Vet in Montgomery County MD?

[murphyluv]

Just moved to the area, looking for a small animal vet. Holistic minded would be great! Gaithersburg, Germantown, Poolsville, etc. Have a corgi, she threw up last night and decided I need to start vet shopping. Any suggestions? Also, any equine veterinarians?

[IslandGirl]

Laytonsville Veterinary Clinic, hands down. They are the BEST. I don't know what their position on holistic medicine is, but I highly recommend them.

5910 Sundown Rd
Gaithersburg, MD 20882
(301) 948-0158
www.laytonsvillevetpractice.com

[juliet]

In Darnestown, Peachtree Veterinary.

[HoneyMelon]

Laytonsville Vet, 301-948-0158, used them for many years. Dr Godwin is great

[HoneyMelon]

For equine I use Monocacy-- they are pricey but great in an emergency-- I have been a client for many many years. Dr Forfa is my favorite. Dr Forfa is a great sports medicine vet, and also repro vet. They have a nice clinic too. Look them up online. 301-607-4027
I have heard good things about Damascus, but also heard they are not the quickest in an emergency.

[horsetales]

We had really good luck with Germantown Vet www.germantownvet.com

Dr Lucy shows in dressage and combined training as well - love talking dogs and horses with her. They do alternative med stuff as well. I really miss their practice since moving. I got spoiled having ultrasound for the dogs, none of my vets up here have it.

[Trakehner]

For equine I use Monocacy-- they are pricey but great in an emergency-- I have been a client for many many years. Dr Forfa is my favorite. Dr Forfa is a great sports medicine vet, and also repro vet. They have a nice clinic too. Look them up online. 301-607-4027
I have heard good things about Damascus, but also heard they are not the quickest in an emergency.

I disagree with anything involving Monocacy...bad news in a lot of areas, including the charges they come up with...and have had a big problem with Forfa in the past.

For a little more travel, Buckeystown Vets are good, an all female practice and they're great with small and large animals.

[LarissaL]

I've used Buckeystown Vet as well. My parents take my/their dogs there and like the women quite a bit. I've only taken my two older feral-ish cats in there and they've done a good job. Not too pushy trying to add additional tests/exams/shots, which is a nice change for me.

I also used Bradley Hills in Bethesda. It's a single vet office and very kind, friendly and knowledgeable. Bethesda prices though!

I like Monocacy quite a lot. Have used them for many years and am very, very happy with the service they provide. Dr Forfa and Dr O'Halloran are missing a little bedside manner, if you ask me, but no biggie. I know a bunch of folks who have switched from using them due to costs - can't blame them, since I paid $800 last year for essentially a hock wrap, antibiotics and a 5 minute followup visit. Dr. Donatelli was sort of the highlight of their practice for me.

I have piggybacked on other folks' appointments with Dr Haley Kostinas of Horizon Equine recently. She's very nice and enjoyable company. I don't know the level of her expertise, but can say that she's not very good at taking your money! I can appreciate a vet who's respectful of budgets but I felt she had a different level of concern for small, but noticable, issues than I do. No desire to do further diagnostics or really delve further into issues (for me - cribbing, girthiness, hotness = look for ulcers, for her - normal horse). She was fantastic about writing me prescriptions to buy my desired drugs online though. And the ulcer meds I wanted work! (Now if only the horse would ingest them in one way or another..) I believe she's a great vet for the casual horse owner or one on a budget, but most likely not for those mystery lameness/illnesses.

[In_]

Who you really want - Dr. Sterm in Howard County. Bit more of a drive - but she is holistic ontop of being a "regular vet" She does acupuncture and chiropuncture adjustments if she/the owner feel they might be helpful. She has been extremely helpful in my various dog/cats' health over the years and whenever I need something above regular shots - she is my "go to girl." Her number is at home right now...but i will repost when I find it.

Not a fan of monocacy.

[yellowbritches]

i don't know much about the small animal vets in the area, but I do know more than my fair share about the equine vets to stay AWAY from in MoCo...we're talking vets who say horses don't need their teeth floated and diagnose EPM as something wrong with the stifle (but what, Dr? No answer, just give it bute for two weeks :mad:). I like Monocacy because the vets are VERY good. I don't love Forfa, but not because he isn't a good vet, but I do love O'Halloran and Donatelli (who is no longer with the practice), and Dr. Wagner is BRILLIANT. I like all of them a lot because they are more than willing to explain what they are finding and what they are doing and why they are doing it. This is BIG for me. And Dr. O'Halloran got big props from me when he personally drove one of our horses x-rays of a jaw fracture to Morven PArk himself to go over them with Dr. Sullins.

[Cavan]

For small animal care I also endorse Laytonsville Vet. Practice. All the vets are great. Dr. Godwin is an endurance rider, which has nothing to do with small animal practice, but makes me feel better as she is a horse person. My husband lost his drivers license due to poor vision in Oct 2007, in Nov. 2007 our 15 year old lab took sick while I was at work in Baltimore, my husband called them and explained the situation and they sent someone to our house to pick up the dog and transport her to the office. They were also great when we finally had to put her down two months later.

As for equine vets I use Damascus, specifically, Jim Lewis, I have had no problem getting prompt service in an emergency. He also is willing to refer to another vet when something is not his speciality.

[Sing Mia Song]

I'm a vet tech and worked in a small animal emergency practice on the Montgomery/Frederick line for about 10 years, so I've seen several cases from just about every practice in both counties. I've seen who works up their cases appropriately and who doesn't. The practices mentioned here are all good ones (Germantown would be my personal choice), and you can add Brookeville (Marci Engel) to the list.

I can think of far, far more practices where I wouldn't want to go, but none of those are mentioned so far.

I also heartily endorse Monocacy Equine, although you asked specifically about small animal vets. You either love or hate Rich Forfa, but he is an excellent clinician. Pete O'Halloran is a terrific lameness vet, and Lisa Wagner did a residency in internal medicine, as well as having additional training in alternative medicine. I've only met Lynn Facemire once, but found her to be very competent.

They are expensive. They are worth it. I've used them for about 16 years.

[murphyluv]

Thank you! I went to Germantown vet- I really liked them and their place, but HUGELY expensive... $25 for a FECAL??? good lord! Peachtree is very close by, but I am halfway tempted to stay with Germantown-- even if Peachtree is more reasonably priced.

I don't know what vet offices the individual EQUINE vets here are from, but there is a Dr. Gard and a Dr. Reese, as well as a Dr. Radue.

[IslandGirl]

Dr. Radue is my vet and is from Damascus Equine. Damascus Equine is great, and has quite a few vets. They communicate regularly with and consult each other, so they get different perspectives on challenging issues. Don't know about Dr. Gard or Dr. Reese.

[Apollos]

Pete Radue was my vet for years. I really liked him and never had a problem. I really liked him because he was clear with what he was doing, what he thought was going on and was willing to explain everything clearly and in a way that I understood.
I'm with Jim Lewis, again with Damacus Equine, now and never had a problem in 3 years that I've been with him.

[gailbyrd]

Thank you! I went to Germantown vet- I really liked them and their place, but HUGELY expensive... $25 for a FECAL??? good lord! Peachtree is very close by, but I am halfway tempted to stay with Germantown-- even if Peachtree is more reasonably priced.

I don't know what vet offices the individual EQUINE vets here are from, but there is a Dr. Gard and a Dr. Reese, as well as a Dr. Radue.

Dr. Gard is a laboratory research vet (or at least she still was when I ran into her last year at a conference) as well as an equine vet. Very knowledgeable on both fronts.

[belgianpaintwhat?]

Small Animal:
Laytonsville Vet Practice
Kingsbrook (in Frederick) Love them. Great doctors!

Equine Vets:
Javier Donatelli left Monocacy and is out on his own. I think he comes into MoCo
Monocacy Equine-Dr. Forfa and Dr. O'Halloran are great vets and have come QUICKLY in emergency situations. They have interesting personalities and I enjoy seeing both of them.
Rory Carolan (not sure if he is still practicing) very good vet.

[technopony]

Usually, I use Dr. Will Engle of Ridgeview Vet - I have been using him for routine stuff for 6 years and obviously have been very happy. He is good about coming out/returning phone calls and listens to my ideas and opinions, which I appreciate. I also feel like he really cares about my horses. I will say that for any MAJOR lameness that is not easily diagnosable, I go to VA Equine Imaging in Middleburg rather than use any of the local practitioners

I've only used Dr. Liz Reese once in an emergency, but I got a good impression. Dr. Haley Kostinas is good too (she used to work with Dr. Engle), she comes promptly and is really nice - she also events and foxhunts. I used Monocacy for a time too when one of my horses was near their practice, and had good experiences. Dr. Forfa did a prepurchase exam and was great all around, in his veterinary expertise and bedside manner.

Personally, I am not a huge fan of Damascus but many people I respect love them.

As for small animal practices, there is also the Glenvilah Vet Clinic in North Potomac. The owner, Dr. Greenblat, has just about the best bedside manner you will EVER find. He is a good vet and not afraid to refer animals to specialists or other vets if he is stumped. He comes in early and stays late to take care of his patients because he truly loves them.