VCA Big Lake Animal Hospital

Repent Hypocrites

2024-02

I'm very disappointed, I took my 100 lb German Shepard at the beginning of the year got his 2end rabbies shot and a medical check up. At the time I ask the Veterinarian if there's anything I need to know about that breed or concerns she said No, now we are extremely sad he Died just Sunday at 4: am due to his stomach turned extremely painful if they would of been honest that can happen I would of paid the extra money 💰 to have two little incision and tie his stomach so that wouldn't happen, today I talked to the Lady's Co worker ( male ) another Veterinarian that works there he told me that I should of taken the responsibility to do the research then ask the questions wth ? I told him I'm not a Veterinarian I should of been informed about it since there are so called professionals, other clinics said they would of told me about it as i found out. We only had him for around 1 year I believe they purposely drop the ball. Already had thousands of dollars invested he was gonna be my service Dog, took him everywhere Home Depot, Lowe's etc everyone loved him and he loved people ❤️ they surger coat it and blames the owners, sucks this year will spend Christmas with out him ugh 😑 update now they won't give me paper work on my past dog's records or a Vaccine on one of my Dogs got all documentations they flaged me becouse i ask a question. We have spent thousands of dollars in the past 25 year's or more on different dog's, very shady Veterinarian 😒 to me understand why people have a negative reviews tords them, staff are nice.

North Star Border Collies

2023-08

I brought a litter of six puppies here for a litter exam, and I was greatly impressed by the service and the friendliness of the staff. A couple of the techs carried the crate full of puppies in for me and then carried them back out once the exam was complete. Everyone was very welcoming, friendly, and cheerful, and they loved and took great care of our pups. Dr. Marion was encouraging and professional, and I appreciated her thorough and informative, yet non-invasive approach. As a breeder, it's nice to be treated as a reasonable person, instead of being viewed as a "non-professional" who doesn't know much of anything.I was very happy with the service here and I think the puppies even enjoyed their visit!

Joshua L

2024-03

My son’s Rottweiler, Brutus, had an eye issue. Turned out to be a scratch. But the staff was kind and amazing! We had to put him under for his check up. But he did great! And the total came out to far less than the original quote.

Christina White

2023-12

Dr. Harding and his staff were extremely accommodating when my dog needed to be seen urgently. I was well informed about my options, the risks, and costs when it came to an emergency surgery. It is always upsetting when a pet gets sick unexpectedly, but the care and compassion my dog and I were shown at VCA Big Lake made a stressful situation less so. My dog received excellent care, and made a full recovery.

karin hendrickson

2023-12

Dr. Harding and staff were amazing. I had an urgent situation with a rock eating dog. They got him in immediately, discussed options with me, and got right down to taking care of him (with lots of scratches and love). Thankfully everything turned out well, but it's great to have such excellent care available!

Tuigana Foley

2023-11

Literally ALL of the support staff are absolutely wonderful. The vets themselves are knowledgeable but beholden to a compressed time schedule, as it is in the medical world.Trigger warning for this review this is about pet deathThat said, we had to put our dog down here. And the vet was not very nice about it. He had me move out of the way to do the heart check and said "Yeah. He's gone." And left the room. And the vet techs were very nice about it after and I made the comment "That vet doesn't know it takes them longer. Can you give us a minute? He's still reacting and listening." I'm a nurse of six years with ICU experience. They hear everything for at least 6 to 10 minutes afterwards, no matter what drug you've given them.So, in the nicest way possible, it functions as a VCA facility. Everyone in there is very sweet. But you have to be prepared.

Jon Kotwicki

2023-12

Very disappointed with VCA. I brought my dog there for an Xray to get a puppy count when she was pregnant to see how many puppies she would have. They said "at least four" and would not give more information than that. 2 weeks later my dog had 3 puppies and we were left wondering if there was a health issue or if the puppy count was wrong.When we called them they said we should go to Tier 1 and pay for another xray, or they could do another Xray and it would cost more. They did admit they did not have a professional look at the initial xray, but could get one to check it again for an additional fee. It seems they only care about making an extra $400 for an xray despite not providing a proper diagnosis in the first place.Update: Dr. Jed Harding spoke to us when we returned for another xray. The 2nd xray confirmed there were no more puppies in the mom. He said "what do you expect, I'm not a professional (in regards to reading xrays)". When I asked for an apology and how he would handle thing different in the future his response was that he did not care and to leave, and do not bring our dogs there again.The lack of professionalism and integrity from this vet was very disheartening.

Jennie Johnston

2023-10

Hands down, the worst Veterinarian experience I have ever had. They had the opportunity to acquire my business as I only came to them because my friend passed away and left me her dog. I called and let them know that and that I needed an appointment. They then among many things, called my dead friends phone number to remind me of the appointment. I would never have been able to get the little guy seem if I hadn't showed up early for the appointment. $1500.00 later............

Drew Kress

2024-04

You all were so kind hearted to us throughout the time left we had with our Lab who developed a severe and aggressive cancer. As heart breaking as the situation was you guys did everything you could to make it better. Thank you

Meryl Trahant

2024-04

Have used VCA for several dogs. They have great staff and I really liked Dr. Varman. Great vet!

Panic Holbrook

2023-05

UPDATE: The clinic manager called me and the protocol wasn't followed the day I called. She got us in for an appointment and was very apologetic. I appreciate the phone call and her willingness to help us get an appointment for our dog.For general care they are great. If you have an emergency or your pet is crying and in pain, be prepared to be told there are no appointments for two Weeks or more. No offer to be put on a list for a call if someone cancels. Really disappointed in the response from the phone desk.

Liane Minster

2023-05

Docs are nice. The staff is hit or miss. The office policies are terrible. A rabies vaccine cost $100 because they charge the vaccine fee PLUS a brief vet doctor visit of $65. They didn’t tell me about the charge until afterwards and insisted on charging me even though the doc had just done a full physical on my pups a couple weeks prior. Using SPCA or vaccine clinic from now on. After the appointment that they weren’t even supposed to have, the doc told me that my male pup had a testicle that hadn’t descended and that he needed surgery. Took him elsewhere and the new vet said the pup had no issue. So I’m not going back. They just extort money out of their customers. It’s really too bad.

Robert Edwards

2023-10

When I call the receptionist? She's strange. It seems extremely uninformative about what I could do for Pet and if the pet is sick, we'll need appointments. 2 weeks out the pet would be dead. By the time you got to your appointmen.

Richard Orthmann

2023-05

My cat, Mr. Ernie, who had been with me for over 18 years, had to be put asleep. It was very tough losing my friend, but all the crew showed us both, the best care and compassion. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. If your animal needs help, this is the place to go. Thank you for being so caring, God Bless!

Paige DeRosia

2023-05

Called for a quote for a cat neutering, they quoted over $500 for a simple neutering procedure 🤯. I have had cats all of my life and NEVER heard of pricing like this. The lady had the audacity to say it was cheap in her opinion 🤣. Right down the road, appointment scheduled for $110. Makes sense, yeah super reasonable. On the other hand, the lady was nice, even with her sly comment. Will not be a place I will be taking any of my pets though, their pricing is crazy high compared to other local vets.

Eimiaj Illil

2020-05

This is an amazing vet clinic. All the staff are helpful and kind. The front desk staff let us in 10 minutes before opening when our dog was having an emergency, even though the vet wasn't there yet, to get him to the back and hooked up on an IV and monitor. All the staff took great care of us and showed upmost professionalism and compassion and let us know our options. They were so kind and let us say goodbye to our best boy without rushing. I recommend this vet 100%. I cannot praise them enough.

Nicole E

2021-05

Erica recently helped my husband and I with some administrative items that came with the dental visit and she was absolutely amazing! Quick to respond, gave a solution, and followed up. I genuinely appreciate her level of customer service and will be repeat customers because of it.Beyond that, the vet and technicians did a phenomenal job cleaning our dogs teeth and helped us with questions and dental solutions along the way.Great experience!!!! Thank you!!!!

Leanne Carter

2020-05

We transferred our records to the Big Lake VCA because they have been excellent with our dog.We have received friendly, professional care, they have sent us coupons for services savings and gone above and beyond to help us in an emergency. We needed shots today to keep our dog updated and they put cheese on a board for her so she was distracted for the shots and she was so excited, she didn’t even flinch! The BEST!

Ryan Hand

2017-05

Big Lake vet is amazing! I had to take my rabbit to the emergency vet and the next day they wanted me to bring him into a vet for a check up the next day. Everywhere was booked or I would have to drop him off but luckily big lake was open. I brought him in and they were so kind as soon as we walked in. I had some x-rays sent over and Dr. fisher wasn't sure about the x-rays so asked opinions of other doctors. She also went above and beyond for us making sure he would be okay. She did such a great job. Also on top of that they sent a thank you card to me afterwards, super nice! Big Lake vet is our new go to vet! ( I had to write this on my brothers account haha)

Helen Thomas

2015-05

While spending the weekend in the Big Lake area, our 4 yr old pup was hit by a car. We immediately called Big Lake-Susitna Veterinary Hospital and explained the circumstances, saying we had a Vet in Anchorage but didn't want to drive that far. Even though it was late on Friday of Labor Day weekend they said to bring him right in. As soon as we walked in the door his condition was immediately evaluated, which fortunately was not life-threatening. We saw Dr. Fisher who examined him very closely, explained how she would treat and stitch his wound. It would take a while to do so she suggested we leave and come back at closing time. I know that Dr Fisher and other staff stayed after closing on this holiday weekend to care for our best friend. The good news is, our boy healed well and fast. Both he and we, had excellent care. The office was very clean, lots of relevant reading material and books and every staff we encountered was professional, friendly and compassionate. Thank you.

Willow Phil

2015-05

I've been going to Big Lake-Susitna Veterinary Hospital for 14 years with my dogs and cats. It has always been easy to schedule an appointment for a new pet or an animal that is having problems. This past March my old dog collapsed on his way to breakfast. I called BLSVH at around 8 AM and Dr. Hambach was checking him out by 9 AM. (I live a half an hour away from the hospital) The diagnosis was such that having him put to sleep was the best option for him. The staff and doctors were all very compassionate and understanding and allowed us plenty of time to say good bye. The next month my wife adopted a kitten from an adoption clinic in Eagle River. She call BLSVH on her way home to set up an appointment and was told she could stop by for a wellness exam without an appointment. This was on a Saturday when they generally don't do walk-ins. Just this past week I adopted a new puppy from animal control to replace the dog that died in March. I was able to get an appointment the next day to make sure it was safe to allow the puppy with the rest of our animals. I love the way Dr. Lehman gets down to the animals level and does the exam so the dog hardly knows it's being examinded. This hospital is staffed with professionals that not only care about their animal patients but the people that own the animals. When one of my dogs was diagnosed with diabetes Dr. Lehman called all around to find a place for me to get the insulin my dog would need at a price that I could afford. I just can't speak highly enough of this organization.

Amanda Campbell

2017-05

The Dr and staff were great with my little Izzy! Even with my girl being so high strung and anxious, they did amazing with her! Definitely a huge difference from the previous vet clinic we had been using since she was a puppy.

JODY JODY

2020-05

My outdoor cat, Lulu, came home acting very funny. About 18-20 hours later I decided to take her to the vet. I figured she had gotten a hold of a poisoned mouse. As soon as the vet walked in, she said, “No, this looks more like antifreeze poisoning.” She checked Lulu over. We talked a little about treatment, and obviously I asked her about survival, to which she replied the standard, “If only I had a crystal ball…”Ok, she walks in, identifies the problem by looking at the cat so she is obviously VERY familiar with antifreeze poisoning, knows approximate hours since ingestion and can’t give me a, “based on hours, it’s doubtful . . . or . . . she hasn’t hit the critical hour yet, there is still time . . .” I had no idea about antifreeze poisoning, this is my first experience with it.However, after this appointment, I quickly learned Lulu had little to no chance of survival based on the number of hours since ingestion and I'm pretty sure this vet had to have a pretty good idea she didn't have a very good chance of survival as well.But before I could finish with my questions, because I think she knew I would come around to the fact that Lulu needed to be put down right then therefore she wouldn’t make a dime on us, she said she would be back with the price and a care plan. She never returned. She sent a very timid tech with a tablet who placed it on the table, scrolled through the plan, very roughly explained it, and landed on a bottom line of $1082!On that note, I told the tech I had more questions and needed to TALK to the vet and could not afford that much money. The tech went away with my questions, came back without the vet but some vague answers to my questions. She again scrolled through the care plan and landed on $844 but said it would be under $799 or something like that.At that point I was frustrated, I had just gotten off a 12-hour shift at a hospital in Anchorage so was exhausted, confused, stressed, feeling taken advantage of, but Lulu had crawled into the corner of the shelf and it was breaking my heart, so I went with it. This was on a Saturday morning.Lulu and I suffered through the weekend and she was put down on Monday morning.I feel taken advantage of by this vet clinic and do not recommend it.Sending the top dollar care plan in with a tech who can barely explain it, then almost halving it, having a vet who avoids coming back to answer all your questions in case you might just figure out the scam going on, and last but not least not having a vet be HONEST with you is just not good business sense in this small community.I see VCAs response and I will contact them even though they are chalking this up to emotion.Be honest? The vet said she was coming back. She did not come back even after I requested she come back to answer the rest of the questions I had.I'll contact their manager but I'm also filing a complaint with the VCA Corporate office so maybe at least next time Big Lake VCA will be upfront with people.

Page Hall

2020-05

We took my retired service dog there for a swollen toe. Dr Fischer told us she had a tumor, took an xray and stated it showed minimal bone intrusion, and she needed the toe amputated to above the next highest joint, also that she needed a large upper canine tooth extracted.Then I received an email of her records where it stated there was NO visible bone intrusion.I'd explained that we want compassionate, conservative care; the suggested mutilation recommended seemed to be neither, so again we drove all the way to Soldotna where we trust Twin Cities Veterinary Hospital. There, they did a biopsy of the toe and a full dental cleaning with xrays. The dog does NOT have a tumor, only scar tissue from snagging her nail (we'd explained the nail injury clearly). She also does NOT have an infected tooth!After receiving the biopsy results I called asking if they thought perhaps any refund of our over-300 dollar exam visit might perhaps be appropriate to refund, or if they had anything else to say; we've received no reply whatsoever.This is the second time Wasilla vets have tried to mutilate my dog unnecessarily rather than doing a simple biopsy. If we'd done as told she'd be incontinent and missing part of her abdominal cavity as well as part of her hind foot.How incredibly cruel and heartless, looking to make thousands of dollars while unnecessarily mutilating and disfiguring my beautiful dog in her old age. She's served me well and has earned the conservative and compassionate care we seek. Shame on this clinic!

Dana Avugiak

2018-05

This vet clinic did an amazing job on my doggie’s teeth. His teeth were very gross and covered with buildup. Now he had a movie star doggie smile! Dr. K did such a good job. Sorry, I don’t know how to spell this vet’s last name, but she’s great and understands rural pets. My dogs are from a village and have a more cautious temperament, but Dr. K was great with both of my shy dogs. So glad there is a vet office around that understands that not everyone out here is a millionaire, but we still love our pets. Prices are reasonable and they are very honest about telling you if a service is optional. Not like some other money grubbing vet clinics I have been to where the estimated make my eyeballs pop out and I have to feel like a grinch with my doggie’s care. Big lake is super understanding about pet owners needing to keep costs down so they can access services for their pets. Thanks!!!

Karen Kirkpatrick

2019-05

VCA Big Lake has been taking care of my pets for many years now. I have cats of my own, and when I've had foster cats who've needed care (including emergency care), the staff has been completely awesome. Sadly, I most recently had to have one of my beloved cats, Boo-Boo, euthanized. Their newest veterinarian, Dr. Kidder, was very kind and gentle with my kitty and me. I love that they built that "crying room" which is comfortable and non-clinical where you can hold your fur-baby as they are sent over the rainbow bridge. This is the 2nd time I've had to use them for this purpose, and both times, the staff has shown such wonderful compassion. They even have an electric candle on the counter in the waiting room that is lit, with a sign letting folks in the waiting area know that someone is saying goodbye to their pet and to please be respectful and quiet, (or something to that effect...I was crying so I don't remember exactly how it was worded). When I got there, I told Erica at the front desk (she's awfully wonderful), that I wanted the vet techs and veterinarians present to see Boo-Boo (who was 19 years old), and see what crippling effects declawing a cat have on them as they get older. Erica informed me that they refuse to declaw cats, or to do any of the other maiming procedures (docking of ears/tails). If it was possible, this clinic went up even higher in my estimation. This proves, to me, that they are more about humane and compassionate care for our non-human family members than they are about making a profit off doing unnecessary convenience or cosmetic surgeries. Thank you, VCA Big Lake.

Carol Gay Kane

2015-05

The staff at Big Lake-Susitna Veterinary Hospital is exemplary for the following reasons: up to date medical knowledge regarding diagnosis, treatment and follow-up for each of our pets - l lab pup, 1 nine-year old lab, and 1 9 year-old cat. We previously had a lab who was cared for his entire life until he was faced with cancer. The treatment for him included contact with other medical personnel to ensure appropriate and timely services.The office staff is always personable and prompt to assist as needed and appropriate follow-up as needed.We have recommended BLSV to many friends because of the outstanding care and boarding for our pets.

G G

2020-05

I am very disappointed with this veterinary hospital. Our expectations were not met. I was looking for alternative medicine for our dogs . I researched for holistic veterinaries in Anchorage because we wanted to take our dog to a holistic vet while we are there for vacation. The VCA Big Lake Hospital showed up in my Google search. I checked their website and I was happy to see on their website that they offer alternative medicines. It is not in Anchorage but we were willing to go to Wasilla to take our dogs in this clinic as long as we are getting a holistic vet. I called them and specifically asked the receptionist for a holistic vet, I explained to her the situation that our two dogs already went to several traditional vets for their condition and that I am just looking specifically for an alternative medicine. The receptionist was not really nice, I find her quite rude. She said , they still need to do an initial check up. I said ok that’s fine but I repeated again that I am looking for an alternative medicine. My husband also found the receptionist quite rude.When we went to the clinic, I was really expecting that we will be talking to a holistic vet who knows about alternative medicines but my husband and I got confused because the vet who was scheduled to assist us does not know anything about alternative medicine, she kept insisting about traditional medicines such as steroid and hormone therapy. We kept explaining to them that we have done all the tests already and we need different options , we need alternative medicine. Finally, she was able to understand that we need holistic vet. She was nice and doing her best to help, but the issue here was that our expectations were not met. We do not need to go to this clinic to look for a traditional vet , driving around 300 miles, going out of our way from our vacation just to get another traditional vet. We have lots of good traditional vets in Fairbanks and our local vet is also very good and knowledgeable, someone who has lots of experience in the veterinary field already. What we do not have in our small town is a vet who practice alternative medicines. After the vet was able to understand the reason why we were there in their clinic, she talked to their holistic vet and gave us second hand information. I felt that we wasted our time, and our expectations were not met. Sure we got these herbal medicines but I was not able to talk personally to the holistic vet so she can explain to me clearly what are these herbal products she prescribed. She was not able to check the dogs herself too. They did not charge us for consultation, I think it looks like a promotion for first time consultation based on what I saw on their FB page but the supplements or herbal medicines are very expensive compared to if we buy them outside.The receptionist did not do her job well. To me, that is being incompetent. There was miscommunication. For the clinic, please do not advertise that you are offering alternative medicines in your clinic, if you really don’t offer it so you don’t waste the customer’s time and money. On the other hand, if you are offering this type of service, make sure that if the customer requested for it, the customer gets that. Very unprofessional! In addition, I recommend that the receptionist needs to undergo customer service skills training to improve her customer interaction as well as her listening skills. Moreover, this is the only vet clinic that we ever visited that never gave us courtesy call to check the dogs after our visits.Overall, the experience was not good, and we will not come back to this clinic anymore.

Haley TumSuden

2015-05

This is one of the best and most professional vet clinics I have been too. The staff there is very helpful and open minded, and they always like to love on my dogs and give them plenty of cookies when I go there. I can't even begin to say enough good things about the veterinarians there. I have never had a problem with them trying to push their products on me or belittle me for the products I choose to use already. They're one of the few vets that doesn't believe in overvaccinating (Dr. Fisher suggested I get a blood test done on one of my dogs to find out if he even needed the vaccine before she gave it to him). When I was having trouble putting weight on my other dog she even suggested supplimenting some hamburger into his diet. Their offices are very clean and inviting, just like the staff that works there

Sandra Chatterton

2014-05

I think they are top notch! Even though I now live in Palmer, I would not consider changing to a vet near my home because my dog and I trust the doctors and staff to give us the best care they can. They have alway shown alot of kindness, caring and expertise in working with us and I trust them completely. They went way beyond the 'call of duty' when my prior pet died and I will always remember and bless them for that.