While it's true that payment at animal hospitals will always be a very disheartening problem, and it is also true that most animal hospitals will function first and foremost as a business and will try to get as much money out of you as possible, they are trained professionals. My cat was hit on New Years eve but did not die from the hit. It appears that he was only clipped. He was struck in the side of the head and he was bleeding heavily down his face and into his nose and mouth. He had swelling that we feared would kill him if it had gone to his brain. He was losing consciousness. Being in a family that has quite a few doctors and nurses, we understood that if he had brain swelling or bleeding, his chance of survival would be incredibly slim. Luckily for us, the VCA is open 24 hours, including New Years Eve. We traveled from Plympton to Weymouth and brought him in, hoping there was anything we could do. The bill they presented us (along with a payment plan) was, indeed, astronomical, but we had decided upon going there that we would not decide whether our cat Frito would live or die based off of a financial decision. Honestly, I personally didn't think that he would survive with the amount of blood he lost and how long he had been unconscious. We had assumed that he had entered into a coma. We left him overnight and we were updated the following morning that they had given him painkillers to make him more comfortable, they had cleaned up his wound, and they had managed to take down a good amount of the swelling. He is still there and currently undergoing more tests to check for internal damages, which is a completely reasonable test. The reason for the high prices are primarily coming from the fact that he will need dental work, as he has a few broken teeth as well as a few loose ones. Not only did they save his life that evening, they may be able to save his eye as well. As long as I've lived here, I've seen plenty of pets, not just my own, die to the road we live on. The speed limit is 35 and people are always blowing by at 50 MPH. I'm incredibly surprised that not only did my cat survive the hit, but the VCA was able to treat him. I know other people have had some sour incidents with the VCA, but people have sour incidents with every single animal hospital out there. With the bills taken into account, I can firmly say that I give the VCA a 5/5. Hospitals will always be expensive (in this country anyways). My family is so thankful that our cat is now stable and is thus far improving in condition.

I just heard the horrible news that my pet had a tumor in her bladder, making her incontinent. The risks associated surgery outweighed the positives and so we had to make the horrible choice to let her go even though in all other ways she was a happy dog. Dr. Perry delivered the news to me and did so in a very caring way. There was no judgement when I called back to say that I wasn't going to move forward with the $4,000 surgery and the staff were kind when I brought her in to say goodbye. This was a gut-wrenching experience and I am forever thankful that the staff didn't make it harder by making me feel guilty for my choice. I am thankful for the care they were able to provide while she was alive. Thank you to the staff at VCA.

As far as vet ERs go, I rate this very high. It's clean, staff is nice, and the whole building was redone a few years ago- very nice to look at. They're open 24 hours, and are equipped to handle all emergencies. Many normal vets (and especially the ER ones) usually smell awful, and are filled with grumpy/insensitive employees. VCA South Shore has remarkably friendly staff who makes an effort to understand that your pet (aka your baby) isn't doing well, and does their best to help. Only downside is ER care comes with a hefty price tag, but that's usually the case with all facilities like this, and knowing that everything could be done there for my pets if needed helps me justify the costs a little.

You decide, I wasn't happy at all. Luckily my dog came out okay. We brought our dog in with a cloth toy piece stuck in stomach and metal pipe cleaner (we assume) in his intestine. The Dr stated they could do endoscopy to get the cotton but the metal was a concern so they suggested emergency surgery that night to cut the intestine and the stomach to remove both. They never cut the intestine and only cut the stomach. When I asked the surgeon that night about the metal he stated he never saw the x-ray that was taken and only knew about the cloth toy. We were then told oh the metal will likely pass okay as if it was no big deal. We did pay but very unhappy, just wanted our dog back.

UPDATE 4/4/2014 Since my review below,one of my cats got seriously ill in the middle of the night. A doctor saw my cat the min my husband walked in the door at 12am. Short Story short, he passed away and the doctors there helped make my cat's last mins on this Earth, painless. After my cat's death, they sent a very thoughtful and caring note. We still continue to bring our other cats there...my main issue is still their fees, but like another vet, they are always going to be high. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This place is AWFUL...Every doctor and tech is just AWFUL with their communication skills..but are great asking you for money. Two examples: Cat 1 1. Going to pay $500 to have my cat's teeth clean..I called the office to see what time the vet would be in to make an appt. I was told 2pm..I call back at 2pm and guess what, the Vet is now out for the next 3 weeks..to call back then. Good thing my cat wasn't dying. Left a message for the vet to call back when they return to make an appt...never heard back. Cat 2 2. After paying over $800 for blood work, scan, etc, etc. we were going to move forward with a biopsy and the Vet said he call the next day to set up an appt. After NOT hearing from the Vet, I called many times to ask when I could make the appt...never received a reply. 2 WHOLE weeks later, I get a reply from the vet that someone will call to make the appt with me...3 days later, no call. I just took my cat someplace else where they actually 'value your time' and will call you back. So in short..They never follow up with phone calls because they don't know how to use a phone or listen to voice mail?!?!?! Sorry if I am paying over $1000 for one cat and $600 for another cat, I want you to reply to my damn phone calls. DON'T GO HERE!