VCA Family and Oahu Veterinary Specialty Center

Front desk staff are some of the nicest ER receptionists I’ve ever met which makes a huge difference. The quality of medicine is evidently very good at this hospital. They took very good care of my kitty’s wound and it’s almost completely healed now. Prices are higher but it’s because you’re paying for very high level emergency care and they have to run a big hospital with very advanced equipment and pay their very well trained staff. The ER docs are very nice and worked with me on my goals for her care. Thanks for helping my kitty Dr. Steele and Dr. Goic 🩷

This late-night experience felt disingenuous, manipulative, and predatory. The way the veterinarian behaved was offensive, dismissive, and unnecessarily aggressive. The other staff there felt more genuine and kind, which was appreciated. I brought my dog to this emergency clinic during a genuinely frightening situation, expecting professionalism, clear communication, and basic respect. They were the only place open. Once he was assessed as stable, I clearly declined additional diagnostics, treatments, and imaging that would have doubled an already $600 bill. These add-ons were repeatedly described as “optional” and “just in case.” However, my informed refusal was repeatedly challenged, reflecting a disregard for patient consent and contradicting basic medical practitioner guidelines What followed was not informed consent — it was pressure. My refusal was not respected. My “no” was challenged over and over. I was repeatedly pushed to justify myself after already giving a clear answer. Instead of focusing on my dog, the veterinarian made the interaction personal, confrontational, and uncomfortable: “Why? Is it about me? Did I do something? Tell me. Tell me.” This was inappropriate, unprofessional, and completely out of place in a medical setting. It felt less like care and more like an ego-driven interrogation. The interaction was so tense and disrespectful that I had to consciously restrain myself to leave calm and composed. Declining services was framed in a fear-based, coercive way, despite the fact that my dog was ultimately assessed as stable. The constant pushing made it clear that my boundaries did not matter. On top of that, the veterinarian repeatedly misgendered my dog, reinforcing the impression that she was inattentive, dismissive, and lacked respect. There was no empathy, no reassurance, and no effort to de-escalate — just haughty, rude behavior and relentless pressure to approve unnecessary add-ons. Emergency care is expensive — I understand that. What is unacceptable is paying that price and being treated with disrespect. My dog is okay. The experience was not. Clinic leadership should seriously address bedside manner, respect for informed refusal, and coercive communication practices. Emergency clients are vulnerable. This clinic made that vulnerability worse, not better.

We recently had a tragic illness befall upon our family member, and the staff here truly did make us feel like family. Foremost, they went out of their way to make sure our pet was taken care of, comfortable, and loved. Secondly, they gave us a thorough and expert analysis of our pet's condition, potential options, and reliable advice on how to proceed. I truly believe if you bring your pet here they will treat them as one of their own. Thank you to the staff and doctors here at VCA. Particularly, Dr. Fujita.

⭐ Horrific Experience at VCA Pearl City – Emotional Manipulation, Fear-Mongering, and Predatory Sales Tactics We visited VCA Family and Oahu Veterinary Specialty Center expecting just two simple things: ✅ A blood test ✅ An ultrasound Instead, we were emotionally blindsided, financially cornered, and misled from the start. ⸻ 🚩 What Happened We were told our dog “most likely has open pyometra” — before they even ran proper diagnostics. In fact, the ER report itself clearly states: “Ultrasound is not able to provide a definitive diagnosis.” Yet, they pushed for $12,000 emergency surgery based on assumptions. And worst of all? Dr. Loren Schmidt actually told us the only way to know for sure if it’s pyometra was to perform the surgery. That’s right — her logic was: “We don’t know what it is. So let’s do surgery to find out.” ⸻ ⚠️ Unauthorized Procedures • They told us the ultrasound tech had “just stepped out.” • Later, we found out they had already performed a “fast ultrasound” without our permission. • We were charged nearly $300 for that unauthorized scan. • The blood test we requested was only done after we demanded to see our dog, who had been in the back for over 6 hours. We never even got to see her during that time. We honestly felt like our dog was being held hostage. ⸻ 😡 Emotional Blackmail Dr. Schmidt used language like: “If treatment is not performed quickly, the toxic effects from the bacteria will be fatal in many cases.” She said it repeatedly, until my wife — overwhelmed by the fear — broke down in tears. And I’ll give credit where it’s due: Dr. Schmidt handed her a tissue. But it honestly felt performative after emotionally cornering us like that. ⸻ ❗ Unqualified Vet, Profit Motive? According to VCA’s website, Dr. Loren Schmidt is a “rotating intern.” Not an emergency specialist. Not a surgeon. Just someone in training. Yet she was recommending an invasive, high-risk, $12,000 surgery. Interns like her may be incentivized to refer cases to in-house specialists — which pads their bottom line. We weren’t offered options. Just one road: Fear → consent → surgery → invoice. ⸻ 💰 Are We Funding Someone’s Drug Habit? They even sent in a “financial coordinator” to go over the costs — like some car dealership closer. We came for help. We got a hard sell, and a price tag that made us say: “With prices like that, are we funding someone’s drug habit?” Because it sure didn’t feel like healthcare. It felt predatory, deceptive, and exploitative. ⸻ ❓ Fast Ultrasound? Fast Forward Scam? What even is a “fast ultrasound”? We’ve owned pets our whole lives — and never heard of this. Turns out, it’s a limited scan that can’t confirm a diagnosis like pyometra — but they used it to scare us into surgery. We didn’t ask for it. We didn’t approve it. And we got billed anyway. ⸻ 🧾 And Then the Ultimatum… They tried to make us sign a form saying we were going “against medical advice” — even though there was no confirmed diagnosis! This wasn’t medicine. This was emotional extortion with a $12,000 price tag. ⸻ ✅ The Second Opinion We left. Got a second opinion. Guess what? ❌ No emergency ❌ No pyometra ❌ No surgery needed Just a normal cycle-related issue — something the right bloodwork and qualified ultrasound would’ve revealed right away. ⸻ 🚫 Bottom Line: Stay Away We came for help. We left feeling angry, manipulated, and completely violated. ❗ Avoid VCA Pearl City. ❗ Protect your pet — and your wallet.

Terrible establishment. Don’t waste your time going here unless you want to waste your money. Came in to “see” the ophthalmology specialist for a non healing corneal ulcer. Paid 500 to “see” the specialist. Never once interacted with them they just proceeded to relay all the info of the decided treatment to the staff to relay to me. Rather the doing the gold standard treatment which in her own visit note was described as having a 85% success rate, she performed the other procedure which she stated had a 50% success rate and was even lower in French bull dogs. In what medical setting would you ever not speak to your physician and discuss treatment options? Even if it would have been more money I would have rather had the choice for the more efficacious treatment, instead they did the lower standard of care treatment with no option or choice and shocker the ulcer didn’t heal. Went and saw a different DVM ophthalmologist and was informed that they would have never not done a diamond burr drill. Thanks for wasting my money and providing insufficient care. 👍🏽