I brought my Great Pyrenees mix, Remi, here on Saturday, March 28th, as the VCA chain partners with our rescue for the first vet visit. Our vet tech was perfectly fine and seemed to like Remi. However, Dr. Kapoor severely disappoints, and I strongly recommend going to another location or an entirely different company. Her fear and lack of knowledge about his breed created an atmosphere that was uncomfortable and extremely stressful for my dog, when it should have been a relatively easy and positive experience. I do not understand why she would accept large dogs as patients if she is afraid of them. We will not be returning to VCA because of this experience, and I have informed my rescue of what occurred. ------------------ Remi greeted the vet tech without issue. Dr. Kapoor appeared to be terrified of my dog before she was able to even see him fully and required him to be muzzled while she was in the room. His tail was lowered but not tucked (his standard), and he did not bark, growl, or grumble at her. Given his size and medical history, I can understand being cautious. However, if she had taken the time to assess the situation, she may have been able to see he may not need a muzzle. Once he was muzzled, he audibly sniffed the air, at which point Dr. Kapoor literally jumped backward away from him, causing him to get spooked and "run" to me. At this point, Dr. Kapoor asked me several times if I thought he'd let her touch him or if he'd try to bite her. She also pushed to have his real double dew claws removed multiple times. Originally, she stated that they were not attached, so removal wouldn't be a big deal. After feeling them and realizing they were attached (which is standard for the breed), she continued to push to have them removed. This is terrible advice for his breed, unless there is a medical or hazardous reason to remove them, and even a simple google search can reveal the issues with removing them. When I stated that I am not interested in having them removed, Dr. Kapoor told me that Remi will "rip them off jumping over fences" and that I should have it done. There was no consideration for his temperament, life style, or potential risk factors in this conversation. I was advised that we could discuss the removal at a later appointment, which showed blatant disregard for my decisions about my dog's care. Finally, Dr. Kapoor was unable to provide me with helpful information about the amount of weight Remi needs to gain, what his ideal weight should be, or what he should look like to visually tell he's close to his ideal weight, since she claimed that they only judge weight based on look. He was underweight when I rescued him and has been slowly improving. By the time I reached my car after the appointment, I received a notification that an appointment for his vaccinations had been set. This was not discussed with me at all. They simply decided for me that we would come back at that time on that day. Obviously, I canceled the appointment immediately. I left an internal review with a shortened explanation of what happened above. Conveniently, I am now unable to log into my account to retrieve the records from this appointment to provide to my normal vet. Thankfully, I remember his weight and the flea/tick medicine they gave him. Overall, this was an extremely disappointing experience that was very poorly handled. read more

Do not use them, especially to board. They did not give my cat's medication properly and when confronted denied it. I provided the exact amount of medication needed for the time my cat would be boarded plus 1 extra day. 1/3 of the medication was not used. Causing extreme health issues for my cat. She has hyperthyroidism. read more

STAY AWAY... They were constantly calling me about a free dog checkup for my new puppy so I made an appointment and went. the "free" part was weighing him and checking his breathing. Then they rushed me to sign documents agreeing to pay 315$ for a fecal test and 3 vaccines that I was getting for free and the rescue clinic I got my dog at. This place is way overpriced and misleading. STAY AWAY read more

I can see why VCA Dahlonega Animal Hospital is voted the #1 Animal Hospital in Dahlonega. Your precious pet will receive compassionate, professional and timely care by loving doctors that embrace your pet as if it was their own. My senior Shar-Pei has serious anxiety issues when visiting the Hospital, but Dr. Helvie's infinite compassion, thoughtfulness, incredible patience and professionalism allows the visit to proceed with minimal difficulty. He has the Doctor Doolittle approach down pat, and our family remains so grateful. All costs, treatment plan and findings are meticulously explained so no surprises and minds are put at ease. We always feel so special and respected, and pup Penny so valued and loved over the past 11 years. We can't imagine ever seeking care anywhere else. This is Penny's second home. read more

My husband and I were able to capture a small corgi mix dog who was running along highway 52, stopping traffic on the way. Clearly lost and scared. Thin. We brought in the dog to the nearest vet which we found (this place). The staff was very cold and unfriendly. Refused to take in the dog in and the animal services were already closed for the day. They told us to "go back and drop the dog off where we found it" and that we "should just turn a bling eye to it." We are we're visiting from out of state. Couldn't take the petrified, thirsty, and hungry pup to our hotel room and made it clear to the staff. Put him back in the middle of the road would for sure to cause it's demise... Luckily, we were able to find a kind soul who agreed to take the dog to her house to drop off at animal services the next morning. I can't believe the unkind policy and how no one was willing to help. We've found and brought in loose dogs, who weren't microchipped (like this dog) to a nearby vet before and had no issues. VCA is a large national chain and it's a real shame that this is what they tell their workers to do. Just appalled and disappointed. read more

This hospital is the worst!! Stay away from Mark Helvie in Dahlonega GA location! My cat was admitted for severe pain. It took over 45 minutes for Mark Helvie to get to us. Upon his arrival his assistant told us that he was leaving early but would see our cat Nuggett. He came in very quickly opened his mouth and ran his hands under his belly. He prescribed stomach medicine, and a hydration shot and said "he will be fine in a few days" 5 minutes later he left the hospital and left us in the care of his assistant and the receptionist. 3 days later we admitted him again, within 5 minutes the other vet told us to draw blood work. Within one hour he was diagnosed with Kidney failure, and we were told to send him to the ER in Alpharetta almost an hour away. Nuggett our beloved cat was put to sleep 24 hours later with stage 4 cancer. This hopital not only was negligent in diagnosis but absolutely wrong for leaving our cat in the care of no doctor on site. Nuggett was in severe pain for over 5 more days and couldve been prevented all together. This is a medical malpractice case. WE WILL BE SEEING YOU IN COURT! STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS. MARK HELVIE YOUR LICENSE SHOULD BE REVOKED!!! read more

I have been a customer here for almost 20 years. But today Iwaited an hour and a half outside to have the dog's pink eye examined, and finally the doctor-of-the-day, a Dr. Washington, called me on my cell phone. All the vets who were there have moved away, and she was the vet of the day, and she wanted to do a "bunch of tests" including fluoriscein staining of the cornea and pressure measurement. And a heartworm test, and routine exam, and fecal and on and on. And she could not accept my word that all vaccinations and rabies (done by them at the 4H clinic) were current and up to date. My dog needed a full set of shots, and tests, after 20 years there. For pinkeye. Dr. Washington said if I was refusing she would not treat me dog. I refused some of it. Someone brought the dog out and dropped her leash just outside the door; fortunately the dog ran to the open car door. The woman in scrubs started screaming some really rude things at me and I asked her if she was the doctor? She kept yelling, and ran inside. I called the front desk to see what the problem was, but the doctor refused to talk to me and had the girl tell me she was calling the police. I will NEVER again even fart in their direction. Both the doctors I took my dogs to over the twenty years I have gone there are gone, and they have no regular doctor yet. Just vet-of-the-day. And their new doctor, Dr. Perkins, who signed a contract is not even there yet. I doubt there are any patients left by the time she does come. Commission driven. ADDENDUM: And after I got home the police showed up with a "Warning not to trespass" there ever again. Not bad enough the doctor is incompetent and the people rude. This after almost 20 years. read more

VCA Dahlonega Animal Hospital - Veterinarians Near Me - Dahlonega, Georgia

My injured dog is a patient here and was turned away because the vet was "busy." They told me to drive 10 miles away to the other VCA Animal Hospital and I was turned away by that hospital and told to drive 25 miles away to the emergency vet although the vet was open. The staff member working told me "when a person is injured, you go to the hospital, same with a dog, go to the emergency vet in Gainesville." I had to find another local vet to see my dog and start all over as a new patient. read more

I would give this place negative stars if I could. Haven't been to this vet office in 2 months and I get a text saying I owe over $100. So I called to ask what this imaginary charge is considering I haven't been... Sandra told me she would call me back explaining the charges. She called me back and started telling me I have a pending charge in august. I tried explaining and asking how I could have a pending charge considering my last visit was mid July for a prescription refill. When I tried to explain that EVERY single time I go in and get medicine, they get handed my card, she straight up hung up on me. I don't like using the text payments for THIS REASON! I've had many issues with this Sandra woman. She's very rude and she has messed up my dogs medicine on TWO separate occasions. The vets don't care about your pets overall health they just want to get you in and out and take your money. Go somewhere else where they will actually care about your time, money, and animals. Very unprofessional. Do better read more

Dr Ferris is a great veterinarian! She did emergency surgery and saved my little buddy Sidney when she had pyrometra! Thank you Dr. Ferris and your great team! Paul Bedard read more

I love this animal hospital the staff is super nice I love the front desk lady there she always checks me in for me and service is absolutely great! I love and highly recommend Dr. Ferris she is amazing and my little dog loves her! I definitely trust this place for my pet. read more

Petlovers, be very careful if you are considering this practice!!! We were longtime patients here and had a flea problem that Frontline would not solve some months back. We were talking to a vet tech friend, and she suggested we ask the vet for a flea killing med called Capstar. The vet had it in stock, and we purchased doses for our two dogs and 3 cats. Price was $21 per dose. The vet dispensed the pills in little paper envelopes with no info about the drug - just the loose pills with the pet's name handwritten on the outside. We dosed everyone, and although we got rid of the fleas, our young kitten and old dog seemed lethargic, but we thought that could be a normal side effect of the med. Fast forward to this week. We again needed something other than Frontline and purchased Capstar at a new vet that just opened nearby. The price? Six bucks a pill. Because we were upset that a vet would mark a medicine up almost 400%, we called Chestatee and asked for an explanation. Incredibly, we were told that the issue was not that the medicine had been marked up 400%. Rather, Chestatee flat out did not dispense the Capstar we asked for. Instead, they dispensed a completely different drug we had never heard of (and that was not appropriate for our situation, because the animals had been given Frontline just days earlier). When we expressed shock, Angel, the office manager, was beyond rude. She first accused us of trying to cheat the practice (for asking them to refund the difference between the cost of the expensive drug we got (but did not ask for or NEED) and the Capstar. She then tried to blame us for the practice's malpractice by claiming that we must have requested the drug they dispensed, a drug we had never before heard of and knew nothing about. Finally, she reluctantly agreed to put a credit on our account, but when I told her we would not be comfortable again using the practice, given this major lapse in care, she refused to send a check for the difference, and hung up on me midcall. I called back and asked to speak to one of the vets and and was told I would get a call back. Not only did I not get a call back, I did not get an apology. Ultimately, I would not bring my animals back here if they were on fire. Aside from the rude and obnoxious staff, there is apparently no eye for detail or acceptance of responsibity at this practice. We know were lucky - the practice did not poison or kill our animals. It could have easily gone another way, given that so many meds that are safe for dogs are lethal to cats. It scares me because they have been running newspaper ads for express services - the last thing they need to do is rush through patient care to make a quick buck. read more

I waited for 40 minutes to be seen, with no one else there. I could not recommend them for anyone if this how they treat people. If they did not want my business why not tell me before making that drive. read more