VCA Veterinary Specialists of the Valley

Pet owners beware! Unprofessional staff and vet. Money grab /​used car sales tactics. Money is their first priority, health of your pet is last. There’s a reason they have such horrible/​nightmare reviews. And for whatever reason if you still go to this place, research before you purchase their expensive/​unnecessary treatment plans.

I can’t thank Dr. Lisa Gerlach enough. My 7 year old Maltese has been losing weight and his eyesight over the past two years. We have gone to so many specialists and nothing was helping until we took Duke to Dr. Gerlach. After only a month we see so much improvement in Dukes health. It ended up being a brain issue when all the other doctors were treating for other issues. When in doubt go to a neurologist. Make sure it Dr. Gerlach.

My dog got into a little scuffle and ended up with a chewed up ear. I went to my regular vet (also a VCA) as a walk in, and after over an hour of waiting they suggested that it might be faster if I went to Veterinary Specialists of the Valley. I took their advice, checked in with the front desk, and within one minute an assistant took my girl into the back to check vitals and assess the damage. 10 minutes later I met with a doctor who discussed the injuries and the suggested treatment plan. 45 minutes later Daisy and I were on the way home with antibiotics, pain meds and the cone of shame.
The entire staff was very helpful and seemed to have genuine empathy for my dog. Next time I have a non-​life threatening emergency, I’m driving the extra 10 miles to come here.

If you’re in the valley and your doggy is sick bring ‘em on down here. Great people, understanding and no run around service. Overall satisfaction with this place. It feels like it’s more about being personal and less about the biz. But terribly hot in the valley

My dog was viciously attacked by another dog on 4.13.16. I raced her to Calabasas Veterinary Center (where I work) for care. They did xrays and bloodwork, and gave her pain meds. Dr. Marino didn’t like what she saw on the xrays and referred us to Dr. Gershenson at Veterinary Specialists of the Valley. I’m so glad she did.
My dog ended up needing emergency abdominal surgery. She had a collapsed lung, punctured diaphragm, herniated spleen, and torn muscles between her ribs. She also needed blood and plasma transfusions. She was hospitalized for 3 days after that.
***DR. GERSHENSON and DR. BAUSMAN SAVED MY DOG’S LIFE!!!***
My experience at VSV was incredibly positive. Everyone from the front desk staff to the techs and the doctors were so helpful and kind. Every time I went to visit my dog, the techs who brought her out were so sweet.
Osie and Andrew made me feel like they really cared about my dog, and that meant so much to me. I knew she was in excellent hands.
Dannie at the front desk was so nice every time I came in to visit and afterwards when I brought Frankie in to have her bandages changed.
I apologize for not remembering the names of the other techs I talked to and the names of the people at the front desk, but I thank you all as well. Your kindness and compassion was and still is very much appreciated.
Dr. Gershenson initially evaluated my dog. I was in shock, and a wreck, and Dr. Gershenson was very understanding. He explained her situation and was very forthcoming about the severity of it, but he was also gentle about it. I was instantly comfortable with him and I was completely confident that Frankie was exactly where she needed to be, and that he would do everything he could to fix her. He called me every morning with updates, and was available when I called to talk to him. I appreciate his knowledge, skill, and realistic approach.
Dr. Bausman called me post surgery to let me know how Frankie was doing. He had a very calm, compassionate way about him and he helped me feel better about the whole situation. I was such a mess when he called and I was trying to remember everything he was telling me, but of course I didn’t. He was gracious enough to repeat everything so I could write it all down. I appreciate his expertise and wonderful bedside manner.
My dog is my life. She’s the most precious thing in this world to me. I want to thank Dr. Gershenson and Dr. Bausman for saving her and getting her back home to me. My gratitude to you is endless.

My furbaby Whizzer, light of my life was a patient there earlier this week. They have again saved his life. Drs. Tucker, Lan and the caring staff took excellent care of my baby. He required oxygen therapy and has multiple medical conditions including CHF and collapsing trachea. Their top notch diagnostic skills along with the ability to bring in top specialists to consult was a serious team effort.
Not only do they truly care, they are the best, period. Thank you.

This a story about my Dog a very loving, her name is Daisy and I took her from the Shelter in Los Angeles 4 months ago, she is a beautiful dog one years old that had a small broken structure on her paw the guy that had her before didn’t fix her so this poor animal wasn’t taking for 7 months from the shelter. a two weeks after I took her unfortunately she got into a car accident. she run into a SUV and crying to her to the emergency room that ask me if I want to save her I say yes and I ended only for Stable her situation over 3000 dollar. than we were recommended by the emergency room to take her with an ambulance that cost 400 dollar to VCA hospital that have experience with connecting broken shoulders that happened in the car accident struggling with money I took a lawn for another 6000 dollar for the trying to save her leg. when I got the opinion about the leg there were two option cut the legs lower cost of pay for fixing higher cost 6000 dollar not including visits and medicines. after crying I decided I’m going to save Daisy leg the doctor told us the only Risk will be that the leg will be suffering from pain in the future no one told me anything beside that. I did the surgery and dr soto say that it’s went good for 3 months after I took her home she eat her own nail digging I felt it’s wrong I came to the hospital and they told me it’s nothing to worry about its ok she just try to take the bandage off. again struggling putting bandages every day and night buying shoes and try to help the poor animal. and the a week ago I’m coming home and start screaming. my beautiful dog eat all her paw till the bone and didn’t feel nothing probably in the surgery they damage the nerves. crying with panic attack my neighbor help me to Carry her to the car and drive to the hospital I’m coming there and asking for help for a damage they cost to this leg they gave me 3 options: 1 .pay emergency 2. cut the leg 3000 dollar 3. give us the dog and we decide what to do with her you will get no information .
I start screaming crying and no one there care the surgery was bad and they try to get out of responsibility, after I scream I called dr soto who ignore my calls I find myself standing with a bleeding animal outside the clinic a nice lady came out and help me to put a cover on the blood. I drove to another dr that I never knew before in Sierra and he help me to take the leg on a cost price his name is Roni an amazing guy with hurt no money digger. i want you all to know my story because VCA veterinary of the valley that located at 22 123 Ventura Blvd woodland hills ca 91 364 his only gold diggers. call for any info
2 139 445 514

Called for what I thought was an urgent issue. Very rude female staff member answered the phone saying, «Is this an emergency or can I put you on hold?» I answered back that I wasn’t sure if it was an emergency (because, how the heck would I know, I’m not a vet) and was about to explain myself and was immediately cut off by this woman who said, «I have another client ahead of you, let me place you on hold.» WHY DID YOU ASK IF YOU WERE GOING TO PLACE ME ON HOLD ANYWAY? And gee, it’s late night on a Sunday, you’re a 24 hour emergency pet hospital. wouldn’t your common sense tell you that a customer call to your type of establishment at this hour is likely an emergency?
Needless to say, I did not take my dog here.

The staff and doctors are amazing. I have nothing, but nice words for this clinic. We were greeted promptly, and our dogs were brought to the back immediately by two techs. We were there for all but five minutes and a vet came out to further discuss our dogs’ situation with us. It was happy surprise. She listened to our concerns and treated our dogs as we discussed with her. She also gave us a lot of information.
Background: Our dogs had gotten into trail mix that was left on the floor by our nephews. We had a terrible experience at another clinic, so we rush over here after wasting 2 precious hours of treatment.
We left the clinic once our dogs were hooked up to IVs. We left them for 2 nights :-(But during that time, this clinic kept us well informed. They called us with updates twice each day after their rounds. In addition to that, we called the clinic a few more times and each time they promptly gave us an update. We also visited our dogs in the clinic, where they gave us a private visiting room. Our dogs were very relaxed and showed no signs of stress (i.e. uncontrollable shaking). So I know our dogs were being treated well.
This clinic is very well run. Even though they are very busy, they still manage to caringly treat your pets and make you feel like you and your pets are respected. This is our new emergency vet. SPECIAL THANKS to Dr. Tania Hunt, Dr. Ryan Gershenson, and your technicians.

If I could put negative stars for this pet hospital oh I would… by far the worse experience ever! If you ever have a pet emergency avoid this place at all costs!!! We took our beloved dog to emergency because he was hit by a car and instead of the worrying about my dog’s well being and injuries they asked about how much money we had available in order to take care of him. I was like really!!! My dog is here bleeding and hurt and their concern was how much money I could give them!!! They had a nasty way of taking care of their patients… so take it from me avoid this place!!! Take your beloved animals elsewhere where the priority will be them and always them not how much money you have in your bank account!!! Thankfully my dog is recuperating day by day but definitely not by this hospital’s help!!!

Our beloved dog passed away at home and we needed to cremate his body.
Christian who works at this location was beyond kind and considerate. Knowing it was a very difficult time for us he went above and beyond to make the experience as seamless as possible. He was extremely sensitive, sincere and genuine.
The ladies in the front desk were also wonderful.
I felt this facility truly cares about their animal patients and their families based on our experience here.

I took my dog here because his paw was stung. I thought it was clean, professional and the vet was very informative and nice.

Our vet advised us to take our kitty here to find out what was going on with her because she was noy eating or pooping and Dr. Norman was amazing with her and she is doing a lot better just hoping abscess in her abdomen stays gone so she does not need a very expensive exploratory surgery

I was referred to VCA by my regular vet because my 6 month old puppy was very ill and possibly showing signs of parvo. I was quickly seen by a vet who suggested my dog would likely require hospitalization (before performing any tests or even checking her vitals). I was given an estimate for an array of tests totaling over $ 800 — when I questioned why they wouldn’t do a $ 57 parvo test first and go from there considering her symptoms I was met with resistance and eventual agreement. Ultimately we did 2 of the many tests listed based solely on my decisions and not the doctors «professional» opinion. The 2^nd test, a chest X-​ray, revealed pneumonia.
Upon diagnosis the vet proceeded to tell me the only option was hospitalization and offered me some kind of credit line to pay for it. When I advised her I would like to take the prescriptions home and care for my dog myself as I didn’t have the financial means for hospitalization. The vet became so agitated with me that she suggested that I put my puppy to sleep as it would likely be a more humane option than taking her home to care for her.
At this point I was angry and had no trust in the «professionals» I was relying on to help my pet. I asked them to give her fluids (again MY suggestion — and never even offered as an option by the vet) After the fluids were administered my puppy had already visibly perked up. I paid nearly $ 800 overall. I took the antibiotic prescriptions and my dog home with me & within 48 hours at home her behavior was back to normal.
I would never recommend VCA to anyone. It is clear their only concern is making money, and not compassionate pet care. The vet literally suggested I KILL MY DOG rather than care for her myself, knowing it was a completely treatable Illness. I can only assume that suggestion was based on the fact they’d get to pocket the fees for putting her down along with everything else I paid for. I will not use this vet again for any reason.

They could care less about your pet. This place survives on making and taking your money.
Terrible service at the front desk and totally rude.
I will say the doctor that performed surgery on my dog did a great job. However there are many other vets that supply the entire package without the very BAD attitude. This place sucks!

They didn’t like my Unilocal review so they sent me a letter saying they wouldn’t treat any of my pets or anyone associated with my family’s pets. Lol.
No problem.
Oh yes, the cat they worked on died.
Thanks for nothing VCA.

This is without doubt a superb hospital. And I speak as someone who runs a dog rescue, so I have been to MANY vets, including all four of the specialty vets in LA. At least fifteen of my rescues have been treated here at Veterinary Specialists of the Valley, so I have a real basis for my evaluation. I’ve worked with most of their doctors, from criticalist to oncologist to surgeon. The surgeon is top-​notch and the aftercare/​nursing care equally good. This is a life-​saving, life-​giving combination. The oncologist is the best I’ve worked with (and I’ve worked only with those considered the best ones in the city, though have never worked with ASEC).
This is one of the top four hospitals in Los Angeles, which means it’s likely to be among the best in the country. Do NOT be confused by the lower ratings — there’s simply no question of the quality of this place. As with all hospitals, for people and for dogs, there are inevitably problems — but this place makes them rarely, and corrects them promptly.

This place bait and switched me, pure and simple. Called ahead of time to inquire about their services. They told me their first visit was free for a check up. My cat is succumbing to the effects of fatty liver and slowly dying. The bill was going to be 3 – 4000 dollars. I said no thanks but thanks. They told me I would have to pay the $ 98.00 fee upon leaving, and I told them what the operator said on the phone. They told me that was impossible, since they NEVER offer free initial exam. They use scare and brutal unethical business tactics to intimidate you. What’s a person from Woodland hills going to argue with less than a hundred dollars? Not me. I’m originally from Chicago!
This place is a scam, or their staff is truly trying to take advantage or cause dissension among the ranks. They told me they would be sending my unpaid debt to creditors, to which I never signed anything, nor did they provide me a tangible quote.

took my dog in because of a stuck chicken bone. they are so professional. I waited less than 10 min. dr took the bone out and sent us home. very reasonably priced. Excellent, friendly staff and very capable Dr. (Dr Halbert. Definately request her!)

It’s unfortunate that there were such negative reviews. My experiences are mostly with Dr. Waterman, my dog’s cardiologist but I also had a very positive experience today with the receptionist and technician today.
I called this morning in the hopes of getting an appointment for the same day knowing that we usually see Dr. Waterman at the Lawdale location. Rose who answered the call somehow heard the small panic from my voice and was able to get me the first appointment possible. She called me back shortly after to confirm a time and was so welcoming once we arrived.
Dr. Waterman is beyond amazing! My 14 ½ year old maltese has been under her care since last November for a grade 4 heart murmur and enlarged heart. Without going into details of the numerous medication and visits we’ve been on since last year, Dr. Waterman has been compassionate, caring and pretty much responds back to all of my calls within the same day if I call with any needs. I’ve never felt this way with any vet and I’m so happy that my fur baby is in such good hands.