Del Ray Animal Hospital

The team at Del Ray animal hospital is one of a kind. The front desk staff and techs are exceptionally kind to us and our dogs. They pay special attention to our dog who is beyond nervous at the vet. Dr. Marsico is patient, caring and attentive. She has diligently worked to identify our new rescue dog’s multiple ailments (some very rare) and has gotten him so healthy this ten year old is acting like a puppy. She is a brilliant practitioner and such a kind person.

Had to take my Jack Russell Terrier in for an annual exam about a month ago. The turn around for making appointments is pretty quick and they have weekend hours!
When I arrived the place was nice and clean, I believe they’ve recently renovated the place. The receptionists were kind and professional. Didn’t have an issue with parking since they have a parking lot next to the place. Prices were reasonable for the area.
Thank you Dr. Marsico for answering all my questions and being patient with my dog who was really anxious and nervous throughout the appointment.

We have gone to Del Ray Animal Hospital for several years. As far as we can tell they have provided good care to our pets and that’s what matters to us, so we continue to go back.
Pros: Good pet care. The Drs are thorough and I never feel rushed through an appointment. Never have to wait long for my appointment. Waiting area never has more than one other pet in it. Parking has always been available.
Cons: I’m not wow-​ed by the staff’s bedside manner. I always feel like they could be a tad friendlier. They NEVER call when my pet’s meds are ready for pickup even though they say they will. The appointment rooms are really small. Their prices are high but so is everyone else in DC/​Northern Virginia. No after-​hours emergency care — need to go elsewhere.

The doctors and staff at Del Ray are fantastic. They took incredible care of our ailing cat and demonstrated incredible compassion. I have never seen such caring and they made the last few years of his life much better than we could have expected. I trust them completely and will definitely continue to take our other pets there.

Dr. Lisa Marsico is THE WORST vet on the planet – SHE PRACTICALLY KILLED MY 14-​YEAR-​OLD CAT and cost me over $ 10,000! Dr. Marsico is completely incompetent!
I took my cat to Del Ray Animal Hospital for an abscess. Dr. Marsico walked into the examining room and started immediately criticizing me for my cat’s weight. She began ranting about cats not needing carbs, and so on. All I knew is that I had a healthy and happy chubby cat who’d never been sick a day in his 14-​year life – but that was about to change.
Within two weeks of taking Indiana to see Dr. Marsico, my cat was NEAR DEATH, and I was about to spend almost $ 10,000 in vet bills to save him. Thanks to SOUTHPAWS ANIMAL HOSPITAL, he lived another four years, but he will never get back the 6 months that he spent suffering – and being near death – at the hands of Dr. Marsico.
After criticizing me, and making me feel terrible, I put Indiana on a diet. I bought him very expensive low-​carb food. He lost weight all right, but unbeknownst to me, it was because he wasn’t eating anything at all because he hated the food! I had two other cats at the time and didn’t know Indiana wasn’t eating anything. He became very sick and severely constipated. I took him back to Dr. Marsico and she basically tortured Indiana for days before finally coming so close to death that another vet called me and told me he was dying and needed to go to Southpaws Animal Hospital to see an expert. Keep in mind, my bill was almost $ 3,000 by now. I paid Del Ray Animal Hospital around $ 2K to torture and nearly kill my beloved cat.
After rushing Indiana to an ER Animal Hospital, here’s what I learned from Jennifer Gieg, DVM, at Southpaws Animal Hospital:
1) Dr. Marsico used her fingers in an attempt to dislodge Indiana’s bowels – her attempt failed. It caused him to have what Dr. Gieg referred to as «leaky butt.» You can only imagine what that entails.
2) Because Dr. Marsico’s «finger attack» didn’t loosen his bowels, she performed surgery on Indiana’s stomach – that didn’t work either – and his incision became painfully infected.
2) Finally, her condemnation of his weight was unfounded, thus my putting him on a diet was unnecessary and harmful; he, within in a week, developed what is known as Fatty Liver Disease – which kills cats (after causing them to suffer)!
After six months of watching Indiana near death – Dr. Gieg’s tenacity (Southpaw’s vet) turned his illness around. She saved his life. As she spoke to me about his suffering and treatment, I recall her saying, «If he lives through this, you will never have to put him on another diet again.»
Dr. Marsico cost me $ 10K in vet bills, I lost countless days from my job, and I cried a thousand tears watching my cat fight for his life for five months.
Dr. Marsico should lose her license! She’s awful at what she does. After learning about what Dr. Marsico did to my cat, I deliberately defaulted on my payments to Del Ray Animal Hospital – I still owe it $ 1,100. IT STILL HOUNDS ME FOR THE MONEY – DO YOU BELIEVE IT?! I will NEVER pay that animal hospital for almost killing my cat and I don’t care about having «collections» on my credit report. It would be a slap in Indiana’s face to pay that bill for torturing my beloved cat.
No one from that lousy animal hospital ever called to check on Indiana – they just wanted their money! DOWN WITH DR. MARSICO, THE QUACK!!!

Great experience! I brought my kitten in for a small health issue, and it was resolved soundly by the professional, friendly staff. I will absolutely be returning and making this facility my pets’ primary vet!

I’ve been taking my dog here for a while since I live about a block away. Here are my thoughts and experiences:
–Their prices are very high compared to other veterinary offices. My last terrible experience was a sedated X-​ray that cost $ 800 while normal rates for this procedure are about $ 450.
–Most of the Vets treat you like a number (Ferrell is awesome, but he’s the first I’ve thought put any time into a diagnosis). I’ve been going there for 3 years and no one knows me or my pet. They’ll keep switching you between anyone available unless you specify a vet (I recommend Ferrell though I’m probably misspelling it). It feels very much like the business is about churning through patients and billing as much as possible.
–I suspect mistreatment of my dog (Tanner)! The first sign was a loud cry from Tanner when they had him in the back area. He doesn’t cry, he doesn’t even make noise or bark. in 5 years I’ve heard him maybe 10 times total so a loud cry when he’s out of my sight tells me something is happening that isn’t right.
My main issue with this place is that they’re not nice about anything and treat you and your dog poorly but then charge a premium price. I’m ok with paying more for a service if that service is better quality than the other places. The building is falling apart and the staff rude and condescending (again, Ferrell is awesome) and the prices are generally 150−200% of what you’ll find at VCA Alexandria, Southpaws, or even some specialists.
Oh, my last x-​ray procedure? They left my dog in the cage where he had diarrhea then returned him to me that way. I picked him up to put him in the car and found I gave them and awesome dog and $ 800. In return I got attitude from the front desk and a dog literally covered in shit.
I can walk here but I’ll be driving my dogs to better vets from now on.

Called in a panic because I clipped the quick on my dog’s nail during a nail trim. They got me right in and a tech was available right away to check him out, explain what happened, and offer a simple treatment solution. She also reassured me that it is common on dogs with dark nails for this to happen because you cannot readily see the quick. She was very patient and kind to me. I did not see an actual vet so cannot speak to that.

I called for an appointment for my dog to get a skin tag removed when I got there the Dr looked at it and said to schedule an appointment to get it removed. So I ended up paying $ 40 for her to tell me to come back. When the procedure was done I forgot to ask if the stitches would dissolve or if I needed to come back and when I called the receptionist told me they would dissolve. Turns out they have to be taken out.
To me they seemed to lack passion, knowledge, and general concern for my dog. I ended up taking my dog to the emergency vet this weekend (VCA) for an ear infection and they were wonderful! They were very knowledgable and even though they were very busy they seemed to care about my dog and took the time to explain to me what was going on.
Del Ray also has a tiny waiting room which can be a problem for dogs.

I just moved to the area and the night before my first day back at work my dog developed anxiety driven diarrhea. I had to take him out every hour on the hour throughout the night. I saw that the Del Ray vets opened at 7am. I took him there directly.
Having never seen him before they took him in with care and sympathy. They kept him all day to make sure he was hydrated and to calm his poor digestive track. I received multiple calls throughout the day. When I picked him up that afternoon he’s was alert and happy to see me. I walked away with medications and instruction. I also walked away knowing I had found my vet. Kudos to the excellent care and treatment.

I’ve been a client of Dr. Mixson for 11 yrs with one dog and truly value her care. I’ve used her homeopathic care (accupuncture) and her traditional medical care. I love that she straddles both worlds well and doesn’t push or judge in either direction.
The few times I had an emergency or such and had to see Dr. Farrell or Marisco, I’ve been equally satisfied with the level of respect they’ve had for me, my dog, AND one another. As I read some of the other reviews and their timing, I know SOME of the pain folks have had related to front office staff. But after a client survey was conducted, the doctors seemingly listened and a whole new team came on board and customer service is much better.
As far as doctor knowledge, I have received fabulous service from Mixson who always took into consideration the comfort and dignity of my dog and her recommendations for tests and procedures were absolutely conservative and responsive to the needs of my dog and me. I saw reviews complaining of costs and unnecessary tests and I have to disagree (my experience). The costs are competitive and not casually administered.
The day my 14 yr old dog finally gave in to her brain tumors (diagnosed and treated in concert with southpaws specialists and mixson), Dr. Mixson was out and Marisco warmly welcomed me and quickly gave me her professional opinion. This was all unscheduled and the docs did not expect me and had a busy schedule of appointments and surgeries. While I spent time with my dog (turned out to be our final minutes), Dr Farrell kindly and warmly stayed with me and my dog and talked me through «what to expect».
Oh … and within 2 days, I received a handwritten sympathy note from Dr. Mixson.
I look forward to introducing my new dog to Dr. Mixson… when the time comes!
There’s always room for improvement in ANYone… so 4 stars instead of 5.

I have taken my 6 month puppy to Del Ray Animal Hospital for all of her puppy shots and check ups up until this point but I think I will be looking for a new vet from here on out.
I just moved here from the midwest and we adopted our pup at 10 weeks from Lucky Animal Rescue in August. I came to Del Ray at the referral of a new friend who had a dog and a cat who were patients.
I agree with the saying «don’t get a dog unless you can afford it,» which is why I never complained about the $ 200 I spent each time I walked in the door for the last 3.5 months for routine puppy shots and check ups. When it came time to schedule a spay appointment for my puppy, I called to inquire about the cost. I was informed that it would cost $ 600 for her spay (keep in mind she is well below 50 lbs). While I am willing to spend anything on my pup, this just seemed a bit absurd.
I began calling around to other places (all that had very good reviews and reputations) and found out that it really shouldn’t cost more than $ 200 total.
Then, when she was in pre-​op at the new vet, they informed me that she had 3 dead teeth. Her adult teeth had grown in and her puppy teeth hadn’t fallen out. She had been in pain all this time and none of the vets at Del Ray had ever said anything. Poor puppy…
The inflated prices and fees in addition to their negligence to notice something that seems so simple is the reason I will not be returning.

Never again. I recently moved to Alexandria from Capitol Hill and needed a new vet for my dog. I now wish I had just driven back to the Hill to our previous vets, who are fabulous. Lesson learned.
My 12-​year-​old beagle had a twisted and infected dewclaw, which was removed, bandaged, and treated with antibiotics. Dr. Mixson performed a couple of other routine procedures, which I asked for, but I didn’t notice until later that the charges for two of those were double the rate from other vets. So home we went, and I gave Bailey the medication for her leg right on schedule. She had, what I expected, a little upset stomach and fatigue from the meds and infection but nothing that was too alarming. When she wasn’t recovering as I hoped, I took her back and we decided to do a blood panel in addition to more antibiotics to treat her stomach issues. All very routine sounding to this point. The next afternoon, at nearly 5:00 PM (why so long?), another vet, Dr. Marsico (sp?) called to tell me Bailey was in critical kidney failure and I had to take her to an emergency facility immediately. I did as she instructed, and by the time we got there an hour later there was nothing they could do. My family made the decision to let her go before she suffered any longer, and the staff at the emergency hospital was just wonderful through the process.
It’s been nearly four weeks, and NOT ONE person from Del Ray Animal Hospital has called me to inquire about Bailey or to offer condolences or support. Not a card, nothing. We have lost other pets in the past, and there was always follow-​up from the primary provider. Granted, this was a 12-​year-​old dog, and we may never know exactly what happened, but she was our love and I expected better from them. The message I am feeling from them is that as long as they get paid, they just don’t care.

My wife and I began going to Del Ray animal hospital for acupuncture treatment for our old and arthritic furry companion. The service and professionalism is great and the place has a local neighborhood office vibe unlike a lot of the other vets in the area that feel more impersonal and flashy to us. We recently put our dog down and again the service and respect of Dr. Mixson and staff were great.

I have been very happy over the 5 years my cats have been patients at Del Ray Animal Hospital. Dr Mixson, Dr Marsico, and Dr Hergen (especially) take great care of my kitties, the appointments are thorough but they don’t push any medications or treatments the cats don’t need. They doctors follow up themselves via phone when necessary and are readily available with questions. In fact, they have saved us a trip to the vet by answering questions. My cats have had work done on their teeth and it was not excessively expensive.
The front desk staff is very helpful and I have always had a great experience making appointments or asking questions. On my last visit they put the cats in the car for me and stayed with them while I was paying the bill.
We feel well taken care of by an honest staff who really cares about our pets.

Just adopted a dog about a month ago, so I’m new to Del Ray Animal Hospital, but so far I have no complaints. They are very responsive and have business hours that a normal working person can accommodate. I have called, left messages, and receive a return call within 24 hours. Our interaction with Dr. Farrel was great — we would definitely recommend them if you are in the need of a Vet.

I have been taking my cat to Del Ray Animal Hospital for several years now, and I don’t know why I haven’t written a review before — they’re great. Most of our visits have been for routine yearly exams, but now the cat is older and had a health scare earlier this year. DRAH was great, and even squeezed him in on the weekend without an appointment a few times. Dr. Marsico, especially, was wonderful — so concerned, always followed up as promised and returned calls promptly. The cat was a bit of a medical mystery for a while, but after ruling out many other things and visiting an internal med specialist at Southpaws, Dr. Marsico’s initial diagnosis turned out to be the correct one, and he improved quickly on the meds she prescribed and is now back to his old self. Hopefully our future visits are only for routine exams!

I logged on to Unilocal and noticed my review was no where to be found. This information is important and relevant. We lost our 7 month old puppy on 2÷25÷14 at Del Ray Animal Hospital. She was a healthy, happy puppy, went in for a standard spay operation and died. I urge you to no longer use this facility. Not only did our puppy die in this facility but we did not have one vet from this practice offer any sort of support or comfort. To the extent that two vets who had cared for my puppy previously turned their backs to me when I was frantically upset. When I asked to speak to the owner of the clinic I was told it was his day off. I had to beg for a return call. Peter Farrell did call me back later that day. I asked him to pay for my Pet’s cremation. He agreed to however when I learned he would send my puppy to some place in Pennsylvania and it would take a week to getter back, we decided there was too much room for Error. I called him back and told him I found a local facility which we could pick up the ashes the next day. His response” I am not paying for it then” it was a $ 165! And to add more salt to our wounds not one follow up phone call or email to see how we were doing. Unfortunately I learned the hard way that you really need to know your vet and the people who care for your very precious animals. We are heartbroken over our loss. I don’t believe Del Ray viciously killed my puppy but I do believe their actions were completely unacceptable. I am ashamed of their behavior and want to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

Of course, the quality of care at most veterinarians is decided by how much you are willing to pay. Del Ray Animal Hospital has been great and affordable for routine exams and vaccinations. When all is said and done you’ll make it out the door for ~$ 100 per dog. However, we have had two situations with this vet that reflects our review.
Do not trust the advice of the staff, ask to speak directly with a vet. When I called frantically because our dog was acting strange and her belly was bloated, I was told that «we shouldn’t worry at all, she probably just drank too much.» Three hours later, our dog died at the VCA Emergency Vet from bloat. While I do not blame Del Ray for the death of our dog, it is still frustrating that I trusted advice dispensed from whoever picked up the phone.
Shop around for pricey procedures. We were quoted nearly $ 2,000 for a teeth cleaning and two removals. When our older dog was admitted, there was concern for her kidneys and they asked to run tests. After the initial panic, the tests did not amount to anything other than that she had the kidneys of a senior dog, but they set us back $ 700!
After a second opinion from a nearby highly-​qualified vet, they shared that some of the previous tests were unnecessary, and then went ahead with the procedure at a price quoted 40% less than Del Ray.
If your pet is seeking homeopathy or routine check-​ups, this is a great place, but ask a lot of questions and be advised of possible costs.

My experience at this place has been very good. They did give my cat a booster that I was suspect he needed, but I understand the need to cover the bases (he’s a shelter cat with fuzzy historical records).
Definitely ask questions as other reviewers have mentioned. I saw Dr. Hergen who was nice enough but I felt like I was continually having to ask questions to get her to tell me how the exam was going as it progressed. But the questions I did ask I was definitely satisfied at her knowledge level and attention to detail. Based on other Unilocal reviews, in the future I might ask for Dr. Farrell. My fiancée has been here longer than I have an absolutely loves this place.
We’ll be back!
PS, for the people complaining about Dr Mixon… just from reading their website it seems like she might be trying to break into human homeopathic medicine. I wonder if she just lost zeal for veterinary medicine and it’s translating poorly? I can’t say for sure, as I haven’t seen her.

I took my 8 week old puppy here right after we brought him home from the breeder for an initial check-​up. It was a great experience. We were flustered because in the rush of getting there that morning we managed to forget the binder we have with his medical history but the receptionists were really understanding and helpful.
We met with Dr. Marsico who was very helpful and gave us a lot of information, kind of an introduction on raising a puppy. She gave us a disk with plenty of information as well as a complimentary Iverhart sample.
I look forward to coming back here with my dog for his remaining shots and future check-​ups.

We have just moved from the area, but I found this place to be really great. If it werent such a trek, I would continue to come here for my cats’ annual check-​up. The staff is very nice and the vets are knowledgeable.
My only complaint is they did not discuss some of the procedures they would be doing and I ended up with a very large bill at the end. Make sure you ASK exactly what they are doing… I’m not sure my cat needed as many anti-​nausea shots as I was charged for. But… my fault for not asking more questions.

I recently took my 2yr old Dachshund here for a bordetella shot. It was just under 90 $, which seemed a bit much for 5mn with the vet and a single shot. Then again, vet care is expensive. I give them points for getting us in quickly and at the end of the day, meaning I didn’t have to take time off work.
While they came recommended by our dog daycare staff, I’m not passionate about going back. Not so much because of the care, or even the price, but for other reasons.
1. The location could be better. Getting in and out of that parking lot is a challenge, particularly at rush hour. I know it’s Del Ray, but still…
2. It’s trite, but the attitude in the waiting room. Yes, I have a small dog. Yes, small dogs have reputations for having certain behaviors. However, my dog spent the entire 20mn we waited sitting in my lap silent as Justice Thomas during oral arguments. There was zero aggressive or vocal behavior. The three or four middle aged women in the waiting room with larger dogs had a drawn out conversation on how large dogs were better than small dogs. One woman made a comment that she didn’t like the new dog her kids had picked out because — although a corgie — it acted «like a Dachshund,» insert sneer here. Everyone nodded in agreement and shot my non-​rescue dog dirty looks. I don’t need that kind of attitude when I’m waiting 20mn for a 2mn appointment costing 90 $… even if my dog HAD been misbehaving.
3. Once in the examination room, things were just… fine. Not super impressed. They didn’t press unnecessary products, but they also didn’t really take any time to engage the dog, who was seriously nervous and shaking.