Helping Hands

A few months ago I made the best decision I could have ever made for my little dog, Juno. I took her to Helpong Hands!
Juno needed some dental work. She had doggie halitosis and some loose teeth that needed to come out.
I took Juno to her regular vet who wanted to charge me nearly $ 1000 for the dental work. Part of that price included a mandatory boarding the night before surgery; something I don’t agree with. The vet also required several pre-​op tests that seemed unnecessary.
I contacted Helping Hands Vet in Richmond on recommendation from a coworker. When I called, I spoke to a very professional receptionist who explained the entire process and was able to help me set up an appointment to bring Juno.
Juno was dropped off in the morning and I was called when she was ready to be picked up! A little bit like an «in by 9, out by 5» dry cleaner, but better!
The staff at Helping Hands took amazing care of Juno and she recovered perfectly. A nurse even called me the next day to see how Juno was feeling!
The whole experience was great and I recommend Helping Hands, highly!

My boyfriend and I took our fur baby to helping hands back in April. I had heard about Helping Hands initially from a co-​worker, but hadn’t put serious thought into considering their services until my dad’s friend had a procedure done for their dog. Her review of the staff, facility, and professionalism had me convinced!
My boyfriend and I rescued our dog Miko who is a chihuahua Pekingese mix, who had severe tooth disease along with gum infections. When we first became aware of this from our regular vet, we were in shock and overwhelmed by the price they were suggesting. We spent the next year and a half saving every penny for Miko’s surgery funds– which isn’t easy because life always throws curveballs at you.
We finally had enough of seeing our little Miko in pain and occasionally finding her teeth around the house that had rotted and fallen out. So we scheduled an appointment online, was quickly contacted and accommodated. I thought it was nice that during the week leading up to the date, the staff would call to confirm and remind us of things we needed to do and not do.
The facility is more than what I expected– I thought it’d be an average clinic facility but this place was made with the dogs and their owners in mind! With a staff that goes above and beyond, a waiting area for owners to lounge (along with lists of places to eat, kill time, and movie showings) you can’t feel any more comfortable about having your pet in their hands!
Overall the price ended up being around ¹⁄₅^th of what our Vet quoted, along with medicine included. Can’t beat that! Sarah Jane was working on Miko’s teeth and went in depth about the details of the procedure, which was greatly appreciated because we never truly knew the severity of Miko’s condition (though we always planned for the worst). Though it may be early to say, as Miko is currently recovering from her procedure today, I HIGHLY recommend Helping Hands to anyone who is seeking surgery or dental work for their pet.

My Daphne has 14 years and this was her third cancer. This time was on her leg unfortunately nothing that we could do, because Banfield just didn’t make a good job, not humanity at all. Caring Hands another vet place took over and they recommended us Helping Hands. We contacted them, and since the begining they were amazing. Unfortunately, I don’t have the name of the doctor, the good thing is that all doctors at this place are so ethical, professionals and a tremendous care givers. Since you are getting in this place you know everything will be ok. This happened in January 2016. My little one passed away 2 weeks ago. They were very accurate when they told me she will be with us around 6 months more. The scar was amazingly healed. It was a perfect job, they have to ampute her leg. I know that she was so happy her last 6 months. Helping Hands made a tremendous job of love and Caring Hands in Van Dorn Alexandria with Dr Planeta took care of Daphne with so much love on her last days. We all should support this institutions like Helping Hands that thanks to them we don’t have to put sleep our love one just becuase of financial situation. On other hands, we should have some organism that over sees places like Banfield in Falls Church, they told me that they can’t reliese Daphne’s information to Helping Hands if I didn’t do all the tests thatat the stimate were around 5,000. I sswithed to Caring Hands and Caring Hands contact themself and then I could take Daphnee, I regreat so much that i have to take my dog for so many years at Banfield, she always streesed out so much when she arrived at Banfield. Big difference with Caring Hands. I hope this can be used to really think about our dogs

Helping Hands is an excellent facility which I highly recommend. Stevie Nicks, our miniature doxie, was a rescue and needed extensive dental work. She ended up having 23 teeth removed! We now soak her dry food in chicken broth so with only three teeth left she eats better than ever and is so happy to be pain free. Thank you Helping Hands. Our vet charges by the tooth for extractions so we really appreciate the Helping Hands «one cost covers everything» approach!

Just returned from having a Mast Cell Tumor removed from my 11yo Puggle. Very impressed with HH. The people were friendly, helpful, patient and knowledgeable. I elected to wait in their comfy and spacious waiting area stocked with all sorts of goodies, games, snacks, beverages and WiFi. The surgeon came in and briefed me before the procedure and couldn’t have been nicer or more professional. While the tumor is out for biopsy, so we’re not sure how far out of the woods we are yet, the procedure went off without a hitch. The dog is not in any apparent discomfort but having to wear an E-​collar is a challenge, especially since she’s totally blind. Saved best part to last: the price was ¹⁄₃ of what her regular Vet quoted last year. Very reasonable. There’s a good reason people drive hundreds of miles to bring their pets here. There was a guy there today who drove from Baltimore (215m) to bring in his beautiful Golden, who incredibly had a 45-​pound «growth» on her right side. Yes, really. Don’t know the outcome, but am 100% confident she was in the best hands.

We took our 8 yr old Corgi, «Sir Andrew» to get a dentist cleaning. They unfortunately had to pull many teeth on Andy because the were loose or were bad. He recovered so well. I was so impressed someone called me the next day to check on Andy. I have recommend Helping Hands to everyone I know. You guys are awesome. The facility is easy to find and so beautiful. You all are amazing. Andy has started to eat a lot more and acts like puppy now! Thank you all for be so wonderful!

I can’t say enough good things about my experience with Helping Hands. I live in Alexandria and drove to Richmond on a Friday for a dental cleaning for my cat. The location and facilities are new and updated – nicer than some vet offices that I’ve been to. I brought my cat in the morning and waited at this offices until about 4pm, when he was ready for pick-​up. There’s actually a very nice waiting room with a TV, couches and tables (as well as coffee and drinks) so it was actually a comfortable place to spend the day. If I had known there was free wi-​fi, I would have brought my laptop and just worked from there.
My cat went in with a lot of teeth problems — he already had most of his teeth removed a few years earlier. I expected Helping Hands to need to pull the remainder of his teeth, which turned out to be the case. There were no complications at all and they provided the necessary medications needed for after surgery at no additional cost. The whole thing was $ 225 – far less than the $ 1,250-$ 1,500 estimate I had gotten from my vet.
I definitely recommend Helping Hands to anyone and would say that it is worth the drive from out of town – and even taking a day off of work – to go down there. If my cat needs surgery again, I won’t hesitate to bring him here.

We couldn’t be happier with the service we received at HH. We brought 2 dogs in that needed their teeth cleaned. The office staff was warm and welcoming to us and our fur babies. The lounge is amazing and comfortable. We were given a map of the area with a list of things to do since we drove an hour and a half (from Manassas) and would be staying in town until the procedure was over. Talk about an office that truly makes you feel like family. This was it. They called to check up on the babies afterwards too. We will go back here for any and all surgical needs our babies need in the future.

Sent in email stating my dog had tibial tuberosity, received a phone call not even an hour later they can take care of my dog. Sent all my paperwork for my dog there, I called them to confirm they have the paperwork and apparently they don’t take care of tibial tuberosity and apologized. Why did you even call me when the email says tibial tuberosity. Very disorganized no wonder why they are so cheap. Having procedure done tonight at my local animal hospital.

This is a business that truly cares about your pet. Their stated mission is «preventing economic euthanasia by offering affordable care to your pet» and they take this seriously. Though I never physically set foot inside this facility I nevertheless feel compelled to write this review, here is my story.
While vacationing in Thailand I was contacted by my pet sitter to inform my wife and me that our 5.5 year old Bassett Hound hadn’t eaten or been able to urinate for the past few days. When she appeared to be in considerable discomfort he took her to a pet hospital where they diagnosed Belle (our dog) with stones in her bladder. They were able to flush a stone blocking her urethra so she could urinate then sent her home with antibiotics, pain and anti-​spasm medication. They said she would need a cystotomy which would run between $ 2400 to $ 3000 in addition to their $ 1100 charge for the emergency visit. To complicate matters, my sitter’s mother took ill and was hospitalized so he had to leave our home in Chesapeake and go to Illinois. He transported Belle to my brother’s house in Richmond where he cared for her.
Being so far away made it difficult for me to know what to do. My brother was suggesting we put Belle down but I really didn’t want to do that especially since she is relatively young. I did some internet research and discovered Helping Hands which, amazingly, was within walking distance of my brother’s house. Their website is very comprehensive and informative so I really didn’t have any questions. I contacted them and my brother visited them in person. To make a long story a little less long, they were able to get Belle in for surgery a few days later at a cost of $ 720 which included the surgery ($ 655), blood work which was optional ($ 50) and and an e-​collar ($ 15). My brother just dropped her off in the morning and picked her up in the afternoon. They sent her home with antibiotics and pain meds which were included in the price of the procedure. They said they would send the results of the blood work to our regular veterinarian and to follow up with our regular vet. Helping Hands does very affordable care but to help keep prices low they do not offer aftercare. My brother said the staff was really friendly and helpful.
A week after her surgery we returned from Thailand and picked Belle up from my brother’s house then took her home to Chesapeake where she has been thriving. We could have returned her to Helping Hands to get the sutures removed for free but we went ahead and had our regular vet do it.
I am so thankful for this wonderful organization and the work they do. People may think we are wealthy since we vacation to Thailand but the fact is we have a lot of family there (my wife is Thai) and it is important to us to be able to visit them so we scrimp and save to be able to travel there. I was really stressed about the money for Belle’s surgery but Helping Hands took that worry away. It is important to point out that Helping Hands is willing to PERFORM PROCEDURES EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY. if you just don’t have the money, pay what you can and they will cover the rest from donations and a fund they operate by charging an extra $ 5 per procedure.
I am so very thankful for Helping Hands. If your dog or cat is in need of expensive care please contact Helping Hands to see if they can help you.

I was blown away by Helping Hands. We were referred here by Greyt Expectations Greyhound Rescue. Our normal vet quoted us $ 1600+ to have a dental cleaning done on our Greyhound. We showed up and were promptly greeted. They took our grey back and we waited in their waiting room. They have couches, tables, wifi, coffee, snacks, and tv. Everyone was so friendly, nice and accommodating. We walked out of there with a bill of only $ 225 and one healthy and shiny toothed greyhound.

We were very fortunate to find this amazing organization with a mission is to bring affordable veterinary care to our furry friends. All you need to know is that their priority is to extend care to all pets at a cost that makes it affordable for all pet owners. For many years, we knew our elderly pup needed dental care but were afraid of anesthesia and intimidated by the cost of almost $ 1000 quoted at our regular vet. When he began to show signs of discomfort, we knew we had to do something and our groomer recommended Helping Hands. Everything was easy and everyone was very kind from booking the appointment, easing my fears on the pre-​call, intake and discharge. The space is immaculate and even has a lounge for pet parents to wait. While the result was the removal of many teeth, we are confident that we made the right decision by scheduling the procedure with Helping Hands.

My dog went in for a low risk surgery, and he died. They did nothing to try to save him. To make matters worse they were not empathic at all to the situation. they rushed us out with my dogs body. Not even time to grieve or ask questions of what went wrong. Please please do not go to this place, it is not worth it. I will be suing them.

Wonderful! I took my cat to their old location and it was awesome; just took her to the new location and it was even more awesome (They have a lounge for pet parents to wait in!). So much cheaper than the vet where I live and they do a great job! I just can’t say enough positive things. McKenna discharged her and was very nice and helpful. I’ve taken cats home from dentals a few times now and know what to expect, but it’s nice to have someone so warm and caring hand her back to me to take home!

We were quoted $ 3500 for a benign tumor removal at our local veterinary surgical center (Northern Virginia). It was just over $ 500 at Helping Hands. We also had a dental cleaning, bloodwork, biospy, meds, and e-​collar and our total, after a much-​deserved donation as well, was still under $ 800. Unfortunately, it was determined during surgery that our pup’s tumor was not benign was we had thought. They were able to remove as much as they could. We were so grateful that we hadn’t spent $ 3500 to make that discovery. He is still with us and we are enjoying every minute we have left with him. Helping Hands is a fantastic place and I have already recommended it to friends. It is a breeze to travel down there for the day from Northern Virginia. The staff is super friendly and helpful — wonderful experience.

When my vet quoted me $ 500 for my dog’s dental cleaning, I was stunned. I found Helping Hands on Unilocal and let me tell you, I am so glad I did. My dog has a beautiful smile for $ 225. (They charge $ 50 for initial blood work on top of the $ 175 for the cleaning.)
I often complain about the knuckleheads who work the front desk at my vet’s office. That was NOT the case with Helping Hands. They were great from the initial appointment booking through pick up.
When you sign your dog in, there is a bit of an assembly line feel. I guess that is understandable when everyone is dropping off at the same time. They weigh the dog as soon as you walk in the door. While you’re filling out paperwork, they take your pet away. It all happens rather quickly, but they are really efficient at it. Drop off took only 15 minutes.
Pick up was much calmer. The vet tech, Sarah Jane, patiently reviewed all the discharge procedures with me.
My dog was happy when I picked her up and that says a lot because she is afraid of everything.
I definitely recommend Helping Hands! They are SUPERB!!!

Felt kind of herded in, but an excellent choice for an affordable clinic.

I don’t work at HH’s, I have been there but also have dealt with teeth — both there and other places.
There is no way to comment on another review but want to make a couple of points.
1. How old is your pet.
2. Do you brush your pets teeth?
3. Has the pets teeth ever been cleaned?
4. How long has it been since they were cleaned? — the more buildup/​inflammation the harder to remove in 1 cleaning.
5. What was the level of Plaque/​Tarter Gingivitis/​Inflammation? Stage1-​Stage4
6. How many teeth were extracted?
I know HH gives you paperwork when you leave regarding what they did and what was removed (I didn’t see all of my friends papers so I don’t know if it’s the same as mine.)
I know on my Wellness Dental cleaning I’m given an oral illustration which shows what teeth the pet is missing/​broken/​extracted.
HH requires bloodwork on any animal older than 8 I think — it’s $ 50, which brings the dental cleaning to $ 225, including ALL extractions. I think I paid that much last year for 1 on my cat at his Wellness cleaning.
When teeth are pulled they release bacteria and toxins into the bloodstream and the older the animal the greater the risk of complication.
Someone said her vet pulled an infected tooth after her (non)cleaning with no anesthesia. Talk about releasing infection and shocking an old system.
When my cats tooth was pulled I was specifically told that there may still be other teeth that would need to be pulled it’s just hard for them to know what’s going on. It’s like us with an abscessed tooth sometimes the root recovers with antibiotics and sometimes it dies and requires a crown. Personally I would have asked for an antibiotic shot before I let a vet pull a bad tooth without anesthesia. (Would you let a dentist pull your tooth like that?)
I have Persian cats that naturally have more tarter due to their genetic makeup. Being rescues — it’s taken 3 years to get the inflammation and tarter under control in now 7 year old cats. One has already lost a tooth and I think has more to come — we will head to Richmond for that extraction.
Since Pugs have a similar facial structure to my cats I’m going to take a leap here and assume that they have more than the average dog’s Plaque buildup.
I’m sorry someone lost her animal –I’ve been through this and it’s awful. HH hands saved my Cat in December and I only wish I had known about them sooner.

I took my 8 year old Italian Greyhound in to get a dental. I knew he was going to lose a few teeth in the process and they did an amazing job. Since he has little body fat and large lungs for his size, he can only use certain anesthesia and I loved that they were already aware of this. It can be tough to find greyhound savvy vets since they do differ from other dogs. Also, he has had seizures his entire life so I worry any time he has to go under. In total, he had 18 teeth pulled. They called to check in on him the next day and make sure everything was going well. He recovered great and I recommend them to everyone I know. If I had taken him anywhere else, they would have charged at least $ 300 for the dental plus more for extractions. I would have ended up with a bill closer to $ 1000 for the 18 teeth pulled vs their flare rate of $ 225.

I haven’t been here yet. I am waking up at 6am to make the drive from DC to Richmond. I am excited, but very nervous. My dog is a 5lb teacup yorkie… Coco is 11 years old. She is going in for teeth cleaning, naturally I’m scared she won’t wake up… I feel a lot better since Unilocaling this place, and watching their video. I think I might be able to rest easy tonight now. I will post again tomorrow after the procedure is complete.
^^^^ I wrote the above on Sunday night. It is now Wednesday morning! Let me just say this place is phenomenal! I was so worried, but everything went perfectly! My pup unfortunately lost a lot of her teeth, she’s an 11 year old yorkie… But the care she received was immaculate. The price was ridiculously affordable … But what I got in return is years added on to Coco’s life… Which to me is priceless! I drove from DC at 7am on Monday morning… Dropped her off by 8:30am… Checked into a hotel (Hyatt Place– Innsbruck *excellent). Slept. They had her ready by 2pm. She was loopy when I picked her up… I left with pain killers and antibiotics. Got home by 4:30pm. The process was easy breezy! Definitely go to this awesome place for your animals needs.

I really appreciate the mission of Helping Hands, to remove financial impediments to surgical and dental veterinary procedures. I adopted a young dog with bad discoloration on her teeth, and Helping Hands did a great job of cleaning her teeth. The process was very smooth. It and the recovery went exactly as expected.

Wonderful veterinarian surgery service. They made my boy feel so much better. Very thorough great service fees for emergencies. Can’t say enough great things about them. Thank you for saving Weston!

I’m glad this place exist to help those who can’t afford an expensive surgery. My pet needed a ACL repair and their prices were more affordable. The location was an hour and half away but worth it. They provided us with maps and places to visit. They also provide a lobby with free wifi, tv and popcorn since most owners wait those 5 – 6 hrs for their pet.

Like many others, my dog needed surgery and the vet quoted about $ 1,600 for the surgery and wasn’t too sure when it could be done. My vet suggested I contact Helping Hands to do the surgery. I sent an inquiry on their website around 8 p.m. Wednesday night, at 8:08 Thursday morning I had a phone call telling me what they needed to schedule the surgery, by 1 p.m. surgery was scheduled for the next day.
I took my dog in at 7:45, she was ready to be picked up at 3 and we headed home to DC. Total cost ended up being $ 705 with six months free interest because I have a Care Credit card.
The next day they called to see how she was doing and to make sure I knew she had to stay calm. It was a perfectly wonderful experience and my dog is doing amazing 4 days later.

Our Dog needed another bladder stone removal surgery and quite a few tooth extractions! Our first cost more then $ 4000…Unfortunately, we were knew we could not afford this price again. after some internet searching, we found Helping Hands! We are so thankful to God we did! Their prices are so generous, we traveled from New York, and the surgery was the done the same day. Dropped him off at 9am, got him at 2pm. Our boy has since recovered well, and that is all thanks to Helping Hands!
The staff we encountered were helpful, however they did not tell us about the «lounge». We traveled all the way from NY– it would have been nice to mention.
We also did not meet the doctor. I understand how busy it is, but at least when we came to pick up the dog –it would have been nice to pop in for the discharge.
Vet Tech told us the stone analysis would take 10 business days, and we are going on about more then two weeks now — not sure whats going on.
However, we 100% recommend the fine work they do, and are so very grateful.

Everyone researching this vet should know that they had five stars and a ton of reviews before they moved to their new location! I’ve been meaning to write this review for a while now, because the experience we had was just that amazing. For everyone who is looking at their price list online and is thinking «this has to be too good to be true,» it’s not a trick!
My boyfriend and I adopted a five-​year-​old White German Shepherd rescue in March, and she came to us with only half her teeth. Most of the teeth she had left were rotting out of her mouth from severe neglect, and we were getting quotes in DC vets for her cleaning/​extractions upwards of $ 2000! I came across Helping Hands on a DC blog, and thought the $ 175 price for cleanings/​extractions listed on their website had to be a typo. When I called to schedule the appointment I told the receptionist as much, and she laughed, saying they got that a lot! We also scheduled to have a small growth removed from our dog’s side, which they could do at the same time.
The day of the appointment, we took off work and drove down from DC early on a Friday morning to make the early drop-​off window. Every person, from the receptionists to the vet techs, were warm, open, and compassionate, which goes a long way when you are dropping off a skiddish rescue dog! After walking us through the procedures in an exam room, we left our dog in good hands, picking her up only a few hours later.
We were able to get a dental cleaning and ten extractions, a growth removal, cancer testing, and an E collar for around $ 400. Our dog was left with six teeth and a healthy mouth, and I was left with a healthy pocket book and the peace of mind that the her growth was benign. I’ll be taking our dog here from now on… thank you Helping Hands!

Helping Hands was great and well worth the trip from DC to Richmond even though driving I-​95 in the dark almost did me in. Poor Charlie, my Dachshund, ended up with 6 teeth pulled but he bounced back in no time and was back to eating his dry dog food. The staff was friendly, timely and efficient and there were no hidden costs or surprises unlike every other clinic I had checked out. I would gladly brave I-​95 again for such wonderful and affordable health care for my dogs. I’m spreading the word to all my animal friends.

Wonderul much needed service; eternally grateful. Our dog had a bladder stone. Local vet wanted $ 3500+, Helping hands did it for under $ 700, worth the drive Hampton Roads. You don’t want to have to decide between what your pet needs, and food on the table. Although still difficult, we could much better handle $ 700. So thankful of for this place.
They give you an upfront quote and stick to it. Price list on their website as well.

I live in MD and my dog, Meisha, needed bladder surgery. The prices in my area were astronomical. I did some research and found Helping Hands. I love their concept and philosophy. It’s obvious how much they care about pets. I called for information and to schedule an appointment. The price quoted was the price I paid and it covered everything Meisha needed. Everyone I interacted with was great, gave clear post-​op directions and followed up to ensure she was doing okay. If it wasn’t for Helping Hands, I would have had to put off the surgery which would have been harmful to my Meisha. I highly recommend Helping Hands and plan to utilize their services in the future. Everyone should donate to support this amazing group!

I have two senior dogs that were in need of dental and a small mass removal on a paw. Needless to say around here where I live I was quoted $ 1300+. My bill with everything was $ 640. I am so thankful I found Helping Hands!!! The staff is wonderful, Dr. Lori is wonderful, I can’t say enough about how great this place is. If we need anything else for our dogs and cat I will definitely call Helping Hands again!

I used this amazing practice in their old location and plan to visit them again in their new location. I drive down from Fairfax and they were worth the commute. The staff was pleasant and helpful. They were very knowledgeable and were able to answer all my questions. Medical care is expensive for everyone but I doesn’t have to be. The staff here understand that affordable pet care can be quality and and caring