Veterinary Neurology & Imaging of the Chesapeake

"Our dog has canine epilepsy. She is a very difficult case. We have been patients of Dr. McDonnell's for several years. He is wonderful. He has done a great job of balancing the medications required to control her seizures, while maintaining her quality of life. He is always responsive to our needs. I highly recommend him!"

"Dr. McDonnell and his team were our 2nd opinion neurologist team! We are so glad we decided to get a 2nd opinion for our pup that suffers with seizures. We were able to get testing reran and get diagnosed with something less severe than what we were originally told. We got our girl off 1 medication and on to another one. She has made a complete come back to puppyhood!! It's amazing what another set of eyes and medication plan can do. We thought for sure it was her 2 seizure medications turning her into a pup that was 'just existing', when in reality it was a medication not used for seizure control that was doing that to her! What a refreshing thing to have your puppy back from near deaths door on a medication. Dr. McDonnell listened to our concerns, made adjustments that he thought would work and here we are today! We were NOT told that he 'does not care' what another in person our vet team has told us. He did listen to us when he wanted to up a seizure medication and we asked him to please reconsider that as that particular one was causing extreme dry skin on our girl - we did not up that one, but now will be trying to get off of it or lower it, eventually. We added another medication that another person from our vet team said she did not like... we voiced the concern we had on this medication - Dr. McDonnell understood our concerns - he asked us to try it for a few months and then make our own decisions on this medication. Overall the care that our pup has received has been phenomenal. Luna is a noisy little pittie when she gets to the office because she feels she needs all the pets from all the people!! We know this must be so irritating to the team, but, no one ever gets upset with us about it. Thank you Dr. McDonnell and team for all the care for our girl, Luna =)"

"Its not often that I feel compelled to write a review for good reason but this will be the first. Dr. Rivera and the tech Michaela were awesome. Took my four year old Frenchie in for what appeared to be a slipped disc. He was in pain and miserable for the last month. Michaela was calm and in turn made me calm. Dr. Rivera was knowledgeable and educated me, answering all of my questions without frustration (Im sure I asked the same ones one hundred times). Didn't get an MRI on the appt. day but I was ok with that as Dr.Rivera gave me some hope that a medication regimen could help. Praying for a positive outcome, but no matter how it goes, I will return. Michaela, and Dr. Rivera, you ladies rock! .. and Sarah, Never actually saw her but she was pleasant on every call and even sent me a follow up email to check on my pet. Awesome team!"

"On July 14th we brought our 9 year old golden doodle in for an mri. It was discovered that she had a massive brain tumor. The compassion that was shown by the staff and the neurologist was phenomenal. When the decision was made by my wife and I to end Zailey’s life, everyone did everything to make her passing as peaceful as possible. We will be eternally thankful to everyone there."

"I took Leighann to Veterinary Neurology & Imaging of the Chesapeake on June 29th for a second opinion on the operability of a spinal condition – another neurologist said it was not operable. A genetic test was ordered and the lab said the test was sent to Dr. McDonnell on July the 9th. I called Monday and Tuesday, 7/13, and was repeatedly told the test results had not been received. I called the lab directly to confirm they received blood samples and they told me the test had been completed and results sent to Dr. McDonnell on 7/9. The lab then sent the test results directly to me even though I did not request this. I understand vets are busy people, but not recognizing test results even when they have been sent to your office more than once is troubling. If I had not followed up directly with the lab, I probably would have gone more days with being told they do not have the test results. It is and has been difficult because Leighann has been faithfully by my side as a working dog for over 6 years now and has saved my life twice. She will be forever in my heart. I will move on and continue to look for help with her until her journey on this planet ends."