statenislandvetgroup.com
If you have the option to take your pet somewhere else or to get a second opinion, please do it - it might save your pet's life.
I'm writing this review with a heavy heart almost two months after putting my beloved beagle, Bishop, down. Looking back on his last couple of months with us, part of me blames Staten Island Veterinary Group for Bishop's sickness and death. In late November of 2023, we had taken Bishop to the vet to address some issues he had had with an uncontrollable bladder. We were ready to do whatever was possible to fix the issue... he was 10 years old and we wanted to make sure Bishop can live as long and as healthy as possible.
As most people/petowners do, when there's something wrong we look to and trust doctors and veterinarians for answers. After some tests, Bishop was diagnosed with bladder stones and we were assured that the diagnosis is not serious and requires a straightforward solution: surgery. Given that any veterinary surgery is thousands of dollars and no vet gives you any financial leeway (like a payment plan) to prioritize your pet's health instead of what it costs, we had raised the four thousand dollars and booked his surgery for February of 2024.
We drop Bishop off in the morning, putting down a $2,000 deposit, hoping that when we see him again he'll be back to his normal self. A couple of hours later, the vet calls and tells us he can't perform the surgery because Bishop has late stage bladder cancer and it has already spread to his lungs. The funny part is when we came to pick Bishop up, there was still a couple of hundred dollar balance to pay before we can get Bishop. We paid this $2,500 for this vet to tell us Bishop has cancer, he's dying, and there's nothing we can do besides look for a specialist.
Ultimately, we had found an oncologist to see Bishop and try any treatment available to help his cancer. The oncologist had told us Bishop never had any bladder stones but instead it was a bladder tumor that has been growing for months. The cancer had taken his life about a month later. If it wasn't for the failure and incompetence of the Staten Island Veterinary Group, Bishop would not have been misdiagnosed, his cancer could have been caught and treated, and my best friend would still be alive today.
If you have the option to take your pet somewhere else or to get a second opinion, please do it - it might save your pet's life.
