VCA Alexandria Animal Hospital

They are fabulous. They are very caring, and I think they are very friendly as well. They are reasonably priced. Thorough in their work as well.

I took my cat in for a check-up right after I adopted her from the shelter, which was free for anyone rescuing a pet. The vet was excellent. A few months later, my cat had bloody urine and I took her in on a Friday night at 9pm. They were thorough and friendly. They calmed me down (the very anxious pet owner) and took excellent care of Isabella. The on-call vet talked to me for 20 minutes, listening to my long description of Isabella's symptoms and answering all my questions. She diagnosed her, gave me specific instructions on medication and what other issues to watch out for, and immediately scheduled a follow-up. Not only that, they called me two days after my visit, and before the follow-up appointment, to see how she was doing. They were awesome!

We always see Dr. Shannon Talbott there. They are very thorough.

.We are very pleased with them. I will take my cats there again.

Again, I think VCA is fine as a daytime vet, and I don't have a lot of experience to comment there other than a few routine trips for vaccines. Where I have issues with VCA is I don't believe that they are very good at addressing emergency issues that aren't straightforward. I also on at least one occassion have had services performed during emergency hours without the costs clearly explained - which I think is unacceptable when those costs total more than $300 and you just explained to them that you've been dropped $300-400/week on vet bills (I guess maybe they instead construed that as willingness to pay?). In addition, I don't think they they are looking at all possible causes of the issue and are continuing to pursue a course of action which clearly hasn't been working and unwilling to work with the patient to keep costs reasonable. I perhaps am expecting too much of an emergency clinic - which is probably better suited to treat broken bones and the like. Regardless, because of the high costs of this place and because of my experience with this recent issue, I plan to switch to a vet that hopefully takes a more whollistic approach to animal health. Just as with your own health care, it's important to shop around.

They're really expensive but they're good. Even just a check-up is expensive. But she had surgery there once and saved her life so I'll stay there.

Losing Skipper was very painful, but the clinic was as sensitive and professional as circumstances allowed, for which we were most thankful.

Dr. Donna Krochak is hands down the best Vet I have ever seen. Even though the hospital is very well run, I would highly suggest asking for Dr. Krochak. She is the most professional, caring, informative Vet I have ever been to. She really cares. It shows. Worth every penny. She knows her stuff. Make sure you ask specifically for her, I travel a longer distance even though there are many Vets closer to where I now live. I am happy to refer Dr. K to anyone.

I have gone there for many years. I have a long-standing relationship with them. My last visit to them was an annual visit. I like the fact that they have a 24 hour emergency facility. The veterinarians that work there and the staff are good. They are expensive. I would continue to use them in the future.

They are a clinic/hospital and they are open 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The clinic is open 9-7 and after that it becomes the emergency room. They have doctors and technicians there 24/7. It is very accommodating for anything possible that you would need for your pet. They do both dogs and cats. I think they do everything. They are wonderful. I have heard many comments from people. They are a specialty place and they are excellent. They have so many veterinarians on staff that anything that you would possibly need for a pet they know about. When I moved here and went to one of the veterinarians I asked if she heard of my previous vet and she said she hadn't but when I went to Alexandria Animal Hospital I mentioned her name and they seemed to know her well. It's very good. The price is a little high but I don't mind it.

They work fairly well with my dog because he doesn't do well in stress situations. They take care to keep him away from other dogs because he is part chow. Whenever they take him in the back, they never yank on him or drag him; they kind of talk him into going back there with them. They basically know what they are doing.

Overall the service was great. I was a new client but they were still able to fit all three cats in together the same day I called. The office was bright and clean and the staff was friendly, efficient and helpful. I was kept waiting until about 15 minutes after my scheduled appointment time but the appointment was then efficient. I appreciated that the vet listened carefully to what I told her about the symptoms and explained her thinking about treatment clearly. She didn't push expensive prescription medication, but instead suggested inexpensive over-the-counter medicine available in any drug store (with pills cut into halves or quarters to reduce to an appropriate dosage). She also suggested a prescription food but only if she had a free sample to give me. She did and I went home with 6 lbs. I also liked that she didn't push me to give flea/tick/heartworm preventives year-round since they aren't really necessary in the winter. The prices are a little higher than some vets I've used, but I think it's totally worth it. I'll definitely keep going back.

I took our 8-year-old black lab mix in for her annual appointment. We saw Dr. Cohen, who is our regular preferred vet. He examined the dog, and had technicians administer recommended immunizations. We also purchased our medications for heat worm prevention and flea and tick prevention. This appointment included blood work, which is periodically recommended for our pet. The office staff is always very friendly. We have gone to this vet for years. We have also periodically boarded our dog here, which is very cost effective. The only thing I would recommend it to make sure to ask the vet how much any recommended tests cost before they are administered.

My experience with Alexandria Animal Hospital has been excellent overall during the period 2005-2010. During the past five years, my two Miniature Schnauzers were treated by a very competent staff of doctors (which are many), nurses, and technicians who truly loved my pets and cared for them as if they were their own. On my very first appointment at the hospital, I asked if I could see the ICU, as one of my dogs was very ill and admitted to the hospital and I wanted to see where she would be and how clean the ICU was. One of the doctors escorted me through the hospital and I was most impressed with the cleanliness and state-of-the-art equipment. I was never kept waiting past my appointment time(s) during regular business hours, and check-out was timely. In addition, I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the emergency after-hours service at this hospital. My dogs were seen immediately and I was always briefed about their condition very quickly. There is always a doctor on duty 24/7 at this hospital, as well as nurses and technicians. If you are looking for quality veterinary care for your pet, this is the hospital for you. My two beloved Schnauzers are now deceased due to cancer and renal failure. I must mention that the euthanasia process for both of my pets was handled with compassion, dignity and respect, and for that I am very grateful.

I had been taking my two cats to Alexandria Animal Hospital for a few years and while I found them mostly friendly, they were over priced for the services. I used them because they were close which caused less stress on my kitties. I had never used their emergency services prior to this. Early one morning I found my cat Jodie throwing up and hiding. She has feline leukemia so any change in behavior or eating habits can be serious. I rushed Jodie to the Alexandria Animal Hospital. The first thing that made me angry was Jodie was taken from me by a technician and I was not allowed to go with her during the examination. I was afraid my cat was dying and I was left sitting for 20 to 30 minutes without any word. Eventually another person, who may or may not have been the doctor as they did not identify themselves, came out and said she needed to stay in Intensive Care and have multiple tests and receive multiple medications and fluids. I asked what was wrong and they said they didn't know. I asked how much that was cost and they said they would check. Again I was left waiting. By now they were getting ready to open for the day. I was called up to the counter and another staff member said it would cost approximately $1500.00 to treat Jodie for the one night stay in kitty ICU, tests, prescriptions and fluids so they could then find out what was wrong which would cost more. I was shocked and started crying and told her that I couldn't afford that. She made the comment 'well you know keeping a pet is expensive' in a snide way. I couldn't believe it. Here I am thinking my cat is going to die because I don't have $1500 and the support I get is snide remarks! The staff member asked how much I could afford. Still in tears, I told them I had $500 available. I asked how much it would cost to just get her stabilized so I could take her home. She went in the back and again I waited, still not knowing how Jodie was and had not been allowed to see her. The staff member came back and said they could give her IV fluids since she was dehydrated and that plus the exam would be $499. I was still in shock, how could a simple exam with no tests, blood work etc plus an IV with saline be just short of what I told them was the most I could pay. I needed time to find another vet and to determine how much additional money I had available until payday so I could get Jodie treatment so I paid the money. Jodie was finally returned to me and while the fluids had helped some my normally bright eyed kitty was still very sick. I found another vet whose charge for the same service was $100.00 and while it was during normal hours it was an emergency walk-in. I have reviewed these guys in another report but needless to say Jodie is still with me and I didn't have to take out a loan to get her treated. The Alexandria Animal Hospital is located in an area with mostly expensive homes and folks who make a lot of money. There are some middle class folks like me but not many. It seems they are not so much charging for their services but charging how much folks can pay for their services. There are many vets in the area that are affordable and provide the same or better services so I would shop around before selecting this vet.

Everything about the experience was positive. We took our puppy in for his evaluation visit. The doctor explained a slight problem that might affect our puppy's operation (one undescended testicle). She described the two possible paths that the operation might follow given what she discovered during the procedure. The evaluation visit also allowed us to get all of our puppy's records and forms completed. They were ready for our puppy on the morning of his procedure. Afterwards, the doctor called us promptly to inform us of the outcome--all went well and the operation took the simpler of the two anticipated paths. We picked our puppy up the next morning. We received clear instructions on how to care for him. His incision was clean and neat--and he healed quickly and easily over the following week. The doctor and staff were professional, punctual, and they seemed to do very good work. They also seemed to enjoy our friendly puppy. We highly recommend AAH.

This is a really busy and large vet practice, so unless you make a point of requesting appointments with the same vet, you'll probably see a different vet every time. I think I've seen them all at least once and they're all great, so I don't mind that I see different vets. My overall experience with the hospital is very good. I think the quality of service is high (they've caught things that other vets have missed) and everyone there is professional. It's great to have a vet that's also an emergency animal hospital because if you have to come in after hours, they already have all the info on your pet. The only downside I've seen is that their prices are high. I think they tend to err on the side of being overly thorough and cautious, which is fine with me. So, I do push back from them from time to time to see if something they're recommending is really necessary. For example, after my dog got into my roommate's dog's medication and swallowed the whole bottle, I took her to Alexandria Animal Hospital, where they pumped her stomach and put her on IV fluids. The emergency vet said she'd need to stay over night for observation. I called the next day and talked to another vet to confirm when I could come get her and he said she'd need to be there one more night. I knew I was already going to have a $1,500+ vet bill and I was concerned about being able to pay, so I asked if this was really necessary. The vet thought about it for a bit and then said that it would probably be fine if I brought her home after all and just to bring her back in if she started vomiting. So, my recommendation would be to understand that this hospital will always err on the side of being overly cautious and that you can push back a little to determine what's really necessary. And, based on my experience with another vet that wasn't thorough enough and missed an important diagnosis, I would rather have a vet that I know will err on the side of caution.

The doctor and staff are good. I just started using them and the experience has been good so far.

The cats were taken in on different days, so we saw two different vets. Both were wonderful, responsive to my questions, and handled both cats with firmness and gentleness. On the second visit, we did not get to see the vet until 20 minutes past our appointment time, and I had to go up to the desk to ask about the delay. We were seen shortly after.

I had not been a client of the hospital before. I came in the office and said that my dog (3.5 yr old Gld Ret) was dying or had already died and was in my car. They moved so quickly and with compassion to get to him. They took him in to exam him, while I waited in a private room. The dr. came in to tell me that he had passed and took the time to ask questions, etc. The entire staff was very empathetic and professional. I appreciated the time they took and explained my options at that point.

I think if you want a clean office and high tech equipment you go here. You kind of get what you pay for. They are such a busy practice. When I lived close to here, I never saw the same doctor twice. They all seem nice, some nicer than others but all seem very professional, but there is no personality with the place. They provide good care for, but you pay lots of money. For routine check-ups it might not be worth the price tag.

We normally use a home vet - but my dog split her paw while swimming and was in pain. The emergency hospital saw her immediately, cleaned the wound and bandaged the paw. Within 3 days, she was back to normal. Good emergency service - but you pay around $80 extra for being seen immediately - but it was worth it.

Our dog was suffering from neck pain. We had taken her to our regular vet who had diagnosed the problem and prescribed a pain killer. After a day or two, the pain was so severe that our dog was unwilling to walk, eat kibble, or drink water. Because Alexandria Animal Hospital is open 24 hours, we were able to take her in after-hours and have her looked at again. The convenience of this kind of service is terrific. Also the front-desk staff and techs were amazing. They were welcoming and genuinely cared about our dog. The vet we saw was very professional and competent. While the after-hours service is more expensive than a scheduled, routine visit, it was definitely worth it as far as helping our dog and the service could not have been better.

My dog had a skin allergy. After being in there for 30 min they told me exactly what it was and how they were going to treat my dog. In 45 minutes all questions were answered and the cost was 200 less then the last vet.

Based upon what I was looking for in an urgent care hospital, they are a full staffed hospital. The veterinarian that saw my dog was young, but she made you feel comfortable when she talked to you. The staff is very professional. The hospital had everything a pet would need from emergencies to general check ups.