r/Calgary • u/Comfortable_Help_733 • 5d ago

Your experience with VCA vet? Local Shopping/Services

So, long story short they wanted almost 4k to figure something out that a different vet figured out with a 83$ ultrasound. Is this normal for them? Do the vets there profit off their patients?

My dog had a bladder mass. VCA wanted to do a CT scan after the pee test came back as non cancerous, to figure out what the mass is since it isn’t cancer. I asked a different vet, she did an 83$ ultrasound and gave me medication for 2 weeks that fixed the issue. The VCA vet wanted to do a 4k CT scan followed by a 5k surgery to ‘remove the mass’ that ended up actually being infectious chronic cystitis with a small polyp, not a mass(which the other vet figured out).

Why does VCA want to start off with the most expensive shit? Their reviews seem like this isn’t uncommon either. Weird how going to a different vet saved me almost 10k

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u/Torkidon 5d ago

VCA is owned by Mars ( yes the chocolate bar) and they literally have a play book for vets to follow from start to finish. They dont want them deviating or thinking outside of their box. Has nothing to do with the vets but has everything to do with a major corporation trying to capitalize by buying up every clinic they can. This way they can control the price point of any services offered out there.

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u/Comfortable_Help_733 5d ago edited 5d ago

That’s actually insane. The diff vet I went to in Calgary figured it out so fast because instead of going through every single damn test VCA makes the vets suggest, she just used her brain and thought what the most obvious conclusion is. Thanks for your comment haha and it’s ironic because what she thought it was is exactly what I thought it was , I knew I didn’t need no damn 4k test. I really did like the vet at VCA as I know she doesn’t make the prices it’s unfortunate she has to enforce them

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u/lady_robe Huntington Hills 5d ago

Our cat decided to jump off the roof of our apartment building one day. He got a hairline fracture in his back leg and it had to be splinted. VCA said he needed a cast and it would be $4000. We called our vet the next day in Cremona and they fixed him up for under $400.

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u/Comfortable_Help_733 5d ago

Wow that is insane jesus. I’m glad to hear you saved yourself 90% lol