Vanguard Veterinary Associates

If all you need is routine shots, Vanguard is convenient enough. But if you need anything more than that, would not recommend. One of my dogs tested positive for heartworms at the mobile clinic which the tests then have to be sent off to a lab for final confirmation. I never received a phone call about the final results and had to call their office multiple times to find out the status. When I asked the receptionist to send me an email with the blood work information… I received a copy of my receipt for the purchase of the tests. Not sure what good that does me. I have a feeling they are not well equipped to handle anything more than routine vaccinations. Certainly would not feel comfortable having them treat my pet for something as serious as heartworms.

The staff at the 1604 Vanguard are all knowledgeable and friendly. They take great care of all five of my cats! Dr. Sarah Pittman is the best vet I know, she’s super smart and you can tell she really cares about animals.

I love love love love love Dr. Tessa Metcalf !!! Seriously one of the most knowledgable vets I’ve ever seen. She’s the BEST! Super friendly and nice and really knows what’s going on with animals. I have been to a lot of other clinics and offices and she is by far the BEST EVER! I would recommend her to everyone ! My poor baby had a serious skin allergy problem, and she was the only one out of 5 other vets that fixed her and on the first try !! She’s amazing !

I have been taking my sweet Holly here since she was 2 pounds and a month old! Staff is outstanding. Those techs love my pup as much as I do. They do what needs to be done and explain results and needed meds very professionally. Their prices are better than the other we have for our cat. We will be switching her records over as well.

I’ve taken my German Shepherd here for over a year now. The staff is awesome flexible when it comes to scheduling your visit. What other place are you able to take your dog in for a full panel of shots and a 12 month supply of Sentinel (monthly flea and heart worm preventative) all for under 150 bucks!!! The medication alone online is $ 130-​$ 150. Plus the staff is always very good with The way they handle my baby girl when administering the vaccines. It’s like they kind of distract her and before she even realizes what’s going on they’re already done. It’s actually a little bit funny. You would pay 2 to 3 times more going to a (more heavily advertised) Big chain vet clinic located in your local big chain pet store. This place is truly a godsend to people who are on a budget and don’t have and endless amount of money to shell out for pet vaccinations and medications. Do yourself a favor and quit seeing the vet that has long been overcharging you and take your pet to these professionals.

We went to one of their mobile vaccination clinics, and the service we received was fast, professional, and affordable. What was especially great was the huge variety of locations, dates, and times to choose from. I highly recommend them!

This review is for the mobile vet clinics.
I’ve only ever had great service! They have a lot of options for schedules and locations. No appointments, just show up. The wait can be a long or short, but the vaccinations are so affordable.
For pets who are not super social or patient enough to wait in line (I have seen so many dogs get off leash and run around the parking lot! It makes everyone nervous– not necessarily for bad behavior but just out of worry that the dog was going to run away or run into traffic), you can leave your pet in the car and the tech will go to the car to administer the meds.
Cash or check only!

I have only done business here once.
They were recommended by a dog day care business in the area.
I was looking for another veterinarian, because my regular vet seemed to want to up sell me every time I took my pet in. I found it quite refreshing to take my pet in for simple vaccinations and not being pressured to spend additional money. The prices were very reasonable. and I found the staff to be friendly.

Update: Vanguard Veterinary would not provide me a prescription to purchase heartworm medication from 1−800-petmeds. I had to take my dogs to my vet for another heartworm test in order to purchase heartworm medication.
Warning — do not trust these people!

Several years ago I took my Boston Terrier to Vanguard for injuries received in dog fight. The wounds had gotten infected and she needed prompt attention. She was seen by Dr. Vara and she was stitched up and given antibiotics and pain killers. Two days later one wound had accessed and I had to return. I was extremely pleased with the care she received and their treatment of both my pet and me. She completely recovered at thrives to this day.
I have also used their mobile sites for pet vaccinations and am so very thankful they offer this convenient and affordable service.

I have used Vanguard for several years now as far as the mobile vaccination clinics go. I have two large dogs of my own, and inherited my mother’s elderly dog when she moved in with me after my father passed away. They have always been gentle and kind with my animals. Because my dogs are aggressive with other dogs, they come to the car where my dogs are comfortable and give them their shots and draw their blood for heartworm testing in the car. I trust them and recommend this service if you are looking to save money, keep your pets up to date on their shots, and appreciate the volunteers and assistance you get from them. For emergencies or grooming I would probably go elsewhere, but for wellness checkups this is the way to go.

Ok it was cheap but that is the only thing positive I can say. I took my dog to get tested for heart worm and the incompetent vet couldn’t properly draw blood, poking my dog multiple times in his leg. Finally she gave up and tried his other leg which worked. My dog has been licking his poor wound the past couple of days.

I just went to one of their mobile vaccination clinics at the HEB on Parmer lane in N. Austin.
I have a timid 3 year old, 15 pound, terrier mix. We got package C, which is the nasal bordetella vaccine, rabies vaccine, and the DHPPV vaccine, and we also got a heartworm test. We got a one year prescription for Sentinel, a preventative heartworm and flea oral pill. Our total bill was $ 127.
They have it set up to run smoothly. You place your dog on a table right there at the check-​in. You hold on to your dog yourself while they administer the vaccines. I think this is a good thing because i think it puts the dog at ease, but it felt unprofessional.
Also, they are cash only, which I didn’t realize. If they point that out some where, we missed it completely.
We were given a rebate for $ 10 off our Sentinel prescription, which I tried to redeem as soon as I got home… but the rebate coupon expired almost 2 months ago.
I dunno. We got the services we paid for, and it was much cheaper than going to the vet, but little things rubbed me the wrong way. But we will of course go back next year because it is affordable.

After I walked in, they placed a clipboard in front of me, and I said aloud to my dog trainer,“I guess I’m supposed to fill this out now.”
There was a giant scale in their tiny waiting room. People were trying to figure out how to use it while I tried to make myself as small as possible next to this piece of medical equipment, which belongs in the back.
We were stuck in the crowded waiting room with howling dogs for an extended period of time, but this is mostly because we were late for our appointment. We had tried asking the receptionist for directions once we were off the highway, but she gave them to us from another location, not listening to us, and giving us a ton of attitude in the process. I would’ve not gone at all due to this crap had my dog’s rescuer not arranged for free vaccines, and goodness, they acted like they were the ones doing me a favor when they rang me up! I’m not sure if any of those women at the front desk made eye contact with myself, or our trainer, and they just placed my credit card any-​olé-​where after charging me.
I had never taken care of a dog entirely on my own, and had several important questions to ask a veterinarian. I never saw an actual vet, just the tech, who was nice enough, in sharp contrast to her colleagues, but she still didn’t bring a doc into the room despite my pleading. I wish I could give this place zero stars. I honestly don’t know how they’re still in business, and they charged me far too much money for what little they did that day.

I have taken my two dogs to the Vanguard mobile vaccination clinic for the last few years, because one of them gets a little anxious about going to an actual vet in an actual building, and also the price can’t be beat, since I have two dogs. It is usually fairly quick and neither of my dogs even notice they are getting a shot. A couple times, the technician giving the vaccine has even come to the car to give the shot to my biggest dog. For all he knew, it was just someone coming to the car to say hi and pet him. He had no clue he got a shot.
It is about that time again, so we will be going to their mobile clinic in Cedar Park tomorrow. I will give another review if anything has changed, but so far they have been very consistent.

I just used their mobile vaccination service in Austin, and was very pleased with the outcome. I have two dogs, which can lead to pricey vet visits. To get both my dogs vaccinated with their mobile vaccs service was a lot cheaper than just getting vaccinations done with my dogs’ regular vet.
The wait in line was hardly anything, and the customer service was above and beyond. One of my dogs wound up having an allergic reaction to the vaccines, and the team intervened right away to thwart the reaction. I was impressed at how much they seemed to genuinely care about my dog’s outcome, even though they weren’t getting financial compensation for what they were doing. Now that my dog had a reaction, I can no longer use mobile vaccination services, but I wanted to let everyone else know how great this team is. You can find information for where their next mobile vaccination sites will be on their website. All you do is show up!

I take my dogs to their actual clinic on 1604 and Redland. If you have a dog that doesnt want to wait in line with other dogs or gets nervous, just make an appt at their office. They charge the same low price for vaccines and do not charge for an office visit. The office is nice, clean and everyone has always been very nice there. I have also had my dogs teeth cleaned there and saved over $ 300 than what other vets wanted to charge. This included blood work to make sure my dog would not have adverse reactions to the anesthesia.

This review is really just my thank you to VVA and their wonderful, friendly crew! The number and frequency of the vaccination clinics they offer is amazing. I’m never left worrying if I’m going to run out of heartworm preventative or let a vaccination lapse because these guys always seem to be right there when you need them.
The wait for shots usually isn’t too bad and if you just need to pick something up it is a breeze. Prices are quite reasonable and no vet visit fee on top!

We lived three years in SA and always took our dogs here. We also saved a lot of money in vaccinations. They have friendly staff and fast service. We highly recommend.

I’ve only ever taken my dogs to Vanguard to get their vaccinations done and we save a large chunk of $$$ going here rather than taking them to the vet. We probably save at least $ 50 per dog, especially since you have to pay for a pet visit when you go to your regular veterinarian. Not that there’s anything wrong w/​that, unless you have money to spend!
The people are usually really nice that I’ve had to deal with. I’m one of those people who gets there early to wait in line so I’m not waiting too long because it can get busy if you wait half way into it (they’re usually there for 2 – 4 hours. Also, if it’s your first time taking a pet and/​or you have a few pets, you may want to have an extra hand there to help you, because you will have to fill out papers if it’s your first time going. I’ve tried to help as many people as I can when I go because it can be extremely stressful to hold on to an anxious pet while you’re trying to write down your info on paper.
All-​in-​all, a great experience everytime. I have been going here for years and would recommend anyone who isn’t doing it, to do it!