VCA Cottonwood Animal Hospital

We took our dachshund mix here as an emergency. He had begun throwing up violently all of a sudden and we didn’t want to wait until Monday to get him into our vet. We explained that we believed he had some sort of blockage and had likely eaten a toy. They took x-rays and gave him some fluids to help with dehydration. They were certain there was no blockage based on imaging and sent us on our way. 5 days later and the little dude successfully had the toy removed from his small intestine from a vet that showed compassion and is a little more thorough. Luckily by the time it got sorted out his intestine wasn’t necrotic and he still gets a chance at life. I’d suggest taking your pet anywhere else if you’re able. They don’t seem to care too terribly much about outcomes and they’re extremely expensive.

I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the exceptional service provided by Katherine, a receptionist at Cottonwood Animal Hospital. Yesterday afternoon, I picked up my dog after a dental cleaning and checkup. Despite being busy helping another client who had lost part of her car key, Katherine quickly assisted me with picking up my dog. Her professionalism and kindness were very apparent.. After I loaded my dog into the car, I was amazed to see Katherine lying down on the hot parking lot, reaching under the client's vehicle to retrieve the missing key part. This act of kindness and dedication goes far beyond her job description and truly highlights her commitment to providing outstanding service. Katherine is a valuable asset to Cottonwood Animal Hospital, and her efforts should be recognized. Thank you for having such a wonderful and caring team member.

Avoid this place if possible, especially for cats. In early June I took my 1 1/2 year old kitty in. He was diagnosed with kidney stones a few months prior and had symptoms of blockage. They said he was blocked and started working on him because it is important to act fast. They said 3 nights min stay and had me pay half, $1600. That was at 11a. By 4p they called and said he was ready to be picked up. I asked why she had originally told me it was imperative he stay at least three days at first and now they’re okay sending him home in less than 1 days. She said it must have not been as serious as they thought, since he was so feisty, he must be good enough to come home. They prescribed him a different food than his vets had, which I bought from them to start right away and I paid another $500. I was shocked since he only stayed for a few hours versus 3 days but was just relieved he was okay. When they brought him to me he and his bag were covered in poop. They said he had just pooped when they put him in there and apologized. Maybe a week later we took him in again because his symptoms were back. They said he was blocked and took him back. I assumed they were starting to work on getting him unblocked like last time. we waited for the vet to come let us know cost and options. We waited quite a while for her, Tracy Wright, and when she came she looked like she had been asleep and yawned constantly thru our conversation saying sorry she was just so tired. I asked her if there was any other options for him as we changed his diet and he was just there a week prior. She said there is an option for surgery that will help him pass the stones so he didn’t get blocked. I don’t think she would have told us this option if we didn’t ask. the front desk lady came back with the plan for care and cost. We agreed to surgery and they took half the payment ($2000). She asked if we wanted to go say bye to him and said they would call us when we could come visit after surgery, he would be staying at least 3 days. I wondered why surgery wasn’t offered last time but didn’t ask. We went to say bye and I was confused to see that nothing had been done for him yet. He was just laying in a kennel and we had already been there at least an hour, if not longer. Again, didn’t ask. 5 hours later we got a call that his heart stopped, they performed cpr and were able to bring him back but a little later his heart stopped again, they performed cpr without success and asked if we wanted them to keep trying. We said yes, of course. Tracy said she would call us back in 15 mins. About 5 mins later she called and said she wasn’t successful in bringing him back and he had passed away. That we could come see him and decide what we wanted to do with him. Someone else met with us and brought him to us. We had assumed that this happened during surgery or prepping him for surgery but when we saw him it was evident that wasn’t the case. We asked for the vet because the lady didn’t know the answers to questions we had asked. She went and got her. At first Tracy just kept saying we’re sorry he passed away. We asked if she could tell us what happened? Was it during surgery? She said she thinks his heart got too much potassium with the blockage. There wasn’t anything more they could do and didn’t get to do surgery. When getting ready to leave they said we owned about $1000. I asked if this was on top of what we already paid because surgery did happen and he was there less than 24 hours. She left and came back saying they owned us $500 back, so sorry. If you take your fur baby here do research and don’t trust they know what they are doing. Maybe if I spoke out what I was thinking my Fig would still be here.

I want to thank the people at VCA Cottonwood. From the front desk people to the techs and Dr Ryan Schreyer. We adopted a dog from our local animal shelter. The first night at home we noticed he was sick. The next morning he was visibly worse. We took him to our vet, they did as much as they could for him and suggested we take him to VCA for 24/7 care. Upon our arrival we were met with kindness and compassion. They ran multiple tests and advised it would be best for him to stay at least overnight. Dr Schreyer called us daily with updates and even came in on his day off. Like a good mechanic, honest vets are hard to find, and Dr Schreyer is in fact a great Vetrinarian.

I drive past 5 closer ER vet practices to come here! I have 2 dogs. They have been seen for UTI, joint injections for arthritis, lethary and blood work, and 5 Lipoma removals. Dr Bagley, Dr Larson and Dr. Jones, have all been wonderful. Love the great communication by their staff. They give you an estimate of the wait time. One time after we got into a room and were waiting for the vet, they came in to let me know it might be a little bit because they had a 'hit by car' come in and it was kinda all hands on deck until they know more. Luckily, the Dr came in 10 minutes later. But I appreciate they let you know if there is an extra delay. They have around 16 vets on staff, so they have an extensive talent pool. They perhaps cost a bit more on some things, but having a much better experience and outcome is GOLD to me!!! Other ERs I have gone to wouldn't let me come in with dog and I had to wait in the car or go home until they called, left me in a room for over 3hrs without giving me any updates, I had to ring a buzzer if I wanted to talk to anyone, and had incompetent staff that didn't know basic medical terminology. I'll pay anything to avoid going to other ERs! ADD: The vets even called after procedures to see how my dog was doing and to go over labwork results. It's not just some office person. Also, I have a nursing background and appreciate a well ran facility! This place is awesome.