North Oatlands Animal Hospital

I recently started taking my dogs to North Oatlands Animal Hospital after a recommendation for help with reproductive issues, and I couldn't be more pleased with my experience. The quality of care here is truly undeniable. The staff is wonderful—friendly, knowledgeable, and always willing to go the extra mile. Dr. Rickard stands out as an exceptional professional. She is incredibly smart and understanding, taking the time to address all my concerns without ever making me feel rushed. The facility itself is beautiful, equipped with state-of-the-art technology that reassures me my pets are in good hands. I am grateful for the services provided and highly recommend North Oatlands Animal Hospital to any pet owner in need of quality veterinary care.

We brought our Cane Corso here when he was 8 weeks old for an ear cropping with Dr. Rickard and we could not be more pleased with the entire experience! The results are beyond our expectations and the process was seamless. He’s just over 4 months and all healed up, see photo attatchments. We did not require any posting. The entire staff here is lovely as well. Everyone is so excited to see our pup and he is showered with love each time we’re in. North Oatlands is our primary vet for all services moving forward. :)

Everyone is very knowledgable and caring, and deal wonderfully with my reactive dog. The new and large facility is impressive, from the veterinary side to the boarding side. My dog actually strains to get into the boarding area! I'm so glad I found this practice.

ORIGINAL POST: March of 2021 Terrible dental surgery experience. Story goes: On March 5, 2021, our dog had dental surgery and we were sent home with meds on discharge. No discharge instructions that said when he had last meds, but instructed us to give meds every 12 hours (from when???). I call that evening to find out last time he had meds. There was no vet or employee on-call duty at the clinic - we received a generic 911 emergency option. I was worried about our pup being in pain and since the doses we received were 12 hour doses, I estimated when he may have had the 3 meds and gave him all meds as instructed. He was puking the next day. Vet open, told us to bring him in. Ran another $250 in tests to tell us his kidneys are showing distress. Dr. Nelson who sounded 22 years old was defensive to all my concerns that he was OD'd because we didn't receive any discharge med info, because she "was not the one who did surgery." Literally, all she cared about was that she was not at fault and I had to say, let's move forward with what needs to be done. Then she insisted our dog be injected with more meds because he had thrown up (to stop vomiting) and his blood tests said kidney toxicity. Said no more meds. Took him back next day for urinalysis. Vet told me on Monday, docs would decide if he needed intervention. No vet called, I called twice with not even an answering machine. I interacted with 3 vets in one week of post-op visits. They all evaluated our dog differently with different levels of concern. Dr. Nelson being the most dramatic with insistent (I think) unnecessary treatment and his kidneys did not seem to be responding to medication well. Other two vets seemed super competent, tried to make it right, but didn't really follow through on care - and I was concerned they had totally different concerns/opinions of his status. Seeking 2nd opinion elsewhere. Would never go back to this place - much better at Leesburg Vet Hospital or Old Mill. I will say, the male vet has amazing bedside manners. The older female vet took a great interest in our dog's condition, but not enough to ensure we'd receive a call. THREE YEARS LATER (January 18, 2024): Our dog had to have additional dental surgery (Leesburg Vet Hospital), his bloodwork pre-surgery showed he is in stage 1 of kidney failure. The surgery was successful. We were instructed to put him on renal food, which we did. After a few months, we started to notice him peeing in the house. He was also getting sick, requiring antibiotics - this was new. Eventually he started waking us to be let out to pee at night. And one day, he couldn't jump up onto the bed anymore. I think his kidneys could not handle the medication - between surgery 2 and two rounds of antibiotics. Then early November, we notice he was very lethargic, took him into the vet, lab results indicated Stage 4 kidney failure. He could pass at anytime. Four days later on November 8, 2024, Bailey woke up, couldn't get out of bed, couldn't walk down the stairs. I picked him up cradling him like a baby and walked him downstairs so he could go out back to pee. When I put him on all fours, his legs spanned out slowly like a new-born calf as he sunk to the ground looking scared. His brain wasn't firing quick enough. He mustered enough energy to walk to the fence, but could not lift his leg and just peed standing up. He came back in and got up on his love sac bed, and didn't move further. We made an appointment with our vet. Several hours later, our sweet, sweet Bailey, just 8 years old, went over the rainbow surrounded by love. Our hearts are broken, too young, too soon... if there had just been a "last medication administered" note in our discharge papers, a vet (or anyone with access to his records) on call. While they have never responded to my posts, I trust NOAH's protocols have changed. Not enough to bring any of my animals there, but hopefully for anyone who does.

After leaving an emergency vet that dismissed my concerns with my griffon I believed was Pyoing, I immediately called north Oatlands and they told me to bring her in. Not only did was the staff friendly and welcoming, they immediately addressed my concerns and confirmed my initial concerns. The staff not only stayed late to perform my dogs emergency spay but they’ve reached out multiple times to check in and make sure she’s still doing well. If I could give north oatlands 10 stars I would. I will continue to willingly drive the 2.5 hours it takes to get to them.