VCA Tamalpais Animal Hospital - Mill Valley, California

Em-J Staples

*Update* After posting this review, VCA called and offered their condolences and refunded the lab fee

On a Saturday, our beagle was suffering from severe kidney failure. She was seen a month earlier at another clinic and we brought her labs for review.
Despite high creatinine levels on those tests, Dr. Killion simply suggested taking more blood and urine lab tests that require two business days to receive results. Then she gave me an International Renal Interest Society brochure to look up information online...
By Sunday, less than 24 hours after Dr. Killion told us our dog looked fine, she could barely walk, hadn't eaten in two days, and was in distress. I messaged Dr. Killion and tried VCA's "24/7 live chat and vet support" I never heard from the doctor and the live chat suggested I call the office when it opened on Monday morning.
By Sunday afternoon, we took our dog to the Emergency Hospital in San Rafael and were told she was dying of kidney failure.
She died that night, and the emergency vet called VCA to let them know. With this information that our pet died, VCA charged us $700 for blood panels that were never read and Dr. Killion never called us back.
Our dogs were patients of VCA for years. The vet, who saw our dog the day before she died, who told us "she looked fine and just needed labs" couldn't even call to offer her condolences.
Our hearts are broken by the actions of the merciless medical director, Dr. Killion, and her staff at VCA. If you love your pet, take them to a clinic that values empathy over greed.

Victoria

I had a good experience here up until they stopped boarding dogs. I had my dogs on the schedule to board and then they stopped offering the service because of staffing issues. I was told since I had already booked, they would honor those dates and still board them. I called a few months later to confirm it would still be honored and asked for an email confirmation so I had it in writing. A couple of weeks before I had to board, I was told at the end of an appointment they would no longer be able to board them due to staffing. The woman who was supposed to call me left for vacation instead without giving me notice. It left me scrambling to find a place to send my dogs before my trip. Very disappointing and I did not get an apology from the woman who failed to let me know this earlier.

L C

Do not take your pets here unless you want to be taken advantage of and charged for unnecessary and unhelpful medications. I specifically made an appt with a female vet because my dog doesn’t like men. When we got there we were bombarded with a male vet and his male assistant. My dog and I were NOT happy about that. Then the guy proceeds to ring me up for a bunch of medications that she didn’t need and barely touched on the reason we were there in the first place. I was worried my pup was dehydrated because she was vomiting bile that morning and appeared stressed about it. He then went on to try and get me to agree to test her for heartworm even though she was vaccinated, and also the shots of fluid, along with 2 medications that she didn’t need at all. He then presented me with a nearly $1000 bill. I said no heartworm testing, that brought it down to $650. I figured the vet knew what he was doing so I agreed to that and it turns out he didn’t. They were completely unnecessary so I didn’t even give them to her. I’m never bringing my pets here again. They are crooks.

Molly Karl

I recently received excellent care at VCA for my little dog. First, I want to acknowledge the staff for their kindness and concern. Also, a very special thanks to Dr. Killian all she did for bringing my dog back to health. I would highly recommend VCA Hospital!!!!!!

Renaud Besnard

This entire team couldn't be any nicer! They patiently answered all our questions when we brought in our unwell kitten, including my very talkative daughter's concerns! And they also provided me for extra meds at very short notice when we ran out. Gems!

Megan Taylor

Super helpful and patient staff! They’ve always taken great care of my cats and I would recommend them to anyone in the area. They follow up and make sure nothing is left unchecked and the separate cat waiting room ensures that my cats don’t become more stressed than necessary.

Josie Smithson

This is by far the worst vet experience I’ve ever had. They incorrectly diagnosed a rash/infection on my dog 2 times, my dog had to be on antibiotics for over a month with no improvements. On top of that, they never responded to my emails with updates/my concerns on his infected area. My dog was terrified to go here, despite never having issues at other vets in his 4.5 years. It seems as if your dog is anything besides a golden doodle they put a muzzle on them and suggest that you put your dog on a sedative. When I told my friend I took my dog here she immediately told me to find a new vet because they have “no idea what they’re doing” and based on my experience I completely agree.

William Sun

My puppy received rabies vaccine this past December at this vet hospital. When we got the antibody test for travel purposes ($400+ test at an USDA accredited vet), there were not enough antibodies present for him to be traveling and to be protected against rabies. We live locally and have been going here for 20+ years giving the vets here full trust, but we will not be going back and will let all of our friends know not to go here.