VCA Los Angeles Veterinary Specialists was founded on the principles of veterinary specialty practice: expert medical care, state-of-the-art medical equipment, and medicine practiced with compassion and professionalism.
Located in Los Angeles, our veterinarians, technicians and pet-friendly support staff are trained to the highest standards to ensure that our patients receive the best in healing care.
VCA Los Angeles Veterinary Specialists (VCA LAVS) was founded with the principles of veterinary specialty practice in mind: expert medical care, state of the art medical equipment to deliver care, and medicine practiced with compassion and professionalism, often on patients with serious illnesses.
The staff at VCA LAVS has had years of experience diagnosing and treating disorders that seriously affect dogs and cats. Our clients often arrive anxious and uncertain, particularly with pets that are very ill or remain undiagnosed. Our goal is to continue to provide first-rate services to our patients and clients in a friendly, reassuring and expert manner.
An integral part of successful Internal Medicine practice involves careful history taking and integration of this information with the tests that were performed by your family veterinarian.
The VCA LAVS staff prides itself on processing this information, performing a complete and thorough physical examination, and then setting forth the most direct and appropriate diagnostic and treatment plan for your pet's needs.
Initial appointments are 40-60 minutes in length. This allows ample time to review your records, examine your pet, and discuss diagnostic and treatment plans. For new patients, please arrive 15-20 minutes early for check-in to complete a new client/patient form. This will allow our receptionists to enter your information into our database prior to your appointment time.
It is imperative that all new clients whose animals have been treated elsewhere arrive with medical records. This includes copies of all recent lab tests and doctor's notes, and relevant X-rays or ultrasound reports and/or pictures.
We strongly encourage you to contact your regular veterinarian to send records to you directly via email. Once you are sure you have all pertinent records, please forward to our hospital at: vcalavs@vca.com. Please title as your pet's name with your last name with "upcoming appointment." You would be surprised to know how often incomplete records are sent to us directly from area veterinarians. Incomplete records will often delay care for your pet and may increase expense if repetitive testing needs to be undertaken.
What to Expect
Procedures are usually (but not always) done on the day of your appointment. With the exception of several blood tests, procedures are usually not done at the time of your pet's exam. Rather, they are done during our 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm and our 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm procedure times.
Please plan on leaving your pet with us for anywhere from 30 minutes after your exam, to all day depending upon the case. It is generally requested that your pet fast for the first exam. Access to water is allowed up to the time of exam. A common exception to this is the diabetic animal that must eat and receive insulin in the morning.
Anesthetic patients must always fast the day of exam, preferably eating nothing after 9:00 pm the night before. For anesthetic patients, access to water is allowed through the morning of your appointment. If there are any questions in this regard, please call the hospital for clarification.
Within the hospital there are two separate ICU units, thermally-controlled, oxygen-enriched incubation chambers, and all of the modern amenities that allow us to deliver optimum patient care and maximize patient comfort. A tour of the hospital facility is available to you in the event your pet needs to spend an extended period of time with us.
Pet owners are encouraged to call for updates for hospitalized patients. If the doctor is not available, a technician can give a status report and answer your questions.
