4 Paws Veterinary Care PLLC — Local services in Town of North Greenbush

In the beginning, we had great experiences with 4Paws. Since first seeing their doctors in 2020, the service has plummeted to a point where it couldn’t be much worse.

A few red flags to note: -Will call your pet the wrong name (has happened at least 5 times now, 5 years at this vet) -No waiting room—they require you to wait in your car. No person answers the phone, ever—you leave a message and hope they call you back. -You’ll be paying top dollar at this office—we lived in Queens for years and our vet bills were less than HALF of this office. Adjusting for inflation, it’s still ridiculous. -Required to medicate our cat--We were never required to medicate our cat in all our years at our previous vets office. At this office, my cat has become too “difficult” for the staff and they have us give him so much medication prior to any visit, it’s sad how sedated he becomes. (9 lb cat, two doses of 50mg gabepentin, one dose night before visit, another morning of. Context--our 19lb dog has a max dose of 100mg same med in one dose).

latest incident/final straw: I tried repeatedly to make an appt for my cat’s annual visit/shots, now $300-400 at the office, base cost. In the past no one told me that if the pet’s vaccine lapses, you need to start the vaccine from the beginning rather than just getting one annual booster. Subsequently, we’ve had to do the double shots many times with our cat & dog, as a direct result of this office failing to inform us. We’re paying them for their knowledge and service, I’m no expert and it shouldn’t be on the owner to remember which vaccines can't lapse. never happened with our previous vet. In trying to prevent this from happening again, I was texting with the office on Sept 8th and never received a response from the person I was messaging with. When I reached out again today, I was blatantly lied to in being told that I was offered an appointment and I was the one who never replied. When called out via screenshot, “technology” was to blame. first "technology failure" in all my years of the required texting with them. The staff will gaslight you after providing poor service or making a mistake. This isn’t the only time I’ve been blamed and lied to by this office. It’s appallingly unprofessional and insulting.

We’ve been going to this office multiple times a year for 5 years now. In recent visits they’ve referred to my dog with MY NAME. This has happened by text, by phone, AND in PERSON by the doctor! Ofc they never apologized and blamed it once on “the last patients name was Sophia” and another time (by the dr) “switching their record system”. Nothing is EVER their fault.

AVOID THIS AWFUL PLACE! Doesn’t matter how many thousands of dollars you spend, they won’t even remember...

Edited to Add: After my initial experience (posted below), we got a call from the office (Janelle) the following day, stating that due to the miscommunication they would waive the extra fee to have my cat in isolation to have the haircut, since she did not have the blood test. My husband returned her call the very same day and was told- wait, you need to bring in a fecal sample for us to test first. And we can get you in for that grooming appointment on August 8th. (more than a month away!) I will call the owner to talk through this experience with them. However, in the meantime- I had to bring my cat elsewhere so she could get the care she needs.

Original post: Very frustrated with my experience here today. I'm giving it 3 stars only because the vet and the technician were very kind. But I called inquiring about grooming and rabies shots for my cat. I was told I needed to do a wellness visit first. That was okay with me. The wellness visit took over an hour and I was given a "wellness plan" of shots and things they recommended for my healthy cat. I chose the cheaper plan which was still $250. At check out, I try to schedule the grooming appointment and am informed that because I declined a blood test, that was presented to me as being optional, for an additional $50, I couldn't do the grooming appointment unless I wanted to pay extra $$ to have her more isolated for it. A person who appeared to be the main receptionist there, named Janelle, condescendingly said "sorry no one explained that to you" without the slightest bit of sincerity. By then, my kids were melting down from waiting, my cat had pissed on herself, I left $250 poorer, and STILL didn't even get the service I was calling for originally. My poor long haired cat has things matted into her fur, and now I have to call elsewhere for services. I'm willing to pay fees when I get good service and feel that there is transparency about costs. I didn't feel as though I got either from the...

We have been clients of 4 Paws for about four and a half years now. In this instance, which occurred yesterday, we were concerned about some symptoms exhibited by our kitty within the previous 12 hours and were able to get a same-day appointment.

Since our previous appointment, I noted the presence of two new employees: Janelle at the front desk, and Megan, a veterinary technician. Both were courteous and friendly, complimented our kitty on her beauty, and went out of their way to ensure we were both comfortable. They also checked that our personal and pet’s profile information was updated, and served us without delay.

Doctor Lisa Wiggins was, as always, friendly and professional. She asked good questions about our kitty’s symptoms, recent diet and behavior, and explained what she was doing as she examined our pet.

Both the doctor and technician were gentle in their handling of our kitty, and we were very satisfied with the diagnosis and prescription (which we were able to obtain on the spot).

Dr. Wiggins also requested that I follow-up with her today on our pet’s status, which I have done. Our kitty is doing very well and, in fact, seems to be particularly playful and happy. I told them that our kitty seemed to have concluded that the kind treatment she received, and the compliments, amounted to more of a day spa-like experience, rather than a medical visit!

Overall, we have found the folks at 4 Paws to be friendly and professional, and have no reason to do anything but trust in their knowledge and expertise. Both our kitties have been treated for urinary tract infections in the period of time we’ve taken them here. One case was resolved quickly, while the other required two rounds of antibiotics to kill the infection. In both cases, it was apparent that the doctor’s primary concern was our pet’s health, and, equally important, that we understood the diagnosis, costs involved, and our mutual...