Capital District Veterinary Referral Hospital Latham, New York

I would like to Thank everyone that help me with my shelby lou. Shelby was my emotional support companion who helped me with my depression, anxiety disorder, and panic attack disorder. She was my daughter and is very much missed by her …

When it was time for my wonderful dog MaceeMae to cross the Rainbow bridge, the staff and Dr. made it as comfortable for me as for her..Minutes away from that heart wrenching crossover, they gave my dog Oxygen to help her breath better and be comfortable..They provided outstanding care to her and genuine, understanding support to me..Thank you all for that, it was greatly appreciated...

I know everyone has different experiences with pet emergencies, but I am so grateful for all of the staff at CDVRH. My dog, Pete, was sick throwing up on Thursday, I monitored him, and he became worse on Friday, not eating, lethargic, etc. We brought him to a local vet Friday afternoon, where they were able to do X-rays and tell me that it’s possible he had a blockage. However, it was Friday afternoon at 4pm, and they were closing at 5pm and couldn’t do anything more for him. She recommended I monitor him, and wait until morning to see if he’s any better. A few hours later, I could tell he was in pain and very uncomfortable. I called around to other emergency clinics and my normal vet, and none of them had an on call surgeon who would be able to do the surgery if that’s what he needed. I called CDVRH, and the receptionist checked to see if they’d be able to do surgery if necessary, and thankfully they could. We brought Pete in within an hour, where they triaged him and came up with a plan to assess his situation. Unfortunately, Pete did need surgery to remove an acorn that was lodged in his intestinal tract. The doctor called me before surgery and after surgery in the middle of the night, and the office called me first thing in the morning to give me an update. The communication was great, everyone was professional, and I am forever grateful they had a surgeon on staff to help us. Thank you to the tech Gloria, Dr Summers, and all the support staff and receptionists for helping my boy, and getting him back to himself!

We had to bring our Roxie in on 12-26-2021, the woman on the phone was great on getting us an appointment right away, when we arrived we were brought right in. The staff was fantastic with caring for Roxie and walking us through the process. Gave us plenty of time with her before and after. We greatly appreciated the cards with her footprints. Brittany and Jake were very compassionate and put us at ease. Thank you so much Jake and Brittany. Everyone went above and beyond. Thank you all so much. Chris and Michelle Matteson

My review is one star only because if the extreme rudeness and unprofessionalism of a receptionist, D. In the pandemic you cannot even enter the building, and hope for the best when you drop off your animal in distress. Impossible to get through or check out. Took us about an hour to get the cat back after the doctor called and said she’s ready to go. The doctor was amazing and caring, the technician was okay. Beware, most of the staff there seem to be still in high school, with respective attitudes towards clientele.

Dr.Berge and vet assistant Kaice provided excellent care for my dog Matilda.

We had to bring our 10 week old puppy, she was diagnosed by our regular veterinarian with severe phenomena and needed immediate attention which my regular veterinarian couldn’t provide. We arrived and our puppy was immediately taken in and treated for. The staff was responsive and courteous and explained everything that was going to done to get our puppy through her difficult condition. The doctors and nurses were amazing throughout the 3 days of 24 hour care to get our puppy through her sickness and on her way to a full recovery. Thank you to the doctors nurses and staff for the help through this difficult situation.

thank you so much CDVRH, your team was compassionate, attentive, kind, and determined to save my cat Mr. Universes life in the early midnight to 3 am hours on December 19th. I feel incredibly confident in the diagnosis and treatment plan going forward, and I am so grateful. my cat got a quickly administered blood transfusion when his condition became life threatening and then admitted overnight. the vet Dr Smith was very knowledgeable and waited to discharge him when she was sure he was stable and she was confident they had done all their due diligence and not missed anything. they saved his life. yes they were pricey; it was worth it.

I am deeply grateful to the staff here who took care of my precious kitty Alan when he developed a urinary tract blockage this Thanksgiving weekend, and ultimately saved his life. They were so incredibly kind, efficient, and communicative — calling us to give updates while he was hospitalized with them to explain exactly what they were doing and how we was improving. It was so reassuring. Thank you to the entire staff for sacrificing time with your families this holiday to care for our pets!

Great place and compassionate staff.

Very disappointed and upset with my experience here. My cat was congested which led to trouble breathing well, lethargic, not eating any solids, etc. We called and brought him to this emergency vet when they recommended we do so. Our cat was taken in at 730pm and at that time we were told that it may take 2-3 hours since this was a busy time for them- fine we get it. 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours passed.. we had not heard from them so we called for an update on our pets health and time frame which they could not give. We were told he “could be up next”. At 145am the Vet called and said that she didn’t notice anything nor could she do anything because she believed his regular veterinarian would be able to assess better (stating this establishment didn’t have the necessary tools to assess). She stated that she didn’t think he needed medications and asked if we wanted to spend 400.00 on x-rays to double check (after telling us nothing was wrong?). So 165 dollars later and 6 hours spent waiting we went home around 215am. I woke up at 6am from my cat loudly wheezing and gasping for air (but nothings wrong right?). Thankfully his regular veterinarian had us bring him in the second they opened- diagnosed him with a respiratory infection and provided medication. What is wrong with whoever is diagnosing at this emergency vets office? I felt so dismissed, belittled, and neglected all the while my poor cat is sitting in their establishment for 6 hours without us being able to go inside. Never again will I use this service! Thankfully I have been informed about another emergency animal service in the area, god forbid it’s needed in the future.

My 14 year old dog was bleeding profusely from his nose and we couldn't stop the bleeding so we called Capital District to take him to the Vet hospital. Well we were told we couldn't bring him there. They apparently don't have a vet? I'm still not sure of the reason but she told us we would have to take him to a vet hospital in KINGSTON, 58 miles away from Albany. While he's bleeding out profuley. I couldn't believe it. How unprofessional. I wouldn't use this place now if they paid me. They apparently don't like to work. Unbelievable.

They're a little pricey but I know my animals going to be taken care of.

In a time of crisis the hospital took us right in despite being full capacity. They gave compassionate care to our beloved dog Ivy and we’re sensible in what they recommended for her. We were able to choose our level of care AND consider costs with no fear of judgement. Quite a professional crew. Thank you Samantha Berge, DVM for your service.

My 14yr old male yorkie was diagnosed a year ago with liver cancer...we do palliative care for him via our vet in glenville...about 9:30pm 10/26/2021 Ron slowly walked to the door to go potty he suddenly stopped and walked no further...I picked him up to redirect him and when I put him down his front paws curled under him as if he couldn't support his weight...I got concerned and rushed him to the emergency room that my vet referred me to which was Ethos vet health in latham ny(my vet was closed for the day)within 15mins of checking Ron in, I received a call from Dr.Catherine Diggins, "I have bad news,Ron's ultrasound shows his tumor has ruptured and it's my recommendation he be euthanized. " I told the doctor I was not ready to make that decision at this time and checked Ron out and took him home. The pics I attached are of Ron in his Halloween costume and Halloween is just a few days away...he looks just fine don't you think?? Yes, doctors are educated and they make their diagnosis based on their education but letting the public know that these are educated GUESSES..."guess" being the operative word.....my husband thanks me sooooo much for being strong enough to make a very hard decision based on "educated information" from a doctor. My advice to you all that are in a desperate situation like I was in, Take a deep breath , and use common sense,look at the animal,and make some type of evaluation of your loved one....I can't imagine if I allowed this doctor to euthanized my dog knowing it was without a doubt the wrong call/recommendation.....its now been 7 days since dr.diggins recommended Ron be euthanized because Ron's tumor ruptured and Ron is bleeding out. Letting the viewers know that Ron was not bleeding out and is a very happy energetic older dog....I still have no idea what Ron's problem was that evening but he is doing just fine and my husband and I are curious as to why I didn't receive that stupid generic response to my review like the other people did.

How can you call yourself an “Emergency Veterinary Hospital” when you ONLY see animals that need to be put down? Basically if your pet is not severely maimed and actively dying, they won’t help you.

There have been several times our family has required the care of an emergency vet over the years and we are grateful to have the people who work here to care for our animals. Always compassionate and caring, they are also extremely knowledgeable and they love the animals they treat.Our most recent need was when my daughter's dog got quilled by a porcupine this past Monday while I was hiking with him. They took him in right away and within an hour he was all set. They made a stressful situation so much better. It made me think of years ago when our family dog passed away in our home overnight. We brought her here and were treated with such kindness and grace. Hopefully you will never need an emergency vet, but if you do, I highly recommend the vets and staff at this office. Thank you all from Charlie's family!

Pricey but very good doctors.saved my dog

Waited four hours while my sisters dog sat in a kennel in pain. Staff stated he was “sleeping comfortably” but upon request to have him back (after basically being told to just take him home) he was yelping in pain while he tried to get in the car. I understand understaffing but if you know a patient is going to get pushed back due to triage reasons - let people know. Although, if you took one second to look at him, he was physically shaking in pain.

We called yesterday for my dog who had a deep gash in his tail that wouldn't stop bleeding and is still bleeding today, this place was unfortunately the only place around us open so we called and asked if we could come in. They said it didn't sound serious enough that they only take "real problems" and hung up. Never waste your time or money here !

Great team of professionals. They were very helpful during the hardest time of our dog’s life. They are very honest and the have reasonable prices. And they always give you a different options what exist so you can make an efficient decision. Definitely would recommend to all our friends and families.

Took almost three hours, for the vet to tell me that dogs dont normally have allergies and that i should probably get him screened. I already knew the problem and just wanted help. Not to mention he sat in a cage that entire time barking his head off, and he came back to us sopping wet. SOPPING from the belly down. They said he was drooling. No dog produces that amount of saliva. They could have at least told us he would be waiting in a crate for three hours. And $165 for all that? I am not bringing my dog there again.

I think rating them one star is still too much! I took my 6 month old great Dane here because he ate a foreign object and we weren’t sure if he would pass it by himself or not, we called and they told us to come in. It started very professional but quickly changed once they came out to get our dog. The tech/dog retriever was VERY condescending when telling us how to care for our dog. We did not go to the vet to be judged, we went for help. They then proceeded to give him medicine to help him throw up the object, once that didn’t work, they called us and told us there was nothing they could do. Keep in mind, we are 45 minutes away from them so if something happens, it’s a haul!! They told us to watch for vomiting and lack of energy because it might be in his intestines already. They also added that they don’t even think he actually swallowed the object, and we need to be more responsible with checking around out house for it! We asked if there was anything else they could do, we asked if there was x-rays or something else, anything else for us to do and they said they could not. I’m very disappointed and SCARED that something is going to happen to my puppy because they REFUSED to do their job that I PAID THEM TO DO! Very unhappy with their service and I highly recommend not taking your fur baby here if you care about them.

I know how hard it is to be in need of an emergency vet these days. In the past year, we have been turned away from clinics because they don't have to staff to handle the traffic. I am grateful that CDVRH was willing to see our puppy promptly when she had very sudden and troubling symptoms of some sort of neural toxicity. My puppy is only 17 weeks old so I was terrified at her size and that she might have ingested a poison. Turned out it was weed, which someone must have dropped on the ground. They triaged our situation over the phone, told us to bring her in, and they admitted her within 20 minutes. After presenting the diagnosis, they were willing to perform blood work that I requested and gave her fluids. While in retrospect, the actual problem wasn't life threatening, but we did not know that at the time. We are so thankful for the care she received and can't say enough things about the vet and staff. Thankyou CDVRH! Frankie and her humans.

Find a different emergency vet to go to. DO NOT GO TO THIS EMERGENCY VET. A vet is a place you take your animal when they need care. This place only wants your money. My cat Simba had to get euthanized when he could have been saved. They wouldn’t do payment plans for us. I find it silly you pay thousands of dollars for a procedure that takes less than 5 minutes. If you’re a veterinarian you should have love and compassion for these animals. They took almost $700 from us to “try” to save him with medicines that made him worse. The next day the vet euthanized him knowing he could have potentially been saved. Best cat I ever had. We are heartbroken.

I traveled 45 minutes to be told that they were too busy to treat my dog who had gashed his leg and was bleeding. They said that they might be able to see him in the morning. Then they gave me they name of another vet to call who had closed several hours earlier. If I could give ZERO stars, I would!

I took my cat, Daisy, here when I noticed she was having trouble breathing, drooling, and seemed partially paralyzed and lethargic. Dr. Gavin was incredible, she kept me informed and was genuinely empathetic and concerned for my baby. The overnight vet, however, really didn’t have good bedside manner, although I don’t remember her name. She was rather cut and dry, and once I started crying I could tell she wanted to just get me off the phone. She also kept emphasizing the financial cost of everything, which I understand is an aspect to consider, but I think most pet owners can agree they would go in debt for life if it could save their pet. Sadly, they did everything they could but my kitty was just not improving as they believed she had lymphoma that was spreading to her spinal cord. Dr. Gavin was so great throughout the entire painful process, from explaining Daisy’s condition and bloodwork results to comforting me in making the most difficult decision any pet owner has to make. They were always responsive to my calls- I was able to talk to a vet every single time I called (several times a day). I felt reassured in my decision when Dr. Gavin said she thought I could spend a million dollars and it still wouldn’t help Daisy get better. I was able to see her without sedation at my request to say goodbye, although I chose not to be there for her final minutes. My only other issue besides the nighttime veterinarian’s bedside manner was with the desk staff when they were asking about what I wanted to do with remains as if it was a business transaction. I understand that to them, it’s just their job, but they showed virtually no empathy and as I was crying my eyes out they didn’t even offer to give me a minute to decide. It wasn’t helpful at all to be met with such coldness while I was clearly suffering emotionally at the loss of my beloved pet. I do believe the care Daisy received was optimal, but I wish the staff had better people skills in such a serious and emotional situation.

My girlfriends rabbit had a ear infection and after calling all of our local vets and were told that they could not get us in for months (And I mean months) we were left to make the 1.5 hour drive here. I must say the staff was very friendly they took our rabbit in and told us it is going to be a while you might want to go home/go get dinner ect. After 3 hrs we gave them a call to check in and they updated us and said our bunny was being looked right now and the doctor will be calling us in a few minutes. The doctor called us was super nice and gave us directions on how to proceed. Our cost was just under $400 for the check up for the ear infection which included 3 medicines. After reading so many bad reviews I dont really understand why. This is a 24 hour vet. If you come in at 3am it's going to cost you some extra money. If you have major surgery needed for you pet it's going to cost you. And they take every animal in as well. After being turned down by 10 of our local vets 2 of which we are established patients I must say I am very pleased with my experience. Delilah is very happy to be home after a very long day!

I cannot express the level of gratitude I have for everyone at Capital District Veterinary referral Hospital!! When everyone else in the area turned me down this was the only vet who would see us! I was so frazzled and upset. My rabbit had an ear infection, which isn’t an emergency but nobody could see her in the area. I was so frustrated, but a co-worker recommended this place. These guys got me in right away and were so patient and helpful! Once Delilah was seen the doctor called me and was so sweet, incredibly knowledgeable and super thorough! I was so impressed! All of the staff was so supportive and put me at ease. My only regret is that we don’t live closer!! I cannot say enough about this place! I also cannot thank them enough for the superb care that they gave to Delilah!! Thank you all so much!!!

I am not happy with this place at all. I brought my dog the other night for an emergency and spent over 5 hours there, they wanted to push money like that’s all they cared about was making sure they got there money didn’t explain anything to me about what was going on with my dog and then to find out they never did any of the tests they were supposed to do on him. Needless to say I will never bring any of my animals to this place again.