Albemarle Veterinary Health Care Center

Reviews 4

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Harriet Tomaseski

After numerous visits to three different local vets trying to determine what was going on with our dog, one finally told us they thought she may have torn her ACL and gave us contact information for specialists in our area. We made an appointment with one, then my husband ran into his former boss, and the conversation turned to what was going on with our almost 7 year old female lab, Taylor. Little did we know that conversation would change everything! He told my husband "do not take her to that vet, you have to go see Dr. Freedman!" Interestingly, his former lab had a TPLO performed by the vet we had an appointment with, and the lab he has now had at TTA done by Dr. Freedman. He said the recovery was like night and day and not to put our dog through that. So we cancelled our appointment and made one with Dr. Freedman. Even though we live in Hampton, VA, and his office is in Charlottesville, we felt it was worth the trip to see what this practice was all about. We are so thankful that we made that trip!! On our first visit, Dr. Freedman confirmed that Taylor would need surgery. He explained the surgery in detail, as well as what would be involved in her recovery. We had gone up for a Saturday appointment, and one of the staff, Emily, had offered to take Taylor home for the weekend, so she could have her surgery on Monday. Although we didnt want to leave her, our work schedules didnt allow us to drive back and forth during the week. Emily kept her Saturday and Sunday night, then she had her surgery on Monday. Tuesday we received a video of Taylor up and walking in their parking lot! They kept her all week and worked with her daily on her rehab. When we picked her up the next Saturday, Im not sure who was happier to see each other! Dr. Freedman had her on a strict rehabilitation program, which included exercising her several times a day. She did absolutely fantastic! After she was "released" to have some off leash time, we took her to the beach at Fort Monroe on Chesapeake Bay. You can see her video on their website. It was actually 10 weeks after surgery and she was running in the sand, swimming in the bay, retrieving a frisbee, digging in the sand, and loving every minute of it!! My husband and I were beaming like parents of a newborn - we had our girl back!! It had been hard watching her limp around and not be able to play the way she used to, but now she was like a puppy all over again! We are forever grateful to Dr. Freedman and all of the staff at Albemarle Vet that cared for Taylor during her stay. We highly recommend them to anyone looking for a Vet, and we will be making that drive for any vet needs other than routine shots, because we have finally found a vet that we can trust.

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A Private User

First, let me say that Dr. Freedman and his team have shown excellent care for my 4 month old puppy. I have no doubt that they have done everything correctly, medically speaking, for my dog. They have also provided a lot of helpful information to me as a new dog owner. However, a few things made me feel uncomfortable with Dr. Freedman, and I will be switching vets soon because of them. Since the first visit, the vet has liked to inspect my pups mouth- totally normal and good, but of course sometimes she doesnt like having his hand in her mouth (even though I play with her mouth at home). When she resists, the Dr. picks her up by the scruff, shakes her, and loudly says "No No" in her face. She screams and cries, in what seems like pain. Now, I know that a lot of people do this to their dog, but I am following a different set of positive training techniques- and I do NOT do this. The doctor has never asked me if I am okay with him disciplining my dog in this way- he just goes ahead and does it. Secondly, once my pup ingested a cooked bone and I had to take her to get x-rayed. I was worried sick about her - bloody diarrhea etc. The vet told me to drop her off for 4 hours... I asked if I could wait with her and they seemed to think that was really strange. So I dropped her off and spent the whole time pacing around, stressing out. I talked to a few friends who say their vets never made them do a drop off with their pet. Also, this is probably common with vets, but the staff seemed to really push certain brands of dog food, products, etc-- often without having a real reason for choosing those over other brands.

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Walter Leytham

I have a four dogs and have complete trust and admiration for the staff at Albemarle Veterinary Health Care Center. Dr. Freedman is the most knowledgeable and thoughtful vet that I have every encountered. Every time I walk into the office, I can tell my dogs are well loved by the entire staff. My most recent trip to Dr. Freedman and Dr. Emily was one that saved my dog, Darcys life. The entire staff worked tirelessly to rescue Darcy. She not only came in with Hemolytic Anemia, but the cause was a huge tumor in her abdomen. The odds were stacked well against her survival. Dr. Freedmans years of experience and knowledge saved her. Shes alive today because of the care she received. On one of my visits to his office, as we were trying to save her life, Dr. Freedman came in and was talking to me and said "I was coming home from a dinner party last night and I was thinking about Darcy....." I thought to myself, "Wow, thats impressive!" He knew her odds were bad and he was thinking about my dog and saving her life during his off hours. Thank you so much Dr. Freedman! You and your entire staff had the attitude that we need all hands on deck to save her life. Darcy and I thank you! Ruthie, Jesse and Henry (Darcys offspring) thank you too.

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Catherine Manis

Dr. Freedman and his staff have become like a second family to me! I have eleven dogs and am a breeder. I have been to many Vets and have chosen Dr. Freedman because of his generosity with his time and knowledge, his reasonable prices, and his obvious care for my animals and my breeding business. I am in for Vet visits very frequently and call and email just as frequently as I visit. Dr. Freedman is extremely thorough with his exams and offers detailed explanations regarding anything he notices and of course of any procedure that may be necessary. At the same time, he is not overreactive and does not suggest unnecessary care. He is very patient with all of my questions. The secretaries, Techs and assistants are wonderful, patient, and very knowledgeable. I am always impressed by the entire staffs ability to greet my (11) dogs by name and remember all of the idiosyncrasies of each of their personality. Their attention to detail certainly allows me to take better care of my dogs. As a breeder, Dr. Freedman and his staff are a very important part of my business. I completely and absolutely trust and rely on the care my canine family receives from Albemarle Veterinary Health Care Center.

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