A.P.A.W. Veterinary Hospital and Wellness Center

Great vet center! I have been a member since 1995. I could give my entire faith and confidence in Dr. Johnson. She’s knowledgable, considerate, and friendly. Staff are wonderful too!

My family has been going to this vet for over 20 years, and I continue to take my dog here due to the high level of care we receive. Is it expensive? Yes, but so is most veterinary care, especially in the DC area – and a pet owner shouldn’t expect that owning an animal will be cheap. However, I’ve found that their wellness plan (where you pay a fixed amount every month) has helped me budget for visits and vaccinations without the ‘excitement’ of being handed a bill at every appointment. On the Wellness Plan, most of the time I walk out paying nothing, or for medications only.
The doctors have always been very compassionate and helpful, often going out of their way to say hi to me and my pet (even if we’re just stopping in for a routine vaccination or treat). Keep up the great work, A-​PAW!

Took our dog there for a very simple procedure, not even an operation. But she botched it and made it worse. Yes it will heal, but the doctor was just sloppy and gave bad excuses for her bad work. I won’t go into detail because we are still going there until its healed 100% and they already have our money so we won’t sacrifice putting our dog in jeopardy for this review. We will never go back after this is done. Can’t and won’t recommend.

I brought my dog to APAW after Indian Head Animal Hospital misdiagnosed her on 3 different occasions. At APAW she is examined extensively, given tests and a correct diagnosis is made every time. The vet even called me at home on a Sunday morning to check on her.
I’m very satisfied with the service my dog gets at APAW.
I have pet insurance which really helps with the costs since my dog has alot of allegies. Pet owners who don’t have pet insurance should never complain when their pet has an expensive bill.
When my dog got a treat stuck in her throat and needed emergency services, it was $ 1800, pet insurance paid $ 1600. If you wouldn’t go without health insurance, why would you let your pet go without it?

I took my cats here for a couple of years. Each time I went they tried to push unnecessary tests which cost a lot of money. The techs shamed me when I opted out of these tests and also when I declined purchasing the pet insurance that was offered through their clinic. I spoke with friends that are vets or vet techs at other clinics and all of them thought that my experiences with APAW were sketchy. This wasn’t too much of an issue when I just took my cats for an annual wellness exam but became a big problem when one of them became seriously ill. I decided to switch clinics after that experience.
The vets staffed at the clinic were also different each time I visited. Not sure why this is the case but I would prefer taking my pets to someone that will see them more than once so they can have a better understanding of their history.
In my opinion this place is more concerned with getting your money than trying to realistically help your pets.

I’ve been taking my MinPin here for 2+ years. He’s almost 16 years old and doesn’t have pet insurance, so I really value their senior wellness plan. Services for aging pets can get extremely expensive, but compared to other veterinarians and their costs I think APAW is more than reasonable considering the level of care and services they provide. No veterinarian is perfect, so overall the care he’s received there has been great!

Made appointment after long wait on phone, new to area. Got to hospital and waited and waited and waited. The whole hospital seems to be one of chaos. Alot of people doing alot of nothing with phones ringing not seeming to be answered. Finally seen, spent money on blood work hoping for answers. Got the results 3 weeks later. Not the way I want to spend my money. Found a better vet.

Sadly, I’ve had to lower my rating. Something is going on with this place and in my view it is deteriorating.
Reaching them by phone is very difficult (they answer, put you on hold and never come back… or take an abnormal amount of time to get back). Apparently they want you to email them or use the «portal» as opposed to human contact.
As others have mentioned, they are extremely money focused and I find it disturbing that they want to throw the book at your pet in terms of every conceivable (and expensive) test available.
Never thought I would say this, but I’m considering finding a different vet hospital for my dog and his needs.

This place is run very efficiently and has top notch front desk staff. I felt it was about money primarily. Very over priced with questionable service. I would only return for something simple if I was pinched for time with our pooch, who might need a quick vaccine booster for example. That is it. The vets and techs are outspoken about selling and billing and when a vet practice is highly focused on the money, the trust I have for allowing them to treat our four legged sweetie’s so-​important life and health is shaky at best.

As far as boarding my pet at this veterinary clinic and «wellness center» go, these people are great! As far as being efficient and mindful of your time, they are not so great. We almost missed a cruise because of them. We took our dog in at least two weeks before boarding her for a pre-​boarding evaluation and to check out the facilities. Our dog is enrolled in a wellness plan at another vet that has no boarding facilities, so all of the records were from there. We met with the vet, staff and had a tour of the facilities and a pre-​boarding evaluation conducted at least two weeks prior to boarding. All of the paperwork was reviewed and OK’d. Surely enough time to have notified us that there was a problem with our dog’s record that needed to be rectified before she could be dropped off. Due to this oversight, I spent the better part of the morning running around town when I needed to be on the road.
I considered enrolling my pup in the wellness plan until I reviewed the info with the cost. TOO high. I will probably continue to board her at APAW because it is closest as the only alternative is to drive all the way to Alexandria.

We have been taking our furry friends to APAW since 2008. The staff is courteous, professional, well-​informed, and obviously loves of all kinds of critters. Our cats and dog receive their annual check-​ups and vaccinations at APAW, and on occasion they have boarded at APAW, too. We have always been pleased with the care and service APAW delivers, and without hesitation recommend APAW to others.

Large sitting area. Seems adequate, caring staff. Not my choice for the gnarlier rescue animals due to costs.

This place is a rip off… it is always charge after charge after charge. I took my dog to another vet and had his shots, physical, basically the works. I go to board my dog at APAW and had to pay for another annual physical because it has to be done there. Mind you I just had his annual the same month… plus another fecal exam… 100 bucks… I am so over this place. and when you board they only take your dog out 3 times a day for 5 – 10 minutes… it is close to my house, but I am going to another place.

I have been going 3 years. Like another reviewer when we were being courted we met the head vet/​owner and was given a tour. All very impressive. Since then we have bounced around from vet to vet. All the vets have provided good care, however the wait is always too long, the price it too high, and the receptionist area usually seems unorganized. They close for lunch, and opens at 2:00 (supposedly), but it’s been my experience that they rarely open back at 2:00. It’s been my experience arriving at 2:00 you are asked to wait in parking lot while they wrap up, and if you call at 2:00, you will get a recording that says we’re at lunch and will open at 2:00. My experience it has been more like 2:30,in my opinion an indication of poor management.

I started taking my cat to APAW in 2011. I choose them because they offer cat grooming, the boarding facilities are clean and quiet, and head doctor/​owner made a great impression on the first 2 visits. We boarded our cat and used them as a primary vet for a few years.
We did a lot of recommended tests/​check ups at first. Feline wellness exam, blood work, physical exam, etc… (Every time, we received the same answer: everything looks good, that’ll be $ 250 – 450 please)… After our second visit, we never saw the owner/​doctor again. New doctor every visit (techs turned over frequently too. The only consistent faces were at the front desk). After some time, it became painfully obvious the random vets were not reading his medical history. Each time, it was like we just brought in a random cat off the street. Perhaps they didn’t have time to read his medical history because they were busy trying to sell me an Annual Wellness Plan in Just 12 Easy Payments.
After multiple episodes hinting at negligence, the last straw when I realized my cat missed his rabies vaccination, despite the fact he had been in 8 weeks earlier.
Then, when I took him in to get a rabies vaccination, the doctor failed to administer a feline leukemia vaccination (I guess he didn’t realize it was due because he didn’t read the chart).
The doctor also couldn’t answer my questions about vaccinations and suggested I speak with the owner. Of course, she was never available available. We played phone tag for a week, then I gave up and found a new vet.
Summary: APAW is focused on selling one-​size-​fits-​all healthcare. Don’t bother, unless you like overspending on unnecessary treatment and being PO’d when they fail to provide the most basic of services.

Since leaving a previous review on 1÷21÷14 (content here:
), I was able to speak directly with the vet who saw our animals to address my concerns directly, and explained a bit of the wait time on the occasion of the snow storm (though I wish it had been explained while we were there). I will be waiting to see how together the reception staff is at our next visit, but I feel confident that the veterinary staff is at least competent and concerned about the well-​being of our pets.

I was looking for a place to board my dog and I heard about APAW through a friend and reading Unilocal reviews. As luck would have it, there was a groupon for APAW for boarding and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to use. I called, made an appmnt, showed up for my 3pm appmnt on time for a pre-​boarding assessment, and sat and sat and sat. Around 4:30pm, I went up to receptionist and asked if I should reschedule, she said, oh, the tech will see you now to get vitals for doctor. At 4:30p saw the tech who took weight and asked questions which she would have known answer to if she had read the vet record I brought in. After another 30 minute wait in the small cramped exam room, the doctor finally showed up, repeated same questions asked and answered by tech. So, very disappointed that a pre-​boarding screening took over 2 hours. But I thought, things happen, maybe they were having an off day. So boarded my dog. Called 30 minutes prior to showing up to let them know I was picking up my dog in 30 minutes. I felt I should call because when I dropped my dog off they never asked me when I would pick up and a bath was requested before pickup. So I called so that they could give the bath and have my dog ready for pickup. I showed up 45 minutes later, signed in, and waited to be called… per their procedure, you sign in upon entering. I waited 20 minutes and saw others that came in after me were being called up. I went up to the counter and asked, I signed in to pick up my dog from boarding but was never called. The receptionist replied and said, we don’t call up the folks picking up from boarding. I said, then how do said folks get served or retrieve their pets, she said, umm, I guess just walk up to counter. So I said, why ask everyone to sign in if there’s an unwritten separate procedure? She shrugged and said let me go let them know your here. It’ll be a while because they have to give your dog a bath. I said, I called, now an hour ago to say I was picking up to avoid this wait. She said, I know, you spoke to me.
I paid my fees, waited for my dog then high-​tailed it out of there.
Now I will say, based on the other reviews, it seemed like a good choice, but now I see those reviews were written almost a year ago. And there was one employee I did really like and who was super courteous, professional and nice, and that was Shawn. If it weren’t for him, this rating would be one star.

The staff are very professional, they care for pets very well, and the doctor is so nice and helpful. We were getting ready for a big move, and the doctor did research for us about what things we’d need to do and all the shots and such.
They are also quite honest. There was an error in one of our charges, and we didn’t even realize it and probably wouldn’t have said anything, but they noticed, called us, and gave a refund for the discrepancy. That was greatly appreciated.
Definitely a good choice.

I and my family are deeply grateful for the amazing, thoughtful, dedicated staff at APAW. When my mother came to visit us for the Thanksgiving break, and had to have her beloved cat put down when he stopped eating due to incurable cancer, they were the model of both warmth and professionalism. Sad that I was not able to be with my mother the actual day that her cat passed, I was so thankful to learn that the kind veterinarian and assistants were so incredibly supportive. They gave her thorough information, gently laid out the options, put no pressure on her and then encouraged and reassured her when she had to make the hard choice. They affirmed her choice and told her what a wonderful caretaker she had been for our cat. They gave her plenty of time to say goodbye, thoughtfully explained each step of the process and even held my mother as she cried.
Not only does the APAW staff demonstrate a deep love for animals and commitment to their mission, but they display authentic respect and love for people as well. Just today, my mother received a thoughtful, very personal condolence card, the day that the staff knew that her cat’s remains would arrive at home. What a lovely touch.
My entire family will be forever grateful to the superb care that both our cat and our mom received at APAW. We highly, highly recommend the Hospital and Wellness Center to others.

Still good! Very grateful to have this clinic in my neighborhood.