We had been going to Gateway Animal Hospital since 2011, but our experience had been getting progressively worse ever since they became VCA. The last straw was when we brought our 14-16-year-old dog in for a teeth cleaning that they recommended on December 30, 2022. After taking her blood, Dr. Ruiz discovered she had kidney failure, but he was more concerned about the teeth cleaning than her health, so he proceeded with the cleaning, pulled 5 teeth, then forgot to prescribe the medicine and treatment for her kidneys.

She ended up dying of kidney failure less than 2 months after her cleaning, and VCA insists they did nothing wrong because her blood levels were within medical guidelines to proceed. Oh, they also collected $1,618.33 for the cleaning, so yeah, I can see why they would be motivated to continue. I wonder, if they truly had her best interest in mind, why didn't Dr. Ruiz stop the teeth cleaning, proceed with IV fluid treatments to see if her levels would get better, then proceed with a teeth cleaning later if they saw improvement? After all, she was a senior dog with a life threating disease, did she really need her teeth cleaned immediately?

After I submitted a claim to the BBB over this issue, VCA Gateway denied all responsibility, but offered a "good faith" reimbursement of $809.17, but only if I signed a release and never said a bad thing about them or Dr. Ruiz online. I declined so that I can tell others that if you value the life and health of your pet, stay away from this clinic and go somewhere else, as all this place wants to do is take your money, and recommend annual teeth cleanings for all their pet patients whether it is needed or not.