Merrifield Animal Hospital

Great service!
Everyone was so friendly especially Dr Ladd.
It was a wonderful experience with a wonderful team. So happy to have found a vet home for our baby!
Thank you.

We have been using this vet for the better part of two decades along with my cousin and aunt and uncle. One thing has been a constant: thoughtful, compassionate care, and a really deep-​felt commitment to customer service. I cannot imagine taking my doggy-​daughter anywhere else!

I’ve been taking my dog, Hudson, here since I adopted him a year ago. I initially chose Merrifield Animal Hospital because I received a free examination from The Washington Animal Rescue League with his adoption. I keep coming back because the staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and takes excellent care of him. They work to accommodate my schedule, are willing to answer simple questions without an office visit, and always follow up to see how Hudson is doing. It’s a bit of a drive from where I live, but I know my dog is great hands so we will continue to get our veterinary care here!

Very lovely ladies. Very knowledgable. Great with animals. Great price as well. Thank you ladies for taking care of my little girl Jacky.

This place is a quality one and is super close to me. It is a bit pricey but I blame that on the location. They did take amazing care of my kitty who had gotten hit by a car and I’ll never forget that. She 100% recovered! Staff is very loving twds the animals.

We have been going here for two years now, the front desk staff, vet techs and doctors are wonderful! Each time we have come to the office, we are greeted and promptly lead to an exam room. The doctors are very knowledgeable and answer each question I had.

We brought our 10-​year old rescue dog in for a last minute Saturday appointment and did not know what to expect having never been to the practice before.
Turns out, there may be no better find for someone who adores their fur baby. Every one in the facility was kind, thorough, professional and knowledgeable. Dr. Bowlby was very thorough and patient. We were very confident in her assessment and treatment. Same for the rest of the staff we encountered. Wish I could say the same for my human doctors.
Only criticism is the prices are high, and quotes for additional work, such as major dental, are really, really high. I understand there’s not insurance etc, but I pay about a 10^th on my own teeth than what was quoted. If I had the money, however, I would trust dr. Bowlby with the procedure… even on my teeth!

Merrifield Animal Hospital has a friendly and helpful staff that begins with reception.
I brought my puppy to them for an initial exam after adoption and as a first time puppy owner they made me aware of the array of vaccines, treatments, and things to be aware of for a puppy.
I can’t compare their prices, but I can say that they seemed fair enough with their recommendations of what to spend on and what I could take some time to think about spending on.
No complaints here and will be returning.

Great and reasonable place for kennel services in the NOVA area. They have recently renovated the facilities. The staff is very friendly and seems to really care about my dog. I haven’t been the biggest fan of their vet services. One time they give the wrong dosage of a vaccine for my small dog which upset his stomach. The worst was years ago they misdiagnosed my dog for surgery and it turned out he was fine. But I rushed him out to Reston for potentially major surgery. So I would give them 2 stars for vet services but 4 for kennel services. Also, they seem to be really trying to upsell services now with the better facilities, which I find annoying.

I’m a returning customer — we used this practice from 2003-​06 but moved overseas. We are very happy to return to this practice!
I can only comment on one vet (Dr. Nothwanger) as I have not tried the others (who are new to the practice since our move). She always does a complete physical before addressing current concerns. I’ve seen many practices who skip on listening to the heart and looking in ears/​eyes — so I love the complete physical! I never feel rushed and appreciate that they listen to your concerns (and educate you to make the best decision for your pet). An added bonus is that Dr. Nothwanger is registered with the USDA to do travel certificates (bonus for us since we travel internationally with our pet).
While it is an older building, I appreciate the updates they have made to the practice (new, larger kennels for boarding).
Would recommend to all!

We have been taking our two dogs here for six months. The staff is very caring and concerned; they remember our dogs as soon as we walk in. Unlike other places we’ve been, both dogs seem eager to go back with the staff. Our care has always been top notch, and they are wonderful at fitting us in when ever we need something.

Our older kitty stopped eating. Our previous vet at seven corners went under. She did a great job with kitty before. So, I made several calls to local vets to attempt to figure out a good reasonable priced vet. We ended up at Merrifield Animal Hospital.
The vet determined our 16.5 year old kitty had a mass on his liver after palpitation. We subsequently put him down. They did a great job of helping my parents.
However, our other long hair domestic cat stopped eating after missing his buddy for 2 months. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong. Gave him a couple shots and sent my parents home. 2 days later were back in the vet clinic. This time blood was taken an X-​rays. Why wasn’t blood taken on the first visit I’ll never know. Everything appeared to be normal. Yet, no explanation. The vet sent him home again albeit with a ridiculously overpriced bill. This bill was over $ 500! They also gave our kitty several shots to help his appetite & gave him fluids. All in another room where nothing could be witnessed.
To say the least this was shocking to my parents as the previous vet only charged $ 125 for an examination & blood work. Needless to say the vet should’ve informed my parents of the expensive testing before anything was completed. For two individuals on a fixed income the price was shocking. It’s understood additional testing costs money, but the price was shocking to say the least after previous visits were some what reasonable.
Needless to say we won’t be back. I would’ve expected more from a seasoned vet.

This place is terrific. Doctors are incredibly knowledgable and experienced. I have been bringing my dog and cats here for several years. Always get excellent care. Place is clean. Front staff is friendly and accommodating. Not cheap, but Dr. Leverenz is mindful of costs. Highly recommend it!

While everyone here was very friendly I can’t say that I’d go back here for 2 reasons.
1. They took my cat to the treatment room, didn’t allow me to go with him and then proceeded to do things to him without asking. I really think they should ask someone who is paying for something if they are willing to pay for it before you do it, especially if it’s prophylactic. I’m not an idiot and even though they are the specialists I still feel that I have the right to say yes or no to something.
2. My cat caught a some sorta URI (a cold) from this place. There is absolutely no other way that he could have gotten it. He lives indoors and he is not around any other cats nor am I and there is no one else in my household. Poor guy has been sneezing and tired for days.
#2 tells me that they either don’t wash their hands or their surfaces and equipment and that really is the main reason I won’t I go back.

I moved to the Merrifield area in November and needed a new vet. It is a very convenient location, which I love. Everyone is very nice and they accommodate last minute appointments easily. The only concern I have is being quoted incorrectly on blood and urine testing and having to pay a lot more than I was expecting, and not having their standard appointment pricing structure explained from the beginning.

Brought my golden retriever (9 y/​o) and cat (13 y/​o with health issues) to Merrifield Animal Hospital last week for the first time. I saw Drs. Leverenz and Nothwanger. They both got to know my pets by providing plenty of cuddling and love during the physical exams. I always know I’m in good hands when a vet gets down on the floor to play with my golden as Dr. Leverenz did. Reasonable treatments plans, thorough advice, and flexibility to my needs were a plus.

My first review about a NON-​restaurant. Love this place!
We have two dogs — one’s been an MAH patient for 4 years and the other for 2 years (since we got her).
The front desk staff is polite and definitely helpful — our pit is extremely high energy, and everybody helps corral her and get her back for appointments like my annoyingly hyper dog is just ‘a cute little ball of energy’ :) At this point both dogs are buddies with the folks around the hospital and we feel like regulars when we come in.
Appointments: We’ve had the dogs in for everything from routine vaccines and checkups to minor surgery like dental extractions. We’ve always worked with Dr. Leverenz and she’s the best vet I have seen. Instead of just rushing the animals in and out she takes time to explain everything going on in the appointment to my wife and I, and it’s obvious from her explanation and recommendations that she cares about the best option for our pets.
Boarding: We’ve probably boarded both dogs here over 20 times over both long weekends and week+ vacations. They’re great about combining basic stuff like nail trimming, grooming and also vaccine updates with the boarding stay which is convenient. The dogs get a lot of interaction including outdoor play time every day, which is really important to us (especially for the ADHD one to burn off energy).
I haven’t seen the boarding facilities but last time we were in the hospital the manager mentioned that they’ll be totally remodeling the boarding facility which is exciting. The building’s a little old but it’s great to hear that the pets staying there will have brand new facilities!
If you’re new in Northern Virginia I can’t imagine a better place to take pets for vet care and boarding.

Do yourself a favor and do not bring your cats here. Perhaps they excel in care for dogs not cats, or I (rather, my cat) had some bad luck there.
I brought my cat to MAH in October 2013 after he was hissing at my other cat when play fighting –the first time i ever heard him hiss. I initially thought they were the vet my parents had used for years, realized they weren’t but discovered they had a first time discount. He was due for a check up so I figured why not take him in.
Full disclosure I was about 40min late for my appt (on a fri no less) due to traffic from DC. The two ladies at the desk were polite and tried somewhat to disguise their (justifiable) annoyance and i was assured by Dr. Chu it was not an issue. My cat was whisked away promptly to have some blood and urine taken, upon his return he was moaning and growling but I figured it was his first time at the vet since the age of a few months and chalked it up to grumpiness due to being «handled» and whatnot. What I discovered after getting him home was that he was favoring his right hind right leg and hissed and swiped (and his normal demeanor is not at all feisty –just perfect parts spunky and cute) if I touched anywhere near that area, my other cat tried to play with him, or even just when he changed positions.
I was initially told by Dr. Chu that he had «jumped» off the exam table which is fairly high but of course neither of us saw that as a huge proble given that he’s a cat! She wanted to prescribe pain meds and anti-​inflammatory meds, and offered to do discounted x-​rays (for an injury he appeared to have sustained by them) but obviously I was incredibly reluctant to take him back. Weeks later when he was STILL not healed, I spoke with the vet tech who had taken his blood and was then informed that he flipped out when they MUZZLED him (which i never would have allowed had I known) and FELL backwards off the exam table and did seem to land awkwardly. In addition it was the same leg they had taken blood from.
So they knew something hadn’t gone right, tried to cover it up initially, and the vet tech admitted to the fact that they could have towel wrapped him to prevent such a thing. Like I said, I take fault for being late, but if being on time is the only way to have my pet cared for safely, something is very wrong. .
I only am writing this now because SIX months later, the injury has re-​appeared, likely do to play fighting with my other cat — they are the best of buds. I’ve had to ship my other cat off for the 2^nd time (stressing her, him, the people watching her and me!) during his convalescence, and it is absolutely heartbreaking to see him struggle just to hop up on a chair simply because he does not have that spring action in his hind leg or it causes too much pain, possibly both. or see him wiggling around in a moment of cat nip happiness only to be snapped out of it by pain. Not to mention that he doesn’t seem to love being the only cat in the house.
Merrifield Animal Hospital gave my cat what will possibly be a chronic, life long injury, and if i had to put money on it, I’d bet they were rushing as it was closing time on a weekend.
If you’re in VA go to Nova Cat Clinic. Cats are all they see, The prices are about the same and you stay with your cat while they take blood, etc. I thought they had closed which is why i went to MAH, unfortunately I didn’t find out it was a temporary closure until after Merrifield AnImal hospital broke my cat. I really don’t regret things in life, but I truly wish I hadn’t made the decision to take my cat to MAH.

My two dogs have been seeing Dr. Chu for over four years. We have always appreciated their kindness and professionalism. We sometimes use the boarding there too.
Our dogs are never scared to go in and the location is really great for where we live.

My two little guys (dogs) have been patients here for over 6 years now.
My latest experience just reminded me how wonderful this place is! Excellent, attentive care and warm, competent, and friendly staff!
Dr. Chu especially is super! She calls me back the same day regardless of office hours and always answers all my questions.
Recently, when one of my dogs had dental surgery, she called me before surgery to go over EVERYTHING (including breakdown of expected costs); she called me during surgery to let me know how he was doing, what she was doing & updated me with costs (which gave me the opportunity to consent to any additional costs); and then called me afterwards with an update of his condition.
The staff also followed up with an email to check on my dog’s status.
I have total trust in the staff here. And as mentioned, Dr. Chu is wonderful! Brenda is also a standout– always very warm and professional!