Upstate Veterinary Specialties Latham, New York

I called them because my lab suddenly became unresponsive. It lasted long enough for me to be terrified, and I have to say the minute I walked through the door, I felt at ease. The women at the front desk are FABULOUS!! They triaged my lil guy and I was seen by the vet within 30 minutes. Dr. Cleveland was AMAZING! She gave me a few different options, and was very through in her descriptions and honest in what she would do if it were her dog. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend this facility for anyone who needs emergency attention. They are intelligent, professional, competent, and most importantly KIND.

Our Doberman Shadow was diagnosed with heart arrhythmias by our local vet. We opted to drive the 3+ hours one way to bring him to Upstate Veterinary Specialties, and it was definitely worth the drive!! Cornell Animal Hospital is much closer but we have had nothing short of horrible experiences there with every aspect of what they call "care". and will never go to or recommend them to anyone. WHAT a difference in everything at/about Upstate! I can not say enough good things about the the cardiologist (Dr. Sedacca), and everyone encountered before, during , and after my visit there! They were pleasant, caring, and professional. We got personalized care that was all about Shadow and his well being, the way it should be! Due to their excellent care, and after less then 24 hours on the prescribed heart meds, Shadow is now back to being his active happy 10yr old "puppy" acting self and we are looking forward to many more happy years with our boy! I will continue to make the necessary trips up here as well as spread the word to everyone I know on the excellent experience they will have here! Here is a smile from him to you!

Despite the very unexpected, heartbreaking event of having to put my dog down, the staff at UVS were wonderful, professional, and comforting. I am extremely grateful and thankful for the care, compassion, and empathy shown by Dr. Amanda Little during a time of great distress and need - I felt very lucky that my dog was under her care that evening, as she explained everything in detail and made me feel at peace during a stressful and emotional time. Highly recommend UVS for any emergent need.

The staff was awesome, the place was clean, and my cat is healthy. No complaints here

All of the staff we interacted with were lovely and so compassionate, with the exception of dr. krzykowski. Majority of our appointment was her spewing textbook definitions and information about his condition that we already knew from doing our own research. She has absolutely no bedside manner, is all business and so matter of fact with all of her answers/information given. Our dog has a very serious injury and she acted as if it were a hang nail. I was told if we want to switch neurologists we will be charged another full exam fee of $165, which is absolutely ludicrous. Not sure why you would punish your patients for a poor experience, on top of already being unhappy with how we were treated during our initial appointment. The most important thing is our dogs recovery and we feel it is in his best interest to see a doctor who shares the same goal.

My dog is very sick and they made us sit in our vehicle over 4 hrs when we showed up at 9am while they took everyone else before us!

Our cat D had a blockage in his urethra and he was seen almost immediately when we took him up there! Although we had financial restraints to give him the best possible care he was flushed with a catheter and sent back home with us with medication. The next day he was eating and drinking and peeing normal feeling better still putting up a fight! We would love to give a huge shout out to the vet tech Taleah who was great as could be with her knowledge, hard work, passion and calming us down and helping us through a stressful situation. When hard and passionate work is obvious in someone it should be recognized and she was amazing! Thank you guys for everything and happy holidays!

Everyone is so friendly and helpful here. Our dog had an emergency and stayed 2 days, the doctor called twice a day to give us an update which was reassuring. They truly care about the animals which is comforting during a stressful time. When we picked our dog up, the nurse gave her a hug goodbye and said he'll miss her. We are grateful they took such great care of her.

Poor communication. Was told that it would be a 3 hour wait or less. My mother and I waited for 2 more hours on top of the original 3, to be told that we were next in line. When asked the nurse stated she said 4-6 hours. Then 3-5 hours. Which one is it? Place doesn’t seem to have good communication in place for employees or patients. Or a system decent enough for night visits beyond those who are in need go first. Never mind to the pet owners who have sat waiting over the allotted time. With no prior assessment of when someone would be seen or the condition the animal is in. How can you assume the need of a pet that you have not examined or taken paperwork on? The receptionist was an absolute nightmare that pushed papers and left patients waiting for several minutes before acknowledging them. Overall, I do not recommend and will not be visiting again. It was a waste of time.

Tried calling multiple times for about 10min during emergency, no one picked up the phone.

My BEAUTIFUL cat, Chester, developed an infection caused by a bite from our other cat!! I was so worried for him......my own vet was not open on Saturday, so I brought him to upstate veterinary specialty!! I LOVE my own vet n wished I could have taken him there( I developed a trust with the vets there), so I was nervous taking Chester to someone I didn't know!! Well, doctor Amanda Little, DVM, was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!! she walked me through the procedure, medications that Chester will receive and after care!! She was WONDERFUL!! now, from now on, will take my kitties there if my own vet is not open(LOVE MY OWN VET!!!)......so please, if u want a wonderful DVM, doctor Amanda Little and upstate veterinary specialty is the place to go......performed excellent ❤ for my, Chester!!! Most Sincerely, donnie hallak, RN

Took our beloved canine to their hospital for a broken leg. We were told a 3-5 hour wait. Waited for over 5 hours and still no service. Saw the parking lot emptied three times while we were there! Finally went in to get an update and the lady behind the door just stared at us. We tried to talk to her and nothing. A couple of minutes passed and the phone rang and another girl came in and answered it while the other just sat there and stared at us leaving us with no answers. My canine has STILL not been seen! Ive never needed an er for my dog before but did for my cat and this was by far the worst experience Ive encountered! The least you could do was communicate with the family who sat here for much longer than we were told and for naught! Thankful for the IMMEDIATE response we received from the other vet hospital. We will NOT be back and will NOT recommend this place to anyone. My dog’s leg is broken. Thanks for nothing!

My dog Barney had a seizure in the middle of the night Called them right away and they took us quickly. The dr and staff that was on was wonderful. The dr gave me all the options that could be done. Unfortunately we had to put him down. The staff was so compassionate and caring I would not hesitate to take another pet there

I needed a cart for my retired service dog. The rehabilitation department was absolutely wonderful. They took the measurements ( also got lucky with a new lift harness! ) and gave us the form. We ordered the K-9 cart and had it shipped there. They helped fit the cart to him and made sure it was set right. They instructed us in it's use and they watched to be certain he would be able to use it. My old pup is mobile again! I can't say enough praise for the caring, informative and thoughtful help we received. The best part is it all took less than a week to get it all completed.

Lori Walsh is very kind and highy emotionally intelligent. She made it as easy as possible for us to deal with the passing of our dog. Lori is one of those exceptional people that are highly skilled and empathetic when dealing with people and the passing of their animals. She should be recogized for her outstanding work.

Very friendly and made me feel relaxed in a stressful situation.

My dog was hit by a car that was speeding I took him to veterinary referral and they wanted me to answer hundreds of questions and then eventually someone would call me on the phone and then eventually someone will come out to take a look at him and bring him inside and then I had to sit there. I refused and brought him here they got him right in and bandaged him up they took care of him at a reasonable price I recommend this emergency vet any day.

Brought my lab who has a really bad hot spot. Wouldn’t even ask about her, just told me 6-8 hour wait to see her? Wait? Didn’t this place just put on a couple million dollar addition? Do they have only one vet on duty? Are they not a hospital for pets? A human emergency room don’t even take that long. 6-8 hour wait for emergency?? Seriously? Poor communication whomever answered the phone. Told me I can go somewhere else. Don’t waste your time here, they’re not about pets, only money.

Our senior aged dog's health unexpectedly declined rapidly very late at night and we knew she needed euthanasia as soon as possible. After midnight I called Upstate Veterinary Specialties in a panic and got right through to a very helpful, kind and patient representative who said we could bring her in right away. True to her word, we were admitted quickly with the help of Kayla L. who was exceptionally kind, thorough and caring. She explained everything slowly and clearly and made sure we understood what would happen. It was a very emotional exchange and Kayla was wonderful. Even though our dog was not a patient, they treated us as if were were long time customers. A++. Thank you.

So sweet to the pets, attentive and professional. Will not push any service on you they don't deem necessary but will run through all the options of treatment with you. They have longer wait times depending on your pet's condition with priority to those with really painful injuries, but in a time of need they were the only vet/clinic in the area who would take in my pet the day of which I am grateful for!

Dr Bishop and his team have given the best care and advice for our elderly cat. The very reasonable fees I have paid are the best money I have spent on veterinary care! Dr Bishop takes time to listen and explain.

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.

My pet and I went to the emergency vet today and saw Jenny Odell DVM. She was blunt and completely lacked empathy. I know this profession can have compassion fatigue and I empathize with vets as a whole. But, perhaps the office should send someone in who can be sympathetic and save someone like Jenny for surgeries or whatever it is she is good at. She made terrible news that much worse. Unless I heard she was the greatest surgical vet in the world and I needed surgery for a pet - I would not go back.

Brought my dog there at 8 in the morning. She has been not eating, not drinking, barely can walk and breathing heavily. Waited till 11:30 to see no one. Got up and was going to leave and they wanted to charge me for sitting in a room. No one was there it wasn't like it was busy. ALL ABOUT THE ANIMALS but no one seemed to care.

16 year old cat with kidney disease and now apparently severe constipation. After being ignored by the vet at 4 Paws when inquiring about constipation at the last visit 3 weeks ago, I phoned Upstate for information and possible appointment (upon referral from Capital District Emergency Hospital which had no doctor available). I was told by Upstate that there would be a 6 hour wait. When I said I couldn't do that the reply was a cheery, "Have a good night!" Business must be good.

This is my 3rd time trying to post this review and keep it there. Seems like any negative review gets taken down but I’ll keep posting until it doesn’t because no one should go to this place. I had called about my cat who had jumped and landed wrong and injured her leg and was acting really strange. I called and before I could explain what happened I was told “we’re at full capacity sweetie, sorry”… uhm you’re an emergency vet?? How are you at full capacity and how are you not even going to ask what’s wrong with my pet? Then she proceeds to tell me how she “got word the one up the street is full too sweetheart” but doesn’t give a suggestion of where there’s a place that isn’t full and still hasn’t asked what’s wrong with my pet. And not that this has to do with my cat but calling people pet names like sweetie, sweetheart, honey is not professional especially when used at the end of every sentence, it’s actually rude as hell. After asking her where I suggest my cat goes then since no one seems to be taking in anyone (according to her) she suggests a place nearly 2 hours away! I know vets are busy and I wouldn’t mind waiting but to turn me down without even asking what was wrong?? Please for your pets sake DO NOT take them here if it’s an emergency.

We just recently were in urgent need of a vet after hours this past weekend, and a friend of mine suggested this place. When I called to see if they could fit us in, they were super nice and very informative. They told us it would be a 4-6 hour wait but that was fine because we lived over an hour away and was placed in the que ahead of time. When we arrived we checked in and the front desk took one look at our dog and took her in the back right away as her right eye/jaw was extremely swollen. Her doctor was Dr. Siddiqi, and was very thorough, and super informative when it came to answering our questions about what was wrong and what our next steps would be for our dog Myah. After all was said and done Dr. Siddiqi prescribed her 2 very strong antibiotics and told us if was not better within 2-3 days to bring her to her primary doctor and sent us on our way. Unfortunately the next afternoon her eye was getting bigger and now her other eye was starting to swell. At this time it was also after regular hours, so I called Upstate Veterinary Specialties again and told the front desk exactly what was going on. They put me on hold while they talked to Dr. Siddiqi and came back on telling us to give her some Benadryl, and that if the swelling wasn’t going down within an hour then to come straight there. Before the hour was even up Dr. Siddiqi took it upon himself and called us to see how Myah was doing. He had us email over some pictures of her eyes and we decided to wait it out for a few more hours just give the antibiotics and Benadryl a chance to work. The next morning 6am rolled around which would be the end of Dr. Siddiqi’s shift and before he just clocked out and left, he went above and beyond to call us just to see how Myah was doing and made sure everything was fine. To meet a doctor with so much compassion and love for your animal is a breath of fresh air! I highly recommend this place and most certainly suggest seeing Dr. Sidiiqi in the unfortunate event you need to see a vet due to an emergency. If I could give all the employees and Dr. Sidiqqi 10 stars I would. The fact that people complain of possibly having to wait 4-6 hours to be seen is crazy to me! No amount of wait time can prevent me from having a member of my family be seen especially if it will save their life! Thank You so much Upstate Veterinary Specialties, Dr. Siddiqi, and staff!

Kind staff. Appropriate wait time for my urgent, but not emergent issue. I took my Great Dane puppy here for a broken toe on a weekend when my vet was closed. I had no pain meds at home and he seemed very uncomfortable. This was during the middle of the pandemic, so we waited in the car. The wait was long, but completely appropriate given the number of true emergencies I saw roll up. Whenever we checked with staff they politely told me that they were busy with very sick animals and asked if my boy was still doing okay or if he needed to be triaged by staff. Since he was only uncomfortable and not actively dying, we were happy to wait for them to have time to squeeze him in. They got him in as soon as feasible, took excellent care of him, and sent me home with pain meds and instructions for what to do next. Given the current strains on veterinarians and their staff, I want to say thank you for taking such good care of us. Thank you for putting the true emergencies first. I know that if I ever have a true emergency, I will feel comfortable coming to your practice for help knowing that he will be triaged appropriately.

Yesterday was truly one of the most heart-wrenching days of my 56 years. Our 10 year old Golden Retriever, Cooper, was breathing heavily... his doctor referred him to UVS where we learned that the fluid surrounding his lungs was caused from a massive cancerous tumor. We had to put our fur baby down and our hearts are forever broken. With that said, I am so grateful for the expertise and compassionate care that we received from the wonderful young doctor who cared for Cooper and all of the rest of the team who were very supportive, understanding, compassionate and professional. RIP my favorite buddy, Coopy. Our lives will never be the same without you. <3

This place is amazing. Twice I have had to bring my pets here for emergency situations and unfortunately both times euthanasia was the best option and these guys are so compassionate, professional and honest. Dr. Cleveland is amazing and will walk you through everything that’s going on with your furry friends and the best course of treatment and options. I can’t say enough good things about this place. Thank you all for everything you do!