VCA Lakeside Animal Hospital

Veronica, director of dog boarding, was wonderful and very accommodating with my schedule to fit in my furry son Maximus Maximillian into an evaluation appointment as well as getting him a reservation spot for three days of playground time at the Big Bear VCA. Friendly staff and nice neat facility for all the visiting pups. We look forward to seeing you soon!

The staff and doctors here really care for our fur baby! When he was getting puppy shots but was too big for us to carry in, they would bring the vaccines to our car so that Kona wouldn't get exposed to any infections like parvovirus. They have an app which allows for 24/7 vet consult via messenger if you have a pet care plan. This has helped us on quite a few occasions when Kona ate some questionable things. We love Dr. D, and surprisingly Kona does not get scared at all when we go for check ups! He is our first dog and we have been able to keep him nice and healthy with the advice on feeding and general health from the VCA.

We took 2 service dogs in for their rabies shots today and it went very well. The staff were polite and friendly. Also very efficient. We were in and out in about 30 minutes

I love this place i had to put my best friend my child down her name is kona she was the best pit i could of asked for my 2 little girl's and me give her the best fun loving life a dog could have.... She had a massive tumor that she opened up there was nothing we could have done it would of just cam back she was in pain just sad to see her like that i so i new we had to put her down i called they took me in right away the lady's where so so sweet Loving and caring they really maid you feel welcome shared some of there stories they even gave kona attention an love it was sweet.... I was so heart broken when i picked up her ashes but kinda happy cause i know she is home with us so THANK YOU too all of you it's not an easy job and if wasn't for all of you and your great help my kona wouldn't be home with us so much love and respect thank you again to 2 lady's that where there they really touched my heart

Love Dr. Anderson! The receptionists are professional and the assistants take such good care of all of our puppies!!

I took my Yorkie to the VCA 8/19/21. He was seen by Dr D whomI found to be very knowledgeable with a great bedside manor. He was very thorough in assessing Tyler. The staff were all cheerful, friendly and compassionate. We were very happy to have found such a great facility for our dogs.

Our rescue dog of 16 years needed euthanasia two weeks ago. Jennifer was very compassionate to help get us in to the 1st available appt THEN to usher us in to a very private room for our last minutes with our dear dog. Dr. D was also professional to explain the entire procedure to us, and tell us to take all the time we needed during this difficult procedure. Lakeside's prices were very reasonable as well as cremation costs. Thank you VCA for your compassion and professionalism during a very difficult family decision.

Dr. D is awesome! Everyone at VCA is so kind. They understand that our pets are actually a family member. I've never had a situation where they encouraged me to spend more money than what I had to. No extra tests or procedures. I definitely trust them with the care of my pugs.

I am writing this to give our feedback and express our complete displeasure of VCA Lakeside Animal Hospital. On Thursday April 7th at 3:45pm we called VCA Big Bear. Our 5 year old yellow Lab Georgie was having seizures. Georgie was diagnosed with epilepsy 4 years ago and was on medication and constantly monitored by our veterinarian. She has a history of seizures and they have normally lasted 40 – 50 seconds. This was not her normal, it was back to back seizures that had lasted over about 20 minutes. They call these seizures “Cluster Seizures”. We have been to VCA in Big Bear with Georgie in the past a few times for minor issues, so she was a patient and we are in their system. When we called to tell them about the cluster they told us there was nothing they could do for her and we need to take her down the hill to VCA Urgent Care in Ontario. My wife and I carried our 110 lb. Lab up the stairs, and called a friend to help load her in the truck. We proceeded to start to drive to VCA to see if they could give her some type of sedative, or even a shot of phenobarbital to make the 1 ½ hour drive down the hill. When we called them from the phone while driving to the facility, we let them know her body temperature was rising and it was now 103 degrees. My wife expressed to them that we didn’t think she would make the drive over the winding mountain road on a very hot day. The receptionist told us that they talked to the Dr. and said they would not do anything, as they felt it may disrupt whatever the Urgent Care in Ontario might want to do. She was seizing the entire way. When we arrived at VCA in Ontario they rushed Georgie into ER. She was in critical condition due to the prolonged seizures that caused her body temperature to rise. We told them that VCA Lakeside refused to do anything to help and they seemed very confused. They were able to sedate her and give her a phenobarbital injection, which is all she needed to stop the seizures. Georgie’s seizures stopped and they allowed us to visit with her within 15 minutes. They had her on a table and were doing everything possible to bring down her 108* temperature. We left her in their care for 5 days. On April 12th they let us know she was medically stable to transport. We were able to bring her home to Ventura. She was not able to walk or see and was very lethargic. We made an appointment with VMSG in Ventura with her Neurologist to have a checkup. He let us know that he felt there may have been some severe brain damage due to the incredibly high body temperature. Georgie’s love and companionship to us was so important to give her any chance of life possible, we decided to go ahead with an MRI. Later that afternoon, we received a phone call that we did not want to hear. She had extreme brain damage as expected and her quality of life was not good. On the VCA Lakeside Animal Hospital website they claim “Caring for pets”. My wife and I will forever hold VCA Lakeside responsible for not giving Georgie a chance to live by refusing to give her any type of general relief for the long drive. I will forward this to the Dept. of Consumer Affairs Veterinary Medical Board to make sure it is brought to their attention.