First of all we LOVE Dr. Waxman he is great and compassionate..but had to bring our dog to urgent care last night. The tech was great BUT no Vet could see him for the both the vet's were in emergency surgery. I get it it was an emergency but my dog is important too and couldn't breathe and no vet came in to check on him. We left and I am seeing my regular vet tomorrow first thing. I hope he makes it till then. They are quick to get the papers to you to sign saying that you understand it could be $900. plus for treatment. No problem there getting in to see you. Yes they need more vets there maybe their salaries should be increased. read more

Sent by our general vet for care. We waited in a dirty room for nearly two hours. A vet (no introduction) walked in and refused to administer the necessary care, stating "ethics" as the reason why resources would not be wasted on our dying pet. Thankfully we found our way to another vet that day who saved our boy. He has recovered and is doing amazing. read more

09/02/22- I would like to share my horrible experience with this " emergency hospital ". I rushed my dog Kaizer into the emergency center at Upstate two months ago regarding him fracturing ( hair line fracture) his front right arm while playing with another dog. Kaizer has a disease which makes him prone to fractures. Kaizer has only ever had hair line fractures and I would like to make that clear before I continue, before this fracture Kaizer was doing so amazing and didn't fracture any bones with in the past year. To tell my story I would like to start off with having to wait in the waiting room for over 30 minutes while he was crying out in excruciating pain, nobody had any type of sympathy for him, or cared that he was in so much pain. Kaizer was hospitalized for 1 week with Upstate. The morning before I was supposed get Kaizer back because he was improving (pain wise) and being told I can treat him at home with this small fracture, I got a phone call that morning that Kaizer had fractured ANOTHER bone (back right) while in Upstate's care. I received the XRAYs and was told by my primary that it looked like Kaizer got hit by a car and has never had a break THIS BAD. Kaizer was in Upstate's care when he got this BAD fracture and nobody could tell me any information such as when this happened how it happened or why nobody discovered it til the next morning. After spending more money on X-rays to tell if this was break was fixable or if it could be treated at home with bed rest and medicine, I was told it was not and that Kaizer was going to have to be put down ( euthanized ) due not being able to get this fixed or being able to take care of it at home, I was told this MANY times, that THE ONLY option for him was to put him down. Then my primary mentioned amputation if there were no further options at this time ( NOT Upstate) . Once I mentioned this to Upstate I was told MULTIPLE times by the vet - Doctor Scott that I was being selfish and putting Kaizer through a lot. After the doctor talked to the way that she did (very unprofessional)- Upstate you CAN pull the call record and hear it yourselves. I decided to take my dog out of that HORRIBLE place and bring him to Cornell- Ithaca ( HIGHLY RECOMMEND). Kaizer was hospitalized again for another few days at Cornell when they called me every day with updates and there concerns or questions about him. Cornell made it clear to me there was many options that Kaizer has wether it was plating, screws, or amputation being the last option. Plating and screws did come with risk but the point is they were WILLING to do anything to help Kaizer and euthanasia was NOT an option at all for him. After a weekend of back and forth research that Cornell took there time out to do we decide the best option for Kaizer which was amputation. Today 9/9/22 I brought Kaizer to his LAST check up with Cornell to get X-rays to make sure everything is healing and to see how well is actually is doing. The vets at Cornell took him outside to see his strength and how amazing he is doing today....today was a 15 minute appointment due to then deciding Kaizer is doing spectacular and there was no need for X-rays because of how great he is doing. Point being- DO NOT TRUST THESE VETS. Something happened to my dog in there care that I will never know about and the ONLY thing they cared about was doing it the easy way which was putting my TWO YEAR OLD FRENCH BULLDOG DOWN. I would never recommend this place. Also any post I have made have been taken down by Upstate Veterinary Specialties, shows that they have nothing to say or do !!!!! Very IRRESPONSIBLE. ALSO ATTATCHED ARE RANDOM PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD COMMENTS ON MY POST THERE HORRIBLE EXPEREIENCES. That is why I say " these vets". PROOF ALL BELOW!!!!! read more

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Every office they have is always rude, when faced with an emergency I was told they are at capacity and to look online.

I want to thank the great doctors for their compassion in dealing the past few years with Jinx. Dr Weller was the right person for us in dealing with Jinx's recent illness. Her care and compassion assisted us in dealing with our ultimate loss. Thank you very much the way you handled the entire process. Five stars just isn't enough. read more

Upstate Veterinary Specialties - Veterinarians Near Me - Latham, New York

Do not bring your pets there. They are the worst. A doctor wasn't even present when a tech took our cat and started a procedure on him.

I found a tick on my dog's belly at 10pm and the kind staff let us come in and removed the tick for us. Very helpful, your pet will be in good hands! read more

My dog sees Dr. K (neurology) and she is great. He started having seizures at 14 weeks so she has been seeing him for his whole life. He has very severe epilepsy and is medication resistant, so he has required a LOT of specialized care. She has always been really good about my financial constraints and seems like she genuinely cares about him. The last time he had an emergency she told .The last time he had an emergency she told me to just bring him in right away and she would make time to see him as soon as I got there, that is unheard of in specialty practices. I definitely would recommend her for any dog requiring a neurologist. read more

We spent hours waiting to be seen, with a sick kitten. The doctor and finance person were rude. The doctor refused to answer our questions. She spent about five minutes with us in total. They tried to charhe us $5000. The doctor didn't even discharge us. We were discharged by the finance person, and given nothing to care for our sick kitten. After about 6 hours, we left with our sick kitten and three prescription slips that had to be filled by mail, which we cannot wait for in fear of our kitten dying while we wait. Horrible experience. read more

I haven't even brought my pet there - yet - but the lady who I just spoke to ( I didn't get her name unfortunately ) she was the kindest and most informative person I've ever spoken to from a Vet. She answered all of my questions, gave me information as she could, and above all she was kind and understood my anxiety and fear about possibly having a sick doggo. 10/10 recommend. A place that isn't seeking money and wants more than anything to help your animals, that's the best type of veterinary clinic you should take your fur babies to!!! read more

Unfortunately, it had to be a holiday weekend when my poor dog started suffering from a red swollen area near his rectum. We were up at 4AM and when I discovered what was wrong, I headed to UVS. He was panting and restless and trembling. When I arrived there, the door was locked but there were 2 people looking at me. I had my dog in arms. They waited for me to ring the bell and then used the intercom to say"Can I help you?' I answered that my dog was in pain and had a swollen area near his anus. One of the women said "probably anal glands" and shook her head no and left. The other proceeded to tell me they were booked and could not take him. "Call the other place in Latham but they are probably full too." (they were busy but they did not turn us away) I'm wondering why bother asking what is wrong...if it wasn't something anal, would the answer have been different? I'm disappointed in the uncaring snippy attitudes. One did offer a little "I'm sorry" when I turned to walk away. IMO, too little, too late. Seriously, who plans to have a sick dog on a holiday weekend? My heart is already pounding with concern and I never even thought I would be turned away. The only way I would ever go here is if it was the last place on earth. read more

I expect it depends on the veterinarian you see here, because the vet we originally started seeing here as a specialist was amazing, curious and comprehensive... then she left, and since then we have been seeing one who clearly operates on the bottom line of capitalism and plausible deniability. I have never felt that the best interest of my pet came before her allegiance to the monetary and legal interests of her employer, which is a terrible feeing to have about any kind of doctor. Really, shame on whomever changed this from the top down. read more

Discovered earlier this year, through my vet at the Ballston Spa Veterinary Clinic, that my beloved senior-ish cat had developed heart failure. My vet recommended UVS, for an echocardiogram and cardiologist consult. No appointments were available for several days, so I brought Boris in as an emergency visit. He was promptly received, and was even able to see a cardiologist and get an echocardiogram, and I was even able to take him home later the same day. Because of this, it wasn't necessary to board Boris, so my fees were considerably less than had been quoted to me. Boris' visit wasn't inexpensive, but, given the life-saving attention he received (he still has CHF, but is doing very well on medication), it was very reasonable. If it had been necessary to board Boris, it would've been substantially more expensive, but still short of ruinous, which I've sometimes experienced with emergency 24/7 hospitals, especially in NYC. (I'm very dubious of insurance for pets, but, perhaps, I'll look into it again.) I did not at all get the feeling that UVS was padding the bill. I can not say enough good things about Boris' cardiologist, Dr. Sedacca, who has been exceptionally accessible via email and provided patient and reassuring answers to my sometimes foolish and occasionally panicked questions. Hospitals are busy places, and your mileage may of course vary, but I couldn't be happier with the attention Boris received, and the result. read more

My 18 year old diabetic cat woke me at 3:30 a.m. this week with a seizure. It was terrible to watch. I placed him in a box and went to the ER. They took him in right away and treated him for hypoglycemia. The man at the front desk was very nice and helped me through the stress. Mr. Charlie has made a complete recovery since his treatment 2 days ago. I'm so glad they were there and took such great care of us both. It's not the cheapest but my pets are important to me. The photo is of Mr. Charlie 2 days after his ER treatment. His right lower limb was shaved for an IV. read more

Upstate Veterinary Specialties - Veterinarians Near Me - Latham, New York

I took my cat Tom to upstate for an emergency because I thought he had a urinary tract infection which he did, but they also found he had fluid in his lungs and had congestiveHeart failure. This was Mar. this year Tom saw DR. Waxman the heart specialties the next day and from that day on he help us keep Tom going with med. and whenever I need to talk with him he got right back to me. Every one at that office did anything to help you. They are so caring when the time came on Monday they all help us though it. I can't say enough about everyone there, thank you and God Bless you all read more

We have visited them several times over the past few years for both our dog and cat. The staff are caring and the doctors are amazing. I would recommend them to anyone and will continue to use them when needed read more

This is an updated review. I wasn't sure if a 2 or 3 was more appropriate. I'll go with 3. My dog was treated for an ongoing condition in one of the specialities for nearly a year. At the end he developed sepsis, which is indeed a risk with his condition and treatment. I don't have sufficient veterinary knowledge to know if that could have been avoided. It is very possible it would have happened no matter what we did. But I'll never know that. During one portion of his treatment, he was responding "atypically." He had recurrent fevers, several a month up, to 105 degrees. They'd only last a couple of hours, so it was easy to "get used to them." The only response I ever got from his doctor was "it's atypical, I don't know." Atypical things happen in medicine, and I would like to think doctors are prepared to investigate, ask colleagues, former professors, consult textbooks..... We never really truly addressed those fevers. We treated him as if he was responding normally. As far as I know we didn't deviate from the protocol for normal dogs. During this stage, while he was having frequent high fevers that weren't being treated, I should have moved hospitals to somewhere that did have time to consider his individual situation. Confusion, a history with the current doctor, and an anxiety that was partly from his sickness and very much a part of not knowing what was going on because I was hardly ever given thorough explanations just kept me from considering other options. Throughout the year, I never really knew what was going on, even when I elicited some answers from the doctor. The questions I have about that stage of his treatment are where I still get knots in my stomach. Communication was okay sometimes and extremely awkward at others. When you are dealing with a disease the owner knows nothing about and is terrified her dog is going to die, clear consistent communication is a must. I often had to ask several times for explanations. Asking in ways such as : "Explain to me in one paragraph what is going on with his ...." usually yielded the best results. I have never experienced this with other doctors. I select my doctors carefully and they have always had a good feeling for what I needed to know and certainly could respond to my questions and worries in a thorough way without dismissing me and that I could understand -- so I understood what was actually happening in the body of my dog. Indeed, when it was time for me to make the final decision, it was my local vet who very very clearly explained what was going on in my dog and that the chances of recovery were virtually nil and that his suffering would not be resolved. I will say the ER doctors were slightly clearer as to the big picture, but they knew I was working with a specialist in that hospitaI. I think everyone would think it was her responsibility to keep me informed not only on possible future protocols (that at some point were destined to fail anyway), but also what my dog's future looked like. I lean on doctors to help me understand the gravity of a situation. Doctors, primary or specialist, have ALWAYS given me clear guidance when the end is coming. It's my decision, always, but the doctors understand the details and big picture--that's why I go to them. Seriously ill patients need serious guidance. Not commands, but guidance. I strongly suspect these problems were caused by the this specialty being terribly understaffed and it is quite believable the doctor simply didn't have an extra minute to think about why my dog was responding the way he was. As I said, I do not hold them responsible for his death, if for no other reason than I don't know enough if this would have been likely outcome even if we hadn't had the problems we did. I suspect sepsis was a risk no matter who was treating him. I just remain frustrated with how difficult it was to communicate with each other and that we did not address the atypical response in any way except the way a normal dog would be treated. I will not be returning to UVS unless it is my only option to save my dog. read more

A year ago, my pup presented with symptoms I had never seen before and did not understand. My neighbor picked him up and carried him to the car as he could not ambulate on his own. I went to my local vet who immediately referred me to Upstate. There Dr. B. examined him and gave me the sad news that he might not make it through the night. I was overwhelmed as I also had a sick husband at home. Leaving I was astonished to see the number of sick and hurting dogs who needed attention; I'm sure they have to triage them. It just broke my heart. My pup lived through the night and was hospitalized for several days with what proved to be an auto immune disorder. It's a year later and he is happy and hardy, he achieved his proper growth and his body matured properly. He is a beautiful loving pet and a joy to be around. Had it not been for the attention he received he not be around now. It has been a year of careful feeding, gentle exercise , monthly checkups, expensive medicines, and lots of love, but looking into those beautiful brown eyes it was worth everything. Dr. B. and his assistant A. are very special to me. I can't thank the doctor and the staff enough. They treat my dog like a rock star and I will be forever grateful. read more

Unfortunately our only experience here was due to an emergency we had with our dog resulting in him having to be put down. Although it was an extremely sad situation, we had a comforting experience with this animal hospital. Our vet went over all of our options in detail, helped us understand what was going on, comforted us and went above and beyond. When the time came to put our dog down, the vet let us take our time saying good-bye and assured us it was the right thing to do, given that he was 15 years old, his stomach flipped and his quality of life would have been diminished if we did surgery. We chose to get our dog cremated and were pleasantly surprised when we received the ashes. They had given us a clay paw print, custom candle, custom decorative plate, magnet, seeds in a paw print to grow flowers, a patch of fur, and a heartfelt hand written letter from our doctor including stories we had told him about our dog. These are people who really care about the life of your animal and you. read more

My encounter with Upstate Veterinary Specialties was in a very stressful and sad circumstance--our dog was in acute distress (heart failure that the usual vet missed, it turned out) and passed away shortly after I arrived with her at UVS. In among the worst emotional moments a person can have with a pet, UVS's staff were kind, empathetic, and very professional with me. The staff on the phones were calm and direct when I called and explained her symptoms. When I arrived and couldn't get her out of the car, two staff immediately came to help me with a gurney. The doctors spoke calmly and clearly about what they were going to try to do, and the front desk staff helped me with the paperwork. My mind wasn't there with them, but they were (again) patient and kind. I saw two vets that day, and they both had excellent bedside manner. We were given a quiet place to mourn our pet, for as long as we liked. In the days after, we received a sympathy card and a note to let us know about their pet bereavement support group. They recommended a place to handle her remains that did a wonderful job. I honestly hope never to have to use an emergency vet again, but if I do I will choose UVS. They were compassionate at a horrible time. A word about expense: UVS staff were very clear with me about how much it would cost to stabilize our dog, and so forth. Emergency vet services are very expensive. I did not think their charges were extraordinary. read more

The five stars is for the expertise of the doctors and the care they have given my dog. He has multiple issues. Some seem clear cut but they overlap with others, and his major issue doesn't fit into any clear cut diagnostic category at all. He will probably be treated for the rest of his life, but I don't think he would be alive to get that treatment if UVS hadn't been so attentive. I'm not 100% satisfied with everything at UVS, but given my trust in their expertise and ability to care for my dog, those issues aren't that important. What they have done for my dog is more important than anything else. A few times he had to come in through the ER. He needed care that couldn't wait for an appointment, but he wasn't dying in that moment either. And so I'm not surprised I had to wait...sometimes very long waits. But it's an ER. I would expect them to triage their patients and treat the most urgent first. If a dog that came in after mine needed immediate surgery, I would hope they would prioritize that dog over mine. The ER is frustrating but I can't really see a way an ER could run differently and still treat patients efficiently and effectively. It's just the nature of a hospital that takes anyone, including cases that can wait, cases that need to wait for tests such as MRIs the next day, and cases that simply can't wait at all. I actually found communication in the ER to be better at times than in appointments or on the telephone or email, which is to their credit. However, reading other reviews, I can fully understand how the very long waits when coupled with little information could become very aggravating. Improving updates would undoubtedly ease the very high anxiety of the humans in the waiting room. The communication with doctors is sometimes excellent and sometimes I do find it abrupt, the doctors not quite understanding what I need to know, what I want to know, what I think I need to know, and just the sheer emotion and pressure owners of sick pets are under. Sometimes there are no problems and I feel I have been fully informed and respected. I do suspect the other times--from the same doctors--are more a symptom of the the pressure and pace of their days and not inability or lack of desire to communicate well. Still, when you are scared about exactly how ill your dog is, dealing with the oddities of human communication can be very frustrating. I also do take into account that working under the conditions they have done during the pandemic must be extremely aggravating. Understanding complicated issues that are explained over the phone is certainly much more difficult for me than in person. I can only imagine explaining these is just as difficult. The lack of body language and access to paper makes the transfer of information aggravating, and again more so when one party is extremely emotionally involved. I don't care about listening to my mechanic over the telephone, but I really never feel fully informed when listening to a vet explain complicated issues on the phone. This, however, is not a criticism. My dog simply would not have got the appropriate treatment if I couldn't have left him there and spoken to his doctor only over the phone. It's just not a situation that has a solution that makes for easy discussions between doctor and client. I think UVS did find a solution that took as much friction out of the situation as possible. read more

I have been to UVS numerous times and as recently as last week. I would have given them 5 stars except for a visit in August with my granddaughter's cat. Let me start by saying the staff and vets have been fantastic every time I was there. Last week my dog was vomiting blood after choking on a treat. He was seen immediately, the vet was great and the staff on the front desk were all wonderful. However in August I came in with a cat that had been run over and broke/fractured both sides of his pelvis. They took him in immediately and stabilized him. Told us he needed surgery and vet wouldn't be in until Monday to evaluate him, this was Saturday. Surgery was 8 to 10k plus his aftercare. After many many tears I agreed to pay. We waited all day Monday waiting to hear, finally at 5 on Monday we were told that the vet could not do surgery until Wednesday because he was booked. Surgery was now 10 to 12k and with the added days it would have cost 14 to 16k. I am not made of money and when I said the price was a problem I was told I get Care Credit, I still have to pay that. I wasn't in a position to go into 10k debt. I called the office and asked them to do the surgery for the agreed on of 10k and they flat out refused. They would rather euthanized the cat than take 10k. The cat was taken home and another vet told us that he would heal, no he won't ever walk completely right but after 8 weeks of being in a very large crate, he can walk. At a follow up appointment at the vets he jumped on the chair and the counter. He will continue to spend another 4 weeks in the crate with time out each day, We we're never told we could take him home to see if he would heal sufficiently to have a quality of life. Our bill was 3k for the care he did receive. I have never had an issue with the charges at UVS until now. I understand this is an emergency service and so very grateful for the care given to my pets, I was just angry and disappointed that they didn't seem to understand 16k emergency vet bill is out of many individuals price range. read more

We were directed to bring our short haired 7 year old cat to see a veterinary oncologist due to a fast growing, biopsy proven T cell lymphoma of the head. Despite difficulty in breathing and not eating, we were given an appointment in three weeks! What is an emergency in their eyes? When asked to speak to Dr. Fahey, their oncologist, I was told I could not until our pet Sammy was seen. I wanted to ask what I might expect given this diagnosis. Their office person said they could not comment until he was seen. I e-mailed Dr. Fahey and never got a response. I did speak to their emergency physician and she told me to bring Sammy in. I asked if he could get a CAT scan or start chemo, but no not until seen by the oncologist, which would not be an emergency visit. Sammy was getting worse day by day, so we had him euthanized last week. No thanks to the "caring" individuals. I am a double-boarded physician with 35 years of experience. I did not expect professional courtesy, just courtesy, and compassion. We will miss Sammy. read more

We were referred to Upstate Veterinary Specialists by our dog's veterinarian because our dog is elderly and had eye ulcers. The treatment we received was nothing short of wonderful. Our little dog, Jinx, saw a canine ophthalmologist Dr Montgomery, and he made our visit so worthwhile. The vet tech, Liz, put our dog at ease, so Liz and Dr Montgomery could test Jinx's eyes. We give Upstate Veterinary Specialists five stars, and are grateful for our personal veterinarian for suggesting them to us. read more

Zero stars. Severely disappointed by the lack of empathy, compassion and just basic human decency of upstate veterinary. My dogs had a scuffle today and my one dogs canine tooth was sideways in his mouth, he was bleeding and very shaky. Rushed him over and told it would be a few hours. Hours into waiting I kept getting bumped for "critical" animals that miraculously walked out an hour later. When I asked for a third time if I was ever going to be seen the receptionist was very rude and said "we're not just going to let these other animals die!" As if I was some cold heartless person. I waited a total of 8 hours just to be told at 10pm they had an announcement to make and anyone waiting needed to go wait in their cars or be put into a room but the wait would be long. I told the tech I had been waiting all day and barely got triaged and asked if I should just go home? He said "if you want to go home, go home" I asked if he could take a look at my dog and let me know if it was severe enough that he'd recommend staying. He said no. And that there was no doctor to see anyone right now. I had to bring my injured dog home and no one to help me until Monday when our vet opens. I can't believe they get away with treating people and animals like this. Disgrace. I will never go back and I'll make sure to tell everyone how horrible they were to me and my dog. read more

We were referred to Upstate Veterinary Specialists by our dog's veterinarian because our dog is elderly and had eye ulcers. The treatment we received was nothing short of wonderful. Our little dog, Jinx, saw a canine ophthalmologist Dr Montgomery, and he made our visit so worthwhile. The vet tech, Rose, put our dog at ease, so Rose and Dr Montgomery could test Jinx's eyes. We give Upstate Veterinary Specialists five stars, and are grateful for our personal veterinarian for suggesting them to us. read more

Waited over two hours... OUTSIDE..... Then called and was told it could be another HOUR before being seen. Then..... Another 3 to 4 hours before a consultation with the doctor... read more

Last night my 9-year-old son's best friend (okay, she was my best friend too), Suzy the betta fish, got to the point of no return, and we were desperate for options to put her out of her literal misery. We wanted to do it right, so we called UVS to get their recommendation on how to humanely euthanize a tiny fish. They told us that if we could bring them some clove oil, they would use it to safely anesthetize her, and then they would administer the required medication. And that's what they did. I had started out the evening explaining to my tearful son that we can't just take a fish to the vet like you would a dog or a cat, but I am very grateful to UVS for proving me wrong with their dynamic approach to our situation. And while I probably shouldn't get into the specifics of the bill, suffice it to say that there was no price gouging of any sort, quite the opposite actually. If only for one night, they restored much of my faith in humanity. I should also mention what a clean and updated facility they have. It was on par with any (human) hospital I have ever been to. Everything was really first-class all the way. We cannot express how thankful we are for their care and understanding during our difficult time. read more

I'm sad to say that I could not be more disappointed with a veterinary experience. I am relatively new to the area so I was in a pinch and had no other place to go. My dog had severely and completely dislocated his elbow and needed immediate attention so I brought him to Upstate Veterinary Services (UVS). Upon arrival they were extremely kind, professional and timely. It was once I had dropped him off and left him in the care of UVS that my experience quickly began to get frustrating and unprofessional. I brought my dog in roughly around 3:00pm. They told me there would be extended wait times before he could be seen, as I expected with an emergency vet service. However, their lack of communication and failure to do their jobs to the best of their ability is what has led me to leaving this review. After I dropped my dog off I spoke with the vet and vet techs so they could tell me how they were going to proceed, tell me what costs would be and charge me my initial payment. They told me they needed to do x-rays and sedate him because he's a big dog (100 lb Rottweiler) and he didn't want anyone touching his leg. So I tell them to move forward with whatever they have to do. Once the X-rays come back they give me a call and tell me there is a complete dislocation and I have TWO(2) options. Option 1, they can do a non-invasive closed procedure, meaning they would just try to pop the elbow back into place. However, this method is not always effective but it is the cheaper option. Option 2 they can do an invasive procedure, most likely to be effective and is a more expensive option. I tell them that I want to play it safe and go with the surgery because he's a big dog and I don't want to risk him re-injuring himself. The vet tech tells me she'll go speak with the vet regarding my decision and would let me know what he says. I get a call back from the vet tech and she tells me the vet won't do the surgery but will do the non-invasive procedure. I'm quite upset at this point because I don't feel this is the vets decision to make as I'm willing to pay the absurd price they wanted to charge me and it is MY dog. So I ask the vet tech "if this procedure doesn't work and he winds up needing surgery, I'm going to be responsible for paying for both procedures even though I didn't want the first one done to begin with?" She tells me yes and I'm basically stuck with the result. The fact that the vet went against my wishes and wasn't willing to perform the procedure I initially requested leads me to believe that they aren't capable of doing such a procedure or are just lazy and wanted to do what would be quicker/easier for them. Why offer me two choices if you won't perform the option I chose? Fast forward to the evening, probably 10pm. I call to get an update on the procedure that they chose to do and no one can seem to find me an answer but they say they'll call me back when they do. I call back at midnight to follow up, he is just now being taken in for his procedure but no one bothers to call me and let me know. They tell me they'll follow up with me again after the procedure to let me know how it went. 2am rolls around, no phone call. I call at 2:30am and I'm told he got out of the procedure an hour ago and he's doing well. What kind of customer service is that? They had no problem calling me and letting me know they wanted to charge me thousands of dollars to get my dog "better" but no one had the common courtesy or decency to let me know when he was actually doing better. Fast forward to today, it's probably been almost 2 months since his injury and my dog still walks with a significantly noticeable limp and not even once has this office or vet followed up after I was told on multiple occasions I would be sent information regarding what I needed to do in order to rehab his injury. I'll finish with this due to character limit, after spending thousands of dollars at no hesitation to get my dog better, the way they treated me and my dog was utterly shameful and disgustingly pathetic. read more

Let me start by saying this is an EMERGENCY HOSPITAL not a regularly scheduled veterinary office. Please, PLEASE everyone keep that in mind!! Before you call, before you act, before you get upset about prices, capacity or experiences. Can your animal breath, walk, limbs all accounted for? Yes? NOT bleeding out? NO? Then you should wait and go see your regular vet Monday morning! To the contrary to some of the most recent post I will be FORVER grateful to every single staff member at this hospital. The client services and empathy I received was TOP SHELF! I have never experienced a more horrific life event before and thanks to this ER department my 8 month old yorkie pup survived being attacked by TWO pitbulls. The speed in which they stabilized her, the amount of compassion we received, the length of time she had to stay, everything, it was ALL WORTH IT!!!!! Every single penny. It was not an inexpensive event but please remember this is an EMERGENCY hospital. Thanks again too all the staff, thank you, thank you! I am forever in your debits you saved my daughters BFF and Fendi is finally back to the sweet little bouncy pup she was! read more

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Dr. Corbett's opthalmological care of our dog has added quality years to her life. It was a tough road but we got through it and saved her vision. In for a check up today and the new facility is amazing! Front desk is cheerful and skilled too. read more

Upstate Veterinary Specialties - Aqua therapy! - Veterinarians Near Me - Latham, New York

My older cat suddenly had urinary issue. My normal vet was closed and no doctor at the local animal hospital. We drove rapidly for 20 minutes to get there. Upon arrival we were promptly whisked in for treatment. They made my cat comfortable and went over things in detail. They were very nice and addressed all our issues. We witnessed several people come in with critical animals and all were given prompt attention. Although it may be costly, they were very responsive and pleasant. I would highly recommend them for any animal emergencies. Great animal hospital. We were able to get my boy well enough to take him home!! Thank you!!!! read more

Brought my mutt in the other day. From the moment I walked in staff were warm, friendly, and professional. They followed up with phone calls and kept up to date with any change in dog's status, treatment, and costs. read more

Wait time is ridiculous and it's very understaffed. No updates on being seen other than "You'll be seen shortly". That was the 2nd hour and after asking how long after another hour, we were told "shortly" after another two hours passed we were finally seen. If you're going to run a 24 hour "EMERGENCY" facility at least put the right amount of staff in here too. I don't recommend this place and I never will. read more

I have brought my animals to Dr. Wey for many years (both at this new facility and the prior one). I was very happy to see the new facility in place because no one deserved the success more than Dr. Wey. I have had many incredibly positive outcomes from his care as well as the care of other vets in his practice. My cat Tux with heart failure (HCM), as an example, lived for over 13 years with the illness and at one point it reversed. Another example is a cat with a rare cancer with a 60 day median survival rate who lived 2 years. What makes Dr. Wey special is he listens to concerns and addresses them-he truly cares about the animals and their owners. He is also attentive to keeping things on time which helps your animal (of course, no vet hospital can always do that based on the flow of emergencies-but he is clearly the best at it I have ever seen). The new facility is beautiful-spotless and well run. Some people on here complaining about cost is ridiculous and I wonder if they don't normally go to the vet much or even see specialty vets. I have had many animals-mostly from the streets with lots of issues and know pricing very well. I also live halfway between Latham and NYC and I will tell you that the pricing is much more favorable than my area (Dutchess County) and south of me. It is a way to get best practice care for your animals in an affordable way. I would also say that their costs are cheaper than the GP vets in my area which says a lot (you can get someone with more expertise and training for less money). I have sent people there for several specialties and have always heard great feedback. I also have sent people who were afraid of spending money at a specialty vet and were surprised the quote was less than their regular vet quoted. I think sometimes people think surgeries, etc are cheaper at their regular vet which they are not and some regular vets, to the detriment of animals, are sometimes doing surgeries that they should not be doing (GP vets should refer to specialists) Reason I am posting today though is one of my cats had a fluid buildup yesterday and needed to be seen by a cardiologist. I was especially concerned because of the upcoming Labor Day holiday. In spite of being very busy and the only cardiologist (normally they have 3), Dr. Sedacca made time to see her and I'm very grateful for that. read more

I must say that when my dog was acting strangely, and we realized that she ate some baby wipes, we were terrified. We called a vet call center provided by our pet insurance, and the vet said that we need to immediately take the dog to the vet. Being that it was 10 PM, we looked at the highest rated closest vet, and this was the winner. From start to finish, the experience was as good as possible. Well lit, large, parking lot. Grassy area to walk the dog. All five of the staff members we interacted with were amazing, made us and the dog feel much better. I did not expect that the 24 hour emergency vet office would be as good as the regular office we go to, but I grabbed their magnet to put on my fridge, and this is where we're taking our pets going forward when our regular vet is closed or not available. The free Wi-Fi, coffee, water, bathrooms, all make waiting and keeping everyone up to date as easy as possible. read more

I don't have any words for the horrible experience I had here trying to get my cat treated. Some people have used the word predatory and I think that's true. They didn't care at all. I paid all my bill's but didn't get any help. They were much more concerned with selling an me an extra $5000 test than treating my cat. She has passed away now. I couldn't get any help from them. They are truly cold hearted read more

We began going to Upstate Veterinary Specialties the summer of 2019 for our beloved dog who was fighting Mast Cell Tumor cancer and saw the Oncologist Dr. Verrilli. Dr. Verrilli is a very good Doctor, she is compassionate, extremely intelligent, answered any and all questions we had when we would bring our dog to see her. The reason for my poor review falls on the overall poor quality of acknowledgement by Upstate Veterinary Specialties after our dog passed away. We had been in to see Dr. Verrilli on Thursday, February 6, 2020 with our dog to be seen because one of her tumors degranulated and her primary vet recommended we get an ultrasound done and for her to be seen by the Oncologist. We brought our dog in on that day for her scheduled ultrasound and discussed with Dr. Verrilli switching our dog's chemotherapy. At the end of the appointment, the end plan was for us to switch chemo and Dr. V would call in a script for the new chemo for us to purchase and have mailed to us. Dr. V told us to contact her and the oncology department to schedule our dog's two week follow up appointment to do blood work. The very next day on Friday, February 7, 2020, our dog took an extreme turn for the worse in which we had to make an ultimate decision to assist her over the Rainbow Bridge with her primary vet. I should also add, our dog had been off for quite a few days leading up to our appointment with Dr. V so there is no correlation with our dog seeing her and her passing. On Tuesday, February 11, 2020, I emailed both Dr. V and cc: the oncology department thanking them for their services and that we had to put our dog down and wanted to let them know that we would not be scheduling her two week follow up. I also included in the email that when we were down in the area, we would be happy to donate the brand new script of Chlorambucil and what was left of her previous chemo, Palladia (a value of at least $400 worth of chemo) to them to help other dogs in need. To much of our surprise, we NEVER got an email back from Dr. V or the oncology team sending their condolences or even a phone call from their office, or even a card sending their sympathies! After mulling it over for over 3 months after our dog passed and still NO acknowledgement from them, I emailed their main email on May 18, 2020 expressing our disappointment in the lack of communication from everyone at Upstate Veterinary Specialties and the lack of acknowledgement of a pet that was a patient who passed away. Again, my email went ignored. It wasn't until I had to physically pick up the phone on Sunday, May 30 to call and leave a message for an owner or the manager to call me. On Monday, June 1, "Anthony" called me and even went as far as making up that he tried "calling me the week before", however, there was no missed call and NO voicemail left. I told him exactly how we felt about how they handled the passing of our dog, the lack of communication is unacceptable especially because not one, but TWO emails went ignored from their staff, and then not even the simplest gesture of a card was mailed to us. He did apologize for the lack of communication on their end, went on to say he "wasn't sure what happened and that is not the norm from their staff" and said "they always reach out with a phone call and always send a card to the patients parents". He said he would look into it further and call me back. It is now Friday, June 12 and we have not received a follow up on "what happened" as to why our emails were ignored. We understand accidents happen, however, to continue to ignore a past patient is completely unacceptable. If they so called "always send a card and always call the patient" then still follow through with what you "always" do and try to make things right by at LEAST sending a card of condolences even if it is 4 months later, or better yet, have Dr. Verrilli call us herself to apologize for ignoring our emails. Considering the fortune it costs just to see a specialist, we were still only considered "a number" going into there and leaving there. Very unprofessional in the way they handled things and I pray for the sake of the health of our current pets, and any future pets, they remain healthy and we will never need to see a specialist so we don't have to return there. read more

A few months have passed and the vet who hadn't called me eventually did. I will be fair and upgrade this rating since she did call, albeit late. The doctors had told me that my cats prognosis was very "poor." Three months later he is doing great. read more

My cat was ill and the vet we usually take him to could not see him that day. Based on what I told them, they said he needed to be seen right away and suggested Upstate. I called before we went (James is great on the phone and in person) and they told me to bring Finn in. To their credit, they took him back and checked him when we got there. He was not blocked, but they did need to see him to - in their words - make sure he didn't become so. But we would need to wait until a vet was able. Four and a half hours later, after all the people and pets waiting for specialty appointments had gone, we were the only ones in the waiting room. Then people came in to pick up their pets who had procedures. I finally went to the desk and asked when we would be seen. I was told we were next to be seen after the vet who was assigned to us finished a procedure. Thirty minutes later, they took Finn back to express some urine. Then they took me to an exam room where he was brought in with a litter box to wait. And we waited. The vet came in and told us that he wasn't blocked, but he had blood in his urine and they were going to run a test to see if he had a urinary infection (you didn't check that when we got there?). She told me to stay there and hold tight (her words). Thirty minutes later, she cam e back. He didn't have an infection, he should be on a prescription diet - though she had no samples to get him started, nor would she write a prescription - I would need to get that from my vet. So almost $500 later with maybe 20 minutes with the vet, we left with some pain meds and a call your regular vet. The pathetic thing is that this is the only place you can take your pet to in an emergency. read more