Hudson Valley Animal Rescue & Sanctuary — Local services in Town of Poughkeepsie

My girlfriend and I recently rescued an abandoned adult male cat from the streets of Newburgh whom we named Rufus. We wanted to help at least get him vaccinated, neutered and healthy - hoping that we could let him try to be a part of our family. Unfortunately, my normal vet - where we have done this already many times - is booked solid until January. Not wanting him to suffer on the streets that long, we decided to try HVARS - thinking that, because they are a nonprofit, they would be a good alternative. HVARS charged us for an initial exam, but did not actually complete an inspection or do any of the bloodwork panels listed - all of which I have seen cats get when I take them to my normal vet for their initial wellness visits. The vet-tech (or whatever non-doctoral certification the assistant has) poo-poo’ed us when we asked why; “well, he’s a stray. Also. That costs extra, so we didn’t do it.” when even talking about the exams that were obviously included. Fine. I have no problem giving a donation to a nonprofit… So. We had to bring him back (an hour drive for us) to get the proper tests and exam a couple days later. Luckily we both had sick time we needed to use up. Got his shots finally. We then waited the 2 weeks for his neutering appointment, which was yesterday; Friday. They finish with him by telling us that if there is any issue, he will need to be seen right away. Today, Rufus hasn’t peed yet and is lethargic. When calling the “clinic” we are told we’ll need to bring him to a vet with an emergency room that is open on weekends because “we don’t have a vet on Saturdays. Why schedule the surgery on a Friday - advising your patients to be mindful over the next 24 hours - if you don’t even have a vet around the provide emergency care if they screw up the procedure? Instead of providing care, they told us “call your vet and get an emergency appointment.” And the closest emergency vet office is over an hour away in another direction now. What absolutely awful protocols these vets have. Not even a hint of care planning went into their process of drop & dump assembly line neutering on a Friday evening. The entire process of rescuing an animal has become unnecessarily difficult, expensive and exploitative, thanks to people who no longer have empathy for all animals. I can’t even imagine how heartbroken I’ll be if Rufus dies thanks to the incompetence and LACK OF EMPATHY that this animal-centric “nonprofit” has shown to this poor creature. I wish I had negative stars...

Bugs all over my dog!!! * MY RESPONSE TO YOUR REVIEW AS I CANNOT RESPOND WITH ANOTHER POST. WE BROUGHT KIWI 2 DAYS AFTER WE FOUND THE DOG CHEWING LICE TO ANOTHER VETERINARIAN. KIWI HAD A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH THERE AND WHILE DURING THE VISIT THAT IS WHERE THE VET SAID WE CONTRACTED THE LICE BECAUSE OF THE DATE WE WENT TO YOUR CLINIC AND THE SIZE OR MATURITY OF THE LICE MATCHED UP TO THE EXACT DATES WE WERE AT YOUR ESTABLISHMENT. AND AS FOR OUR UNFORTUNATE VISIT TO YOUR PLACE A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH AS IN KIWIS "HOT SPOTS" CLEARED UP WITH THE FOOD CHANGE AND THE PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION YOU GUYS RECOMMENDED. THAT CLEARED UP VERY QUICKLY AND WERE VERY PLEASED. HIS HOT SPOTS HAVE BEEN GONE AND NOT CAME BACK SINCE THE REMEDIATION YOU RECOMENDED. NO ONE CALLED MY WIFE OR REACHED OUT THAT IS A LIE! THIS DOES NOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT HE CONTRACTED THE **BUGS FROM YOUR FACILITY AND NO ONE REACHED OUT UNTIL MAGICALLY I LEFT A REVIEW ON YOUR BUSINESS. ITS VERY SIMPLE MY DOG WAS TREATED FOR HOT SPOTS THOSE CLEARED UP HE DID NOT HAVE FLEAS OR LICE DURING YOUR VISIT AND HE CONTRACTED THEM FROM YOUR FACILITY AND WHEN WE REACHED OUT YOU IGNORED OUR CONCERN UNTIL A BAD REVIEW ON GOOGLE. JUST GOES TO SHOW YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE AS I WAS REACHING OUT MORE OR LESS TO WARN YOU GUYS OF YOUR ISSUE TO PREVENT OTHERS TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS AFYER THEY GO TO YOUR FACILITY!! This is my first ever review of a place! Extremely disappointing customer service. Took my dog several weeks ago for immunizations. He got a positive clean bill of health . Shortly after visiting there my dog started itching. We assumed it was due to the food change as recommended by the staff. After a few days we discovered he was covered in chewing lice and fleas. We have never ever had a problem with this before. I mean we have never ever had an issue before and the size of the lice versus our visit date was spot on!!! We have been battling this issue on and off for weeks now. I know stuff happens its a vet clinic. HOWEVER ZERO RESPONSES FROM THEM AFTER MY EMAIL AS I WANTED TO KEEP IT QUIET NOT TO DISRUPT ANYTHING FOR THEM. Magically weeks later still not a single reply to our attempts to reach out and atleast let them know the issue to prevent others and atleast a recomendation as what to do. Its to the point my dog is starting to suffer!!! Super...

I just want you guys to understand I give everything multiple attempts. But here I’m done Why are we still in our cars. Why can’t we be human and intersect like a normal doctors visit for my pet. Let’s not forget ur in ur car for HOURS. Why does no one ever take notes when they take your pet? Because the last 3 visits they forgot half the things I went over. The doctor talks to you but is walking away while talking like he’s rushing to the next appointment. The nurses are coming in and out looking like a lost puppy. You go inside you can’t even talk to anyone to get the rest of your answers.. It’s always hectic. You just always feel invisible.. FYI I still never got my answers after spending hundreds of dollars lol My dog hasn’t gotten any solutions and he’s still sick. It’s really all about money now and it sucks because I’ve been coming here for so long. I support them but I don’t trust the services anymore. I spent $250 on a biopsy that wasn’t even a biopsy. The doctor offered to immediately have surgery on a lump my dog had, but then I asked if maybe we should find out if it’s cancerous or just fatty first and then he agreed that’s a good idea. AFTER they took the extraction they wanted to tell me, it’s never certain Whether the location they withdrew from is cancerous- bill in hand. After a week I called to get the results bc they lost my results in all their paperwork -all to tell me that the lump is a cluster of cells, but they don’t know if it’s cancerous or not and requires a biopsy. Mind you the entire time they were telling me the fact that this was going to be a biopsy. I just started crying I was so frustrated. Like my dog doesn’t matter… I keep getting a run around.

You guys lost the reason you do this it’s all turned into being about money. & I trusted you guys. I contributed in the ways I could at events even or donations because you guys stood for something. I love animals and I really tried with HVAR I don’t say it to be mean..

& I don’t need a public response to make yourselves look better for the public. I’m just saying, respectfully, do better. Just asking to actually give people their time and care. We are entitled to 30 minutes minimum of your time,...