Animal Specialty Center

We brought our dog to Dr. Berg for the first time in July after he had been having episodes we believed to be seizures (fly biting, active episodes that could sometimes be violent). The first time, Dr. Berg barely examined our dog and wouldn't watch the videos we brought of his episodes. He claimed he believed it was acid reflux and prescribed us two medications and sent us on our way. We raised concerns in the visit and instead of addressing them he dismissed us. The total visit was about ten minutes long.

Our dog kept presenting with these episodes and the medications he prescribed for the acid reflux did not seem to help at all. In fact, they made our dog vomit and resulted in a loss in appetite. After bringing him back for a second time, Dr. Berg again dismissed our concerns and said he believed it was a skin condition (our dog was separately treated for his skin allergies and they had cleared up at this point) and strongly referred us to the dermatologist on staff.

This week, after a round of very bad episodes, we brought the dog back to Dr. Berg for a third time explaining how concerned we were about the episodes that we still believe to be seizures. He then told us flatly that they were not seizures and they were the result of acid reflux and we needed to treat him for that again. He did not acknowledge our concerns and never really took time to examine our dog thoroughly at any of the visits. The episodes continued. We felt Dr. Berg never took the time to truly find out what was wrong with our dog and dismissed everything we tried to tell him and instead referred us to other specialties when this was clearly a neurological thing happening.

We decided to take him to another neurologist today at Oradell Animal Hospital, and it turns out these episodes ARE seizures and our dog is finally on the medication he needs and should have been prescribed months ago. If you want to see your animal suffer, become frustrated, and spend money at the same time, then ASC is the place for you. It really seemed that keeping you coming back and spending money was their primary motivation, not finding out what was wrong with our animal and helping his quality of life

I had to take my dog to a vet on a Sunday and they were one of the few locations open. They took me in, and told me an hour wait, but I waited much shorter than that. Maybe 20 to 30 minutes tops? They did tests on my dog to make sure their prognosis was what they thought from looking at him. They were nice and friendly and let me feel like my dog was in good hands. The visit started with $125 bucks which I'd the standard fee for a visit. This place is the emergency room version of a vetinarian's office. Great spot for an emergency if your pet's regular vet isn't around.

I was referred by Banfield to bring my Miniature Schnauzer, Piper to this hospital. I was a complete mess because I didn't know what was wrong with her. The staff was so wonderful from the moment I walked. They took my baby in immediately. Everyone was so kind and a tech even stayed with me until the vet came in to discuss her diagnosis. They explained to me that she had vestibular disease (old dog disease). This is like vertigo for humans. Although not life threatening I would have to give her time to get better. They were so caring and thoughtful. Several days later I received a call from the hospital. They were checking in to see how Piper was doing. She recovered and was back to her old self about three weeks later.

Months later, Piper is not well again. This time she could not walk. I brought her back and we were again greeted by wonderful staff and caring staff and taken in immediately. Unfortunately, this time Piper could not come back home with us. She suffered a ruptured disk and due to her age (she was 15) it was best not to put her through surgery and very painful recovery process. The staff at Animal Specialty Center took care of her and made her very comfortable. The vet took her time with us and explained every detail. When we decided that euthanizing Piper was the best thing we could do for her, they brought us to a lovely private room where we could spend time with her before the procedure. I was hysterical and the staff was very accommodating. They let me spend as much time with her before and after. We decided that we wanted her remains. About a week later, the person who brought out her little urn gave me their condolences in a way that made me feel like they really cared.

I've read other reviews with negative comments and most are about the cost. I did not find them expensive at all. My first visit was under $200 and that was a weekend emergency visit. The last visit was under $400 and that was a weekend, emergency visit, having her euthanized, urn and remains. Also, before they run any tests on your pet, the form asks if you would like to discuss the costs of the test before they actually proceed with testing.

Although the reason for me being there was heartbreaking, my experience with the Animal Specialty Center was nothing but wonderful. If I could give them 1,000 stars I would.

No stars deserved: maniacal, over zealous, knife-happy doctors, without compassion or ability to follow up once you pay the $1,000+ fee (does anyone leave ASC without paying at least $1,000?). It’s a racket setup to perform expensive tests and then operate on pets without consideration of outcome. They are extremely dishonest, offering false hope against the real realities of operating on pets already past their lifespans. It seems their main interest is how much money they can collect from pet owners. My elderly dog is alive today because I returned to vets who are compassionate, realistic, and interested my dog’s comfort and well being for the end of her life.

My 12yo dog had back issues. I had an MRI done by Dr. Berg. The MRI revealed disc issues and I opted for the expensive surgery. Dr. Berg assured me that the recovery rate was 95% and he did the surgery 'all the time'. My dog survived surgery and I was called by Dr. Berg to tell me how great it went and my dog was in recovery. As I was on the subway going to work about half an hour later, I saw the vet's office number come up on my phone. I had to wait 20 minutes before I was above ground and able to call back. Dr. Berg said my dog went into heart failure and had died. A friend drove me to the office so I could see my dog one more time. We were there over an hour and Dr. Berg was 'too busy' to see me in person to offer any condolences. In hindsight, I should have listened to my instincts about my dog's health and not trusted a doctor who was zealous about surgery on a senior dog.