Clarendon Animal Care - South Arlington, Virginia

Great customer service. Responsive and communicative staff. Convenient location.

Love this vet. They work hard and always go the extra mile to help us.

Excellent service and team. Super easy to make appointments, took excellent care of our dog.m, and the follow up communication is stellar.

Took a new very shy and scared kitten here for her initial checkup and shots. The staff were amazing Lindsay Taylor provided me plenty of info as well being very gentle with my new kitten.

This Clinic is one of the top clinics with the best veterinarians in Northern virginia! The facility is clean the staff are professional courteous and love animals it's always a pleasure to go here

Every single person we have interacted with at Clarendon Animal Care South has been so incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and patient with us. Taking our puppy to the vet is a totally stress-free experience; he absolutely loves going and we know our sweet boy is going to get the best care. The vets here are more available and communicative than any vet (or human medical professional) I’ve ever interacted with. The team regularly reaches out to check on our puppy, and they’re always responsive when we reach out with a question or concern. EDIT: The patience and responsiveness that we loved during the beginning of our time with CAC South has unfortunately disappeared over the last two months.

Summary: I've only had good experiences with the vets here, specifically Dr. Carter. The issue is that the practice as a whole lacked compassion for my dog, didn't have protocols in place to care for reactive dogs, and have made it clear they don't have intentions of developing them. If you do not have a reactive dog, you will probably be fine here. This really not something I wanted to have to write, but here we are. I adopted my adult/senior dog from a shelter back in December. I chose Clarendon Animal Care based off the reviews here, so I thought I should probably share my experience for others. During the first few weeks of owning my dog, I discovered that he is reactive to people and dogs. Clarendon Animal Care responded appropriately and helped my dog begin taking Reconcile for his fear-based anxiety. During the first few months of having my dog, we went in a few times to get him up to date on vaccinations and to check out various problems that we were finding out. The staff was always professional and acted appropriately as far as I could tell, however, my dog had started to develop a bad association with going to CAC. After a while, I inquired if there was a way to bring my dog in to desensitize him to the setting so that he could eventually not have such a negative association. I was told they are called happy visits, and that I was free to make an appointment. I had been told previously to make his appointments either early or late in the day, when the clinic is less crowded, so I made his appointment as early in the morning as I could. This appointment was anything but happy. I was greeted by the Vet tech who started citing parts of his medical record, particularly the ones where he has had difficulty being handled. I told the Vet tech the medications he is on for anxiety, and we were generally chatting about the goals we wanted to achieve during these visits. However, when my dog became triggered by other dogs coming in, she abruptly left and told us to leave. I was collecting his stuff and calming him down for a few minutes before leaving, when another dog came in. Again, my dog lost it. Rather than help me give my dog the time (maybe 3 minutes) and space to leave peacefully, the Vet tech then came back and told me to leave again. I felt it was very inappropriate how the situation was handled, and I said as much. The vet tech, rather than taking responsibility for her role, blamed a lot of other things on the fact that she (1) didn't know anything about my dog even after we had discussed specifics, and (2) didn't do anything to help the situation and simply left us sitting there. She did reach out, but continued to blame other factors for her own inaction, such as telling me that I made the wrong appointment and if the correct appointment would have been made, I would have been able to avoid this situation. I wanted to discuss what she specifically could have done to improve the situation, she wanted to talk about everyone else who did something wrong. I told her that I do not think she has done anything to instill my trust into bringing my dog back to receive care from her, at which point the hospital manager chimed in and said I should find another vet clinic for my dog. It struck me as a bizarre response until it clicked with me that they can make money much easier with someone else's normal dog. Fair enough, I can't argue with that. At the end of the day, I'm the only one in this transaction who actually cares about my dog, I just thought it was kind of her job to pretend to care (guess not). Now that I know what I know, I only have myself to blame for entrusting this business with someone I care about.

We had a wonderful experience here a couple of months ago and I have been meaning to write this review. My senior dog had an injury, and then adverse reactions to 2 different medications that had been administered at an emergency vet. We made an appointment here with Dr. Carter, his regular vet, so that she could examine him and try a different pain reliever. Our large elderly dog was in a rough state, in pain and with very limited mobility. The vet tech, Lou, was so patient and kind with him, and with me, and she helped to make him as comfortable as possible. Dr. Carter, as always, was thoughtful, caring, and spot-on in her medical assessment of our pooch.

Good vet, the visits are long though, expect 1.5-2 hours (including wait times). Not sure if they are faster for emergency service, fortunately I haven't had to find out. Despite the long visits they are through friendly and caring. I definitely recommend them.

It was out puppy’s first visit, and I chose CAC because it’s right down the street and has great reviews. Our first visit made us feel so comfortable! Everybody was so friendly. Dr. Lockhart provided us with so much helpful information. We are so glad to have chosen CAC!

New puppy owner here and they made everything super easy, they are very knowledgeable and supportive. They followed up, and are super responsive. The Dr. called w/ a recommendation based on a fecal sample, left a message, followed it up with an email, had the Rx ready for pickup, and then later followed up again. Not the tech but the Dr. It’s the little things. Also having the app support and website blog has been great. Loads of relevant info. Thanks!

Clarendon animal care is amazing ideas about 30 minutes away in Silver Spring Maryland and take my chocolate lab Georgie over there to see Dr. Unger and the other staff the vet techs are so caring and understanding I highly recommend this place I’ve been using them for years

I took my 15 year old cat here because he seemed to have trouble walking and I suspected arthritis. Dr. Lockhart took one look at him and diagnosed diabetes. She has worked tirelessly to get his diabetes under control. The best recommendation for this clinic is that our skittish, anti-social cat loves them. He sits patiently for them - unlike at home! He lets them carry him around like a baby when he doesn’t let us pick him up at home. I don’t know what they do but I wish they’d bottle it.

The staff are always professional yet friendly. They have a board to greet your pets when you walk in, and the veterinarians I've worked with (both here and in the Clarendon North facility) are very knowledgeable. Highly recommended!

We have had great experiences in both the CAC North and CAC South locations. The doctors, assistants, and staff are all very friendly, professional, helpful and very responsive.

I love all the vets and techs at both locations.they are kind and informative.i will never let anyone else take care of my wheatens..aka.fuzz babies!!!!

I could not be happier with clarendon animal care. The staff is so friendly and you can tell they take extremely good care of the pets they see. They go the extra mile and it is really comforting. Despite having moved to DC from Arlington, I have no plans of changing from this wonderful establishment.

Lovely staff and doctor. Respectful of covid issues but answered all my questions and gave good advice. Great treatment of my puppy.

I only recently moved from Maryland to Virginia and visited Clarendon Animal Care South location only twice and their North location once so what I can comment on is limited. Both locations have excellent veterinarians and veterinary technicians. The vets and technicians I talked to were kind and professional which I cannot say about their front desk staff at the South location. They are the first contact one has when arriving at the clinic, so I would expect them to at least smile and make that first impression very positive. Unfortunately, I found them to be a bit brusque. I was used to extremely polite, friendly and professional front desk at Germantown Veterinary Clinic and in comparison to them, front desk staff at Clarendon South location still has some room for improvement. Hopefully they will work on polishing their skills. My second reason for a four star is due to my impression that there was a bit more selling of the services than I am comfortable with. I want to clarify that this is done so subtly, but it is felt.

Dr. Carter is a great vet. She does a thorough exam and takes the time to explain everything to me!

This was our first experience with this vet as we just moved into the area. The vet held my dog so tightly for his yearly vaccinations, that he is visibly bruised this morning and yelping, wincing when I pick him up. He is still slightly …

Sweet staff, they really care

Can't say enough about how great CAC is. We've been to their new location a handful of times, and it's just as great as their Original North Location. We saw Dr. Lockhart on our last visit, and she is just as great as the other vets we've seen at CAC over the years. We drive 40 minutes to CAC because their service, kindness, and communication is unbeatable. Highly recommend trusting them with your pet.

The office is very clean. Customer service was great. This was probably the most thorough vet appointment we have ever had! Great job!

Our dog has been going to Clarendon Animal Care for a while now and it is by far the best vet experience we have ever had. We have lived in five different cities, each with different vets, so that says a lot! The offices are well kept and you can tell the staff really love and care for all animals. Everyone has been extremely knowledgeable and helpful when it has come to difficult health circumstances for our pup as well. I am so grateful we chose to go to Clarendon Animal Care when we moved! Highly recommend!

Love the second location with the same care we’ve experienced at CAC North. Dr. Carter has been wonderful with little Rocco! Highly recommend!

Everything about the experience we had was fantastic. We took both pets at the same time (reduced visits needed). All COVID protocol made us feel safe and cared for. Dr. Carter is thoughtful, warm, and helpful. They gave our pets treats (with permission) and we left with a tennis ball for our dog. She absolutely loved it. I would recommend to anyone who needs a vet.

First time to the new location - different address but same great service and people.

I take my little puppy to this clinic. The staff were attentive and professionals. They are very kind and careful when dealing with my puppy. I spoke with Dr. Taylor, she was very kind and patient. She answered all of my questions and ensured I know what my puppy needs. Highly highly highly recommend!

As the child of a people doc, I was educated on what constitutes quality care and a well run practice from an early age. I am extremely picky when it comes to choosing providers for my 2 cats as well. I am incredibly happy that I found your practice. You are the only vet practice I’ve ever been to that operates on the same level as the kind of medical practices I go to for my own healthcare needs. Just please don’t change! And to anyone who is in search of the DMV’s best vet practice, you just found it.