Animal Wellness Veterinary Center

Animal Wellness Veterinary Center is a veterinary clinic in Norwalk, Connecticut, located at 570 Main Ave. It treats dogs, cats, and a range of small exotic pets, and describes an integrative approach that includes nutrition-focused and herbal options alongside conventional care. The clinic lists weekday hours and limited Saturday appointments, and notes emergency support for existing clients with referrals to nearby emergency hospitals when needed.

Services

•Wellness exams and well visits
•Risk assessment with individualized vaccination plans
•Sick outpatient visits with outpatient nursing care/support services
•Digital X-ray (radiography) with board-certified radiologist reads
•Hospitalization with full-day nursing care; rare overnight monitoring
•Surgery, including access to a board-certified surgeon when necessary
•Dentistry: cleanings, examinations, tooth extractions, fluoride treatments
•Microchipping
•Laser therapy
•Digatherm digital thermal imaging (screening for pain, inflammation, and circulation issues)
•Nutritional advice, including raw food diets
•Homeopathic remedies; nutritional/integrative supplements; Chinese herbs
•Emergency services for existing clients (phone access to Dr. Alvarez 8:00 am–9:00 pm) and referral options (Cornell Veterinary Specialists in Stamford, Cornell University Specialists New Haven Central, MedVet Norwalk; ASPCA Animal Poison Control)
•Species treated include dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, hedgehogs, hamsters, and ferrets
•Acupuncture (mentioned by a reviewer)

Pricing

No published pricing information is available for this clinic.

People

The clinic lists Dr. Janette Alvarez (owner and veterinarian) and Jody Phillips (medical records manager/office manager), and notes Fear Free Professional and Senior Dog Veterinary Society certifications for Dr. Jamie Dunaisky.

Reviews

Animal Wellness Veterinary Center has a 4.4/5 rating on Google from 18 reviews. Reviews commonly mention long-term satisfaction with Dr. Alvarez and staff, describing a holistic or “outside the box” approach and supportive interactions. Critical feedback includes concerns about communication and charges (including a reported fee for a brief email reply), medication/pharmacy policies, and a report that acupuncture was no longer available for one client.

Reviews for Animal Wellness Veterinary Center

Note: Showing the 5 most recent Google reviews out of 18 we track in total. Recent reviews may not be representative of overall sentiment.

Margaret Sir

1 month ago

My shepherd has arthritis in both hips. Was going here for vet care and acupuncture. They insist on having scripts picked up, won't electronically do meds. I transferred to another practice as I work in NY & can't keep running scripts around for drop & pick up. Also was resistant to using a pharmacy instead of selling the meds directly at 400% higher. Now won't do acupuncture either. I'm done.

Dan Nigro

We've been using AWVC for all our dogs over the past 15 years (we currently have 3). Dr. Alvarez and the entire staff always go above and beyond. We particularly appreciate that Dr. Alvarez thinks outside the box when there might be alternative approaches. We come from quite a distance, but it's worth it for the peace of mind knowing our dog kids are always in the right hands.

Agustina Hemsy

Paula Waldman

9 months ago

We have 3 dogs that go to Animal Wellness and we LOVE Dr. Alvarez and her staff. She looks from every angle particularly enhancing protocol holistically bc it is oftentimes the underlying causes that inhibits healing. The staff is always warm and supportive too!

Kristin Jones

1 year ago

We really liked Dr. Alvarez and her holistic approach to veterinary care, but it turns out money is more important to them than my dog’s care. I called to ask if my dog should get a vaccine over the phone and they told me to email Dr. Alvarez. I did. Well she answered with a simple yes and charged me $60! This charge was never mentioned to me over the phone. Also, never has a vet ever charged me or anyone I know to ask a very simple question. I feel like this really limits communication between vet and client. We ended up changing vets as I felt I couldn’t go to her for help without incurring unknown costs.