Howard Beach Animal Clinic

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OPEN NOW - Closes at 7:00pm

This Place Is the Best They Really Care About the Animal! Not Like Other Places That Claim the Same but Only Really Care About the Money First Instead of The Pet. Dr. Vanessa Hammer and Dr. Peter Roufail Are Top Quality People and So is the Staff. Unbelievable Quality People And service, I Salute Howard Beach Animal Clinic #1 In NYC as far as I'm Concerned. J. Sotomayor

DO NOT GO TO THIS PRACTICE AND I WILL TELL YOU WHY:

When my dog was 10, she developed Cushings. The only drugs out at the time “masked” the symptoms. Dr Weinstein (the top doctor there) gave my dog 6 to 18 months to live and advised me not to seek a specialist because they would just tell me the same thing and cost a fortune. I didn’t listen, saw a specialist, and they put her on a then experimental medicine that took away the symptoms, stopped the tumor growth, and gave her back a normal life span. But that was not the worst part. When the drug my dog was on became FDA approved, (and they knew it), and my dog was still alive, I did not receive a single call to tell me of this miracle. If I had not had my dog on the medicine, HBAC would not have given me the news. In a day and age of technology, they should have pulled up a list of all their living Cushings dogs and got in touch with their families. To not do so was negligent.

My cat had surgery there and has had a deformity on the site ever since.

I rescued a tiny dog and he jumped out of a friends arms onto a cement sidewalk. Since it was the closest Vet, I rushed him there. I told the girl at the desk what happened, let her know he had an issue with his hind legs called, Medial/Lateral Patellar Luxation, and explained that you can’t tell if he’s suffering because he doesn’t make a peek. I told her it was an emergency and asked he to get a doctor right away just to see if he was ok. She told me to have a seat and wait (in a crowded waiting room where I would have waited at least an hour or two). I left, went to a Vet that was further away, and there, a doctor looked at my dog right away. When I called later to tell the receptionist how angry and displeased I was, she honestly couldn’t care less and took no responsibility.

There may have been a time, many, many years ago, when HBAC was a caring office with a compassionate, diligent staff, but those days are long gone. And if you care about you pet baby(ies), you will take him/her/they somewhere else!!!

Here is my take on this Place, some of the doctors at the place Care and most don't, i don't know who hired the girls on the front desk, they are the most rude, they never return a call, the Veterinarians leave at 12 because all of them are in "Surgery" and you cant talk to them until 4 pm, and even then its hard to talk to them, if something simple is needed?? bring the pet down here and we can talk is their best answer, each visit is a charge, prices are different for the same things, stay away from Dr Francis very rude, Doctor Hammer or Dr Thomas are most caring, I had no other close place to take my Dog since i just moved from Woodside Queens to this Neighborhood, there is another place after i get my results and i am switching right away, My 3 year old dog looks really bad hes got seizures and with the combination of 2 drugs he just barely can walk, he cant even open his eyes, i took him there and had the blood work done they said to call the next day for results i call the next day and DR Francis says its not our fault that your dogs results are not back yet only the phenobarbital its the labs fault and then i tell her that my dog is not looking so well, she says to give him more weeks, i tell her its been over a month now and she gets angry and hangs up the phone on me, very unprofessional i called her up again and she says that the dog is not dying to wait for the lab work tomorrow the reception girls get back on the phone and they tell me that they have more important things to take care of. If you have a different place avoid the headache and save your money, Life is to short to deal with People that don't care about your Pet. that's the reason why you take that field to help and show that you care about a life, if you don't care then just change your field and go and work for Starbucks or any other place that doesn't have to deal with pets. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!

PLEASE DO NOT GOT TO THIS CLINIC!! they are the most uncaring unsensitive people i have ever met. I have been rescuing animals for 5 years. I also am an animal activist... My kitten went in just for a normal spay.. I was not givin instructions and PAID $80 for antibiotics which were supposed to last 7days.. and 6 days later the incision site was infected and oozing. when i tried to call and explain because my cat was in pain they didnt even care!! and made a fuss because it was their neglect that my cat was in pain! when i told them i was on the way they said i must get there by 3 so i was..and then they tried to call me aliar saying that they DID tell me when they didnt ( my mom was in the room to vouch for me) then when they were examining my kitten the "doctor" didnt even wash her hands or the table and continuously opened and closed the wound more than normal!! She said my kitten did not need any antibiotics and fought with me about it. My kitten was in SOOO much pain! she said it was "fine" and totally disregarded how i felt or what i knew thinking that because she was the "doctor" (which im not even sure she was ) I was sooo upset. When i left the reception girls were all taking pictures (so unprofessional) laughin and moking me and my friend. So i went for another opinion at a TRUSTED vet he said they did a pooor job on the job and it WAS infected. She also had a slight fever. He removed the stitch that was infected and put antibiotics both in the site and for me to continue for 4 days. I cant believe these people even have 5 stars! This also happened with my other cat I brought the first time but decided maybe it was just a fluke.I literally cried all day! My animal is my family!! do nooottt trust them!!

IF YOU LOVE YOUR PET DON'T GO HERE !!!

All they want is MONEY !!!!!

If your pet has an obvious illness, maybe they'"ll survive... I brought my Puppy there, she was clearly having breathing problems. After examining her, blood work, X-rays . They determined she was diabetic. O.K . They kept her for 4 days. $1386.00..But something else was Ailing her and i explained that to them, But they were not concerned with finding out anything additional. They stuck her in a cage with an I.V drip and never observed her on a hourly basis. She lost 3 lbs in four days. When i brought her home she was still sick, showing signs of discomfort, lethargic and stop eating. According to them they couldn't find anything. NOW THIS IS HOW THEY GET YOU...They never give you anything in writing. You never get a print out of a diagnosis, or a discharge paper with after care instructions. They are not giving you anything you can use against them in court. There good at taking your money and trying to protect themselves from any legal actions.

Dr. Weinstein only cares about money and NOT your pets. I took my dog in for a simple case of diarrhea and loss of appetite. After negative bloodwork and an exam performed by his associate, Dr. Iva Porkorny, they prescribed Flagyl which they claim is the only drug that kills Gardia. My dog was fine for 3 days then suddenly had a seizure on the 4th day. He just turned 10 years old and has no history of seizure or neurological disorder. After my own research I discovered that seizures are indeed a side effect of Flagyl and that this drug is NOT approved by the FDA for use in dogs but is routinely used in veterinary practice. I called Dr. Weinstein on the phone and he asked me to bring in the dog. I did and his associate Dr. Peter Roufail saw my dog. He didn't agree that Flagyl was the cause but didn't rule it out as a possibility. He recommended more bloodwork to check his white blood cell count and a thyroid panel. Again both came back negative. He suggested a remote cause could be a brain tumor which only a $2000.00 MRI of his brain could diagnose but he admits the dog has no neurological signs to suggest such. So I demanded a refund of the previous visit fee. Dr. Weinstein flat out refused stating that in 35 years he only saw 1 dog suffer a seizure as a result of taking Flagyl. I told him that he and his associates had a responsibility to inform his clients of any possible side effects of any drug. He said that would take too long and that every drug has side effects. I said why not just give a print out of side effects like pharmacies routinely do and he said he is not a pharmacy and that would raise his fees. So he agreed to lower his 2nd visit fee to $50.00 but no refund for the previous visit. I left without paying and now today upon request via phone he refuses to release my dogs medical records to another vet until he is paid. According to the NYS Veterinary Medical Society he cannot withhold my dogs records for nonpayment of his fees. He again refused so I am filing a complaint with the NYS Education Dept Office of Professional Discipline against his license and his associates. I am also filing a malpractice lawsuit against him. I have been a client of his office for about 15 years bringing various pets in for care and I have never had incident with them. So now by not refunding $200.00 it will cost him more in legal fees and fines.

Does not communicate with the animals family. Very poor communication.

very busy place always full of animals. witing room is pretty small

very nice staff the office waiting room is very small