Heart of Harlem Veterinary Clinic — Attraction in New York

Update: I have edited my review to 1 star from 3; here is why: Dr. Sola even admitted to taking the review personally hence why he started an argument with me. After my review, weeks later I finally received a call from Dr. Sola to go over my confusion and questions regarding my pet’s condition. In the midst of me asking about next steps, he cut me off to talk about my review when the call was never regarding this. He was aggressive, rude, and refused to let me talk, accusing me of “lying” in my review. I told him my intention was never to lie, and if I miscalculated pricing on anything he could tell me that, mistakes happen. I had to continually ask him not to cut me off and I expressed his behavior was unprofessional and disappointing. The way he spoke to me was so horrific I recorded the call for proof. Prior to this, he seemed nice when I first met him. His attitude changed after I left this review. I had forgotten about the review as it was means to give written feedback, and continue with my pet’s care. This is a grown man ???

I hesitate to leave reviews for businesses that respond in a way that may come off as defensive, some of the responses do, I’m not looking for feedback for my feedback fyi. This is my personal experience. I don’t know if I will be returning, it has been a short while but every visit is a headache. A lot of the time it feels like they just want money, albeit this can be hard to tell, however I’ve had to come for 4 visits for one single issue and each time they charge the $65 checkup fee which I personally don’t find fair, especially coming from a vet previously who would half that cost for a follow up within a certain window. When you know it’s possible, it’s hard to believe they can’t do it. I miss our old vet, but they live too far now. Oh, I also recall first visit I expressed surprise with how expensive everything seemed in the first visit compared to our previous vet, to which the nurse gave me a snarky answer in response, asking me what year we last had exams, what borough, and then proceeded to nastily respond as if I didn’t have money or something— I simply just felt confused and surprised because I’ve never had to pay over $350 for an initial vet visit. Ever.

The first visit coming here, the vet that was there missed administering a vaccine for my pet and she missed a heart murmur my pet had, I still never got an answer how this could’ve been possible, considering my pet was diagnosed 2 weeks later. Even the ER couldn’t understand how this was missed. Due to this, I had to come BACK to see their cardiologist on site .. which was another $800 just for the exam. Another vet for follow up.. he was thorough enough that I decided to give things a second/third chance. I needed testing done for my pet and bloodwork, however they didn’t tell me we needed bloodwork until the 3rd follow up because they “possibly wanted to be mindful of patient budget” which makes no sense, no one asked what I preferred. So I had to come back again to drop off a stool sample. A lot of questions I had either were left unanswered or advice given for next steps I feel were too vague. I had a nurse call me for guidance for next steps on something, and I requested the vet call, because having the nurse put me on hold every time I had a question felt counterproductive for all. I was constantly given vague instruction, such as “don’t touch this area after administration” no one told me how long, for example. Please be thorough….. I’m just too tired now trying to give this place a chance unfortunately because of the positive reviews, and I think the straw that broke the camels back for me is walking all the way to the clinic to pick something up, was told the item was available, and it wasn’t, so I had to wait 45-60 minutes in the clinic for the vet to answer a yes/no question regarding the alternative option. If this was a human clinic, I would’ve let sooner, but I care about not hopping vets for the sake of my baby. However, I don’t think it’s worth a stress anymore, I’m...

WARNING! During the dental cleaning procedure, which started 5/4later than expected, I get a call from one of the Technicians saying that they need to remove 8 teeth because "your dog has a lot of issues and things like that". I asked him to elaborate about the "issues" but he kept saying "its just teeth problems, you know?!" The vet Sola, I was told was busy to talk at that time. "The dog is under Anastasia and I need to make a decision fast. It will be an an additional $500" Since I was working 5min away from the Vetrinary, I rushed to get there as soon as I could after the phone call and asked them to show me pictures and the X-ray of the actual problemed teeth. "We just started cleaning and noticed that some teeth are weak at the root" (it was already 4pm which means Cooper was waiting with no food /water in a cage since 8am!!!) When they came out with a video they were able to prove that only 2/3teeth, bottom front, were loose and one minor decay in the back. NOT EIGHT!!! I was so surprised to see that the teeth were loose. We play fetch every morning and he has such a strong grip/bite when he plays with his toys. He would have stopped chewing on his toys if he was in pain, NO? No extreme bad breath, never any bleeding. Vet convinced me to at least, let's remove the ones you see in the video that are "shifting a little" and the one with a slight cavity in the back. Now he quoted $780. So it went from $500 for 8 teeth to $780 just for the 3. I was confused. I clarified if it's $780 additional or for the whole total of the procedure. He said it will be for the total of the whole.... I said, OK because I figured that $780 is the final total and that I would have to pay the remaining NOT an additional. I had already paid over $400 the day prior for the blood test and and half of the estimate the morning of. They we're rushing me to decide quickly, making me feel bad that the dog is waiting sedated and that it's not good to keep him under for long... ALSO on the Procedure Estimate that I had SIGNED in the morning it clearly stated that it's $25 for teeth removal. BUT they charged me $35. for the minor teeth and $75 for the major ones. When I brought it up to the front desk she said it was a mistake on the computer that wasn't updated. LIED AGAIN I was charged for the removal of 4teeth not 3 that was agreed on. Can they do that, change/update thier prices after the agreement was made?????

6year old 11lb dog $115 for injectable Anastasia $185 for inhalation Anastasia $45 local Anastasia???? (why?) Catheterization $78 X-ray $125 $153 medication like antibiotics and pain killers that they said they gave him during the procedure. And $22 for flea meds? Cooper gets groomed regularly and even both the technician and the vet Sola, said that he looks very clean and healthy 2days prior. Fleas were not mentioned!! I brought in Cooper for his regular/annual checkup/shots, walked away paying OVER $1140 . $745 (which included a "discount") was what I agreed on for the dental cleaning. not including the $275 that I had already paid for the blood work prior. When I came to pick up Cooper they said that I owe another $780.

Chose Heart of Harlem mainly because it was convenient to and from work.

Other things to know: For any procedures, pets must be dropped off between 7-10am. For dental cleaning, no food/water past 12am. I brought Cooper to the clinic at 8am but most staff was just arriving around 9am. The Vet arrives between 10-1pm. Procedure started around 4pm. business phones were not working that day.

Bottom line, not only they charged me double for what we agreed on but they also changed the contract fees AFTER I had signed it!!! When I asked them to at least honer the fees that were agreed on from the beginning, they said "no, this is what we charging now" Honestly if it was an additional $200 (it's still alot) I would have been ok with it but to charge me double from the agreed estimate is not ok. And to change the fee amount after the agreement had been...

Updated to reflect my recent interactions. Please look at the recent reviews. This business has gone downhill and needs to replace the manager Karina Velez. I left my original review for context.

Original Review: I decided to patronize this vet based on a recommendation. It was an easy sell because they are walking distance. My first visit was to get my pups shots and a general exam. The scheduling was super easy and they were great. Very friendly and knowledgable. However, they forgot to give her one of the shots i paid for. I got a call later that evening and had to go back to get the shot another day. My second official visit was for a second round of shots. It was a bit strange, the vet-tech was making all of these suggestions and attempting to get me to add additional services. And it was a moment before i realized she wasn't the actual vet. It was during this visit they notified me of their grooming services. They told me she would be good to go a few weeks after her last shots. Fast forward a few months later. I have given up on my attempts to cut her hair myself and decided to seek professional help. I called to schedule an appointment. The young lady that answered the phone tells me that while most places don't require it, they require a flu shot and a booster to provide grooming services. So while that is ridiculous, I was less concerned about the actual policy and more concerned with the fact that they were either 1) attempting to get more money for services 2) changed their policy in the few months since my last appointment. The receptionist informed me that was not a new policy and when i inquired about why that was listed as a requirement previously, she said she had no idea who i spoke to but that was what it was. A fully vaxed dog cant get groomed at the groomer? And you are forcing unnecessary flu shots on my dog. That is beyond ridiculous not to mention we could have had this done ages ago if i was properly informed the first time i inquired. Now, i will continue to patronize them for her annual since they are so close and the actual vets are great. However, I would not recommend them to a loved one and won't be doing anything extra with them.

Update: I came to adjust my review. Despite the plethora of issues with this business, I gave them a three-star rating and still proceeded to patronize the business. I actually have had an appointment since the review I wrote almost a year ago. Six months after I wrote my review (again, I have been back since), they finally responded and decided I was no longer a client because I was "accusatory." So, because they were not fans of the words I used, they chose to respond emotionally, not professionally. A professional business would have taken this as a chance to improve their customer interaction and prove me wrong. But hit dogs holler. They are so busy upselling like they are a mechanic and not a vet I can understand why it was such a defensive response, they don't want anyone to catch on.

The business has had no updates to its aesthetic in decades. If you can find it and if you can even get the door open, you and your pet will have a time walking up the steep, narrow staircase. Once you get to the top, if the receptionists are at the front or aren't too busy chatting, they will let you in. The waiting room is tiny and smells. And even if you are on time, you will have to wait. And once you see the vet tech, you will be forced to wait again for an actual vet (if you're lucky enough to even see a vet).

If the turnover of office staff is any indication, not only are they trying to change the demographic of the clientele, but they are also trying to change the staff demographic. It no longer reflects the neighborhood (their social pages will tell you everything you...