Carroll Gardens Veterinary Group — Local services in New York

I really love this vet - I come all the way from Greenpoint, even though there are several vets a few blocks from me - because Dr. Mollica and her team are so awesome. I have been to a lot of vets over the years with my two cats and have found two things to be true: vets in New York are prohibitively expensive (sometimes they feel like they are exploiting worried pet owners), and tend not to listen. CGVG is not like this at all. They aren't cheap, I should say, but they are reasonable, and more importantly they aren't trying to set you up with some insane treatment plan or battery of tests that cost thousands of dollars, as some Brooklyn vets have done in the past (my one cat was given a multi-year, several thousand dollar long-term plan because she was over 10, at a vet in Greenpoint).

To illustrate my point with my most recent visit: My cat has had a weird bump/cyst sort of thing on her arm for more than a year. I've avoided taking her to the vet because I was so afraid of how much it might cost, but last year it was bothering her so much she licked all the hair off of her arm. Because she is so bad at the vet, I tried a home visit vet service. I told the vet she needed to be sedated because she is so bad (and so strong!) but he wouldn't listen. It was such a waste of time and money, not to mention traumatizing, because he spent the first hour just trying to touch her, while she got more and more freaked out. Finally he sedated her, but not enough, and he barely got a sample of whatever pus was in this bump. She still had the bump and I was still out a lot of money, and he still recommended I take her into his office for more tests and possibly surgery. He was very nice and a good person, but if he had listened about the sedation from the start we would have had a more productive session. But after that trauma (for my cat and my bank account) I let it go.

This summer the bump was bothering her again, and I had the financial padding to allow me to go to the vet. This time I went to CGVG and Dr. Mollica listened about the sedation, managed to take a sample and deal with the problem without extra costs or recommending she be sent to, you know, the Betty Ford Clinic for cats or whatever. I was expecting it to be expensive but it was less than I thought, she dealt with it by giving my cat an antibiotic shot and taking a sample in case it didn't go away. No one was traumatized. She really seems understands that for busy, cash-strapped New Yorkers it's not always easy or affordable to get to the vet.

I have a friend who I found out coincidentally is also a CGVG devotee - so the word is out!

Thanks to Dr. Mollica for being so understanding, for listening, and for not trying to use the love of pets as a way to...

Does not manage her time right!!! I've had to change vets because she was stuck in one appointment for 4 hours with the same client while I waited. I heard them talking and laughing. The cat was there for vaccines!! This is not the first time this has happened, usually the vet hospitals can be very busy and you should expect a wait but not when you are the only other client. The receptionist Alicia is very rude and disgusting. My cat was dying and I kept begging the receptionist if she would please let the vet know my cat was in critical condition. She basically puffed up her chest and snapped at me with a nasty attitude " She is busy! you're going to have to wait for her to get out I'm not going to interrupt her. Now take a seat." Turning back to her phone ignoring my presence. At this point I was very upset as I was there for my cat to make sure she was okay. I waited patiently up until the point where my cat looked very weak as every pet owner would do. I've been to many other vet hospitals and have never been spoken to with such disrespect. The end of the story is that my cat ended up dying that day on my way to the emergency room because 4 and a half hours was still not enough time for the vet to finish her lackadaisical conversation. This doctor is very neglectful and a waste of time and money. I honestly liked her a lot because she came across as a sweet woman. Lesson learned a nice vet is not necessarily a good vet. Please do not take your pets to this vet it was the worst experience of my life and it didn't have to be if the practice actually cared about their clients. My friend john even warned me he had the same issue. I should...

My regular vet wasn't in, and my 12-year old cat wasn't eating. I asked a friend for a recommendation, and she recommended CG Vet Group. They scheduled us immediately for that afternoon.

It was actually a blessing in disguise that my usual vet wasn't in that day. The care my cat -- and I -- received at CG was extraordinary. Dr. Mollica took her time with my kitty to get down to the root of the problem. She ran all the appropriate tests and treated his ailment quickly. She also took the time to go over his lab results with me the following afternoon, answering every single question I had.

A couple of days later, my cat didn't seem so well, but Dr. Draper called me back. Dr. Mollica had briefed her completely on my cat's condition, and she provided guidance on what to do next and how to proceed.

It hasn't even been a week since we were there and I am happy to say that my kitty has almost fully recovered from his pancreatitis. I had been through that infection with my previous cat, and I knew how miserable it is for the cat and how difficult it can be to treat. But CG treated him quickly and efficiently, and he's almost back to 100 percent of his old self.

I have actually switched to CG officially after seeing my previous vet for almost twenty years. The time and care they showed for both my furbaby and for me was impeccable. And I feel that now as he's entering his senior years, he's in excellent hands at CG.

I would recommend this practice...