VCA SouthPaws Veterinary Specialists & Emergency Center

If you care about your pet at all, stay away. If you would prefer doctors that want to put your animal to sleep WITHOUT tests or a diagnosis, then go ahead. That’s what happened to us. Our cat was sick, weak, hard time breathing. We already had been at our vet and they ran blood tests that didn’t show what is wrong with her. Then our cat had fainted again, and we came here because they supposedly had an internal specialist 1. They did not have the internal specialist like they said they did 2. Even worst - the doctor just briefly looked at her, said her organs were enlarged and probably have to put her down. No other tests, she said “just experience” I guess she has no experience because she was wrong. We took our cat to a much better place where she is getting proper care and a real diagnosis based on evidence vs euthanasia based on a gut feeling. We got much better care at the Hope Center in Virginia and in the end found a specialist in friendship heights in DC based on the other vets referral. Oh yes, they didn’t even want to give us an referral to another place and tried to make us feel guilty for taking her somewhere else. I guess they had too much euthanasia meds in on hand and wanted to use it badly.

posted: 07/05/2023

I recently had to help my beloved dog, Lucky, transition. Going through this process was not something I ever expected to have to do, nor was I prepared for the grief and sadness that I am experiencing. Lucky was my first dog, and I loved him more than anything. I had to take him there twice, first after he suffered a seizure and then about 5 days later when it was time for me to help him transition. We were treated with kindness and respect on both visits. I did call before I brought him in for the final visit, and the team had everything ready when we got there. That simple act made a remarkable difference in preparing me for what would come next. I truly hope this can be shared with the management team at this facility because this process was so much more emotional than I ever would have imagined. Everyone was amazing, and I wish I remembered names better. The vet, however, who administered the drugs, was so patient and kind and caring. I have so many good memories of Lucky, and even when I grieve holding him in my arms and watching him take his last breath, I feel more of a sense of relief than pain because of the level of sensitivity and empathy that surrounded us during our final moments together.

posted: 08/15/2023

Dr. Sara Vachher is an Angel sent from Heaven. She was compassionate and caring when our beloved kitty was in the ICU and passed. We are forever grateful for her and the staff. Dr. Wingerd also took great care of our kitty when he was ill. Highly recommend VCA. Thank you for all you do everyday.

posted: 05/10/2023

We were devastated to find from another emergency vet that our golden retriever had Lymphoma. We needed to act quickly before he had kidney failure related to the cancer, so we called around to all dog cancer treatment centers in NOVA. Southpaws Oncology department thankfully had a cancellation (many places in the area didn’t have an appointment for weeks), and because of this, we were able to get in right away with his first treatment of chemo. Our boy went from feeling and acting so sick to being his happy and energetic self, the pictures I posted are halfway through treatment. If you’re financially able to perform chemo on your fur baby you are in great hands with the Southpaw Oncology team. Throughout our boy’s 20 week chemo protocol we have felt extremely welcomed and comforted here. I’m so grateful for all they’ve done (albeit a significant cost to our household, but completely worth it) to give us more time with our boy and always making us feel like saving him mattered. Forever thankful for that.

posted: 12/22/2022

DONT TAKE YOUR DOGS TO THIS PRACTICE BEFORE READING ALL NEGATIVE GOOGLE REVIEWS. I wish that there are an option to rate VCA Southpaws as a -5 if that was possible. If you love your pets, please avoid this hospital at all costs - especially the Emergency what they name them as it is. Vet Doctor incompetence, lack of experience , mis-diagnosis, . . . among other all negative experiences. Sadly, I am not the first customer experience this practice and my experience was similar to that of another recent reviewer month ago. I wish I read google review before took my dog here rather take him to Hope Emergency in Vienna as the recent reviewer recommended. With their lack experience, they offered the test with out knowledge of my dog history that lead to misdiagnose. Then, they recommended me go with the other test because they assume my dog get Addison disease , but guess what? the test 's result came out negative and they recommended me go to the other test. WT... I rather take my dog to other practice instead of continuing with them.

posted: 09/22/2023