Two bad experiences and done with this vet. We took a very sick cat into the vet that was Felv positive for over 5 years to be put down. Dr. Johnson refused to put the cat down without further treatment, and sold hope that what the cat was curable. It was determined that the cat was filled with infection, and required surgery. After spending over $600, the cat was sent home as cured and died within 2 days. It is not that the cat died, we thought she was dying, but that the vet had a Pollyanna attitude until the very end. I don't know if this was to sell additional services, or just naturally not realistic. Additionally, when we had our puppy in at 6 months old, she put the puppy on Heartgard, which is arguably not needed in Phoenix, but ran a $40 test for heartgard prior to prescibing. Given the life cycle of heartworm, the treatment for this disease in a dog that age would be to give heartgard, the test was completely unnecessary. While I respect Dr. Johnson's activity in the spay/neuter program, the low cost vaccination program (although not on the 3 year vaccine program), and her activity in SNR of feral cats, I would not use her for normal vet services again.

I am grateful to Dr. Johnson for affordable vet care. This affordability has saved the lives of some of my pets that I couldn't afford to have treated elsewhere. She has been very honest with me and told me when my pets probably wouldn't benefit from surgery and she has not been reluctant to tell me when there is a surgery or treatment that they truly do need . She has treated my pets like they are her own and she has made evening and weekend calls when I have needed to talk to her regarding my pets' care. She has offered less invasive procedures that are better for my pets when they are applicable. She is also very active in providing low-cost spay and neutering and helping the organizations that are trying to reduce pet overpopulation and the suffering it causes. I think the world of her. The only reason I haven't given Van Aken Pet Hospital a 5 star rating is because I have heard some of the staff being yelled at by some of the higher-ups. I'm sure this leads to a stressful environment for staff and also for animals who are under their care. This is my only reservation.