Little River Veterinary Clinic Fairfax, Maryland

I took my great dane to the clinic to be fixed years ago. She was only two years old. I wanted to see her the night of the surgery and was told I was unable. The next morning I was telephoned at work and told she was dead. An autopsy was done and she bled to death. They were aware she was in heat a few weeks earlier. Subsequently, I was notified by others that large dogs should not have that surgery so soon after heat. My heart still breaks about what happened. I loved the dog so much. In addition, they refused to pay the cost to get a new puppy. I paid over $2,000.00 for her. I did wind up getting a new puppy a few months later. I would not suggest this clinic.

Perfect place to take care of your 4 legs family member!

tl;dr: My dog ended up having to undergo an emergency surgery because this vet missed the initial diagnosis. Then they tried to blame me for it. Then tried to charge me for a follow up. All about money here. This place primarily cares about money, not the well being of your dog. I took my dog there for a comprehensive physical and a blood work. Spoke to Dr. Downs afterwards who said the physical went well and the dog was fine. I got home and noticed a lump on my dog's head. When I called to ask whether they noticed it and what it was, the vet tech told me that they did not, in fact, see the bump. How on earth you can miss it when it is very obvious, I have no idea. Then, the tech proceeded to tell me that they usually rely on the owner to tell them about any issues to be looked at (I mean, what? What is the physical for then?), and that I should've notified them of the bump. Basically, blamed me for missing a lump on my dog's head. A different vet told me it was a tooth abscess that required surgery, but was unable to schedule anything until two weeks later. So, I called this vet back and asked the pricing for their basic dental cleaning package. Teddy told me that I need to bring the dog in for an exam to get the quote and the vet could not quote me without seeing the dog. Really? Every single vet clinic has a basic dental package they will quote over the phone. Little River wants you to bring the dog in so they can charge you for the exam. Not to mention, my dog was just seen a week earlier for their "comprehensive" exam. Nothing but unhelpful, unapologetic staff who cares about getting the most money out of their patients. Stay far away.

We have had two dogs cared for by Dr. Downs and our experiences have been most positive. Our first dog who was a rescue was seen by another vet for 14 years. He retired and we did research and found Dr. Downs. She was so kind and treated our old girl well. She was available for phone calls at any time and took care of all the old pup's varied illnesses. Lady lived for three more years. Three years later when we got our second rescue, we continued with Dr. Downs because our experience with our first dog had been so positive. I was surprised to reads the negative reviews. We have had only positive with Little River Vets. All the staff including the front desk and the assistants are professional and courteous.

I haven't had a vet for my dog because I haven't found a vet that I felt actually cared about the animals as much as the money they would make, but this practice renewed my faith in people loving their jobs more than their money. My dog ripped his nail down the middle and needed emergency care to prevent further problems. They answered immediately and even got him in with a full schedule. They fixed him up and sent him home with everything needed to recover successfully. I never got the impression that payment was the most important part of their process and they made me and my pup feel so much better. Thank you Dr. Downs and staff! We found our new vet!!

We have been taking our dogs here for 15+ years. Caring, warm, and knowledgeable. Excellent paw side manner. 13/10 Very wow!

Wonderful attentive care by all staff who love our dog!

Little River is the greatest clinic in the D.C. Metro. Our dog, Yogi. was a patient (member of the family) for years. We wouldn't go anywhere else. Their customer service is incredible and they take care of your every need. They are caring, compassionate, and thoughtful.

OMG such an amazing place, people and Dr. Cavadel took Such care for my little man in getting him back to his normal self. Convenience factor for being so close to where I live and friendly is remarkable. Entire staff was so caring during this visit. I have changed vets to them from now on!!! Bailey is Happy

Good place to take your animal. Clean bathrooms for after Chipotle rush and they did really well with my cat. Love this place.

Our vet. Great team! On our third generation of caring for our pets over the years.❤

Charge you for things you don't need. If you want to get ripped off then this is the place to go to. Its unbelievable and selfish!

Dr Judy Downs and the Little River Veterinary Clinic have lovingly taken care of our dogs for over 25 years. Every stage of life, from puppy - to adult - to elderly, Judy and the clinic have been a key member in our family's pet care. Thank you!

Dr. Cavadel has really been an angel. I have a very nervous dog who suffered incredibly during the first year of his life as a bait dog in a fighting ring. He is very attached to me, and has horrible anxiety and the staff at little river has always made every visit much easier on the both of us. I love my dog more than anything in the world, and I truly feel this staff and Dr. Cavadel understand that and are always very accommodating. He recently had a surgery to remove a few masses, and because of where they were located I was pretty nervous about it. I trust Dr. Cavadel completely, and she did a wonderful job not only with the surgery, but with her personal care for my dog and my nerves. She is thorough, professional, kind, compassionate, and clearly very good at caring for animals. I feel very lucky to have found this place, and I'd like to thank every one at little river vet for making tough times as easy and painless as possible. You all are appreciated!

Our Springer Spaniel has been treated with a lot of caring hands at LRVC since she was 8 weeks old; we’ve had great interactions and experiences with visits, shots, medicine, and boarding; amazing front office staff!

Very helpful and responsive on my short notice request. I was able to get in and get out quickly. The receptionists were friendly, efficient and engaging.

We always board our pets here while we travel, reasonable cost and professional staff. We live approximately two hours away, but this is the only place we trust. I recommend any pet lover/owner to utilize their services.

My Poppy-Seed and Nashville have come to this clinic since I rescued them. The staff are so friendly , helpful and professional. I have always been satisfied with any and all treatment my “ kids “ have received. Thanks, Lynde

They always take such wonderful care of my old man-cat. And just recently I found out that they do some grooming, too. Guess who's getting his claws done here now?

I recently moved to the area from Maryland so I discovered this vet through internet research. My experience is unfortunately not a positive one. The vet, Dr. Downs, recommended to me procedures for my dog without consulting my dog’s historical records. That’s just simply careless. It created confusion on the day of a recommended spay surgery because this place overlooked the need for double inguinal hernia repairs at time of spay. That was a frustrating experience. Ultimately, it was difficult to trust their opinion, so I travelled back to my original vet in MD for help and confidence in how best to care for my dog. In addition, their estimates and referrals are grossly overpriced. For their referral to a surgeon for hernia repair, the vet said generally it would cost thousands of dollars to repair the hernia, when I actually paid much less with a successful procedure at my dogs original vet in MD. Their own prices are just outrageous though. For example, a tooth extraction at Little River Vet Clinic, they wanted to charge hundreds of dollars in a separate anesthesia procedure from her spay when ultimately my dog had the tooth pulled at another vet for an additional $5 dollars during an already needed spay and double hernia procedure. From my experience, I don’t trust this location, and I don’t plan on returning.

They have a wonderful and professional staff and excellent veterinarians! The group is always helpful and my family has been bringing our pets to Little River clinic since I was growing up in the 60's ! I would not go anywhere else.

My husband and I took our 9 week old puppy to Little River Veterinary Clinic for the first time yesterday. The staff and doctor were all very friendly, patient and knowledgeable. Very positive experience!

I can’t say enough great things about the staff and Vets here. Thanks Little River. They take great care of our pups.

We have been going to Little River since we moved to Northern VA. They have been amazing. We love the front office staff and the Vets are so nice and very knowledgeable. Dr Cavadel has been so good tonus and our pups. Thanks Little River

This is a very friendly and helpful vet office. My dog was hit by a car they gave me all the info so I could make an informed decision on what to do with him. Highly recommended.

I love Dr. Cavadel, she's an excellent doctor. She takes time to answer all of your questions and she's very knowledgeable, friendly and highly professional. She offers wonderful bed side manners and communicates very well difficult terms. In times of pet health issues she'll always recommend only the necessary and best choices for your pet. She's the most trusted doctor I have met in the area and I'll follow her around if she'll ever moves to another vet office.

Awesome and friendly staff. I was the last patient and about 7 minutes late, and they weren't rude to me and weren't restless at all (not that it's okay to be late; sorry about that!) Very attentive and you can tell they care about your animal!! Would def recommend!

Took good care of Libby. Thanks! Everyone nice and helpful.

Very efficient and got my dog Bruno and I out in a timely manner after giving him his shots and checkup!

Dr. Downs and staff were very professional thorough. I received some much needed advice on caring for and housebreaking my new puppy.