VCA Canada Island Animal Hospital

Been going there for over 13 years since they’ve changed to VCA all they are about is money. Took a friend there as their website says first vet visit free but they charged him because he came to an appointment with me once with my dog and said they “knew him” and said he’s a previous client. He’s been there once with me but they claimed he’s been there several times which is a complete lie. I argued with them for quite some time but still made us pay and
Wouldn’t honor their false advertising on their webpage. It’s not the first time I’ve seen this scamming behavior from this vets office.

Had great experiences there with our dogs and they are alway treated with kindness and importance.

We have had good service with skilled vets on many occasions. Unfortunately vet turnover seems high and the examination room we recently visited (I think #1) was poorly maintained with peeling cabinets, chipped paint, and an examination stool in horrendous shape. I see these things as being indicative of management having a poor eye to detail or motivated by excessive cost-saving which I fear could translate to deficiencies in animal care behind the scenes. 2 stars for management and building maintenance; 4 stars for service.

Wonderful staff, welcoming and friendly. Was able to get in 2 days after I called to book in. I did have to wait 45 minutes for the scheduled appointment due to limited staff members. Over all great care just in need of more of them.

Dr Kolbe did such an amazing job with our rescue dog from Mexico. Our dog had been spayed in Mexico before we received her and they did a very poor job with her surgery. Our poor pup kept getting serious bacterial infection and was in constant pain. It turned out that the previous vet had made a mistake and cut sideways into her ab muscles. Also, they managed to leave guaze in her. Dr Kolbe operated on our dog about six months ago and our dog is now pain free and more energetic than ever. Also, the infections have entirely gone away too. We couldn't be happier with the service that was provided.

What a horrible experience. My dog Teddy had a rash around his eye so I paid $105 for a consult with the vet and $50 for eye drops. The eye drops didn’t work so I called to book an appointment to get some new treatment. I clarified with the receptionist that there wouldn’t be another “consult fee”since it’s a “re check” and his eye is the same.the receptionist told me there wouldn’t be a re check fee, only new medication fee. I also told her to not take any tests that cost $ or any medical decisions without calling me first since my friend was bringing my dog to the appointment for me because im out of country visiting my grandmother who i haven’t seen in over a year. After the appointment they told me the consult fee is going to be $85 and the meds $56… I told the manager I was told there wouldn’t be a consult fee again… the manager told me they did some sort of eye test that they aren’t going to charge me for (which they did not ask me ahead of time and i told them my friend cant make any medical decisions) and that they aren’t going to give me new medication unless i pay the $85 consult fee again. After arguing with her back-and-forth about how I was told there wouldn’t be a fee for the recheck she started cutting me off saying “ no, no no no that’s baloney, that’s not true” those were her exact words. Very unprofessional. I told her I’m not paying for that and she told me she won’t sell me any medication for my dog then and started threatening to send me to collections and saying I can never come back to the vet. What a nasty lady, clearly putting no effort to try and figure out who it was that spoke to me on the phone at 9: 20am last Tuesday that assured me I would only have to pay for the new medication and not another “consult fee”… I also spent $280 2 weeks ago with this vet for my dogs bloodwork to check he’s healthy enough to start anxiety meds, and they sent me the forms with a whole bunch of numbers i don’t understand and haven’t called me to explain that so if you’d like to have the vet call me about that since there’s a note on my files you sent me to call me about that! I won’t be speaking to that manager again, I don’t have time for that kind of energy, I’ll only the vet who was friendly. I live alone and I’m a nursing student, so I make sure to clarify before making appointments the total costs so I don’t have any big surprise bills. The receptionists and the vet was very friendly during my visits but the manager was very out of line and rude! I don’t like being scammed or lied to, this whole experience and the managers attitude has made me sick to my stomach and very anxious, now i have to deal with the stress of worrying about being sent to collections and spending time reporting to the better business bureau and trying to figure out if i can get a phone recording of our conversation from my phone provider of when i booked this appointment and was told there wasn’t another consult fee! Thankfully the receptionist did end up selling my friend the medication for my dog only since I did not agree to pay another $85 consult fee too too but wow… I highly recommend going somewhere else to save yourself the stress.

I will never step foot inside this place ever again, that one lady wearing all black is a complete nightmare to deal with, started ripping us a new one because I wanted to wait our turn and she snapped and said "come to the front please" again I said there were people in front of me, then she just went off, went to the back to grab us our cat food and comes out with her "boss" says is everything ok here? No absolutely not, you guys are a nightmare, there's a reason I stopped bringing my cat here. I'll be filing a complaint asap. Never again, stay clear, customer service isn't their strong suit.

The staff at VCA Nanaimo are awesome! Our Shiba absolutely loves going there. A special thank you for doctors Duke and Large recently our Shiba injured his left knee doctor Duke found the injury and put us in touch with doctor Large who repaired the injury doctor Large gave us all the options and surgery was the best one she explained everything in detail so we knew exactly what to expect. Now our Shiba is enjoying his quality of life on four legs again thank you staff at VCA Nanaimo for looking after our Bear it's so nice to know that whenever we take him there he is in great hands!

Outstanding vet. They are so helpful and can not believe the compassion of everyone on staff. Hands down the best vets in town. Honest and caring.

I have taken both of my cats to a few different vets now as my expectations are really high and I haven’t found someone that could meet those. I decided to listen to a recommendation to book with VCA and cancelled my appointment that I was weary about at my previous vet and I am beyond happy that I did. Never once during or after did I question whether he was taken care of. 5 stars all around

Have been going there for over 10yrs. They sold it. Now its no longer about the pets. Its about how much your willing to spend. There bedside manner is horrible and they do not care about the animals. My dog has never been afraid and now she’s terrified of the vet. Its been a few visits and now im done with them. Would never recommend.

I don’t usually post reviews but I have to for the VCA animal hospital. I live an hour away from this vet but this is the only vet I take my rabbits to. They are always able to take me when I have emergencies even if short staffed and they take excellent care of my bunnies. I have two female bunnies and I had to get them fixed. I called 10 different vets and all of them weren’t sure if they could do the surgery Because they “didn’t know about rabbits”. Getting your rabbit fixed is scary but not only did the vet Make sure my bunnies were taken care of they made sure I was too. They messaged me and told me my bunnies had done great. The whole Time it was really scary but they made me feel so much better. I have never gone to another vet after this. Round of a applause for how amazing this vet team is. You all are amazing people amd so kind to my animals. You will have my business!

Would not recommend this vet clinic to anybody! Complete rip off. I was charged for things that I was not told about upfront. I’ve had my dog in for the same treatments at my usual vet in the mainland and charged half the price for exact same service! $170 at my vet compared to $350 here! The brunette lady was extremely rude and arrogant when I explained the usual cost. As I read through the other reviews and it seems it’s an ongoing trend with this woman. I would not suggest bringing your pet through the doors of this clinic!

Quality of care has tanked in the recent year. Incredibly disappointing and confusing service, if you’re looking for thorough care for your four legged loved one I would steer clear of this practice.

They don’t offer help if it’s within 30 minutes of closing time, regardless of the fact that it’s a physical injury that is the point of concern. I’m not sure what the heck happened to society. Anyway, I’m not mad, I’m just sad that the girl on the phone behaved like she couldn’t be bothered, “we are almost closed”. She should not be dealing with people and the health of pets.

I was 15 min late for my pre-paid appointment and it is very upsetting that the vet can not take a quick look at my pets skin or if not enough time at least open the door to have a 2 minute conversation with me before the next client to reassure me my pet should be ok or give any advice to me about what I can do since my pet will not be able to be seen now. Not very affordable or accommodating to their clients. Bad customer service. 100$ for 15 minutes is also very pricey for low income especially for receiving no services.
- A very sad client that has brought my pets here several times and will not be back…
Paris Johnson