Roy J Appel, DVM

I had a very sick cat and called Dr. Appel, Thank goodness I did. He cared for him personally, hand fed him, and trained me to take care of him so I could take him home. I had to hand feed him and give him medicine several times a day. he saved my cat’s life where others gave him no hope.
I have never been to a more caring and knowledgeable vet. Dr. Appel will research to confirm just the right care for your animal. His staff are friendly and very well informed also.
I’m proud to say he is my «baby’s» doctor!

This is a review regarding my rabbit — Lola. Not a lot of vets will see bunnies because they are quite different than treating cats or dogs. Most dedicated bunny moms have an exotics vet that specializes in rabbits but none are close to Bay Ridge. However a bunny friend had suggested Dr. Appel and when I came home to a bunny that wasn’t eating I called the next morning before they even opened and they told me to come in when they opened.
Dr. Appel did everything right with my little bun. Took an xray to identify the issue in her tummy, gave her fluids, and gave all the right meds. He also knew all the bunny specific follow up care routines and gave great advice. He gave her belly massages to try and get things moving and was patient with me even though I was a little upset and not sure what to do. He also offered to let me call my exotics vet and talk the situation over with them — a lot of vets won’t do that, they don’t want to feel supervised, but he just wanted me to have peace of mind. I didn’t call and just trusted him. He had us hang out at the office a bit because he didn’t want to send her home prematurely. After the in office treatment we went home and a few hours later she was much improved. Now she’s made a full recovery and is her usual happy, hoppy self!
I talked to my bunny vet and other members of the NYC House Rabbit Society and everyone agreed he did a great job with a specialty case that many other vets wouldn’t be able to handle. He is definitely going to be our go — to local vet. I’ve been suggesting him to other bunny moms in Brooklyn for the same as well.

STAY AWAY! I think this man is stuck in the 60s with his techniques, but not only that, his office looks like it could feature in a horror movie. My dog broke her leg, and after 3 previous vet visits at several doctors, I came upon Dr. Appel. He is unfriendly, insensitive, and on top of it all, he didn’t even observe my dog. Went straight into finances. He clearly does not care about your animal, but he sure cares about his pocket. After leaving my dog with him, and deciding not to do surgery, just a splint, I received a phone call from him saying «from her X-​rays looks like there’s a tone ligament and if you don’t do surgery she’s going to have arthritis for the rest of her life»… Ummmmm excuse me, not everyone is as dumb as you and I sure as hell know– X-​RAYS DO NOT SHOW LIGAMENTS!!! He is an absolute thief. Besides all of this chaos, I go to pick up my dog and wait about an hour to find my dog sitting in a cage in the back room, in the dark. Long story short, he said this splint was to be kept on for 6 weeks. 2 weeks later I take my dog to one of the most amazing pet hospitals ever– One Love Animal Hospital on 82^nd and 3^rd ave. They removed her cast only to find a huge infection because that idiot who calls himself a doctor knew that anything kept on skin for that long, a build up of bacteria will occur. Even with humans, you can not keep a bandage on for weeks without changing it. So because of this I have to get her broken leg treated, plus this huge raw infection. If I had not made the decision to take her to another doctor, her leg would of had to be amputated. STAY AWAY FROM THIS EVIL MAN. He does not care about you or your dog and he’s a LIAR on top of it. Oh, and must I add, the price I paid at One Love was less than half I paid at Appel. My dog is doing amazing and is almost done with her recovery thanks to Dr Joey Tsang.

I only wish human hospitals were this nice and efficient. We came in on a friday morning with our boxer, Laila, who cut her paw pad on a piece of glass at the park. The front desk staff was professional and compassionate. They greeted us immediately, let us know what to expect, and made us feel comfortable. Dr. Appel was very professional, personable, and efficient. Dr. Appel explained everything to us thoroughly the whole procedure before and after! We felt very comfortable having him care for our family member. Big thanks to the entire staff for the great work that they do. Nice to know this facility is just around the corner.

if you love your pet you will not take it to this butcher.
Apparently Unilocal filters out negative reviews so this 1 star review had to be adjusted so as not to get filtered out. I originally posted my review a year ago and it is now gone. Go to the bottom and read all the 1 star reviews that have been filtered out. I had two sick baby parrots whose food was not emptying from their crops. I called ahead to let him know I was in traffic and would be there about 15 minutes late. I arrived, spoke to reception and waited to be called. An hour passed and I continued to wait. The receptionist approached me after 2 hours and told me there was a cancellation and that I would be seen next. I continued to wait and he continued to call everyone except me. I approached the receptionist but she could not explain why I was not seen in place of the cancellation. So after 3 hours of waiting I walked out. At no time was I rude, at no time did I do anything to offend anyone, I was polite and i was patient. Apparently there is something wrong with this person as you will read in the other reviews that have been filtered out by Unilocal.He is angry and he takes his anger out on random pet owners and probably pets when he feels like it. If you really care for your pet pass up the convenience of going to him because he is close by and find someone else. Read reviews carefully, very carefully, as in reading what Unilocal filters out for their own selfish reasons.

This guy is a thief!!!
Dr. Appel, also known as Dr. «Chaching». He is a complete crook. I brought our dog there to have him look at 2 small bumps. He convinced me that it could be cancer and that he would need an operation to remove them and biopsy them. Halfway thru the surgery he calls me to tell me he found another lump and strongly recommended it be removed for an additional charge. Then as we were leaving he recommended a pain killer just in case and charged me extra. In total we spent $ 1275. The lumps turned out to be pimples!!! I found out from other Vets, that these lumps could have simply been aspirated and then removed only if the cells looked odd.
I strongly recommend you do not go to this man.

Since my first review was flagged I’m editing it a bit:
Let me start off by saying I REALLY wanted to like this vet, I really did. He seemed very knowledgeable, had excellent reviews (I failed to read the filtered reviews — I suggest you do so), and is close to my place.
But I had a big problem with Dr. Appel’s «bed side manner». He handled my dog and cat less like a doctor would a patient and more like a mechanic would a car. My cat has never had a problem with any other vet, but I could see she was upset by his handling of her and even hissed at one of the techs (something she has NEVER done). And when I tried to go over to calm her down I was treated as if I was «in the way».
As for the billing, Dr. Appel writes all the vaccinations and shots down with a price next to it and you have to pick and choose what your pet gets… some people might like this, I found it rather unnerving. I don’t choose what my pets get based on price, but on what they really need. If they don’t really need something, don’t bring it up so I feel bad saying no. Either way I ended up spending (in my opinion) too much for what I received.
One compliment I can give Dr. Appel is he seemed to be knowledgeable, and who knows maybe he was having a bad day, but bad day or not I will not be going back.

I moved into Bay Ridge about 8 years ago with 2 older cats. When I knew it was time for the cats to be put down because they were sick and I called around to find a place, I was told by most Vets that the cats needed to be tested before they would do anything. I’ve had animals all my life and I think for the most part I know when it’s time. I would never put an animal down for no reason and it killed me to do it to these two animals, which by the way was at different times. Dr. Appel allowed me to come in and he and his staff were very compassionate to my emotional distress. When I took a stray from a friend of mine and found he wasn’t eating, I took him to Dr. Appel and he was so good with both the animal and me. He diagnosed him immediately and took care of the problems. Honestly, I was handed a list of things that needed to be done and I couldn’t afford all of them, so we discussed it and between the two of us figured out what would help the cat the most. It worked and he’s been fine ever since. Is he more expensive than most? I don’t know, Vets are usually more expensive than people doctors, but he’s very compassionate and helpful. I saw Dr. Appel in a local supermarket shopping late one night and he told me he was sleeping in his office because he needed to watch a sick animal. Now that’s dedication. I’m happy with his services and will continue to go to him when I need to take care of the health of a beloved pet.

He’s our new vet.
We took Leela in for a blood test, urine test, anal gland expression — the works. Dr. Appel was knowledgeable, gentle, and caring. He made sure to advise us of all prices before proceeding to do anything. For the record, our visit cost $ 385, which included what I previously mentioned, as well as a 6 month supply of heartworm preventative medication, new shampoo, eye drops for her conjunctivitis, and a urine test kit. I thought this was very reasonable given the care Leela received as well as the doctor’s expertise.
We called the other day because I stupidly gave Leela 4 small grapes (I’m a first time dog owner, no judgment please!). My husband freaked out and called Dr. Appel’s office right away. One of their staff patiently went through the procedure with me and advised us to make her throw up with a few spoonfuls of hydrogen peroxide. After 15 minutes, she still hadn’t thrown up so we called back. Again, he very patiently said to give her another two spoonfuls and wait. We did and she threw up all those damn grapes! We called back to tell him and he even asked us about the content of her vomit and was relieved to find out that the grapes weren’t digested yet. THEN, he called us back and told us we could bring her in for a blood test if we were worried. We declined, she’s fine, and we couldn’t be happier with the kindness of their staff. At no point did we ever feel compelled to spend anything for the sake of spending.
Contrary to a few other experiences, I don’t feel Dr. Appel or his office is all about money or expensive. We were obviously not billed for the annoying multiple phone calls made to their office. In fact, we chose a vet in Bay Ridge over Park Slope because they’re comparatively much more affordable.
Bonus points: The doc has a Doc Brown vibe, which of course seals the deal.

Saw Dr. Appel for the first time last night with my 8 month old kitten. Waited for about a half hour and the first thing the doctor did was apologize for the wait, which I appreciated. The review on Unilocal that convinced me to see this doctor said that he was thorough and I agree with this assessment. He did find a tapeworm segment (gross), but also went on to look for the presence of any other parasites (there were none, thank god). I was extremely grossed out by the whole thing, but Dr. Appel did a great job explaining everything and summed it all up by saying this was a «simple problem» which is one of the best things you can hear from any doctor.

Last night, after 3 days of my cat not eating and getting sick, I’d brought him to Dr. Appel, based on all of the positive reviews on Unilocal.Well, I am *so* glad that I did, because Dr. Appel saved my little baby’s life! He kept me posted of the costs and implications every step of the way, as well as his professional opinion and the options — all in a courteous, kind, and compassionate way. I am so grateful that I found Dr. Appel and can’t thank him enough for the care that he gave to my best friend in need. He truly loves animals and is as dedicated to them as any loving owner is. Thank you, Dr. Appel!

Don’t goooooo!!! I found a dying kitten and he basically treated it like crap. This guy is a joke.

I have a 4 year old American Staffordshire Bull terrier with severe food and environmental allergies so I have spent a lot of time at the Vet. I moved to this neighborhood about 2 years ago and needed to find a primary vet for my dog; I looked online and found Dr. Appe based on his level of education I chose to see him. I went for her annual physical and shots; the prices were the same as they were at her last vet.
Dr. Appel did an extremely comprehensive history of her medical issues (which is what a doctor is supposed to do), and detailed a few different options for managing her condition. I ultimately made the decision to have blood work and put her on long term medication to help better manage her symptoms. She was doing extremely well. I recently I came home from work to find her having an acute allergic reaction, I think she ate something while walking, I immediately called the office and THE DOCTOR answered at 9:00 pm! I rushed her to the office where he was waiting for me! He gave her an injection to minimize the severity of her reaction while he was examining her. He took her temperature, ran blood work, and decided the best course of treatment was to admit her for IV medication. He PERSONALLY stayed with her to monitor her ALL NIGHT! I called him at 11:00 PM when I got home and settled in to check on her, he told me to give him a call around 1am to check again if I wanted to. This level of service is unparalleled. He is extremely knowledgeable and I would highly recommend him and have done so to friends who are equally impressed with Dr. Appel.
And for all of the people who commented he only cares about money you should be ashamed of yourself! He is the most caring, compassionate vet I have ever used. If you do not have the money to properly care for an animal (well OR sick) you should not own one! He is such an amazing vet and I am so happy I found him!

I have just moved into the neighborhood and needed a vet right away for my 3 year old cat. Looking at the reviews on Unilocal helped me decide and Dr. Appel is everything that all the reviews have stated, kind, caring, straight talk and understanding of the need for the owner to be in control of the decisions. He may be higher priced, but if this is the kind of care that you want then you will have to give a little more.

I’m gonna start this review off by saying that I really want to give the man ⁴⁄₅ stars, but in all honesty, feel I need to drop one star because he’s probably one of the more expensive vets out there, and not everyone will likely be able to afford him.
Now, if you’re wondering, do you get what you pay for? The answer is absolutely yes. Here’s how today’s experience with Fifth Ave Animal Hospital and Dr. Appel went down:
Picked up two stray kittens yesterday evening. Have two cats already at home — street cats with fleas, possibly worms, unknown FIV *absolutely* have to be segregated from our two preexisting house cats, but to be fair to the kittens and because it’s a Brooklyn apartment (ie very limited space), we wanted to start the vaccination, deworming, and testing process ASAP today Sunday so that they can have free range of the apartment as quickly as possible. Makes sense, right?
We went through three area vets, two of which currently service our other two cats — one isn’t open Sundays, the other couldn’t squeeze the 15 minutes it would’ve taken to vaccinate, weigh, and draw blood from the kittens into their busy schedule today. The third had such appalling reviews both on Unilocal and on other review sites, we decided to skip them all together. Then — Dr. Appel. Dr. Appel advertized being open till 8pm every day of the week. I found that odd for a Sunday, but then quickly realized he also does on-​call emergency vet care till 12 am every day, so I gave him a call. Sunday is usually reserved for emergencies only, but I explained the situation with the two rescue kittens to him, and despite having one foot out the door, he agreed to take care of the two of them at non-​emergency prices if we could get them there in 20 minutes.
We got there, and there was no vet tech team — just Dr. Appel. He explained that we would have to help him handle the kittens, but was more than willing to let us come back in the morning at no extra cost if during the vaccinations or blood drawing, we were unable to manage the cats. Thanks to his clear and calm direction, we were in and out in a matter of a half-​hour, everything taken care of. He was thorough in his explanation of vaccines and test options, including exactly how much everything would cost. He did *not* push every available vaccine and test on us, simply explained given the circumstances of the kittens, and the fact of our preexisting indoor cats, which ones he would recommend us getting. He even actually gave us tips on how to turn low-​cost household items into flea shampoo.
There are other vets who don’t charge for a visit when inoculating and vaccinating for first-​time visits because the cost of the tests and medications are so high. Those are also the same vets who couldn’t or wouldn’t see our cats on such short notice in a non-​emergency capacity. I also feel most vets don’t have the diaspora of clinical experience Dr. Appel does with serious house pet illnesses, although that’s a feeling based simply on conversation and previous experiences with other vets. I may not be able to afford using Dr. Appel on a frequent basis because of how expensive he is, but if my cats ever get sick on a Sunday, or if my regular vet has trouble identifying the issue, I’m glad to know of Dr. Appel and will absolutely use this man as the resource he is.

I had went to another vet and they didnt seem to know what was wrong with my 6 year old pug.Sam. Sam had passed out one day and being that I live close to Dr. Appel I called and asked if I could bring Sam in. I took Sam in and he was able to tell me in a few minutes what was wrong with my pug. Sam was dealing with a life threatening disorder and had to be put to rest. Dr Appel and his staff were full of compassion for my loss and allowed me as much time as I needed after he went to sleep. They were considerate and very kind. Right before I left Sam for the last time Dr Appel cam into the room and petted Sam and told me that he was a good and happy dog. If I ever get another dog I will keep Dr. Appel as a vet for our family.

This vet will hear your complaint and then do every test he possibly can in order to charge you HUNDREDS of dollars. Then after doing 3 – 4 different test will then give you a result and charge you More for any remedy needed. He is like a mechanic changing 5 parts to fix a car that only needed 1 part changed ! Yeah you get a good result but your EXCESSIVELY OVERCHARGED to get there ! My puppy had Diarrhea and he suggested, «well he may have a parasite, lets test» So he did a Stool Test, a Blood test, and threw in an Ear Mite test… All came back negative and he then suggest, Well it could be his food, he may be allergic… $ 504 Dollars for all these test to be negative and the pup have reaction to his food…

My cat has lived in 4 cities across the country and has seen countless vets in her lifetime. I’d have to say that Dr. Appel is one of the most caring vets I’ve ever met. He successfully performed a rather delicate and invasive surgery procedure on my cat, and she recovered beautifully, although the growth removed ended being cancerous. In the last two months of my cat’s life, Dr. Appel was not only knowledgeable but sensitive as well during this difficult time. He and his staff instructed me on various at-​home hospice procedures, and they were always helpful whenever I had any questions. My cat passed away (surprisingly close to when he had expected her to) and I believe her last few weeks here were improved thanks to Dr. Appel and his staff.

DR. APPEL SAVED MY CAT!!!
Our cat, Moo, had ingested a 17 inch long, 1 inch wide satin ribbon! Before we knew this, we thought he was going to die. But Dr. Appel saved the day and was compassionate and caring through the horrible, week-​long ordeal, as was his wonderful, kind staff. Now Moo is running around the apartment in circles like a one year old feline like him should do! I cannot recommend this vet enough — stop reviewing vets on Unilocal and go see Dr. Appel, our vet for life!

Dr. Appel is the most caring and knowledgeable vet I have ever met. I am a certified animal handler for the state, I run a dog day care– and I admire Dr. Appel.
He knows his stuff– he saved my kitten’s life when another vet was misdiagnosing him– and he treats each animal as if they were his own.
He is always running late– ALWAYS. It may be annoying but I know he won’t cut any corners while treating his clients, I appreciate that.