Abraham Veterinary Clinic

If you need your vet to be made of hugs and rainbows, Anna Chan is probably not the one for you. She’s direct, assertive, and fairly stoic. She works quickly, and so some people think that’s being rough (I never got that impression). She will tell you that your dog is overweight if, in fact, your dog is overweight. It’s on the tough love side of things. I like her style, but it’s probably not for everyone.
Abraham is small, with one exam room in a cool old building south of UT. This means two things: they work fast to make sure that the queue doesn’t back up, which I appreciate greatly – I’ve never had a significant wait for treatment. But the tiny front office with a single receptionist can get swamped in a hurry, leading to sometimes long and chaotic checkout experiences.
Prices are in the high side of average, but there won’t be all sorts of hidden fees (a la «waste removal» at the atrocious Austin Vet Clinic), so it works out alright in the end. Central location means that we can zip down there by Car2Go with the puppy children.
Again, Dr. Chan’s tableside manner is not for everyone. But we’ve been happy with the advice we’ve been given and the care that our two dogs have received. They were also nice enough to write us a prescription based on faxed-​over information from the (did I mention awful?) Austin Vet Clinic. It is places like AVC that keep you from taking places like Abraham for granted.

Dr. Anna Chan and her staff are absolutely wonderful. They have a beautiful timeless office and Dr. Chan did everything she could to make me and my dog feel comfortable. She takes the time to get to know you so she can offer any advice that might help. Overall, she is the best vet I have ever gone to and the location is very convenient.

We were referred to Abraham Veterinary Clinic by Dr. Dara Berry, who is our house call vet. (We have a 20 year old blue heeler that we like to have treated at home.)
Our 11 year old red heeler developed a really gross cyst/​tumor looking thing that grew and grew, and finally abscessed. Dr. Berry visited us at home, and recommended she have surgery. Since she does not operate, she referred us to Dr. Chan at Abraham.
First thing, it is very convenient, as I work just two blocks away, so would be able to be right there if anything went wrong. I also do not have a vehicle, so they were very understanding, and as it was a referral from Dr. B, they agreed to do the surgery without a preliminary visit. Dr. B sent over her current blood work and we emailed a picture of the… thing and set an appointment.
On the morning of the surgery, we took Evangeline in; the office staff is very courteous and I felt confident leaving her there. Although we did not get to meet Dr. Chan prior to the operation, the staff made me feel like she would be in good hands.
The surgery did take awhile (which we expected.) Dr. Berry had recommended a dental cleaning too (since she would already be under) but we told the staff we did not want her to be under too long, and that the lump removal was the priority.
Dr. Chan called me after the surgery; she did well throughout the process and they did do a dental cleaning, but no extractions. (Dr. Berry thought a couple of her teeth were ‘questionable.’)
We picked her up on the same day; loaded her up and took her home. Due to the extensive nature of the incision, she was unable to stitch the wound up completely (and she could not wear the ‘E’ collar due to the location) so she did have a large open wound. They gave her a clinic T-​shirt to wear home and we just had to clean her wound and change her shirt daily for a week or so.
We have been very happy with the results! Our little girl is doing so much better and the staff was very responsive.
Dr. Chan may not be a ‘touchy-​feely’ kind of doctor, but in the case of an operation like this, I want someone who gives it to me straight, which she did, in a very professional, matter of fact manner. She made everything easy to understand, and even though Evangeline is not a regular patient, she gave me her cell number in case anything went wrong after we got her home.
The only reason this is not a 5 star review is the fact that it took a VERY long time for us to pick her up afterward. The clinic was rather hectic, but when my dog has been in surgery and I haven’t seen her for over 8 hours, I want to see her AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, and between post-​op instructions and waiting in line, I did not even see her for almost 40 minutes!
Also, the cost was very low; almost a thousand dollars less than I anticipated.
We are sticking with Dr. Berry for our regular visits, but if either of my dogs ever need a procedure again, I will not hesitate to take them back to Dr. Chan and the Abraham Clinic.

I found this vet clinic by chance, while searching the internet for a good place to have my 16 ½ year old dog put to sleep. I called a few places, and most places wanted to charge me at least $ 150 – 200 for the service, and there was always an extra charge if I wanted to take her with me when they were done. That’s right — a fee for taking my dead dog home to bury her myself. When I called Abraham, the tech said the vet would need to check her out to make sure that euthanasia was the right move. The exam would cost around $ 50 and, if she agreed it was time, they would euthanize my pup at no charge if I wanted to take her body.
Dr. Chan and the tech, Heather, were incredibly kind and sympathetic. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for them to have to perform such a task on a regular basis. After all, they chose this profession because they love animals. They could see that my heart was breaking, and they treated me and my dog accordingly. They explained everything clearly and patiently, and gave me as much time as I needed to spend with my dog before proceeding. The level of compassion with which my dog and I were treated was incredible.
I do not think I will get another dog anytime soon, but I would recommend this clinic to anyone looking for a good, honest, kind vet. I am very grateful to have found such wonderful people to help me see my beloved friend out of this world.

I just thought to write this review because, since moving away from Austin a year ago, I have yet to find a vet I love as much as Abraham Vet Clinic.
When I adopted my sweet lab mix from Austin Pets Alive, she recently been found on the street shortly after giving birth; she was underweight, frightened, and just generally not in great health. She was a very shy dog from the start, but the vet and vet tech were very sweet and patient with her. They actually did her whole exam right down on the hardwood floor of the examining room, so she hardly knew she was at the vet – to her, I think it felt like we were simply at someone’s home.
Shortly after our first visit, my dog began to have separation anxiety issues whenever I was gone from the house for even a little while. I called the vet one day and asked the vet tech the best way to the treat the little scratches my poor dog was giving herself while I was away. Dr. Chan hopped on the phone and spent about 20 minutes asking about my dog’s anxiety and giving me some very helpful behavioral tips.
Fortunately we moved past my dog’s separation anxiety, but she remains pretty shy and nervous in other situations. One of her phobias involves stepping on anything that is metal. Abraham’s staff was very understanding about this and always took the time to pet and calm my dog before placing a towel down on the scale before my dog stepped onto it. When we came in for my dog’s rabies booster, Dr. Chan and a tech came right out into the lobby, Dr. Chan held my dog’s head and pet her, and the vet tech administered the shot without my dog even noticing!
In addition to all of these great experiences, I appreciated the gentle bedside manner at Abraham vet: requesting a stool sample instead of forcibly extracting it from her (which is really what other vets do!); allowing me into the exam room with my dog whenever possible, to help keep her calm; and the drs’ and staffs’ overall patience and care for my very nervous pup.
As Abraham Vet was my first experience with a vet, I truly didn’t know how good I had it until I left town. I’ve had two vets since moving away from Austin, any neither has been anything near the quality I could expect from Abraham Veterinary Clinic. I highly recommend this vet for your pet!

I took my 18 year old cat with chronic kidney disease in for bloodwork, blood pressure, and a checkup.
The receptionist and vet techs were nice and very thorough in getting a history from me.
Yes, the building is awesome but that doesn’t really matter to me. What matters to me is how my pets are treated.
Like I said, the vet techs were awesome. As soon as Dr. Chan came in the room, there was a hurried and frantic vibe to everything. She was basically barking orders at the 2 vet techs (that’s right, 3 people in the room to get blood and blood pressure from an OLD ASS cat who puts up no resistance) the whole time and handled my cat very roughly. I’m not sure if this had anything to do with the fact that I was the last appointment of the day and her son was waiting for her in the back so they could go home???
We even discussed the fact that he has arthritis and yet she was still rough with him. When she went to shave his paw for the blood pressure reading, she yanked his paw and twisted it upside down very quickly. Both me and my wife were a little taken aback by this but I didn’t say anything. When she went to take his blood pressure reading, she grabbed the pump from the tray beside the table and yanked it over and it smacked him in the face. She didn’t even notice.
They held him by the scruff of his neck basically the entire exam, while he was howling. This was totally unnecessary– he’s 18 years old and he’s never bitten anyone! His front paws are declawed too, so there is really no way he could have hurt anyone! When she needed him to be closer to her for the bloodwork, she just grabbed him and dragged him across the table. I tried to stay in contact with him to keep him calm, but there were too many people around the table and eventually they had to put a towel over his head to calm him down because he was so upset and he even hissed at them.
Because of his kidney problems, I’ve taken him to a lot of vet appointments. NEVER EVER EVER EVER has he gotten so upset! I guess it was clear that it was bothering me, because she kept asking if I wanted them to take him in the back to get the blood drawn so it wouldn’t bother me. I insisted on keeping him in my sight though, blood doesn’t bother me. I was just concerned about the roughness and quickness with which everything was being done.
I will probably go back here and make an appointment earlier in the day and see if it’s any different, because Dr. Chan does seem to know what she’s talking about and that can be hard to find, honestly. But I will absolutely be asking her to handle him more calmly and gently. And there is really no reason to be in such a hurry, we left 10 minutes before the place even closed for the day.
Oh, but I do want to add that they didn’t try to upsell me on anything. They didn’t even argue with me when I said I didn’t want to vaccinate my cat because of his age.

Dr. Chan and her staff are about as professional and attentive as any vet or doctor’s office I have ever been. First, when making an appointment, the staff is very polite and made it work for me as far as time was concerned — not a hint of irritation at my crazy-​busy schedule (I work full-​time and go to school, making my time demands annoying at best). When I got there, Odin (the best dog in the world) and I were put in a lovely examination room. So much more homey than some of the other vet clinics I have been in. They took a little picture of Odin, had the tech do the tech stuff, and then Dr. Chan came in after a very short period of time. She thoroughly examined Odin, and talked to me about the shots he should get to avoid the common diseases of Austin.
The entire thing went off w/​o a hitch, and they even presented me with a cute little page with Odin’s picture on it and all the things that I need to know about my doggie’s health.
The negative reviews I am seeing here are shocking at the very least… I am so happy that my dog’s health is in the hands of the folks over at Abraham Vet Clinic. If I don’t want to run a preventative test on my dog, then I don’t have to do it. I didn’t once feel that they pressured me into anything. Nor did I ever feel that a tech or Dr. Chan not treat my dog with the utmost respect and kindness.
I recently left the country for a short stint and brought my dog along with me. Dr. Chan made some suggestions on how to make sure that my dog stayed disease-​free in his new environment.
I really cannot express how happy I am to have Dr. Chan as my vet, as well as the well-​run office. This is definitely as good as it gets.

Myself, my husband and my cat just had the worst possible vet experience of our lives here and are still reeling from the experience. We spent the first 30 minutes with a vet assistant who did nothing but try to sell us preventative tests and medications before the cats were even examined. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t talked to us like we had absolutely no knowledge about pet health or care.
The real issue came when Dr. Chan came in to examine the cats. One of our cats is older and has very fragile/​sensitive joints and is not comfortable in certain positions. He gets pretty pissed off when anyone handles him harshly and we told the assistant this, but there was no communication between her and the doctor. Needless to say their handling of our cat was miserable. They didn’t attempt to introduce themselves, pet or calm our cat at all before three of them started pushing him down to «get control» of him which in turn caused him to freak out and start hissing, screaming, flailing about and urinating all over (which he has NEVER done before). I tried to tell them repeatedly that it hurts him to be pushed down in such a manner (having to shout to get someone to pay attention) and no one ever listened or attempted to let him up. This went on for a tortuously long time and he ended up with a bloody nose by the end of the scuffle (that he didn’t have before we brought him in). If anyone had listened to us in the first place this sort of catastrophe could’ve been avoided. They told us they weren’t hurting him, but indeed they were. When we got him home and out of the carrier we noticed that he is now limping and is clearly having pain in his hind leg. They acted without care or concern and we should’ve insisted they release him and let us take him home the moment things started going awry. Unfortunately we were so stunned by the whole incident and eager to get him treatment for what we thought might be an upper respiratory infection that we didn’t listen to our gut.
I went here because I believed Dr. Chan had a more natural approach with TCM/​acupuncture, and although she does have experience with acupuncture she is primarily a western oriented vet. She was quick enough to think to get a urine sample while he was urinating everywhere and able to do a test on site so I assume she has a certain amount of competence, but her and her staff really missed the mark for me when it comes to careful handling and just plain caring or attentiveness.

I began taking my dogs to Abraham Vet Clinic a few years ago when I was looking for a small, personalized vet clinic. I found it!
The front office staff is always very friendly and helpful, the place is clean (and cute!) and the vet techs are awesome. You can tell they really love their jobs.
I have seen both Dr. Chan and Dr. Stone and they are very patient, knowledgeable and helpful. What I love is that they are willing to spend time with you and your pet and discuss your concerns and options.
I will agree with Alex C’s opinion that they do sometimes seem to be trying to «upsell» some other type of test or procedure, but you are allowed to say no. You know your pet best, they are just giving you options. Sometimes I have taken their recommendations (like a much needed dental cleaning for my shepherd mix), and sometimes I have not (like twice yearly blood work for my senior lab). Just use your best judgment.
Would highly recommend.

Abraham Vet, though it may provide reasonable service, always seems to be looking for an opportunity to charge more money and «upsell» its clients. My fiancée and I have been repeatedly pressured to purchase unnecessary tests,* and the overall policies of the clinic are designed to drive up prices (e.g., through mandatory procedures or testing).
I would absolutely recommend looking elsewhere for your dog or cat, although the vet and staff are competent. If you have money to burn and are looking for cadillac service then maybe this is your vet.
*I believe the tests were unnecessary as they were of a preventative nature, had never been recommended to me by other vets, and generally went above and beyond what is necessary, in this layman’s opinion, for an otherwise happy and healthy dog.

I can’t express how grateful I am to have found a group of personable, attentive, and knowledgeable people to care for my kitten.
The office itself is a cozy little house that is clean and well-​equipped without the sterile «doctor» feel. As another review mentioned, there is only one exam room, so each pet receives appropriate time and attention. The staff is friendly, funny, and always excited to see my pet. I felt completely comfortable boarding her with them for 6 days last month.
Dr Chan is very thorough and informative, and I found myself completely trusting her from the get-​go (which is so important to a first-​time pet owner like me!).
Today, however, is what really inspired me to sign up to write a review. My kitten was spayed yesterday, and this morning she just still seemed to be having such a tough time. She wouldn’t willingly eat or drink without crying, and she just couldn’t get comfortable. I called and spoke to one of the staff members, and Dr Chan called me back within the half hour. She gave me some suggestions, and she told me to call back with the outcome. I did, and they scheduled an appointment for us within the next hour. No questions asked. Dr Chan examined my kitten for free to make sure she wasn’t experiencing a complication, and she administered a subcutaneous fluid bolus as well as some pain medication — both for half price.
If any of you are like me, and your pet is as much a member of your family as you are, what more could you ask for than a veterinarian and a staff that actually knows and cares about your pet? My kitten is resting comfortably in my lap, and I’m so grateful for Abraham Vet Clinic!

I didn’t know Vets could be this good. I honestly didn’t realize that the standard I’d been okay with was sub-​par. But I know now. Because I’ve seen Dr. Chan.
First off, their office. I want to kick them out and move in *immediately*. High Ceilings, all wood floors, amazing windows.
Only one exam room means the focus is on your animal and *only* your animal for the duration of the visit. And that exam room is pretty awesome. How awesome? An old steel doctor’s cabinet, filled with useful items, is topped by a cat skeleton looking quite happy in his black cape and round wire spectacles. Yes, there is a cat skeleton dressed like Harry Potter in the exam room. I knew then there was no room in my heart for any other vet. And this was all before Dr. Chan walked in the room.
She is knowledgeable, efficient, friendly, gave me options, has a true love for her work, flexible and kind. Bonus: She has experience with my breed of dog, which isn’t common AT ALL.
My little guy has had an ongoing problem with allergies in his life and no other vet, ever, has offered any sort of treatment beyond ‘make him take this pill’. Dr. Chan had a plethora of ideas, starting with ‘very affordable’ and only working up to ‘something I haven’t even done for myself’ as a last resort.
The woman working the front desk was unbelievably helpful. I’d asked my dog’s previous vet (s) to fax in all his information and they hadn’t. She smiled, and began calling them herself. ALL OFFICE STAFF IN AUSTIN TAKE NOTE: THIS IS HOW YOU OPERATE.
I really can’t think of a single bad thing to say. As long as I live in Austin, my pup will be in Dr. Chan’s care.

Dr Chan and her staff are wonderful. You can tell that the staff is happy to work there and they really care about pets (as well as knowing how to run an office). They worked with my friend’s Rottweiler who had been abused and had grudge against men. The male tech was amazing and the rottie loved him. When I finally had to put my dog to sleep, they were so thoughtful, kind and professional.
The office is in a house and doesn’t smell like a vet’s office. I live nowhere near them and it’s worth the drive.

They have one (1) exam room, which is fabulous. This meeans the focus is on you and your pet’s needs and not getting the visit over with so they can move on to the next patient in the next room. Rarely will you arrive and have to deal with more than maybe one other pet in the waiting room. The staff is knowledgeable and super gracious and happy to see your pet,
Dr. Chan spends time getting to know you so she can guage your knowledge and experience, and freely offers any advice she thinks might help you take the best possible care of your pet.
Follow up calls to check on your bud are always a nice gesture. Glad this clinic is so close to home!

This vet is conveniently located close to UT and hot too far from downtown in an pretty house with a porch.
My dog and I have always received fast, friendly, helpful service from the doctors and the employees. They called (twice!) to check up on my dog after a recent visit to make sure he was feeling better. At your request they will call or email you to remind you to give your pet monthly heartworm medication. And, last but not least, they are open every other Saturday.