Hope Animal Hospital

Reviews 3

D.

D.C. Vito

Ive been a loyal client of Hope Vets for over 12 years. Despite hearing from other friends and colleagues about their poor experiences with Hope, we stuck with them. They have seen four of our animals, and over the years I have witnessed a rapidly diminishing quality of the care they provide. It is now gotten to the point of neglect. Here are a few examples: - We needed to refill the Heartguard prescription for our dog, which they refused to do, based on the fact that we hadnt followed their procedure on how to administer the heartworm treatment. When I asked for a copy of this policy, they pointed me to their website, where no such policy existed. I pressed further and was simply told that "its just Hopes procedure", and was faced with having to bring my dog who is very anxious of vet offices just to pay for a blood test that cleared my dog of heartworm. - One of our dogs had to have emergency surgery for bloat - which I learned is the 2nd biggest cause of death for dogs. The emergency clinic where we had the surgery conducted sent all of the results and records of the surgery to Hope Vet. We did not receive a single follow-up call to check on the status of our dog - a dog that has been in their care - following an extremely major and invasive surgery. A few months later, when I wanted to get a consultation with Dr. Young on her thoughts about what we should do regarding some post-op issues, all I could get was a call from the receptionist explaining to me that Dr. Young refuses to speak with me about a dog she hasnt seen in a year. All I was asking, after 12 years of regular medical care, was for Dr. Young to give me a call and chat. This couldnt be arranged unless I spent more money (on top of the thousands of dollars we have spent on our animals at Hope) - Our rather anxious dog takes medication to calm his anxiety, and I had ordered a refill online. The online prescription service tried to get in contact with Hope Vet three separate times without a response. When I contacted Hope, they told me they declined the medication based on the fact that they hadnt seen our dog in a year (which wasnt true - we brought him in to get myriad blood tests they insisted on not more than 5 months prior). Despite the fact that this is a serious medication, Hope didnt make the effort to communicate to us that they had declined the refill. The level of negligence and focus on exacting the most payment out of their clients is something I never thought Id see with Hope. Wed been very happy with them, and more than willing to make the long trek to bring our animals there. The last two years have been an immense amount of stress and grief when dealing with them, and I cant in good conscience not offer my views for others to see. I wanted to contribute this review because I felt that folks needed to have something to consider when they are looking for someone to provide their animals with care.

A

A Private User

The worst, and most expensive, vet clinic I have ever experienced. Dealing with them is like dealing with a huge corporation - there are tons of employees but no one knows what anyone else is doing, and internal dysfunction abounds. They charge absolute top dollar, perform unnecessary testing, and could not care less about my pets. Ive been a client for five years because Ive wanted to keep consistency in the care of my dogs, but Ive realized the place is a revolving door for vets and technicians, and more importantly that the current lineup is disastrous. Absolutely nothing like it was when I first started going, save for the incompetence and rudeness of the front desk staff - thats been true all along. The vet I kept getting (who seems to be the only vet there consistently) has all the bedside charm of a robot. Seriously, the only time he seemed genuinely engaged in an appointment with my beloved dying cat was when he was making a wildly insensitive metaphor relating his condition with the current state of the economy. Perhaps his true calling was finance, because he certainly doesnt care about animals or humans. Our cat ended up dying from kidney failure caused by the pain medication he prescribed, which he led me to believe was actually slowing the growth of the cancer in some way - it wasnt. I could have managed his pain via drugs with less side effects, but that wasnt presented as an option. And when he learned that wed put him to sleep via housecall (which Hope probably doesnt offer, but even if they do I would NEVER want Dr. Robot to come to my house, especially at an emotionally sensitive time) when the kidney failure-related suffering was too great, he paused (probably calculating the $$$ they missed out on) and said "Okay." Not "sorry for your loss, he was a great cat", not "aww, too bad", but "Okay." Really? Maybe he has Asperbergers and doesnt understand human emotions, or maybe hes a huge jerk, but either way Ive found another vet who is wonderful and genuinely cares about animals, and its made the world of difference. I regret the thousands and thousands of dollars Ive put into this awful place. Run, dont walk, from Hope.

JA

Jasmine Werz

If you have any sort of exotic animal DO NOT, I REPEAT NOT bring them here. Long story short they claim certification and expertise in treating exotic animals, however in actuality they do not have these credentials. And when/if your pet passes away they quickly change their story claiming to never have possessed those skills in the first place. They are dangerous for pets and for pet parents. Please do not be fooled by the good rating as I was and stay away! Approximately 1year ago I brought my chinchillas in for an annual checkup and to check on possible weight loss. I called ahead asking if they were experienced in chinchilla care, to which they responded that they indeed were certified to treat chinchillas and had copious experience handling and treating chinchillas. Worried that my smallest chinchilla wasnt doing well, I rushed her in. I was told by the vet that she was perfectly healthy and to give her fresh vegetables for a few days. Two days later she collapsed and died the following day. I took her to the aspca in Manhattan and eventually had her body autopsied. They said any vet should have been able to pick up on her signs of distress and her failing state of health, and someone certified to treat these small rodents could and most importantly SHOULD have seen these signs and informed me on her prognosis. I called hope animal hospital two days after Puca (my chinchilla) passed and they said they werent certified to treat chinchillas, even though they had previously claimed they were. I even asked the vet who claimed plenty of experience treating chinchillas, but after her passing he simply said he had only seen one or two chinchillas previously. They then blamed the death of my chinchilla on me. To top it off they after I called them to inform them of her passing so they could remove her from their system (which is when they shed all blame of her death onto me) they continue to send me reminders to take my dead pet in for checkups! Truly a horrible place!