Animal Wellness Center

Over the past 25 years living in NY, CT, and VA, we’ve been to numerous veterinary practices and Animal Wellness Center is by far the best. Dr. Cook and her staff are extremely knowledgeable, thorough, caring, attentive, and honest. Dr. Cook is on the cutting edge of improving the quality of dogs’ lives with her extensive experience in pain management and mobility.

We started out visiting Dr. Cook for the more holistic non-traditional services (laser, acupuncture, herbal medicine) and after a few months under the care of Dr. Cook and her team, we made Animal Wellness Center our primary veterinary practice for both of our labs (ages 11 and 6) as we saw positive and significant changes in their health.

There are at least a dozen veterinary practices within 10 minutes from our home, but we choose to drive 30 minutes to see Dr. Cook not only because she and her team are professional and run a very efficient office, but also because they are compassionate animal lovers.

The medical care is first rate, and the respectful administration is top notch. Most importantly, our dogs love to come in for their appointments!

Side note: the new facility is excellent and definitely worth the wait!

Absolutely the best vet office! The Veterinarians and every staff member is fantastic! They take amazing care of your pet through health and illness. I have been a client since 2011 with 3 pups and love this practice !

This is the best vet I’ve taken my bunny to. The staff took their time during the examination and educated me about her conditions.

I appreciate that they are upfront about treatment options and you can tell they care about their patients!

I have been taking my dog, Burke, here for a while now to get acupuncture with Dr. Raab. She is so wonderful with him being an old rescue and I'm a traditional medicine gal but her holistic medicine has genuinely been life changing for Burke. His anxiety, pain, and urinary incontinence were not able to be treated with traditional medicine but Dr. Raab fixed him up and he loves coming here! Thank you to the team for always being helpful, especially Mo, she is Burke's favorite!

I cannot stress enough how phenomenal this practice is. From the gentle nature of the staff to the top-notch traditional AND holistic healthcare, this place has it all. I'm originally from Tampa but moved to the Charlottesville area with my two labs and cockatiel last year. After a longgg period of trial and error in attempt to find a vet that can treat all three of my furry/feathered family members, I can very confidently say that AWC exceeds my standards. Both of my labs see Dr. Rethemeyer for underwater treadmill and laser therapy to improve their mobility, and her rehabilitative guidance has made a world of difference in my dogs' quality of life (rather than spending a fortune on super invasive procedures). My cockatiel sees Dr. Raab, and I can't speak highly enough of her either. It is NOT easy finding an exotic veterinarian in the Cville/Crozet area, but to have landed on one that not only offers rehabilitative care as well as the necessary beak/nail trims for my sweet bird is amazing. For all of you avid animal lovers that treat your pets like children (as we should), AWC is the place to be!!

We have been coming here for our pet bunnies, Cinnabun and Cosmo for the last 2-3 years. The bunnies are handled by the pros. Mo, the technician and Dr. Raab are very friendly, knowledgeable and we could tell, they've clipped bunny nails thousands of times. Just super experts!

I've known Dr. Cook for at least twelve years. Hillary has given me extra time with my dogs. And she's gone out of her way to help them. Let me give a highlight reel:

1. My dachshund Einstein was deathly ill one morning, unexpectedly and suddenly. She stopped by to examine him on her day off---not only was it her day off, but she herself was on the way to the hospital to have surgery.

2. My dachshund Rocky, who was diabetic, had back surgery at a young age, and when he was a pitiful arthritic old guy, he lived an extra year (at least) because of Hillary. Her acupuncture and laser treatments and med/herb combos kept him mobile and comfortable.

3. Sweet Dixie, my Bernese Mountain Dog, had Degenerative Myopathy (DM). If you're not familiar with it, I hope you stay that way. It's kind of like ALS for dogs; their back legs slowly stop working and it progresses up their spine until they can't breath. Most dogs only have about 6 months once they are symptomatic. But with Hillary's regiment of hydrotherapy (to keep her muscles from atrophying as quickly), herbs, lasers, etc., I had my sweet girl for an extra 18 months.

That's the highlight reel. I have more stories of Dr. Cook doing amazing things with my dogs and with many other peoples' animals. We are lucky to have Hillary and her team in our community.

excellent care. everyone is super friendly. the vets and techs are very knowledgeable and thorough. we used to live in ivy. we have moved into town but still come here because the drive is worth it.

I can’t express enough how much I love & appreciate this center. Dr. Stockwell & all the staff are exceptional. I wouldn’t take the two loves of my life anywhere else. HIGHLY recommended.🫶🏻

Been bringing our German shepherds here for 2 years. By far the best vet experience we’ve had. Their emotional intelligence is almost as good as my boys🥹♥🙌

I could not recommend Dr. Raab and her staff more. She has helped me nurse my rescue bearded dragon through tough times, cared for my elderly guinea pig, and helped me say goodbye to another one of my beloved guinea pigs who unfortunately had cancer. Through it all, she has been the most helpful, compassionate, honest, and caring veterinarians I have ever worked with, and I have worked with quite a few at this point. I have rescued many exotic pets, and I will continue to bring each one to see her and her amazing staff. Her and her staff have gone above and beyond to help my critters, give them everything they need, and give me peace of mind at the end of the day. They are incredibly knowledgeable and non-judgmental. Thank you to Dr. Raab and staff at Animal Wellness Center!

Absolutely wonderful veterinarian staff! Everyone have some much compassion for the animals as well as the owners. If I could give 10 stars I would!!

I have been coming to the Animal Wellness Center for years and can’t imagine going anywhere else. I like and respect everybody who works there and feel they all have a real compassion for animals. I credit Dr. Cook and her integrative medical and alternative treatments with keeping my animals thriving at all ages.

Georgie, my senior cat and we, love and appreciate so much Dr Cook, the vet techs and all the staff.
Georgie was seeing a different vet when he had a work up and emergency surgery in Richmond a year + time ago/biopsies/ cystadenoma/ but mercifully no cancer- since that time Georgie's recovery has been miraculous, under Dr. Cook's care. We are so thankful to Dr. Cook and her staff. After the surgery, I wanted aqua/ acupuncture/holistic approach for Georgie, I felt this was his best chance for quality of life, healing, and survival. So, We found Dr. Cook and the Wellness Center. Georgie has been given a remarkable recovery, miraculous healing with Dr Cook. He goes willingly, content to his visits to Dr Cook. I cannot tell you how thankful we are for all of this.
Dr. COOK has warmth, a sunny nature, and faith. She is perservering, capable, comforting and awesome with Georgie. She relates so well to him and us.
We continue to be blessed with Dr. Cook's expertise and diligence in holistic/Chinese and traditional veterinary care. Her compassionate care for Georgie and us and the care of the staff is much appreciated.
We pray for Dr. COOK and the Practice to have God's grace, mercy, and peace.
and flourish for many more years to come. Thay are a unique, amazing practice and well worth the extra drive to Crozet. Praise God their building is expanding.

Dr. Boesley was an amazing vet for me in the winter of Foxy's life. Not only did she provide everything Foxy could need, but she helped me to deal with the hard things you have to deal with when you have a hospice level animal. Foxy was my 14 year old Pom Mix and only pet as an adult, hence a very difficult time for me. I will continue to use this vet center, and specifically, Dr. Boesley in the future when I adopt again.

Absolutely wonderful people and amazing vets! Don't hesitate on taking your babies here you will not regret it!!!!

I think I was one of the first people who discovered this incredible Veternary facility, we've been with them since the beginning. If I'm being totally honest, I have a middle school boy crush on Dr. Hillary Cook. Her positive energy for both all varieties of animals and humans alike is infectious, you just feel so safe and taken care in here presence. Now she is the Dalli Lama of vets and sometimes it's tough to see her, BUT the good news is her team of Associate Vets is equaly as stellar. Drs Stockwell, Rethemeyer and Raab are angelic and so knowledgable and approachable. And I have to give a shout out to my favorite PAGE, she's straight from heaven. Thanks for all you do!!!

I only have good things to say about this clinic. My dog Freddie has cancer and needed urgent surgery, and Dr. Raab took the time to squeeze him into her busy schedule. She and technician Paige took excellent care of him and kept me updated throughout the process. They listened to my concerns and took extra precautions since he is a senior with many health issues. It was more than an hour drive for me, but worthwhile to have him in the best hands. All staff members I spoke with were kind, compassionate, and knowledgeable. I especially appreciate their holistic approach and will definitely be back with the rest of my fur babies!

Dr. Raab and the team are very kind to my gecko, Qibli. He’s been experiencing some problems recently but throughout every visit the staff are nothing but kind. Strongly recommend this place!!!

Update: he has passed but the staff were nothing but compassionate with me. Best vet around. If I adopt another reptile In the future I will not hesitate to come back.

Best vet practice I’ve ever had the pleasure of recommending. They go above and beyond every day.