VCA Aurora Animal Hospital

Nothing was fixed, multiple xrays were taken for absolutely no reason, waited 5 hours and I now have a $1200+ bill and my dog is in the exact same condition as when we went in.

Extremely well. After discussing options with Dr. Abel, we decided the best path was partial amputation of the ear flap. We were worried it would look like it was just lopped off with a blunt end but Dr. Abel shaped it nicely and it looks like the other ear, just a little shorter. Really excellent work.

They're a large 24/7 network, and they're great. They're like Costco's, but they are for pets. When you look at the reviews online, they're quite mixed. They're expensive and you're paying for their emergency room. These people from VCA in Aurora are from all over Northern Illinois. They've got therapist. They have everything besides a psychologist. They're on that level. Five years ago my little Yorkie who was six lbs at the time, blew out her left hip. It went lame. I took her to the VCA. They said the hip was not getting efficient blood, so it freezes up the leg. They told me to see the Orthopedic guy, and I did. In my mind I thought it was going to be expensive, because they had to replace her hip. I didn't care if it was going to be $10,000 I was going to pay it. I asked how much are you talking, the doctor gets a piece a paper and write the number down, turns it around and pushes it right in front of me very gently. It was for $1800. I was thinking that it was going to be $8000 or $9,000.

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Dr. Soydan is GREAT!! 

Not that I wish anyone to have to go see her for their pet, but if you need an expert in animal cardiology you would be hard pressed to do better!!

As a graduate of Cornell (the center of cat health and research!!) and completion of an extensive 3 year residency in Cardiology, she has a broad and deep knowledge  of heart issues and disease.  She has a great pet-side manner of comforting both me and my cat.  She clearly explains what tests will be done and how it will impact your pet.  (In my case he had 2 areas near his arm pits shaved for the electrodes that she said he may lick at for a bit.)

Following the testing, she provides a clear and complete explanation of her diagnosis, recommendations for care and follow-up. She provides documents on the disease details authored by herself. She works in concert with your regular vet, informing them of all tests and results.  Very friendly, very approachable, answered all questions in easily understood terms.  Clearly loves what she does and cares about her patients.  Makes herself available for any questions or concerns you may have after you leave the clinic.  Highly Recommend!!

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We are grateful for the care our dog received. The staff was caring and kept us informed. We were able to visit her and call as often as we liked. The bill however came as quite a shock.

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Dr.Ortinau and the entire neuro team were wonderful. I immediately felt that they were so dedicated to their work, and truly cared about my pet. Dr. Ortinau took so much time to explain to me the diagnosis, options available, potential outcomes, and followup care. She also explained the costs, and explained how this could be paid over time. We decided to proceed with the surgery. Everyone was so caring and encouraged me to call whenever I wanted to find out how he was doing. Dr. Ortinau called post op to consult. She spelled everything out as what to expect. The next day I spoke with the tech as well as the ER vet. Each were so informative about his progress, and encouraged us to visit that day. Randy was doing so well, he went home the next day. I really appreciated the time the vet tech went over his discharge instructions and she even went outside with us to show how to help him stand to void. The detailed written instructions were great as well as the meds for pain control.
Randy made remarkable progress! Going from a dog who couldn't walk at all to starting to walk 3 days post-op. We are a month out now and he is back to his happy self! Thank you so much Dr, O and everyone involved!

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We chose this Vet because it is close to our house and in case of an emergency we don't have to take our dogs anywhere else. So it is super handy. The Vets and Vet assistance are professional and courteous. They are quick to get us in to our appointment, but it always takes forever to check out so be patient!

My dog's rabies vaccine caused her immune system to attach itself and our puppy almost died. We brought her to VCA and it took a while and a lot of tests to diagnose this condition. The dermatologist was wonderful and did not give up until she was correctly diagnosed and we have been bringing her there for followups ever since. Their group of specialists are caring and people come from long distances to have their pets treated for a good reason. We can call anytime with questions.

We were put in room as soon as I arrived. Everyone was VERY friendly. The vet explained the surgery in great detail. He examined my French Bulldog and picked him up and held him. He then took us on a tour of the hospital and explained everything. I was very comfortable with this hospital it was clean and everyone there pet my dog.
My dog had surgery there and I called there every 3 hours and not once did anyone get rude or annoyed with me. I would definitely go back there.

My dog was returned to me the following day after his open bone biopsy in acute pain, crying constantly, at least every 3 seconds, so that staff had me check out in an exam room so that other people wouldn't see my dog's distress. Only 4 50 mg tramadol pills were dispensed to my 118 lb. dog for post-op pain medication. My dog had a fentanyl patch. My regular vet later told me that he had been overdosed by a factor of 2 on Deramaxx, having been given 200 mg per day. I was advised in writing to continue with the overdose of Deramaxx He then got severe diarrhea as a consequence, had me up from 3 AM to 5 AM letting him in and out of the house. Had to call VCA Aurora several times about adverse reaction to pain meds, failure of pain meds to take care of his pain, refusal to eat because of pain meds, etc. My dog was not prescribed an antacid to help with the gastric distress caused by Deramaxx, I was advised to remove the fentanyl patch, which I did, and my dog was willing to resume eating within 4 hours after its removal.
The purpose of the open bone biopsy was to make a diagnosis with respect to abnormal x-ray of right shoulder. Biopsy was done correctly with ultrasound guidance, and x-ray to confirm proper location to obtain the tissue, but bacterial and fungal cultures were apparently not obtained as they should have been, thus defeating some of the diagnostic effort, which, apparently, in view of his vet, was simply to prove that he has cancer. It is not clear to me if the needed and quot;touch prepsand quot; were or were not done. Pathologist was diligent, made cuts of specimens more than once to look for cause of my dog's problem. Pathologist was unable to make a specific diagnosis with the material he/she received. Vet succeeded in doing the biopsy without fracturing my dog's leg, which is a known complication of which I was informed in advance. Vet wants to do the procedure again, but I am not willing, certainly not at VCA Aurora, because of the pain and risk associated with the procedure. I think that a regional anesthetic, perhaps an interscalene block would have helped a lot, or at least a brachial plexus block. Apparently VCA Aurora doesn't have a veterinary anesthesiologist, nor staff that were available to help my dog with his suffering.
VCA Aurora grossly overcharges. They charged me $330.00 to take just two x-rays and an additional $170.00 to interpret those x-rays. As a comparison, at Danada Veterinary Clinic, my dog's primary care DVM charged $145.00 to take and to interpret 4 x-rays. VCA Aurora should have dispensed sufficient pain medication for my dog when he was discharged. I had to relay on meds prescribed earlier at Danada.
When I made the appointment, it was represented to me that my dog would be attended by Dr. Peacock., but he was not.

Very well.

Overall I was very pleased. My cat's tumor reduced substantially and I felt that she felt better because of it. The staff in the oncology department is exceptional. They are very nice, very professional, and they truly do care about the welfare of your animal. Can't say enough about these fantastic people. I had to drive a long way twice per week for three weeks and they accomodated my schedule both before and after work. No unrealistic expectations given to me at any time and constant communication about the progress of my cat.

I had an appointment at 3:30pm. I arrived at 3:30, I didn't see the doctor until after 4pm. The front desk seemed scattered even though when I got to the hospital there weren't very many people waiting. I won't lie my dogs are not the best behaved when we go places, so while we were in the waiting room they were getting very excited at seeing all the new people and other dogs and I was having a hard time controlling them. The front staff insisted that I try to fill out new patient forms for the dogs while also trying to control my very excited labs.
After watching the Three Stooges act unfold for about ten minutes, a nurse finally asked me to get the dogs on the scale. Then we were put in an exam room and I was getting agitated, the nurses only seemed concerned about getting the forms filled out and asked four times if I was done filling out the forms with one hand while wrangling my dogs with the other. Then they asked if i brought the dog's records from their old vet. I hadn't, the thought never occurred to me and no one ever mentioned it on the phone. Yes, I suppose I should have gotten them but I like most people have hundred things going on and didn't think about it. Probably an idea to tell people when they call to make appointments. The nurse and I had a short argument about rescheduling the appointment for the next week after getting the records (Uh,no.)
I was halfway to getting up and leaving but decided to just wait for the doctor and I'm glad I did. Dr. Guzinski is absolutely wonderful. She came in and greeted the dogs. She examined them while they stayed on the floor instead of putting them on the table which my old vet did and my dogs hated. She made the dogs feel very at ease and kept petting them and talking to them. She was very wonderful about explaining things and pointing out things to keep an eye on. I would have written off the entire hospital if not for how much Dr. Guzinski impressed me and even though they are a bit pricey I'll keep going back as long as we can get an appointment with her.
After I finished with the doctor and went back to pay the waiting room was packed and I ended up waiting for another half hour to pay and get my dogs' rabies certificates and tags. The nurse came over and took my card to pay, she told me the price was $227.31. Which it was. For one dog. The other was $195.53.
If you go to VCA, I would recommend making an appointment before three when it's less busy and maybe you won't have to wait as long as I did.

Believe it or not, I have been going to the VCA Aurora Animal Hospital for 50 years, starting when it was in downtown Aurora and was just called Aurora Animal Hospital. We have had many, many cats and a couple of dogs cared for by them. They have always been caring and effective. About 10 years ago I started seeing Dr. Brenda Hemken exclusively. I wish she was my people doctor! I can't say enough about how good she has been with my pets. She was especially kind when my older cats had to be euthanized. She was so gentle and understanding with them.

It's a huge place. They have a large staff. They're very friendly and professional. They get the problem taken care of right away. They can take care of any problem that my dog has. I will continue to go there.

They are just fantastic and wonderful. They have basically saved our dogs life without hocking our entire life's savings. The entire staff is very nice.

I really liked that last veterinarian that we had and were very helpful when my dog passed away.

Gamin, like most cats I've had, hates the trip to the vet. Dr. Schaefer, who attended him was able to calm him, examine him, clean his ears and give him the necessary booster shots. I was given medicine to take home and administer to Gamin to eliminate hes ear irritation. The medicine worked, Gamin's ears aren't red from irritation any more although they still bother him.

I've used this facility for a number of years to take care of a succession of pet cats. In general, they've given good service and have been available in cases of emergency. However, they are expensive.

Everything went well. I would suggest that you inquire about alternative medicine to go along with the treatment provided to help save money along the difficult path that you will face with this type of treatment.

Our dog has a chronic liver issue and is on medicines for it. She had had her teeth done three years prior at another clinic. She was diagnosed with the liver issue 2 years ago. After being on meds and getting it under control the vet here thought it was a good time to do the procedure. She had intra venous fluids as an extra charge. We felt it was well worth it. When we picked her up she was perky and hungry-totally normal. She ate that same night and had no problems at all. We were very relieved that there were no problems with the procedure and with her swift recovery.