The Village Vet

After 10 years, I’m switching veterinarians. I’m very much a loyalist so this decision doesn’t come lightly. My experience with the Village Vet over the last year has not been good at all. Trying to keep it short, they treated my dog for a foxtail and an ear infection. I noticed after the treatment that my dog seemed to have lost her hearing. She wasn’t aware of my presence in a room anymore when I’d come home. She would be jolted by my petting her if she didn’t see me come in, despite maki g loud noises and calling her name. They noted that they didn’t see any reason why her hearing would have been affected. It was almost as if they were treating me like I was making it up. Fast forward to last month and my dog gets another ear infection. Her hearing has improved since the last time. I brought her to the village vet and despite charging me for a bunch of bloodwork and outselling me on a a bunch of things, they refused to treat her and recommended that I see a dermatologist. The vet noted that the medication that they typically treat dogs with for ear infections sometimes has a side effect of hear loss, and since my dog experienced that previously that they wouldn’t treat her. I was pretty livid at the time, especially considering the dermatologists they recommended all required another ~$500 just to set an appointment. Overall in the last year I’ve noticed the following issues: -Constant up selling on services -Inability to speak to a person when you call - their automated system is actually quite good but not when you actually have an issue -Prices have increased dramatically -They push for you to buy food and other items through them when they recommend that. In this case I’m picking up prescription food and realizing that they never sent me a prescription. The automated service is happy to help me get prescription food through them, but it will not email me the prescription. I feel like spending almost $800 on services while not getting g treated should at least come with an emailed prescription. Now I can’t reach anyone because their automated phone system won’t give me a person. I’m leaving an extra star because office the staff and techs are amazing. Unfortunately policies and service has obviously gone downhill with their new owners.

posted: 12/17/2025

Horrible euthanasia experience for my poor dog. Complete lack of professionalism and the vet techs made my dog suffer in her final moments. I left completely traumatized, disappointed, frustrated, and heartbroken. Expected a calm passing, what was given was anything but. They took my dog to put an IV catheter in her arm - this process took 30 minutes and we were hearing her yelp and cry from the back of the clinic. We had to ask the receptionist where our dog was, and he eventually brought her back. He then took my father to go pay. As he was paying, two staff members come in and try to sedate our dog through injection- even though they told us the IV was being placed so that she would not need other injections. This was an unnecessary step that added more distress to her final moments. I do not think this man has ever administered a shot before. His hand was shaking, and he stabbed my dog twice without injecting the sedative - finally injecting the sedative after I firmly told him to “put it in!”. Our dog was distressed, yelping, and so confused. The vet tech blamed her reaction on the “energy in the room”. We were told that the anesthesia would be administered by the IV catheter, then we would have 15-30 minutes with our dog sleeping, then the final dose. The tech administered the anesthesia and immediately followed it with the final dose. She then immediately checked for a heartbeat - not allowing us the proper time to say goodbye without our dog in distress from the display of torture and unprofessionalism. Extremely disappointed and would not recommend any one take their pet that they care about to be put to sleep at this clinic. They hire untrained, unprofessional staff, who cannot read a room and administer a shot properly.

posted: 10/26/2025

I am writing to express my deep disappointment and distress over the experience my family and I had at Village Vet on 10/25/25, when we brought our beloved dog to be euthanized. Our dog had been a patient at Village Vet since she was six weeks old, and we had trusted your clinic for over 15 years. Sadly, her final visit was traumatic both for her and for us, and I feel compelled to share what happened in the hope that no other family has to go through a similar experience. From the beginning, we were hoping for a peaceful, compassionate goodbye to our beloved companion. Unfortunately, the process was anything but that. When the technician first entered the room, she immediately began to cry and told us she had recently put down her own dog. While I appreciated her empathy, her emotional state made it difficult for her to maintain professionalism. The initial interview dragged on unnecessarily despite the fact that our dog’s condition — cognitive decline, loss of mobility, poor appetite, and loss of sight — had already been documented in prior visits. We were told our dog needed a IV catheter, and she was taken to the back for what should have been a simple procedure. More than thirty minutes passed, and we could hear a dog yelping in distress. It was heartbreaking to think that might be our dog, and we had to ask the front desk for an update. When she was finally returned, she was terrified and shaking. What followed was a series of painful, unprofessional attempts to administer an additional sedative. The technician appeared afraid of our 7-pound, mostly toothless dog, and another technician (or Doctor) had to be brought in. After multiple failed attempts to inject the sedative, including jabbing her and withdrawing the needle without injecting the medication, they finally succeeded on the third try — only after my daughter pleaded with them to do it! It was agonizing to watch. We still do not understand why the additional relaxant was needed (or perhsps the Village Vet could not have prescribed something in advance for us to administer to our dog at home prior to the visit). It was an added step that was not required and only inflicted additional pain to our dog because the technician was too terrified of a toothless 7 lb frightened, old little dog. Seriously ridiculous and unnecessary. She trusted us and we let her down in her final moments on this planet and it breaks my heart to think about it. Years ago, we had to put down our 19 year old family cat and it was a quick and simple process that was done at the Los Feliz small animal hospital which they also had the grace to not charge for the experience. Even after that, the process dragged on. The technician left and returned multiple times, performed a catheter flush in front of us instead of beforehand, and interrupted our final goodbyes to check for a heartbeat. The lack of professionalism, organization and sensitivity was devastating. To make matters worse, during all of this, someone from the front desk came in to ask for payment — right in the middle of our dog’s euthanasia. This was shockingly inconsiderate. Given our long history as clients, a bill could have easily been sent later (or requested in advance when the appointment was made). We left the clinic heartbroken and traumatized. Our dog deserved a peaceful, dignified passing surrounded by love, not fear and confusion. We will never forget the distress she endured in her final moments — or the lack of compassion shown by your staff during such a profoundly difficult time. I share this not out of anger alone, but in the hope that your clinic will take serious steps to ensure no other family experiences such unnecessary suffering. Your policies and staff training during euthanasia procedures should prioritize calmness, competence, and compassion above all else. I would appreciate a response to this letter and an explanation of how you intend to address these issues.

posted: 10/26/2025

We used to go there years ago, for acupuncture with Dr Zoe. It's been 7 years since we had a dog too. We took in our new shelter dog for an exam, and they even honored the Animal Shelter coupon for a first time check at a VCA Pet Hospital. Dr Kohan (sp) and our wonderful tech were so VERY kind, gentle and knowledgeable. Sadly our boy had other health conditions, unknown to us at the time, and had to be put to sleep weeks later. When I mentioned to them that he was gone, I was sent the loveliest card, signed by the whole staff! Their comments were f very sweet and SO GREATLY APPRECIATED. Also Village Vet is still very affordable... Thank you to everyone's there, especially our sweet tech! They even sent a guide for navigating the loss of a pet!

posted: 03/11/2025

I was completely impressed with their professionalism and customer service. The ambiance here is always inviting and comfortable. Both my furrbabies receive great care here! My babygirl just got spayed & they called for a follow up , much appreciated.

posted: 10/18/2024