Veterinary Care and Specialty Group

This emergency vet is solely responsible for saving our 4 year old Siberian Husky Mika (2 at the time of ER stay) and just recently, our domestic short haired cat, Leo (8). Mika presented with severe Gastro issues. After a 48 hospital stay, testing, and prescription diet, she’s been managing very well ever since. Leo presented with jaundice (yellowing skin/liver issues, and would not eat). They hospitalized him for 48 hours, and sent us home with an installed feeding tube and supportive care instructions for the best chance at recovery. For Leo, the first ER vet we went to in Chattanooga basically charged us $1,000 for diagnostics, blood test, and outpatient medicines, as they told us he only had a 50% chance at recovery, even if we chose the almost $4,000 inpatient option with this other ER. 3 days later, when we called the original ER vet to let them know he still wasn’t eating on his own, they basically told us there was nothing more that could be done. Granted, they did recommend hospitalization and feeding tube, but didn’t even offer to do any ultrasound to find any root causes to see what was going on. They treated it like a guessing game. We arrived to VCSG for a 2nd opinion - boy am I glad we did. They were more than optimistic about his chances. They went over everything with us, with the same compassion, understanding, and financial preparedness as they did Mika’s visit. When we decided to hospitalize with VCSG, they kept us updated with frequent phone calls, and weren’t going to rack up the more expensive charges until they knew what the ultrasound said the next morning. He’s now home with us with an outpatient recovery plan and feeding tube. There’s still a Long road ahead, but VCSG literally saved Leo’s life as far as I’m concerned - the other ER was just going to recommend putting him down; they wouldn’t even prescribe anti nausea meds for him, but VCSG did. Mika also had to visit recently again (right before Leo) due to a possible minor flare up of stomach issues, and she got great care. Well worth the $900. Lastly, I read most of the one star reviews, and most are about financials. Vet medicine has drastically increased in demand with a shortage of vets, and equipment is outrageously expensive. I’m actually surprised it doesn't cost more than it does. This place isn’t money hungry - but they also aren’t a charity; that doesn’t diminish the level of care and concern they have. This is probably one of the best places in the world to take your pet for ER care. For reference, Mika’s care for 48 hours was a little over $3,000 total a couple years ago. Her minor visit recently was less than $1,000. Leo’s care for 48 hours was a little over $4,000. In total, we’ve invested about $8,000 in the last few years for our pets. Money well spent (and we are not “rich” by any means, and it certainly hurts…a lot). Keep in mind, those costs involve a plethora of blood tests, ultrasounds, X-Rays, fluid and iv care, all inpatient and outpatient medicines, 24/7 watch and support, medical analysis and evaluation, prescriptions, exam fees, minor surgeries (like the feeding tube), take home recovery diets, and a whole lot of other things. The bottom line: this place is phenomenal, and the staff is always friendly, experts in their field, and has proven time and time again to deliver the best ER and priority pet care around. Trust me - we know from experience! You’ll need to have the correct mindset that ER pet care is very expensive for pet owners, because operating such a facility is enormously expensive for the staff and owners. If you’re concerned about the cost of medical care, you may need to consider pet insurance. Also, go vote for universal human health care. Then we can talk about universal pet care and make it more affordable for all. But until that time, just know — we’ve now visited this place 3 or 4 times, and that’s a lot of opportunities for something to go wrong…but in every visit, they far exceeded every expectation we had, and we love their dedication. Thank you VCSG!

I wish I could give more than five stars! My six year old cat was diagnosed with nasal lymphoma. VCSG was the nearest place (two hour drive) that offered radiation oncology. I was nervous about the cancer itself, as well as the stress of taking my cat away from home for two weeks for treatment. This place is amazing! From the front desk staff, to the vet techs, to Dr. Strasberg himself, everyone made the visits as pleasant as possible. They answered all my questions and took great care of my cat. I never once doubted that he was in great hands with them!

Recently my sweet bernedoodle, Nymeria, had four masses removed by our local vet. One of those masses was a cancerous, mast cell tumor. The pathology report indicated that clean margins were not obtained. Our vet mentioned the option of going to VCSG for an oncology consult. I decided that this was the best course of action. A few days later Nymeria and drove 1.5 hours to Chattanooga and we were in the VCSG offices and meeting with Dr. Marlowe. Although the circumstances were far from ideal, the consultation was everything I could have hoped for. Dr. Marlowe was literally an answer to my prayers. Immediately I could tell I had done the right thing. Dr. Marlowe was caring, thorough, obviously VERY knowledgeable and very accommodating. I asked A LOT of questions. She was completely engaged for the entire consultation, which lasted on and off for a few hours. She gave me the feeling that Nymeria and I were the most important thing she had to do that day. I really believe that is the way she felt. I won’t go into details, but she was able to perform a lot of procedures while we were there and, by the end of the day, provide me with a lot of info, some options for next steps and also recommendations. She did some additional biopsies and scans that showed there were no other areas of concern. Being able to do all of this in one visit was very much appreciated for two reason. First because we are not local to Chattanooga and second, but most important, it gave me peace of mind that the cancer had not spread. When I left their facility, although I was still worried and concerned, I felt considerably less anxious. I have worked in the IT field for over thirty years, so I am a firm believer that information is power. Dr. Marlowe gave me great power that day. I am very pleased to say that by following Dr. Marlowe’s recommendation, we had a second surgery performed which successfully removed the remaining cancer tissue. Now I feel very confident that I will have my sweet girl with me for many years to come. I am sooooooooo very thankful for Dr Marlowe’s expert advice and for providing it in the best method I could have hoped for. I would recommend the VCSG facility and services to anyone, without reservation. Once again, a huge thank you to Dr.Marlowe and VCSG!!!!

My 2 year old female Golden Doodle became very sick and after a couple of regular vet visits I was referred to the ER. I took her to VCSG and after a couple of hours the staff was unable to provide me with a concrete diagnosis. I was given the option to take her home with medications or to admit her overnight. I decided to take her home but ended up back to the ER within days. This time she was admitted and ended up staying 3 nights. During this extremely scary and stressful time I had the absolute pleasure of dealing with Dr. Wayne Zuvers. Dr. Zuvers was my calm during the storm. He took the time to explain every step of the process of helping my pet in a way that was understandable and he made sure I was updated continuously. It has now been a couple of weeks since I was able to bring her home and she is back to being her normal, playful, and crazy self. I am so thankful for the dedication, professionalism, and overall good hearted person of Dr. Zuvers during my time of need.

I’ve brought my pets to VCSG for everything ranging from major emergencies, to minor injuries when their regular vet wasn’t available. Their staff has always been incredibly kind, professional, and competent and I feel that my pets received high-quality care. VCSG can have long waits and can be expensive, but that’s also the nature of emergency veterinary medicine. Thankful for their presence in our community!