Holistic Veterinary Care

Oh my goodness!!! I was heart broken because my 8 yr old Labradoodle «Lola» got a hyperextension injury when I took her on a vacation. I’ve been frantically trying to address the issue. On a moments notice Dr. Dana Whitlock saw me immediately. She spent so much time with me talking about my options for treatment, given I could not afford surgery right now. Ultimately she said I could start with a brace and began the process. That evening she creating a mold so I could immediately get a customs brace. I swear just being in the same room with Dr. Whitlock eased my anxiety, as well as the anxiety of my girl Lola. This doctor does the work because she has a heart of gold and loves animals. She is truly a phenomenal person and I highly recommend her!!!

This is the nicest vet’s office I’ve ever been to, clean, well decorated, with plenty of parking.
The front desk people are super nice and helpful and get my cat a room the second I walk in.
The vet, Gary, helped my cat recover from severe arthritis by giving me a bottle of Adequan to administer myself a couple of times a week, while another vet charged me $ 70/​shot.

This review is long overdue – Booker is an 11 year old half great dane/​half american bulldog mix. Upon first arriving he weighed around 160 pounds, and due to buying a house, getting married and starting new jobs booker sadly was forgotten at times (no walks, no play time). With him being such a big dog, not getting exercise and basically just sleeping all day his joints/​hips got worse and after trying medicine’s from Banfield, the wife decided that we should try a different approach. After doing some research, I stumbled across this place and I’m so glad I did. We’ve been taking Booker here for a couple of months now. He gets acupuncture from Dr. Whitlock (she is outstanding, very thorough and so kind to us and booker) and the results were immediate. She did tell us: booker needs to lose weight and the parents need to start making time for him! We followed her advice, along with advice on some different medicines for him. Major results came after a couple of weeks – booker became more active, wanted to play more, starting running in the driveway! We sprinkle in some therapy with Nicole (who is amazing) and although booker gets tired very quickly, Nicole is always there coaxing him with some treats :)
My wife and I cannot say enough great things about Holistic Vet. From the front desk ladies (I’m sorry I forgot their names, but you know who you are), to Dr. Whitlock, to Nicole! Thank you for all that you’ve done and continue to do! Megan, myself and Booker will forever be grateful! See you guys soon for our next acupuncture appt.

We recently switched vets to Dr. Richter and couldn’t be more pleased. He and the staff at both the Piedmont and Montclair locations have assisted us with all three of our pets through their issues (feline cancer, mast tumor, euthanasia). In each instance, they have been highly professional and compassionate with us and our animals.

When it was recommended that my dog have physical therapy after TPLO surgery, i was actually, like, ‘really. physical therapy?’ However, what I came to understand was it was THIS that helped her heal as quickly and thoroughly as she did Our vet was fantastic, the helpers wonderful. They were loving, conscientious, and customized everything to her needs. I spoke with another dog-​person who’s dog went through the very same surgery, who didn’t do any therapy, and while there can be a myriad of reasons why the healing process didn’t take, they said that they chose not to, and were paying the price.
We specially did the water treadmill which my dog loved, and worked hard at. And she’s 100% healed and happy!
Highly recommend this facility.

…don’t waste your money… this Holistic vet is a rip-​off. All she did was agree with my dog’s regular vet to chop her leg off… after all «dog’s have 4 legs… she said, the dog will only lose ¼ of her support system»…I was SHOCKED! BELIEVE me… I have tried 4 regular vets and thought a Holistic approach would be best for a limp… I saw an advertisement at PFExpress… what a scam! AVOID this vet at all costs… you’ve been warned. Wish I had read the Unilocal reviews before going there :(BTW: My dog is doing just fine on 4, YES, FOUR legs.

Very rarely do I write reviews, but in the cSe, I feel that I must write in. I was referred for physical therapy for my dog with
Arthritis. My files were not there at the time of my appointment despite my checking with the front desk who assured me they would be there. My experience was Dana Whitlock was dismal. Firstly, I was there for physical therapy. The bulk of my appointment was on my dog’s diet. I gave a regular holistic vet and a surgeon but still was challenged on the food I chose for my dog. I home cook and also the diet has been approved by my previous vet. I was challenged because Dr. Whitlock thought I should go through a nutritious. Again, I was there for physical therapy. She also said my dog was aggressive and that he hated her. In fact my dog was shaking and she was looming over him which caused him to be more fearful. While they suggested I stop out of the room, so they can attend to the therapy, I saw a vet tech handle a dog very roughly in the holding cages and yell at this small dog. I would never go back to this facility. While other vets might be good there, I wish this vet I saw stuck to her job, which was physical therapy and NOT diet advice.

We are so happy with the progress our Beagle has had after going through the Hyper Baraic Chamber at Holistic Vet Care. Our Beagle had 2 intestinal surgeries in the matter of a week due to a few strings from a rope dog toy. He was not recovering well and our Vet recommended we try the HBOT treatments to see if it would help. This was our last option to his recovery being a success. Toby did 4 treatments (2 per day) and after day 2 he was finally alert and moving around. He is a fighter and we attribute it to the care of Dr. Richter and his team on a phenomenal innovation to help dogs in the healing process. THANK YOU for our family to yours… we highly recommend your services.

My German Shepherd, Kira, shattered her rear leg last year. I was concerned that she would be permanently disabled. After her post-​op care at home, I took my dog to Holistic Veterinary Care for 10 weeks of physical therapy, hoping for the best.
Dr. Whitlock, and physical therapists, Nicole and Crista offered Kira a variety of treatments that included aqua therapy on a treadmill, balancing on equipment and various muscle strengthening exercises. Their level of professionalism and personal care towards my dog was impressive.
Kira has recovered from her broken leg beautifully! No limping or pain. Thank you Holistic Vet Care for your services!

My favorite thing about seeing Dr. Richter with my dog: He listened to my list of Coffee’s symptoms and past treatments, and what I was hoping could be done to improve his condition. Then he thoroughly explained his recommendations.
Although I didn’t feel pressured at all, I decided to pursue the therapies recommended, including pulsed electromagnetic frequency therapy, which isn’t well known in this country (isn’t FDA-​approved for humans, although it is for animals). Going ahead with PEMF sorely challenged my self-​image as a skeptical person, but I wanted to do everything I could to improve my dog’s quality of life.
I don’t know which of the multiple treatments made the difference, or all of them in combination, but my old boy feels noticeably better and has better mobility. I’m really grateful for this.

Dr. Richter and his staff have been incredibly kind and loving in their care towards my cats, who have seen them for acupuncture and general health check-​ups. Can’t say enough kind things about this business and highly recommend as a place for holistic modalities.

I was very disappointed with my experience at Holistic Vet Care. My cat has multiple chronic problems, cysts, open sores, multiple scabs, intense itching and biting. Dr. Richter was nice but he just looked at the records from her other vet and suggested switching her food and getting an omega supplement.
He didn’t seem to be concerned about the open wounds which aren’t healing.
I was charged $ 150 for no new information and no further recommendations of treatment. I never got a followup call, which they said they would do. I have since switched her food to raw food, I use vitamin and omega 3 supplements but my cat is actually getting worse. She has more sores and is itching more.
I wish I could find a vet who actually looked into possible bacterial or fungal infections instead of just shrugging and saying its allergies.

I want to thank Dr. Richter, my 16yr old brindle pit bull had to be put to sleep today. It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life. The whole staff was so gentle and kind, from the front desk to Dr. Richter who came to my home to help our family let our dog rest in peace he was so kind and was so very respectful to our dog. He explained everything to us on what was going to happen and where he was going to take her. While he was giving her the shot he talked to her & pet her, when she had passed he was so gentle with her, he wrapped her up in a clean soft towel and layed her in his back seat. If I could give 10 stars to him I would. Thank you so much for making this very hard time a little easier and taking such good care of our Roxie

I have been looking for a Vet who didn’t just rush me out the door with meds without any idea of what actually caused the problem.
The problem: My labradoodle was losing his hair in a couple spots.
I saw another «holistic» vet that wasn’t asctually holistic but sent me home meds, special medicated shampoos, and steroid style lotions-​that didn’t help.
Gary Richter was different. He really took time to get to know my dog and ask enough questions to actually look deeper. He ruled out any red flags and decided to go with a conservative approach fpr a few weeks. He gave me simple tips such as always rinse my dog after he swims in the bay or ocean b/​c the salt water dries him out. Simple enough, why didn’t I think of that but that’s what I want someone to look at.
Then he gave me two supplements that are suppose to help. One is the pet line from Standard Process and I know they’re a solid company b/​c I have taken the human version and they’re a quality whole food style vitamins. The other was a special omega 3.
I expect my dog will be improving now but I really appreciate the time and detective work that Dr. Richter did with my dog and I’m excited to call Holistic Veterinary Care my new vet.
P. S. I love that they have chiropractic, applied kinesology, acupuncture, nutrition, and high tech rehab all in one place. Oh yeah and the place is gorgeous!

My dog Chiquita and I have been coming here since her injury on 6÷11÷13 and we are extremely pleased with our services.
I first visited a 24hr Vet clinic in San Leandro which sent me home with meds and instructions for 6 weeks of crate rest. The Vet did not seem hopeful for any type of recovery and pushed me towards surgery or to euthanize… I was a devastated mess.
I began to do some research and found that Holistic Vet Care offered Care Credit and made an appointment the next day. Beth has been our TLC provider and has done an excellent job with my little diva (she puts the «B» in Bitch) and adjusts to her moods, after all she did suffer a really bad back injury.
After her 3^rd week of recovery we saw a Vet Nuero Surgeon by the name of Lisa Klopp and she took her off of strict crate rest and allowed limited walking/​mobility. I will never know how effective these treatments have been because I did not waste any time beginning her therapy after the injury, and if you’re able to do the same it is highly recommended by myself and studies.
My little girl has been walking since the second week of her injury and is progressively getting better as well as stronger. Thank you all for the love and compassion your facility provides.

What a nice place– I began taking one of my dogs here to help strengthen his back and rear leg and our experience has been very positive. My dog gets so excited to come to therapy and I have noticed an improvement in his strength and confidence. My dog had never been in water before and Nicole, the Technician took each session slowly and at my dog’s pace so he became comfortable. Now he motors along like a pro!

If I go by Unilocal descriptions, I would give only 2 stars (meh, I’ve experienced better). But on Unilocal,you always have to rate up I think. Plus, from the other reviews, it does seem like they help a lot of pets and by extension, help a lot of people. So I don’t want to be too harsh.
But when we had our quick 5 minute phone consult, I explained that my dog Charlie, is a Korean Jindo which is a notoriously skittish dog when it comes to new people. I’ve found several vets who seem to have a way with animals and just know how to interact with Charlie really well, so I know that he can definitely respond positively to doctors and treatments when handled correctly. I explained Charlie’s wariness with strangers touching him and was reassured that they had worked with Jindos before and knew the breed and knew how to work with dogs who aren’t so happy-​go-​lucky when it comes to doctor visits.
But I found Dr. Gary to be very unsure of how to deal with Charlie. And Charlie picked up on that right away. After a minute or two of tentatively approaching Charlie, and Charlie just moving away from him, he just kinda looked at me and basically said that Charlie was too skittish, nothing he could do. So no acupuncture for Charlie. But Lisa Koenig was MUCH better in handling Charlie. She wasn’t hesitant, went by his side, took hold of him and began the adjustments.
She quickly worked her way around his body and I could tell that Charlie was enjoying himself. He does love massages and I’m guessing the chiropractic adjustments felt pretty good to him. He also responds MUCH better to firm confident energy than to tentativeness. And I gotta say, I prefer that in my own doctors too.
The adjustments took only 2 – 3 minutes. I asked if I would see any improvements in Charlie’s limping and was told that I *should* but it wasn’t guaranteed.
So on the whole, we had a 5 minute consultation, 2 – 3 minutes of chiropractic adjustments and I walked over to the reception desk to find myself faced with a $ 165 bill plus $ 40 for supplements.
Ouch. Really? I mean I would have understood if they had done some sort of thorough analysis or an extensive first treatment session.
But they gave Charlie just some light adjustments because they didn’t want to stress him out too much the first time. So I was pretty baffled by the huge bill.
Now this might totally have been worth it if I had seen any improvements in Charlie, but alas, his limping seems worse. I’m now looking into alternatives to the alternative treatments. Hah.
Also, there was quite a bit of waiting around time in the front reception area. Waiting to be seen, and then afterward, waiting to pay and get out of there. Which is so strange because it seemed like I was the only customer there.
Quick Protip: The supplement they sold me, Ligaplex II can be found on Amazon for $ 7 cheaper.
I’m very happy for all the people who have benefited from Holistic Veterinary Care and I wish this business nothing but the best. I just had to share my own personal experience. I understand all cases are different, and I didn’t expect a miracle or anything. I just wasn’t all that impressed. Your milage may vary.

If zombies could become human again through acupuncture, Dr. Richter would be the wizard of all wizards to make this happen! I took my 12 yr old arthritic cat to see him one day when I noticed her limping and the Dasuquin she was taking no longer worked. He went over our options after I cried my tears and expressed my concerns for her, and he was kind enough not to push in any particular direction. He assured me that nothing had to be decided that day and that we would figure out what works best for her. I appreciated his honesty and thorough explanations.
We decided to start with acupuncture, and let me just say that as much as I love my cat, I can admit that she is a grumpy, anti-​social, timid, hard-​to-​handle tortie … and she is my everything. So when Dr. Richter started handling her and putting the needles in one by one, you can imagine how nervous I was — especially when she started growling. But luckily, he was quick and spoke to her gently and she allowed him to finish without even a hiss! I was amazed! After one full day, she was no longer hopping around with a swollen ankle, but she was actually walking on it! I almost teared up b/​c I was so joyful!!! Even her anxiety seemed to lessen when she was around other people!
I take pride in being prepared for the inevitable zombie invasion, and as badass as I think I am, I cannot predict whether I will survive it or not. All I know is that I need to keep my beloved cats well trained and healthy in case something bad happens to me and I am no longer around to protect them. They need to be able to either defend themselves properly or run like the wind! Thanks to Dr. Richter and his magic-​hands, I’m more confident that my grouchy, old-​lady cat will escape and survive the perils of the soul-​less abominations that will eventually stalk the earth. Thank you Dr. Richter!!! :D

Dr. Gary Richter got in touch with me to provide some additional information I thought would be worth adding to my review:
He wrote, «As the owner and medical director of Holistic Veterinary Care, it is my personal goal to provide excellent medical care and customer service to everyone who comes to the practice. Part of the way I do this is by offering a free telephone consultation with people who are considering bringing their pets in for care. I take time to discuss with the owner what their concerns are and what therapies may be of benefit to their pet. Because we offer so many treatment modalities (acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, physical rehab therapy, etc), I find that these complimentary consultations are very helpful in designing a treatment plan for each individual.
Based on your review, I know you were unhappy with the cost of bringing a pet to Holistic Veterinary Care. The prices you were quoted for an initial exam ($ 165) and a follow-​up exam ($ 95) includes acupuncture and/​or chiropractic care. By quoting these prices, our intent is to let people know what it will cost not only for an office call, but for treatment as well. I apologize if you were told otherwise.»
So it’s good to know that for their prices, you get more treatment than just face time, and an examination with the vet — the exam prices actually include acupuncture and chiropractic care.

HVC is set up nicely. they have a pool for dogs to work in, which i am hoping to try out sometime. the staff here are all friendly and show your pooch love as well. my dog gets loaded on treats everytime she comes. i have only worked with beth. she does therapy and acupuncture for my dog. i havent been to other vets that do holistic care, so i cant compare them to anyone else. i have gotten quotes from other places and it seems that their prices are comparable to other places. it costs almost $ 200 for therapy and accupuncture the first time, and $ 90 for both services after.
beth has worked well with my dog during our sessions.
they do have a small parking lot in the back that will only fit several cars. when their lot is full, i can always find free street parking in the area.