I can't even begin to describe what a positive experience I had at this hospital. I'm from CT and drove 6 hrs to have my French bulldog, Harwich, get his BOAS surgery done here. Why? I had tons of consultations with various doctors and within one email back and forth with Dr. A who sent me the most detailed email on his procedure I finally felt confident that this was the best place to bring my baby. Dr. A uses a harmonic scapel (google it) to do this surgery (at least on the palette part) and it cuts and seals simultaneously with no sutures on the palette are making recovery time minimal. How do I know all of this? He makes you so informed on the entire process, he showed us some other before and after pictures and was just so unbelievably kind. Honestly the entire staff working over the weekend that helped take care of Harwich were just so friendly and put my mind at ease that I made the right decision. So far everything has been going great and I can't wait to see the full results from this surgery, but honestly as a terrified anxious frenchie momma who was so worried about this I couldn't recommend this hospital and Dr. A enough. The first picture is the day before surgery and the second picture is the day after surgery. Look at how much wider his nostrils are!! Overall amazing experience. read more

My baby had a follow-up May 22 & I was told my baby needed surgery for bladder stones. I went to a different Vet today and was told to hold off on the surgery. There's a great chance for a prescription diet to dissolve the stones. No one is perfect, It's always best to get a second opinion. read more

LifeCare Pet Hospital - Veterinarians Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

We always trust LifeCare Pet Hospital to treat our two Boston Terriers professionally and responsibly. From major surgery on one of the animals to wellness checkups, they are always there for us. And at an affordable price! read more

I'm not sure where to begin. I had been taking my dog to this clinic for a few years since moving to South Riding, and he seemed to like them. I thought, "This might be a good place." That was until my experience this past week. Last Wednesday, my dog started making unusual sounds that initially resembled growling but progressed into a gasping noise, as though he couldn't breathe through his nose. By Friday morning, we decided to take him to see Dr. Murphy, whom he had seen before. She recommended imaging, blood work, and a wellness checkup. We agreed and were told the process would take 1-2 hours. Later, we received a call informing us that everything looked great and there was nothing concerning. I wasn't entirely confident in that response, but when they asked, "Isn't that good news?" I trusted the professional advice and took him home. Unfortunately, as the night went on, his symptoms worsened. We recorded videos to document his condition and contacted Dr. Murphy the next morning. She assured us it was normal and suggested cough medicine and using a humidifier. Despite telling her he hadn't been able to eat or drink since Wednesday, she maintained that he was fine. Following her advice, we picked up the medicine and tried administering it. Later that night, we noticed blood dripping from his mouth and rushed him to the ER. Tragically, our boy didn't make it. The ER staff quickly discovered a large mass growing in his throat, which had been obstructing his airway. He was so weak that no treatment plan could be initiated. Dr. Murphy's negligence and misdiagnosis caused him to endure unnecessary suffering in his final days. While it may not have been possible to save him, identifying the issue earlier could have allowed us to provide comfort instead of letting his condition deteriorate to the point of bleeding and gasping for air. During his last hour, he was fully intubated and on 100% oxygen just so we could say goodbye. After his passing, Dr. Murphy admitted she didn't check his throat because he bites. As a veterinary professional, she should know how to handle an animal in pain or should have informed us of her limitations. The ER in Vienna identified the mass within minutes, while we wasted hours, money, and trust at this clinic, only to be told our struggling dog was "fine." Adding to the pain, it took over three days to get a returned call after leaving multiple messages explaining what had happened. There was no remorse or acknowledgment of their negligence. Please, be cautious where you take your beloved pets for care. This experience was a nightmare, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Today our sweet boy has passed, and I blame Dr. Murphy for not being able to properly do her job and taking away the possibility of us as dog parents to help him live or provide the proper treatment at the time before his health reached a point of no return. read more

LifeCare Pet Hospital - Veterinarians Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

So I want to praise this clinic. I feel like they've been given false reviews by people who go their feelings hurt for being overly sensitive. So first let me say I have a French bulldog named Meechie. Meechie needed to have soft pallet surgery and his nares done. Not one time during my consultation with Dr,A was he rude, or condescending or acted like he didn't have time for me. He was very very patient , very supportive with answering my questions and showing me pictures of the surgery because he knew I was worried. He even let me sit in a room with my dog for an hour during his recovery period and was just all together a super nice , super kind Veterinary Doctor. The reviews given were extremely unjust of his personality and the quality of his work was amazing. My dog can breath better. He isn't passing out any more. read more

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Both of the vets here are very uncaring and unknowledgeable. They will not admit when they are wrong or that they are unable to handle a particular surgical procedure and send you elsewhere. They also keep saying your pet is fine after calling with proof otherwise and saying do not go to the ER. Because of their lack of caring and knowledge, our beloved dog passed away because we got him to the ER too late. I wish we never went here or listened to their recommendations but you are supposed to be able to trust your vet and hope they would send you elsewhere if they were in over their heads. Very arrogant and unprofessional! read more

Few days ago I took my 2-year-old cat to LifeCare Pet Hospital for the first time. My cat struggles with anxiety and finding a vet who could handle the "catittude" always been a struggle. She was never able to get a full, detailed exam even when on gabapentin until we met Dr. Murphy and her amazing staff. My cat behavior was no different than any other vet visits but Dr. Murphy and her staff remained calm, handled her with care and performed well overdue full wellness exam. Place is super clean, very calm environment and from the moment we walked in and walked out, everyone was super friendly. Highly recommend LifeCare Pet Hospital. read more

My cat Dwight has a history of urinary blockages and decided to pick the worst time to scare the crap out of me with what seemed like a sudden total blockage. He went from being able to pee to squatting 15 times in a row on every object in my room with nothing happening. The last time it happened it ended with me at the emergency vet for 5 hours for a very expensive and tearful, but thankfully successful, unblocking. Dr. Ahluwalia understood the importance of unblocking him ASAP (it can be fatal for male cats very quickly) and immediately unblocked him by manipulating his bladder right then and there. He then tested the urine removed for crystals but thankfully no stones. I was so relieved. He also prescribed me a urinary food to help avoid this in the future and Dwight has so far not had any further blockages (both the ER vet nor my previous vet did not go this far, and admittedly it did not occur to me as I haven't had boy cats with this issue before). Additionally, Dr. Murphy was VERY patient with my dog's first appointment at LifeCare- he (unfortunately) has a history of fear-nipping my previous vet and I was apprehensive it would be the same here, especially as he's not a small dog. She sat down on the floor and spoke to him kindly instead of immediately backing him under a chair like my (well-meaning) previous vet. They have soft muzzles available in different sizes so even a scaredy-cat husky like mine can get his paws checked out without me biting my nails... and him biting someone else's. Very thankful! (Enjoy an obligatory photo of Dwight!) read more

LifeCare Pet Hospital - Veterinarians Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

Dr. Murphy has taken excellent care of my dog and when his skin issues began and Apoquel stopped working....recommended a vet dermatologist who was able to get him on some human meds that totally cleared up his skin. My dog is not easy to handle but they are very good with him. I have been to other vets that recommended expensive immune meds that did nothing, Dr. Murphy shaved all the areas that were broken out which helped with the healing along with the right meds. read more

Was recommended to this vet from a friend and was happily surprised that I could get a saturday appt when I checked online on a thursday night. I received an email confirmation on Friday, but found I missed some calls while at work on friday. I called back Friday afternoon at 3:14pm and spoke with the office - told them the name of the old vet for records, and the office admin asked to move the appt from 815am to 930am, I requested a bit earlier as my son had soccer at 11am, so she said 9am would work - we agreed and all was good. As I was walking out the door with my dog at 840am this morning, i received a call that asked if i was still interested in the 830am appt, I explained the prior communication with the office and that the appt was at 9am and I was on my way. At 844am I received another phone call from the office where she said that she asked all of her colleagues and no one spoke with me yesterday, and no one had requested records. Really not sure why the second call back, but it felt as if she was accusing me of lying about talking to the office -- why in the heck would anyone do that? Makes no sense. I cancelled the appt because the whole miscommunication and lack of any communication internally and calling me back to ... do what?? Call me a liar about a phone call thats in my phone record?? Did I speak with a ghost? Anyway... there must be a deeper reason that i was able to get an appt in 2 days... hate to say it but I'll either go back to banfield or find another place, just a realllllly bad vibe from the front office staff. read more

LifeCare Pet Hospital - Veterinarians Near Me - Chantilly, Virginia

Dr. A is completely unprofessional and arrogant!! My puppy needed surgery and we called to obtain information about the process. In our initial conversation, Dr. A seemed unknowledgeable about this type of surgery because he is not a specialist. He still seemed willing to help. My family had some reservations based on this conversation as we didn't want our puppy to be his lab rat. Boy where we right!!! We told Dr.A that we would get back him later that day as we had to explore our options to see what would be best for our puppy. As the office was closed, we decided to follow up with Dr. A with some questions regarding his professional opinion about any complications, the recovery time, etc. this morning (less than 24 hours). We left a message for Dr.A to call us back. We instead received a phone call back from the receptionist saying Dr. A will not answer any questions because we did not call him back immediately with our decision to move forward with him. He said we could "email" him instead. The receptionist made it clear that the Dr. wanted to do surgery today and since we did not let that happen he can no longer assist us with our needs. I'm so glad that this happened because I had reservations about his pushy behavior, lack of compassion and most importantly lack of knowledge about this surgery. I have made sure to make other people and surroundings vets in the area aware of this behavior from someone who people are supposed trust with there fur babies! Dr A appears to only be interested in making quick cash instead of the actual care of the pet. After looking at his reviews I am shocked on the amount of "good reviews". I also see that he seems to respond to every bad review in the most condescending narcissistic response ever. Extremely bad customer service from a company!!! BEWARE!!!!! read more

Had a wonderful experience at LifeCare Pet Hospital. Our dog was diagnosed with TPLO by our vet and was told to have a specialist look at him. So glad that we did! We had great confidence in Dr. A and the staff and felt that our dog was in very caring and experienced hands. From my first call to the office the person who answered was very kind and helpful and went over the pricing and procedure and what to expect. We made the appointment and met with Dr. A. He was very thorough and had patience as he explained the procedure to us. Had a very down to earth personality. Would highly recommend LifeCare Pet Hospital! Thank you Dr. A and Staff!! read more

We have been taking our XL bully to Dr Murohy since she was a pup and we have been nothing but ecstatic about her care. The staff is kind, knowledgeable, caring and welcoming. Our pup is excited to get out of the car to go in. They also are amazing at working with us and our pet to make sure we are doing whats best for her and not just arbitrarily making recommendations. I can't recommend them enough. Wonderful people, wonderful care for your pet read more

Stay away if you value your pets life First I want to apologize for the lengthy post. I am writing this review in such great detail, so that you can decide for yourself whether they can be entrusted with your pets life. I am hoping that this review prevents another pet suffering the same fate as mine. My cat Willow was taken to Lifecare pet hospital for an emergency appointment on Friday July 29'th, as she was not eating food for two days and was throwing up continuously. I was asked to drop my pet and pick her up later in the afternoon. I got a call in the afternoon that my pet was ready to be picked and they informed me that they took an X-ray and observed that she was mildly constipated. They gave her fluids under her skin and cerenia (anti-nausea medication). They also sent home a medicine for treating constipation. We tried giving our cat the anti constipation medication and it was coming out of her mouth, she didn't start eating food either. Later that evening she threw up a lot of clear liquid. We called the doctors office on Saturday July 30'th as soon as they opened at 8:30 and informed them that the treatment they provided did not improve her situation and it has deteriorated. They informed us that they can't see her on Saturday as they work only half a day. They told us that she might get better over the weekend and gave us an appointment for Monday 08/01. By this time it had been 3 days since she ate anything. However she was still moving around the house a little, we didn't know any better and thought that she was fine. By evening she stopped walking and was lying in one place. We decide to rush her to the ER at that point. When the ER doctor examined her, we were told that she was too weak to get a pulse and would have to start the drips to get her energy levels up. When they tried to give her the drips, she threw up again and shortly thereafter her heart stopped. They tried CPR for 30 mins and couldn't get her heart to beat again. They told us that there is no hope for recovery at this point and suggested that we need to let her go and she was euthanized. On Monday August 1st, we called the doctors office to request cancellation of Willow's appointment. The receptionist asked for the reason for cancellation. I told her that she was dead. She said she will cancel the appointment and hung up the phone. She didn't even have the courtesy to pretend that she was sorry for our loss. That shows the level of compassion that they have towards our pets. After this, I did some research online to figure out what could have caused her death. I found that regardless of the original reason for her sickness, when a cat doesn't eat for more than a couple of days, they start suffering from a condition called Hepatic Lipidosis , which causes liver failure. As a vet, I expect them to know about this common issue with cats and should have advised me accordingly on the seriousness of the condition. At least when we called back the next day morning, they should have realized that it is a critical situation and either should have accommodated her visit or at least should have advised us to take her to an ER immediately. The fact that they didn't do either of these shows that they were ignorant or don't care about the welfare of our pets. They could have saved her multiple times in multiple ways, but they let her die right in front of our eyes. How can they sleep at night, knowing that they could have saved a life, but decided not to?. As a doctor, we expect them to be more compassionate and caring than a common man, but they turned out to be worse. As pet parents, we entrust the life of our pets in their care and blindly trust them. Is it too much to expect that they would at least tell us whether our pets situation is critical or not?. If they can't even judge this, they are no better than us and don't deserve to be called doctors. You can decide for yourself if you want to entrust the life of your pets, in their care. read more

My dog had never had his teeth done, so I brought him in for a dental cleaning. The staff were great! My dog has a history of being nervous at the vet and sometimes even combative but they were able to work with him and keep him calm through the whole thing. Stress free experience for both me and my dog -- and now he has shiny teeth to boot. Highly recommend! read more

I was referred by Dr. A from my sister. I needed a second opinion for a surgery for my mom's 18 year old dog. Dr. A was honest and straight forward about everything. It's hard to find that with a vet. Chantilly is a bit far for me as I live in the Shenandoah Valley, however we are considering switching our pets over to his care full time because of the level of care and staff just being so personable! The animal isn't just a number here. read more

BEWARE incompetent dishonest practice. I brought my cat here because it was sick. The vet didn't bother do the exam that im used to such as check weight, check teeth. I had to insist they weigh the cat coz he looked so skinny. They did a bunch of blood tests and had me waiting for over an hour. Then the vet comes to tell me that he thinks my cat might be developing kidney disease and that he should go on a low protein diet. So he goes ahead and perscribe dog food instead of cat food, I look at the perscription and ask the receptionist, I think this is dog food it says canine on it, she goes talk to the doctor and comes back saying no its correct its cat food. Of course when I went to the pharmacy they confirmed it was dog food. After a couple days they still didn't email me the blood test results, I had to call three times to have them send them to me. Upon checking the results my cat had very high white blood cells, I'm not a doctor but I know that's an indication for infection and they should have put my cat on antibiotics, so my husband calls again talk to the vet and ask for antibiotics the vet says no, he doesnt need them. OK... a couple days later my cat is unconscious and extremely week, we took him to a REAL vet this time and she immediately put him on antibiotics and other medicine, had waited just a bit longer my cat could have died. I went back to this joke of a practice, I didn't want to be mean or negative, I just wanted to return to them the unnecessary pills they pushed on me such as appetite stimulant and vomit suppressants, that I didn't approve of and was charged $80 for. The pills were unused still in their packaging just like they gave them to me. I politely asked to return them coz they were not the write perscription for my cat's case and that I had to take my cat elsewhere to receive the proper treatment. They made wait over 30 mins to finally tell me that they don't refund pills becoz its not allowed by the FDA. Well, I'm pretty sure the FDA doesn't allow incompetent practices to run either, nor does it encourage you to scam people for things they don't need. Bottom Line, AVOID! I dont even know how they got the good reviews coz everyone I have met there was unhappy and uncared for. read more

My dogs LOVE Dr. Murphy! She always treats them like they are her own pets. Highly recommend this hospital.