Pender Exotics Vet Fairfax, Virginia

My cat Lucy, of almost 20 years, passed away in their care. While she was old, and I was told by them she had chronic kidney failure, I am still very unsure of the last moments of her life. The way they handled matters after her passing is absolutely atrocious. I paid to have her cremated privately and have the ashes returned to me. It says clearly on the invoice/receipt that the ashes were to be returned to me, INSTEAD DO TO THEIR SLOPPY WORK AND CARELESSNESS, SHE WAS COMMUNALLY CREMATED AND I WILL NEVER RECEIVE HER ASHES BACK. I also had to call several times to to even figure out what was going on. The woman on the phone (the person in charge of this department) even had the audacity to tell me they have “double checks” in place to ensure this type of thing doesn’t happen AFTER admitting to me that this is exactly what happened, as if that would somehow comfort me. I don’t think for how many cremations they coordinate that I am the very first one this has happened to, or the last. I loved my cat more than anything in this world. I was absolutely destroyed by this, and still am 5 months later. After nearly 20 years of taking care of, nurturing, comforting, growing together, hugs, pets, and love - I have nothing of her. If you love, value, or care for your pet at all, please, I beg of you take them somewhere else

How can you call yourself an emergency vet? I have an 11 year old Akita who was showing severe signs of distress and bloat, and what was I told...sorry we are not taking emergencies at this time because we are full. What? Do you not prioritize a dog who is dying over other emergencies? Thank god for another emergency vet in Fairfax who took my dog in spite of being at capacity as well because they recognized a true emergency. If you are not going to take true emergencies, then do not advertise yourself as an emergency vet.

Pender Vet in Fairfax is a liable place to come if your pets are in emergency. I took my pets here twice, they were 2 little hamsters. One got recovered amazingly but the other unfortunately did not make it. Doctor and staff members were so friendly and professional. They even made a little box for my passed away hamster. Thank you for all your help!

I'm grateful to the staff at Pender for being communicative with me and carrying out their duty of care. It was very nerve-wracking to leave my baby (my cat) here for dental surgery. The staff here welcomed me and my questions about their procedures, facilities, and billing from the moment I walked in the doors. I know my cat, like most cats, is not enthusiastic about going to the doctor's office, let alone for surgery, but there is a comfort in knowing my cat was in capable hands and will live a more healthy life thanks to the care she received.

I just want to thank Pender Vet for their amazing work and service. I have 3 guinea pigs who are my life. They are my first pets I have ever owned and I was worried that when I found a vet, they wouldn't care as much as I do especially since they are small pets and not cats or dogs. That is definitely not the case here at Pender Vet. Dr. Galya Fedderly has been absolutely amazing. I struggle with severe anxiety so my list of questions is always extremely long, but Dr. Fedderly has taken the time to answer each and every one. She is extremely reliable and definitely cares about your pets just as much as you do. I would also like to give a shoutout to one of the receptionists/front desk girls. I spoke to Wendy last week in regards to some medication for my guinea pigs. I quickly became anxious about the decisions that were going to be made and she did an amazing job at letting me know that it was ok to call back in a couple of days with my decision. She was professional yet understanding. Over all I have experienced nothing but care and patience at this location. Both towards myself and my 3 guinea pigs. Thank you so much Pender Vet!

I took my birds in months ago. After leaving messages to request not only the results of my animals test but my bill. I have not once heard back, not once. Then what do you know I get a bill in the mail from collections. They had the decency to call me. That was 2 days ago and the said they would send a message for Pender to call me back as I have yet to get any response but you want me to pay a bill!!!! I don't recommend this place if you want a response or results.

Professional, empathetic, and informative. I brought my 10 year old corn snake in to Pender Exotics hospital today to be seen for an issue with his tail. We received information on how to access the clinic with a text that told us to park in a specific area in the back where their Exotics clinic is located. We arrived a little early but were seen immediately and in a room within minutes. 2 vet techs took our information down and weighed my snake, then let us know the vet would be in momentarily. The vet, Dr. Reukauf, was kind, confident, and knowledgeable. My snake was prescribed an antibiotic regimen via intramuscular injection and I was shown expertly how to perform the injections myself at home. I went in today very nervous for my snake, and come what may, I am confident that the Pender Exotics team will make him comfortable and as healthy as can be.

Lynette was so helpful today!!! It’s been so hard to get appointments and she was able to help us today for our dog who really needed to get in ASAP. The office and doctors were able to find a time to see our dog and we are so appreciative. We have been going here for years and have 2 dogs!!

After moving here to the area, we moved our dog’s prescription to the local Pender Veterinary office. The typical price that we paid for the prescription was $120 at the vet office we used before and happens to be the same price offered on their preferred pharmacy website provided by Pender. Pender charges $220. When I inquired about the reason for the cost it was explained to me that they didn't have the bargaining power that the larger website has. This is price gouging and lying to customers at its worst, and sheer incompetence at best. Having managed several pharmaceutical inventories over the years, this is very likely true. However smaller entities like the vet office I was with and Pender typically form groups for bargaining power. Being a well-respected clinic in the area with multiple locations, I can't hardly believe that Pender Veterinary Centre is incompetent.

My cat is older and diabetic and while I appreciated their blood test, I was displeased with the 300 dollar mark up on the insulin. I would advice that you google petco and order from them or else face hideous charges on life saving medication

Pender is not our regular vet since we live a decent drive away, but they took wonderful care of our pup during a weekend (off-hours) emergency when our vet was closed. She ended up staying overnight with them and it was clear that she was well-loved during her time there. All of the vets and vet techs we interacted with were communicative, caring, and willing to answer all of our questions. Very thankful for their great emergency care - our girl is home and on the mend!

The BEST care my dog and I have ever experienced! We originally went to Pender because it was the only ER not at capacity and after that first visit it became our “FOREVER VET”. All of the doctors were communicative-calling when they said they would, checking in consistently, really listened, spent real time speaking with me, and even texted and sent pictures and videos. My dog (a french bulldog) had to go under anesthesia; I was worried about this because of the risk this poses especially for bully breeds. The doctors really listened to my concerns and the precautions they took before, during and after anesthesia went beyond thorough and they kept me in the loop every step of the way. I cannot speak highly enough of this STELLAR group of veterinarians, veterinary assistants, and staff. We are eternally grateful to Pender and so thankful to have found our forever vet!!

We actually went here a while ago but I'm only now getting around to reviewing. We moved to Virginia and shortly after my dog with Cushing's started deteriorating quickly. We brought her in to Pender and they supported our decision to put her to rest. Since we didn't know anyone who could watch him, my husband took care of my 1 yo son, while the extremely kind and patient vet sat with me (8 months pregnant at the time) on the floor while she passed. They offered to spread her ashes and pressed her paw print into clay with her name as a keepsake. They were very kind to a sobbing, hormonal, emotional wreck of a pregnant woman.

Went for an emergency check up for my guinea and they attended us really nicely! Staff was friendly and attentive. They helped us sort out pricing and payments. My guinea pig got better after a week! Love pender!

We went in as an emergency for our bearded dragon and while the prognosis was grim every member of staff was phenomenal and the level of service and care was better than any other I have experienced. We will definitely be bringing future exotics to Pender.

I went for emergency and they said don’t have space..

I brought my 2yo dog Veer here this past Thuraday evening 7/15/2021 because he had fallen out of the window of my car and I was SO worried he had been hurt and wanted him checked out by the emergency room immediately. The Vet tech who came to check him in, Amber (I wish I had gotten her last name), was AMAZING. She helped calm me down, looked over my dog, and helped assuage my worst fears. I am so grateful to her, for all her help. Her kind and patient demeanor really made all the difference for me that evening. My dog is doing so much better now and I know it is entirely due to Amber and the excellent care of Pender Vet. Thank you thank you thank you! I fully reccomend this place for anyone who is having an emergency.

Another vet gave a great Pender a great recommendation. The other vet also said Pender is open 24/7 ,Though I would be driving from Stafford, if they can help or save her it’s worth it. I have been trying to get my bearded dragon into a vet for the last month. Now it’s an emergency and I can’t find anyone to help my baby. Everywhere is booked months out .I called Pender thinking yes I will finally get my beardie help and the girl hung up on me. No return call either, everyone now has caller ID! Did I also mentioned it is an emergency! ????

I would first like to say that I know when people lose their pets they take it out on whoever they can, and I'm not going to do that here. I brought my hamster, Bear, here a few days ago. The staff were extremely kind, and responsive, and very helpful. They even let me know what the visit fee would cost up front so there would be no suprises. They gave her back to me and she looked much better. However, the more I gave my pet the medicine I was given and followed all the directions, the worse she became. She passed away three days later. I do not know if it was just because of her age, or if it was a medical mistake, but I wish I knew. I am very sad to have lost my pet, especially after paying the $244 to try and make her well again. That being said, the staff were very kind and responded quickly, The price is high, but it makes sense for an emergency center. I sincerely thank the staff for doing what they could.

I have had the WORST experience at this vet office. If you read this I will tell you exactly why! My Bearded dragon I had prolapsed, if you are familiar with this issue it will happen more frequently once it does happen. I had to ask them about a permanent fix for the situation, because they couldn’t politely tell me to not spend $700 every couple months that too instead pay $500 to permanently fix the situation. Because the want your money. I called and spoke with this vet at 3:48 PM on 6/29/21, they informed me of the price of the surgery, and to call them when I left Winchester Virginia to come to their location in Fairfax. At 6:15 PM that evening I called them and let them know I was on the way. They insist on telling me that there are no spots they’re available for emergency appointments and that they don’t even do that surgery. After telling me This morning that it was going to be all taken care of. So since I had to Call around and wait to get in somewhere because their office misinformed me I had to have my lizard put to sleep that day because of them. Them promising me that they could get this situation taken care of and a person and their exotics department failed to put me on the schedule and do their job. I do not recommend this facility at all. they are cold hearted money hungry people and I will never ever be back there.

I had to take my husky, Cheyenne, to the ER the other day. She had a BAD cold that scared me quite a bit. Keep in mind, I have had Huskies for almost 22 years and worked at a dog hotel in the area for years. I had never seen such a bad cold in a dog! She had also never even vomited in almost 6 years! Healthiest dog I have ever seen! I called the regular vet and could not get an appointment due to lack of staff. I called Pender, explained the situation, and they said “bring her now.” What a relief it was to get care for my dog right away! I was a complete wreck. My dog was sneezing blood, sounded like a congested human with sleep apnea, and had a small fever. The tech met me out front, explained what tests they would run, and told me the doctor would call once the tests were done. It was about 3-4 hours as expected. Dr. Lentz was right to the point, explained everything she tested/x-rayed in detail, and got my baby on the medications she needed to bounce back quickly! Here we are 4 days later and my dog is almost 100% better due to the care in the ER with fluids and antibiotics plus at-home regimen of antibiotics and appetite stimulant to help with eating. I will be returning to Pender for all of my dog’s health needs and HIGHLY recommend their regular vet office and ER! I am not sure how my bill compared to other vets. But it was 1k for chest x-rays, a FULL blood panel in every area, IV fluids, an antibiotic injection, 2 weeks of Clavomax twice a day, a bottle of Entyce appetite stimulant, and the exam. I would have paid anything to get my dog better. But that’s a synopsis for those comparing prices. The care my dog received was incredible and we are so lucky to have Pender!

We've been going to Pender since relocating to Northern VA in 2009. For the longest time, our pets have always received exemplary care, and the staff seemed to have genuine concern for the well being of their patients. We've really appreciated some of the vets who took care of our animals, and we were glad to be able to see the same doctors at every appointment. The customer service, appointment availability, and general care has been going downhill for us since 2019. I understand the challenges that the pandemic caused in 2020, but there have been so many issues above and beyond that it's become a nightmare to bring our pets here. Ridiculous wait times both at appointments and on the phone, doctor turnover, competing for appointment slots - it's very disappointing. The final straws for me were 1) I was unable to schedule an appointment in the same week for a laceration on my cat's tail that ended up needing stitches - I was able to have it handled same day at a different vet's office with no emergency charge; and 2) I was unable to bring my dog in for an emergency appointment for prolonged diarrhea and vomiting because their ER was at capacity. And now they have completely limited the hours of emergency services? Last time I checked, emergencies occur at all hours of the day. As much as I would like to continue to patronize Pender, I am beginning the search for a new provider. I cannot rely on this facility to be available when needed and trust that my pets will receive the care they need and deserve.

Aren’t they emergency care? I took my dog for emergency at 10PM and was told there is no on-call doctor to see the patient so I had to go to South Paw which was another 25min driving. No doctor in emergency care? But they are open 24 hours?

Rescue dog had two successful overnight stays (one for spay & one bout of diarrhea) -was treated and released. On third stay (extended stay due to weight loss and thought to be IBS) all conditions were not addressed. Upon release after two weeks, dog was smelly, had ear infections, skin infections, and ended up at another vet for care. PENDER took no responsibility for condition of dog.

We’ve been Pender clients for years. We work with and adopt older rescues and are at Pender often,very often. Pender has fantastic doctors, great support staff, and have provided great support during some very tough times. We should have written several reviews long ago for some amazing doctors(Julia Finlayson, Andrew Voell, Adam Chung), wonderful pharmacy staff(Tracy, Josh), and the numerous techs and front desk staff. Over the past year or so most of our babies have been seeing Dr. Flanary and his partner Fiorella. After being clients for a decade, it was immediately clear they are an especially great team. We had a familiar face each time and Fiorella and Dr. Flanary seemed more informed and more organized. The flow of the visits was just smoother and it felt more personal. The check in/check out process was smoother, quicker. If we had medications, they were right there with our babies when they were brought out to us or one of them would follow up to be sure they were filled. Our visits with Dr. Flanary and Fiorella were really,really good and less stressful. Eventually we had to let them know just how much we appreciated them. That is when they explained that they teamed together as much possible. Our visits with other doctors involved a rotating array of wonderful techs and support staff, and while they are all amazing, they just didn’t have that flow and togetherness that came with the consistency of this team. Once we saw it, we couldn’t not see it. Pender is a big operation with a lot of moving parts, and Dr. Flanary and Fiorella somehow managed to carve out something that feels much more personal. The two of them are so in sync that we know communicating with one of them will lead to both having full awareness of our pets’ needs. Fiorella in particular really took to our most recent rescue, an older pit-mix who has a big bark but is really a sweetheart. Previous vet visits with our new baby started with requests for a muzzle. When our pup exited the building after her first visit with Dr. Flanary and Fiorella, the muzzle was gone and Fiorella was leading a very happy pittie back to us! Beyond the technical aspects of the visit, I received the best pep talk from Fiorella. She reassured me that our girl was wonderful, just a bit scared and that she wouldn’t need that muzzle again. Yeah, tears. This woman has been an amazing resource as we’ve navigated living with dogs for the first time. She’s suggested food and dog training and has reassured us when we’ve needed guidance. More recently this same pup needed oral surgery, so when we dropped her off early in the morning we were bummed to hear Fiorella wasn’t in the office yet. When we picked up our girl that evening we learned that when Fiorella arrived for her shift, she noticed our girl on the schedule and specifically tracked down our pup to comfort her as she waited for surgery. These two have impacted our furry family in so many ways. Vet visits can be incredibly stressful, and sometimes very sad. Seeing a familiar face greet you when it’s time to hand a leash over, receiving steady communication throughout the process, and a sense of familiarity and trust can save you so much worry - especially when your loved ones are not well. Their partnership has provided the most holistic vet care and built so much trust - not just with us but also with our dogs. Our cats are indifferent. We only wish all pet parents could rely on the extensive resources of a facility like Pender, while also receiving the attention and compassion often only seen in smaller, neighborhood clinics.

I called Gender a few weeks back because I saw there was something wrong with my guinea pigs's teeth when I called to see IG I should bring her to the ER the staff let me know that she should be OK that if we set up a regular appointment and she doesn't get worse. She got worse so I called again and asked if this could wait or if I should come in. They advised me to come in. The prices were very reasonable and the staff are all so kind. After I called a few times with any questions or concerns and they helped me every time and gave great tips and tricks to help me help her. Then my regular scheduled appointment came and the staff were all so wonderful, they never made me feel bad about her teeth but are helping me get back on track. I cannot say thank you enough for all the kindness I have received here. You all are amazing at your jobs.

Dr. Flanary, and Fiorella are unquestionably the top veterinary team that we could ever hope for to care for our Bulldog. As experienced English Bulldog owners, our family is very particular about ensuring the best veterinary care for our pups, and from providers that understand and appreciate the idiosyncrasies of the breed. Years ago, we had a terrible experience with another vet, whose inexperience with Bulldogs resulted in the loss of our sweet boy. Given this history, we can say without any hesitation that Dr. Flanary and Fiorella are the absolute best, and we trust them completely. Dr. Flanary and Fiorella (Team F&F) are a power team who bring a unique approach to both veterinary patient care, as well as “bedside manner” to the family. Our English Bulldog, Carla, was born with some severe health problems that resulted in incidents of aspiration pneumonia twice this past year. Through this profoundly terrifying experience, we were reassured by Team F&F’s dedicated, around the clock care that saved Carla’s life at least twice. The fact that Carla was being treated by Team F&F, rather than a single Veterinarian with a series of otherwise interchangeable assistants made all the difference in the quality of care and in the comfort of our family. Our previous bad experience (in NJ, not VA) was due to an inexperienced Veterinarian that did not permit owners to go into the treatment rooms to observe or assist in keeping their pet calm. With this history, we have been understandably gun-shy about any vet who wants to take our pups in the back without us. The COVID restrictions of the past year made going into the office impossible, which significantly increased our stress levels as Carla had these acute life-threatening situations. Our anxiety was only lessened through the calming and understanding presence of Fiorella, who always came out to meet us personally in the parking lot for a masked exchange and the constant communications with Dr. Flanary to provide us with updates on Carla’s condition. As the situation escalated to requiring overnight stays in the ICU with oxygen, we were calmed by knowing that Fiorella was spending extra hours cuddling with Carla to keep her calm so that she would not hyperventilate. I knew from speaking with Dr. Flanary that he did not have high expectations of Carla’s survival and tried to prepare us for that reality, while being careful not to advise us to undertake any unnecessarily expensive measures that would have little likelihood of success. Ultimately, these extreme measures were unnecessary, and Carla made a full recovery, thanks largely to the love and attention that she received from Team F&F. I have no doubt that if it had not been for the care and compassion of Team F&F, Carla would not be here with us today. Because of their team approach to caring for our pup, she is living a comfortable and happy life.

Our guinea pig has a broken leg. Six weeks and a thousand dollars later she still has a broken leg and the only option we were given was an amputation that would cost at minimum another thousand dollars. Maybe it's the fact to that I've spent a collective 10 hours sitting in my car waiting to get a phone call from someone I'm not allowed to see who has allegedly looked at my pet, but I frankly feel there is a strong element of grift to this operation, I feel like they've exploited Covid to rake in high margin profits at the expense of compassion or integrity. I'm devastated over my pet, a thousand dollars poorer, and now I have to look for another vet. Really impersonal, heartless service.

I dropped off my hamster at 12:47 and it’s now 2:34 and not a word from the doctor. This is not my usual vet I only came here because it was the only place in the area that would service/treat a hamster. I’ve called and asked if I should sit outside and continue to wait or go home and wait for a call. They talked to the doctor and then told me the doctor would call me within 15 mins. It’s been 35 mins since then. I understand it’s an emergency hospital, but at my regular vet for my dog, they have the techs call and let me know if my dog has been seen or if he’s still waiting or not take him back until the doctor is ready, or if there are delays. I haven’t heard a word, had to call and the first time I called I waited so long on hold it hung up on me the second time I was told the doctor would call in 15 mins. Once they finally called they explained they’re understaffed and the doctor was very friendly.

I brought my rabbit, Simon here I was delighted by the way they treated him. ???? They answered all my questions and were very professional/ knowledgeable. I’ll definitely continue going there for all of Simon’s needs.