Dear Clients,I'll repeat that: they announced this via facebook rather than doing their customers the favor of directly mailing or emailing them, first.
After serving the community for over thirty-one (31) years, our emergency service will be closing the doors on February 24th, 2020. Despite all of our efforts, we have been unable to hire able and willing veterinarians to work the difficult overnight hours.
Our doors will remain open for urgent care needs during our general practice hours.
We hope to expand our general practice hours during the weekdays and on Saturdays and Sundays to provide you with more opportunities to for appointments and urgent care.
There are quite a few area hospitals that offer overnight emergency care and below some are listed:
Sincerely,
- VCA Southpaws, Springfield, VA
- VCA Woodbridge, Woodbridge, VA
- Regional Veterinary Referral Center, Springfield, VA
- Colombia Pike Animal Hospital,
- The Hope Center, Vienna, VA
- Friendship Animal Hospital, Washington, DC
VCA Alexandria Animal Hospital Veterinarians and staff.
When we first started to go to Alexandria Animal Hospital (now VCA Alexandria), it was a great place. To go: convenient, reasonable (for the area) prices, quick to get appointments, attentive service and had 24 hour emergency services and care. After they got acquired, the prices started to spiral while the service suffered. I'm guessing that those price increases weren't going to staff, especially since they're saying they can't get staff for the after-hours work (maybe if you paid people rather than lining stockholders pockets, you'd be able to get after-hours help?)
Now, after our one dog was diagnosed with cancer, last summer, and we ended up taking her to RVRC's oncology practice. We discovered that we really liked the staff there. However, RVRC's not a general-practice facility. But, the level of care we got reminded us, "there are still independent practices that focus on great care and service," so we asked if they knew any general-practice vets near us that had the type of care that Alexandria Animal Hospital had lost in the years following their acquisition by VCA. They gave us a list, but I kind of sat on it. In the back of my mind was, "do I want to change practices when VCA Alexandria is where I'll need to go for emergency services, any way." Well, that FaceBook post changes the equation.
To all these corporations buying out veterinary practices: "fuck you". You don't provide the level of care that brought in the customer bases you bought. You don't provide the level of service. And you're fucking price-gougers (which, if I thought was going to your staff rather than investors, I wouldn't mind). I hope VCA, Banfield, etc. all fucking die in a fire.
Me? I guess I'll need to find a new, independent practice before this year's annual checkups are due.
