One morning my Sashie seemed a bit limpy but she tends to play hard and sprain limbs sometimes so I waited for her to come 'round. But the next morning she seemed to be limpy on a back paw and a front paw and also seemed a bit 'out of it' like she was high (!?). I brought her to my regular vet and she said something was really wrong so I remembered Rackear who'd helped me with specialty problems before. I made an apt at Rackear's clinic with a neurologist. They fit us in same-day and by the time we got there a couple hours later my dog couldn't walk at all. Stumbling and falling on her face. When they touched her paws she couldn't feel it. The neurologist went over options with me and a staffer brought in a Care Card application form for us since we would not have been able to afford surgery otherwise. They did Xray then MRI and sure enough there was a hard bad of scar tissue which had slipped into her spinal area. They operated early the next morning and warned me it can take weeks to see what the result will be (in some cases a dog will never walk again, even with surgery)... however when Sashie woke up from the surgery and they took her outside to pee she tried to jump and run and have fun! They had to hold her back LOL. I have been to Rackear's clinic several times over the years. I brought Buddy Bear to her for a year; he had many issues and was difficult to stabilize but Rackear is knowledgeable and creative. I also brought my eskie in when she suddenly had a breathing problem and Rackear's facility has an oxygen bed (enclosed space) and other specialized equipment, plus they had a team and equipment there for reviving when my eskie went into cardiac arrest... Indeed this is a pricey facility but this is THE BEST CARE, plus UP-TO-DATE EQUIPMENT, so that whatever happens, I will always know that I did everything possible for my pet.

I have been doing work experience at VSV and nearly died when I read some of these negative reviews. Yes, this place is high end and their prices reflect that, but you are getting well-trained, experienced staff. The emergency veterinarians are so caring and really go out of their way to do what is best for your pet. They don't order tests that are not imperative to diagnose. The specialists that I saw, the Surgeon, the Neuro specialist and the Internal Medicine specialist all were amazing and really knew their stuff. I find it amazing that people don't want to pay up front for their pets yet, what human doctor lets you not pay. One of the reasons for getting money up front, that you may not be aware of, is that people sometimes leave their animals for good if they haven't already paid. It's for the sake of the pets. You are also not getting techs that are trained on the job. At VSV you are getting mostly Registered Veterinary Technicians working with the Veterinarian to take care of your pet. This is the equivalent of an RN in human medicine. I know from the back end that all these employees care deeply about your pets and do their very best to treat them. Unfortunately in emergency medicine there is a higher rate of fatalities due to the nature of the medicine. I hope this explains a little to those of you who have not been happy with your experiences.

Went there in a panic: Our dog was suddenly disoriented and acting very strange - she could barely walk. This all happened after office hours so instead of going to our doctor we went here for the first time. The staff was excellent, as was Dr. Swimmer, who was able to quickly diagnose the problem. We were so scared by our dog's condition, that they could have easily required tests and some hospitalization but, instead, simply gave the diagnosis and advised us how to follow-up at home. Extremely professional and very reasonable: We could not have been happier with our experience there...

RUN FROM THIS PLACE!!!!!! DON"T WALK , they only want your money, they don't care about your sick or dying pet. I took my 4 lb chiuahua to this place 7/16/2012 because I thought she may have ingested coolant (antifreeze) I wasn't sure, I just thought she may have because she was acting a bit strange, not eating, hiding and just not her self not to mention when I kissed her, her face smelled like coolant, so I called poison control for pets and they directed me to take her to this place, when I got there, a young girl that had NO idea how to do her job told me at first it would be $500 to see her, after I explained that I wasn't 100% sure she drank coolant the girl went to the back to ask the doctor something, when she came back she said minimum just to even look at her would be $200, I told her I had just lost my job n couldn't afford that right now and asked if I could make payments, she said "no way"" you must pay up front or we can't help you" I mean really???? A place that is supposed to "help" animals wont see a tiny dog for less than $200? they only needed to run 1 test that would cost no more that $40 max and they REFUSED to do ANYTHING for less than $200, if you REALLY care about your pet, DO NOT take them to this money hungry place, if its a REAL emergency , PLEASE research the emergency hospital as much as you can before you take them, DO NOT TAKE THEM HERE PLEASE!!!!!!!!! HORRIBLE DOCTOR, HORRIBLE PLACE, THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR ANIMAL (FAMILY) MEMBER, all they care about is if you can pay their unreasonable fee.

I took my dog here on a Saturday at 11:00 ish because she was sneezing and I suspected that she had a foxtail in her nasal/sinus area. They quoted me $1500 to put her out and remove it. I called my usual vet in West Hills and discovered that they were open on Saturday as well. My regular vet charged me $498 for the same thing they were going to charge me $1500 for! I paid the $75 fee, left and was glad I did. My dog had the proceedure done at my original vet and they also checked her ear and there was one there too. I am SO glad I left and SO glad I didn't get ripped off. I recommend that you get a second opinion if you can.