to be conservative and methodical, and the vets and other staff are always willing to take the time to answer questions and address concerns. The vet care I get for my animals is just as high quality as the human care I get for myself from my doctors. Veterinary care is not cheap, and it is getting more expensive with the passage of time. Frank discussions about cost are never discouraged at VCA Alderwood, and there are a number of options for payment. VCA Alderwood accepts Care Credit, which is a great option with very flexible repayment options. Ask what your payment options are!
The facility and the staff are clean, the cages for the animals are clean, and all pets are treated humanely and with care and concern. The front desk staff is helpful and organized, and I’ve never had any trouble with any of the people that work at that desk. The hours are excellent – they’re even open on Sunday!
We have put down three cats and one dog at this vet, and that procedure was done with dignity and concern for the pet and for the pet’s people. Under the care of the vets at this office all of my cats lived into the double digits (two of the three lived into their late teens), and our dog lived out her estimated lifespan. Our current young dog receives excellent care from them, and I am confident that with this office handling his veterinary care he will live a full life as well.

Staff is very nice but the prices are WAY too high! 650 dollars to take care of a stray kitty is outrageous.

When I was trying to choose a lawyer a few years ago as a young’n, my friend told me a bit of wisdom: «The $ 7,000 lawyer will do the same job as the $ 3,000 and $ 1,500 lawyers.» Unless you’re OJ Simpson, this proved to be a sound advice. Similarly, when you’re sick, you likely won’t be going to the top of the line hospital to get diagnosed and get treatment, because chances are, you’re not going in for a complex procedure. So why not exercise the same judgment when selecting veterinary services? While the staff at VCA have always been courteous and competent, and the hospital is always clean (and it’s open 7 days a week), it’s really expensive.
My sister has been taking our dog here for a few years while I was living in NYC. My dog has quite a lot of medical problems, unfortunately. He has seizures so he needs to regularly take meds to prevent them and he also has sensitive skin, so we’ve been to VCA a few times to get several different skin conditions examined. After a couple visits to VCA, the treatment that the vet at VCA suggested proved to be ineffective. I wasn’t about to pay another $ 200 – 300 for a visit that may or may not help my dog, so I decided to take him to a new vet. I was surprised to find that the new vet only charged $ 95 for complete bloodwork and thyroid check, whereas I’ve seen VCA charged roughly $ 300 for the same thing last month. Steroid injection (to help mitigate the itchiness due to the rash) is about $ 30 at the new vet and upward of $ 200 at VCA.
Aside from the cost disadvantage, I feel like there’s very little transparency. I know that there’s a lot of uncertainty in the medical field, but the vets at VCA seemed especially hesitant to make specific speculations, leaving me with very little information about my dog’s condition. They always consulted me and provided me with quotes before proceeding with taking bloodwork or other activities, but equipped with little information, I didn’t feel like I was in a place to do anything but accept their recommendation on next steps to take. At first I thought this was just a common practice, but after visiting my new vet, I realized that you should be able to walk away from the vet’s office with some sort of idea of what’s going on, what treatment your pet needs, what’s optional and what’s urgent, and how your pet can get better (and whether it will take days, weeks, months). This is the type of information that your vet should be able to tell you with some degree of confidence (and of course, as an adult, you understand that each case varies and your result may be different).
So my advice is that you can save some money by going to another vet.

I moved here from Las Vegas 5 years ago with my two dogs. I love my pups more than anything in life. In Vegas, I had my animals taken care of by VCA, and decided to go with the same company here in Washington. I have been nothing short of completely satisfied with their services and care toward my animals. I mainly deal with Dr. Kari Emery, and love her and her knowledge and support. The staff at this hospital are fantastic and very caring toward me and my dogs and will continue to use them for as long as I live here!

I took my cats to this clinic for too many years, repeatedly for bladder infections. I was hit with a 100+ bill just for walking through the door, every time. Often the cost was 500+ for xrays. Most times I was told their peeing was a behavioral issue or a diet issue, without testing their urine. One vet had the balls to tell me my cat should be a «barn cat», not an indoor pet. Six months ago, I gave up and found a local vet that runs her own clinic. What a difference in service and care for my cats! Please find a local vet owned clinic. AVC is impersonal, Extremely sloppy, and expensive.

I brought my dog here because she broke her wrist and they have specialist. They charged me $ 600 for an X-​ray, splint and consult. The splint didn’t help so they said it needed to be fused and the surgery alone was $ 5000. We can’t afford it so she just had to live with the pain. Then my vet recommended I go see Dr. O’Rourke at the Animal Care Center in Mount Vernon. He quoted me $ 1200! To fuse her wrist! That’s just a huge discrepancy. So I took her there and the $ 1200 included exam, X-​ray, consult, surgery, overnight stay, medication and several splint and bandage changes! Plus the Dr. And staff are awesome and worth the drives to Mount Vernon.
VCA is clearly very very expensive.
On a positive note the staff, Dr. And waiting room were great.

I’ve moved from the area, but was with them for 10 years.
Pros: Clean facilities, reasonably good admin staff, fairly efficient with appointments/​diagnosis/​treatment.
They’ve managed my two dogs through an accidental rat poison scare, a flu-​like virus, vaccinations, nail trimmings and well-​checks.
So on to the «cons» … first, I’ve felt pretty uncomfortable with one of their vets (who shall remain nameless) spending far too much time chatting me up on personal issues, when obviously the reason for my visit was my pet. I’m not talking about a rapport-​building chat, I’m talking about the vet going on and on and on (for a half hour) as if they were very lonely — was I being hit on? Who knows — I’m a mid-40’s housewife, not a hottie — so I wouldn’t necessarily know it if I was. Either way, we were in a small exam room with the door closed and I felt uncomfortable. Anyways, after a couple instances of this I would make a point to schedule with another vet, which was too bad since the one in question seemed otherwise pretty competent.
I find them a little pricey and big on the upsells for «treatment plans,» tests, etc. But it’s a big chain, what else are you going to expect? The only reason I never switched to a smaller independent clinic was out of habit.

First off, the vets here have been nothing short of great. I’ve dealt with several of them, and they are always patient, attentive and honest about when they will call, and very good about explaining things.
That being said, the front office staff here is atrocious. I had to ask multiple times to get information changed, and it took a call to a manager to actually confirm it was done, although who knows if it actually was. Frankly, I think I can go to a vet that goes to lengths to employ people who will actually take care of something as simple as a data change after two requests. Will likely not be back. Way too much of a headache on top of any time I’m dealing with a sick animal.

I would give this place a ZERO if I could! Horrific experience! Do NOT go to this vet! My 11 year old dog became ill, he had diarrhea and was vomiting. I was able to get him in quickly (repeat cliental must be low), however when I got there. I was told that blood work and an x-​ray would run me $ 500, or we could try antibiotics… being unemployed and unsure how serious this was, I went w/​antibiotics.
While I was there the Vet tried to SELL me dental cleaning, and a procedure to remove a harmless skin tumor, flea treatment, and dog food. Damm… my dog was REALLY sick, this was like going to your doctor for a cold, and the doctor selling you a breast implant! I’m pretty sure that VCA Veterinarians get bonuses based on how many procedures they do or sell.
Needless to say, 2 days later my dog was still very sick. I toke him to another Vet clinic, and had the blood work and x-​ray done for $ 200, he had swallowed a bone and it was lodged in his esophagus. Unfortunately, he died!
VCA doesn’t care about your pet! Just what’s in your wallet!!! And as you can see, they are way OVER PRICED!
And don’t be fooled by the «1 Free First Exam», you’ll end up paying for it one way or another.
I wish I knew about Unilocal before I went there!

I’ll preface this by saying I don’t typically like to review places I’ve only gone once, so my entire experience is based on only one appointment. With that said, I will never, ever go back to VCA, unless it was some kind of emergency and every other vet was missing from the earth.
The front desk staff was very nice, and when I noticed my dog was bleeding from her face, they made me an appointment within hours. I showed up and was the only one in the lobby, but waited about 20 minutes to be seen. There was pee on the floor nearby, so I had to hold my dog while we waited so she didn’t wander in it. Once I got back into the exam room, a nurse came by a few minutes later and asked me what the problem was. I explained and showed her the wound on the dog’s face. She said she’d go get the doctor and be back. About five minutes later, the doctor shows up. He was extremely rude to not only me, but my dog, which pissed me off. He was in the room for a total of. 2 or 3 minutes? Told me she had a random skin infection, and prescribed me antibiotics. I asked him how such a thing could randomly happen and if it was causing her to be in pain, he just shrugged and left. A nurse came in a few minutes later to grab my dog and shave that part of her face, to make it more. hygienic? And then sent me on my way, my dog bleeding all over the table, the floor and me.
Ooooooookay.
At the front desk, the dog is bleeding on the floor and I ask them if they should maybe try to put some gauze on that or something, and they said not to worry about it. This set off alarm bells in my head, and I was at this point just resolved to get the fuck out of there. I was a new patient, so my exam cost was waived, but between the antibiotics and the face-​hair cut, the bill was somehow $ 160. I paid and left, my dog bled for another 30 minutes or so.
The best part about this story, however, comes about a month later. I was giving her antibiotics everyday for weeks (twice a day, even), and the face wound never really cleared up. It would randomly bleed, it never really got smaller in size, sometimes it would scab up but then the scab would come off and it would be just as bad as it was when I took her into the vet initially. A week after her antibiotics were done, I took her to a different vet that was able to diagnose her problem (an abscessed tooth which required a root canal) within minutes, performed surgery a few days later and she has been in perfect shape ever since. all for less than my fucking bullshit visit to VCA in the first place. The vet there told me if it had continued to go un-​diagnosed/​treated, the infection eventually could have spread into her blood and killed her.
So yeah, maybe I had a bad experience at VCA. Maybe the doctor was off his game that day, really busy or stressed out. But when it comes to matters of health, in which we trust our doctors more than ourselves, my experience at VCA was completely unacceptable. Maybe if the vet there had spent more than two minutes with my dog, maybe he would have realized it wasn’t a «random skin infection». I will not be back here, and I suggest to everyone else that you avoid it as well.

We have been taking our Havanese to VCA since we got him back in June. He has been in every few weeks for vaccines and it has been nothing short of a fantastic experience (except for having to pay for the vaccines – hehe).
From the receptionists to the vet techs to Dr. McGill, it’s obvious that the staff here are all animal lovers. Rush loves the attention he gets from the receptionist whenever we visit for his shots. On the other hand, I don’t think he loves the shots themselves, but the vet tech expertly administers them without much fanfare anyway.
Dr. McGill was extremely helpful during our first visit and it’s obvious that he has a lot of experience. I’m not sure I’d want to have a drink with him as he’s a little strange, but he is very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions without making us feel rushed. He seems to have something against breeders as evidenced by his comments about one of the medications ours had given us when we picked up the puppy.
I haven’t spent much time with pets at a veterinarian before, so I can’t really speak to the prices, but they seem a tad high. We usually can’t walk out without spending $ 100, but hopefully the costs will drop once Rush’s vaccines have all been administered.
If you’re looking for a group of people who will love your pet as much as you do, VCA Alderwood Companion Animal Hospital is the place to be. You won’t find a better group of people anywhere.

Do NOT go here if you have a rodent, exotic, etc.
Dr. McGill knows NOTHING about hamsters. He made her worse with improper medication!!!
I suspected that my Syrian hamster had pyometra. They were open on a Sunday and I called ahead to see if they saw hamsters. The receptionist should have said they do not see hamsters, or that the doctor who usually sees hamsters was not there.
She needed antibotics, and he said something to the effect «let me measure some medicine for her, it’s hard to tell how much to give these little guys.» Stupidly, I trusted him. The dosage/​amount prescribed was too much and caused BLOOD in her poop. Also, he couldn’t tell if the discharge was originating from her vagina or urethra. This took a total of 5 seconds for another vet (Dr. Kamaka at Kamaka Exotic Animal Veterinary Services in Mountlake Terrace) to figure out! He’s incompetent!
His bedside manner was dismissive and he was not very helpful/​compassionate. Yes, she’s a hamster and cost about $ 20, but I obviously care about her since I’m bringing her in for treatment. You should at least appear to care as well!
The receptionists were nice, but I will never take ANY of my animals here EVER.
Thank goodness I found Dr. Kamaka. She actually cares and knows what she’s talking about.

This is our «back up» or emergency vet. Our regular vet isn’t open on Mondays and my dog has amazing timing; he only gets sick on the weekends.
The first time we visited, our wiener dog (wait for the pun), Henry, had green ickies coming from his manhood. We were concerned (more my husband was worried), and couldn’t wait until our vet was open on Tuesday.
We made an appointment and the nice woman on the phone let me know there was a coupon online for a free, first visit. Once we arrived, we found a clean, nice smelling lobby with plenty of space for each pet.
We ended up seeing a different vet then the receptionist had scheduled, but the young, 20 something vet was kind and knowledgable. He took some basic tests and took Henry back to have things flushed out.
He offered us two different care options. The first was more expensive and included extensive labs. The second was more basic, but still covered a culture of the green goo. The vet then recommended the cheaper version, citing that the full labs might be overkill as he was fairly certain that the issue was just a little dirt where the sun-don’t-shine.
I appreciated that even at a big, chain, vet hospital, the staff still went out of their way to make us feel important. They were honest, kind, and careful with our baby.
As we stood at the desk paying for the visit, another vet came out to hand off a chart. The kind brunette looked down at our little guy and with the sweetest, most sincere baby voice said «I just saw what came out of your wiener and it was nasty. Yes it was! Just icky.» She smiled and went back to a room.
We’ll definitely be back.

This place was awesome.
My roommate’s cat started acting really strange the other morning, howling and whining and acting like he might do a #2 on anything in sight, so we ended up looking on Unilocal for the closest Vet open on a Sunday.
*enter VCA*
They got us in on a Sunday as soon as they had an opening, they were very upfront with all the charges we could expect and even overestimated (just to be safe.) The cat ended up not needing to be put under anesthesia and no overnight stays, so they saved us a lot of money too!
Very nice and knowledgeable staff, I don’t remember the Dr’s name but he had an accent :)
They also serve coffee in their wait room. *Why yes I WOULD like a cup to calm my nerves about my sick animal, thank you.*
Overall, I’m pleased. I know it’s not my cat, but I like the thing and want it to stay alive and all. The cat was pretty happy too.

My pets have been coming here to see the fabulous Dr. James A. McGill for many, many years. He’s an old-​school veterinarian (his special interest is surgery) and my pets and I love his easy, caring, bedside manner and no-​frills, no-​foof, straight talk about the health of your pet. Dr. McGill keeps my pets healthy and long-​lived but when they become infirm and/​or incurably ill, I wouldn’t consider helping my Loves to the Rainbow Bridge anyplace else but Dr. McGill’s office.
Dr. McGill is the Medical Director for the hospital. His other vets are great, too, and their special interests include Internal Medicine, Oncology, Emergency Medicine, Dentistry, and Diagnostic Ultrasound. Old school vet + high-​tech equipment = my pet doc and hospital for life.