Caring Hands Animal Hospital

Reviews 6

A

A Private User

I love Caring Hands! They were recommended to me by the rescue I adopted my border collie/retriever mix from. The vets and technicians are clearly animal lovers and wonderfully gentle and steady with my slightly skittish dog. I particularly love that you can call and leave a question for the vet and they will call you back same day to discuss whatever it is you were wondering about. It has saved me from having to take him in for an appointment on several occassions. I actually feel like the prices are totally reasonable - about $50 for a normal visit and $80 for an emergency. My parents pay $80 for a normal visit in our town in Connecticut...True the tests and antibiotics and stuff are not cheap. They also have a small fridge of sodas in the waiting area, which is cool, and a large scale that you can weigh your dog on anytime. I will periodically bring my dog in to weigh him and theyll record the weight in his file for me (hes had some weight fluctuations from a couple of bouts with hookworm...). I have NEVER felt rushed by them, either by the vet, technician, or on the phone. They also host periodic events, like pet first aid classes, for their clients for free and they had a halloween party for clients and pets. The only complaint I would have is that my dog never sees the same vet. He has basically made the rounds of every vet there. It would be great for me to just be able to see the same face every time. Otherwise, they are wonderful and I would never imagine going elsewhere!

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CH

Charlie D

We had a horrible experience at Caring Hands recently with a vet named Dr. Nagel during our yearly visit. I would not recommend her to anyone. Her bedside manner is atrocious to the point where we had to stop her from using force and upsetting my very cool calm and collected animal -- instead of taking 30 seconds to calm her down (the animal was absolutely fine with the vet tech and comfortable until Dr. Nagel was very rough with her). She made what is usually a pleasant experience extremely stressful for my animals. When we spoke to one of the owners of Caring Hands about our concerns, the owner just made excuses for Dr. Nagel about the room size, the heat, and whatever other arbitrary items she could bring up. What is worse is when Dr. Nagel called to "apologize", she basically fought back on every single point I raised like saying the size of the room was the cause for my pets distress, instead of showing any compassion or admitting any fault. My animals have been patients at Caring Hands for years -- not anymore. I am finding somewhere else to go (perhaps to Dr. De La Cruz, who left the practice years ago). It used to be a great place to go, but now its more like a drive through vet than really caring FOR animals. That was apparent in how both the vet -- and the owner -- treated our concerns.

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A

A Private User

I like this place because the staffs are very friendly and patience. However, the prices are a little pricey and be careful for those hidden charges. _ I call to make an appointment for a kennel cough vaccine and they told me that my dog will have to be seen by the doctor before they can give her the vaccine. This is fine. Its their policy and Im ok with that. When we got there they recommend additional vaccination, I asked the price and was quoted $45 for a two series shots. One today and one two weeks later. I asked her if we will get charge for the vet she said no because the vet tech would administer the shot. Two weeks later I return for the 2nd shot and what suppose to be a $22.50 bill was $70 plus. I was charged a progressive exam $48 (regular exam is $57) I explained that we was just here two weeks ago and I just wanted the 2nd shot. The front desk explained that in order to give my dog the 2nd shot she has to make sure the dog is healthy enough for a vaccine. o.O?? Wish the would have told me that BEFORE. Its too late for me to do anything so I have to cough up the $48. I have heard stories about these type of charges from a friend who also went to Caring hand. I dont mind paying for the services I just wish they would tell me the charges in advance and just be straight about the prices.

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TR

Travis Benson

This vet is atrocious, they completely misdiagnosed my dogs limp (after I told them she jumped off a couch and yelped), they said it was her hip dysplasia when in fact it was a tear in her meniscus and cruciate ligament. They charged me 325 dollars to remind me my 8 year old dog had hip dysplasia after watching her walk around the little room for about one minute. They were more anxious to charge me for blood work so they could medicate her instead of taking an X-Ray (cheaper than blood work) which would have shown the issues in her knees. After a month and a half of her still limping and the pain clearly not subsiding, like they said it would with some anti-inflammatory pills and rest, I got a second opinion. I found out with through the second opinion it was in fact the knee and surgery is needed. There is no treating of injuries at this place, it’s all selling medication. Absolutely awful vets, my sister stopped taking her dogs there after they completely over charged them to put their German Sheppard to sleep, and again, missed so much tarter build up in a huskies mouth (she took them every six months), they are going to have to extract the tooth. This place has a typical Arlington Virginia business mentality of a lot of money for little or no results.

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Rachel Baxter

Have tried giving Caring Hands multiple chances over several years and Ive always just been disappointed. The biggest issue Ive seen with this place is that it just seems like there are too many people working there without enough communication between their staff. Our dog has health issues that require us to order her medicine through 1800petmeds and Caring Hands made this process much more difficult than it should be, or than it was with any other vet. If theres an issue with an order I place, Caring Hands should call me rather than just cancelling the order, never contacting me, and then realizing that they were in the wrong after all and the order should have been approved. If they struggle with something as easy as ordering through an online pet pharmacy, it makes me nervous about other things theyre not communicating about in the office. We have moved to a new vet in the area and couldnt be happier!

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JO

Jordan Taylor

I have been taking my 2 year old hound mix to Caring Hands in Arlington since I first rescued her as a puppy. The staff is so loving and friendly, that it makes going to the vet a fun and positive experience for my dog. Since my dog likes to eat strange things, we often have to take her to the vet on short notice. Caring Hands is always very accommodating to get her an appointment day-of. I also love how they always call to check on my dog to see how she is doing. I am a first-time dog owner and the staff has put my mind at ease knowing that I have people to call for advice and support when I need it. Edit: I would also like to add that I have seen several doctors here, but we usually see Dr Nagel who is awesome!

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