The Practice
About Northside
Northside Veterinary Clinic has served the dogs and cats of Arlington, Virginia's Cherrydale neighborhood since 1949 — across two generations of the same family. Dr. James McClure grew the practice into one of the most trusted veterinary relationships in the area over 32 years of ownership. When he retired, his son Dr. Adam McClure — who had spent his childhood at this very clinic — took over in April 2001.
The continuity was not an accident. Adam believes that long-term relationships between veterinarian and client are the foundation of good veterinary medicine. He completed both his undergraduate degree in Animal Science and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, then returned to Northern Virginia and the practice his father had built. “The personal touch” is not a marketing phrase at Northside — it is the operating philosophy of a family institution.
In 2006, Dr. Fiona McClure joined the practice. Dr. Fiona trained at Massey University in New Zealand, completed her ACVIM residency at Cornell University, and earned fellowship status at the Cornell Feline Health Center. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine — the highest specialist qualification in the field — and she practices at Northside as part of the team, not as a referral destination. Patients with complex cases benefit from her specialist expertise without ever leaving the practice where their pet is already known.
Dr. Mary Elizabeth Hahn rounds out the team. She joined the practice in 1988, several months after graduating from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine — and in 37 years, she has never practiced anywhere else. The depth of relationship she has with long-term clients and their animals is something that cannot be acquired quickly. It is simply the result of three and a half decades of presence in one community.
Northside sees dogs and cats only. This is by design. Focused expertise in small animal medicine means every protocol, every recommendation, every conversation is calibrated for the animals the practice knows best.
Inside Northside
Care, Teamwork, and Familiar Faces
“Quality health care begins with excellent client communication. We take the time to discuss in detail your pet's health and to answer all your questions.”
Location
Rooted in Cherrydale
Northside Veterinary Clinic has operated from the same address in Arlington's Cherrydale neighborhood since 1949. The street has been renamed — what was once Lee Highway is now Langston Blvd — but the practice is at the same location it has always been. Both names refer to the same place. Many long-term clients still use the old address.
Cherrydale is the kind of neighborhood where a veterinary practice can build the multigenerational relationships the practice's philosophy depends on. Long-term Arlington residents may have brought their animals here for decades. Some have watched their children grow up alongside pets who were themselves born into Northside's care.
At a time when healthcare has become increasingly impersonal — driven by corporate consolidation and transactional efficiency — Northside has stayed the same: a neighborhood institution where the veterinarians know your pet's name before you walk through the door.
Academic Credentials
Cornell-Trained Veterinarians
Dr. Adam McClure completed both his undergraduate degree in Animal Science and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Fiona McClure completed her ACVIM residency in small animal internal medicine at Cornell University and her fellowship in feline medicine at the Cornell Feline Health Center — one of the world's premier institutions for feline research.
The Cornell connection extends to the practice's patient education resources. Cornell University's veterinary team has developed two AI-powered pet health tools — CatGPT and Big Red Bark Chat — which the practice links to in its patient education section for owners seeking general information between appointments.
The Team
Dr. Adam James McClure
DVM · Cornell University · Practice Owner
Virginia Licensed Veterinarian
Dr. Fiona Helen McClure
BVSc, MVSc, MACVS, DipACVIM · ACVIM Diplomate, Small Animal Internal Medicine
Virginia Licensed Veterinarian
Dr. Mary Elizabeth Hahn
DVM · Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine · Northside since 1988
Virginia Licensed Veterinarian
Start Care With Northside
(703) 525-7115Monday–Friday 8 AM–7:30 PM · Saturday 8 AM–3 PM
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