Union Veterinary Clinic

I am so incredibly disappointed by Union Vet. Our dog had a life/death situation and although the clinic was still open for another 30 min we were told to take her to the animal hospital 35 minutes away. That is precious time when your dog needs critical care. We called at 5:30pm trying to bring her in for the vet to figure out what was wrong when the receptionist wouldn't even let us speak to the vet and said if we were to come in she wouldn't receive service. So disappointing!! You would like to think the friendly neighborhood vet would want to take a look at your dog while they are having a life/death situation regardless of appointment. We had had good experiences prior to this but will not be returning. We will find a vet that will take our dog when she needs them the most.

It always has gone well.

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It's a standard type place. There was nothing bad about it. They were fine.

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We rely on them pretty heavily. We absolutely love our vet. She is smart and caring. She remembers all the names and personalities of all my pets. Sometimes, she can get busy with her schedule.

It was great. They are wonderful. There is no appointment required. We've used them for 2 years. They have a really great staff. They are very friendly, accommodating and helpful.

I was very pleased with the service that my cat received. Everyone in the office was very nice, wonderful and accommodating to my schedule.

There is no parking, the receptionists were rude, and the place was cramped and a little dirty. The vets assistant was lovely, and the vet was very nice, but I didnt feel like she gave either of them a full check up. It felt very rushed.

I was VERY pleased with Dr. Katz taking care of my 2 male cats neutering. They kept them overnight and took VERY good

care of them for this traumatic procedure for them...This was in 2009....Since then, I have boarded my 2 cats there for as long

as 1 week, and they were very well cared for, and the pricing has always been very fair, with great attention and care...

I have also had other related services (claw trimming, exams, shots,etc.,) and everything has been fantastic...Of course, the

ONLY drawback is that parking is limited to the street,etc., but this is the City, so they may not be able to do anything about that.

Dr. Gross is my cat's vet and I find she always explains everything and handles the cat as well as can be expected. Cat is difficult and hates vets.

Their prices are reasonable. Everyone is very friendly and I have had no issues with them. I have gone in a couple of times for emergency visits with them and they were very prompt. If they could not handle it they admit to it and I go to an emergency vet. Dr. Gross is the one I go to and she is very personable; I enjoy taking my animals to her.

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We just got a new puppy from WARL and we got a 1st time appointment within days. However, she seemed sick and we were anxious not knowing her history, so on a sunday morning the office fit us in one hour after my call. it was a little pricey, but reasonable considering the convenience and peace of mind. both vets we saw were fantastic and very responsive to our questions and our puppy (who is doing great)

My cat Loki was tagged in the left eye by one of my other two cats. I took him to Union Vet where we saw Dr. Aimee Hunt who was new to me. She told me from the first visit that Loki might need a specialist but that she would try to fix his eye. Three visits later, I had to accept her recommendation to take him to a veterinary ophthalmologist. She gave me a list - we ended up at South Paws where he was well cared for. (See my separate review for South Paws.) I took Loki back to Dr. Hunt for the fourth and final visits for this problem, a follow up to the procedure done at South Paws.

Dr. Hunt was reassuring throughout this whole experience. I appreciate that she tried everything that could be done in a regular veterinary clinical practice before recommending me to a specialist. Her care and patience were outstanding. By the way, Union did not charge me for Dr. Hunt's time for the third and fourth visits, just for the cost of medications. I did not expect that and appreciate it very much as the total cost of treating this problem was $1100 including the specialist care. All but the $100 deductible was eventually covered by Loki's pet insurance.

Union VC took great care of my cat Pumpkin on this occasion. (This is where I take all three of my cats.) I boarded him the night before as it is less stressful to have him there already rather than struggle with getting him there (and myself to work) in the morning. The doctor called me in the afternoon to tell me that everything was fine and I could pick him up after 5. When I arrived, I got a folder with before and after x rays and a complete report on their findings. I have never had a bad experience with Union VC. When possible, I schedule appointments with Dr. Kats (yes that is her name) as I consider her my cats' PCP but Drs. Gross and McCartridge are just fine. I consider myself fortunate to have such a clinic so close to where I live.

Union VC is not inexpensive but it must cost a lot to operate on Capitol Hill. That's life. I see other comments that the lack of parking is an issue. Again, this is a problem across Capitol Hill. Not much to be done about that.

My dog was getting close to her end of her life and she died. That had nothing to do with the Union Veterinary Clinic's care. They were good, competent, professional and very timely which is really important. The only drawback is that they don't have parking. Parking is a challenge. That was the only disadvantage. I was very happy with them. It is a nice, clean clinic. They have multiple vets on staff. I saw the medical director she examined my elderly dog. She reassured me and gave me a medication refill. So she took care of that. I will use this facility in the future.

I arrived for my appointment a few minutes early and my cat was seen promptly. Dr. Cartlidge is friendly and has a good "bedside manner." Her exam and discussion of treatment options were thorough and professional. This clinic schedules appointments every 20 minutes, which is a faster pace than some other veterinary clinics, but Dr. Cartlidge was able to complete her exam and answer all my questions without seeming too rushed. She followed up with a telephone consultation that was helpful. Union seems to be a "cat-friendly" clinic (though, of course, they see dogs, too), and I would recommend it without hesitation to other pet owners.

It seems like the price is higher than what I paid in Delaware, but everything is cheaper there. The fact all the staff were helpful and they didn't just prescribe and go means more to me than a few extra dollars. I would recommend this group, even with the short wait in the waiting room!!

I didn't find any issues with parking, but bring your quarters for the meters. As with most of DC, the trash cans on the corners help with waste removal when your two dogs decide its that time.

I have used Union Vet on several occasions. I have 2 dogs, and I have been there for the annual check-up and vaccinations, as well as when one of my dogs was sick. The vets have always been very friendly, caring, and competent. I had planned on being a Union Vet client for a long time, until this week.

The problem that I had with Union Vet is that when one of my dogs got sick recently (severe diarrhea), I called Union Vet and they told me that they didn't have any openings for a week. Being that my dog was ill, they offered to let me have a 'work-in' appointment. That is where I sit in the waiting room until they can get my dog seen by a vet between other appointments. There was no estimate of how long this would take or what time I should come. Since my work schedule is flexible, I was willing to do that, but my real problem came when they told me that it was going to be $25 extra for that appointment. I'm sorry, but isn't the point of having a regular veterinarian that you can have your pet seen when he/she is sick? I never get out of the vet for less than $150, and they wanted to tack on another $25. Really?? I find this to be poor customer-service, and taking advantage of clients when they need your services the most. Does your insurance allow your doctor to charge you extra because you got strept throat and had to be seen that day? My dog was seen by another vet clinic that same day with no up-charge (a vet clinic that had never seen him before - to me, that was customer service). I have spoken with others who say their vet does not up-charge either, however, I am not in the veterinary industry, so I don't have full knowledge of what is customary.

I did email the clinic with my frustration. The hospital director did email me back, which was very nice. She said, " If you are seen as a work-in, that means we are fitting you in on top of an already full schedule. I do not think it is unreasonable to charge more than a scheduled appointment fee in that case." I disagree with her, though, as I feel the point of having a regular vet is so that your pet can be seen when he is sick. Again, to me, this is taking advantage of clients when they need vet services the most.

Based on my experiences with Union Vet up until this week, I would have recommended them. Being that they wouldn't see my dog unless I paid extra when he was sick this week, though, I can not recommend them anymore. I want a vet that will see my dog when he is ill without an up-charge. The fact that they have no open appointments for over a week is a sign to me that unless I just need annual care (where I can make an appt weeks in advance), this is not the place for my dogs. However, since they are so incredibly booked, it does show that there are a lot of clients that use their services. I'm just not one of them anymore.

It went fine overall. My only issues with Union are the parking and cost. To go there you must street park and it's very hard to find a spot since it's so close to Union Station. It would help if they had a few spaces since they have an alley and a school parking lot next door. Their cost was rather high especially when I had to take my cat in for an emergency visit. They charged an additional $75 just to squeeze you in. I ended up putting my cat down due to cancer so I would really rethink taking my next brood of kittens back to Union as a regular vet, but it is close by and they are very good with animals.

They are friendly. They have convenient hours and a convenient location. Prior to the boarding, we took our cat for a check-up. The price was a little higher than I thought it would be.

Great experience