Animal General

I recently brought my dog, Grace (my ‘baby’, therapy dog, and ESA) to Animal General.
When we arrived, the front office staff were very friendly and professional. Cecilie, Lauren, and Bamzi were terrific! They greeted us with smiles and cuddles for Grace. The reception area is clean, comfortable, and well organized. I didn’t wait long to see Dr. Freedman.
When Dr. Freedman entered he shook my hand and greeted Grace. He questioned me about what was going on with Grace and was extremely patient while I explained and then asked many questions. He was very thorough in explaining all the different possibilities and options for treatment. He examined Grace gently and thoroughly. He was so sweet with her and that really meant a lot to me. He clearly has a love for animals and that comes through in his treatment.
In following up we played a bit of phone tag, but he continued to reach out to me. When we finally caught up Dr. Freedman was again very patient with my desire to understand all possibilities, and treatments which in turn helped me make a decision for next steps.
My experience with Animal General thus far has been exceptional.

I am surprised I haven’t reviewed here yet. This is my vet of choice, after a couple other’s I finally landed here. While yes, prices on some things can be high they are really no different than any other vet in the area. What you pay for is absolute care for your pet and great service.
We’ve been seen by every doctor for everything from check ups to sickness and every Doctor is kind and caring. They don’t pad the bill, make you do unnecessary tests and they ask you what you want to do through the whole process. What I like most is there is no real attempt to «upsell» things like vitamins, Heartgard, that kinda stuff. They’ve even told me to buy stuff from Costco or Amazon. That is proof that they are there one reason, the well being of the animals they serve, and not to line their pockets, which is a vibe I have gotten from some other vets.
They have taken great care of our pup Max and the fact that I drive there from Hoboken instead of some Hoboken vets should say something. They take care of their customers and their furry friends.

In my entire lifetime of owning dogs, I have never encountered such wonderful and caring veterinarians and place that truly cares about dogs. Thank you Dr. Z and staff for truly caring about my dog and doing everything you can to help him.

My Maltese/​Poodle Mix came in to get neutered. He had a cryptorchid neuter (one of his testicles was not descended). When we got him home, we noticed he could still reach his incisions even with the cone on. So we put gauze and taped the area around the incisions so he would not be able to lick. Long story short, my little guy moving around the house caused the gauze to move and the sticky side ended up right on his incision. I panicked! I came in at 8am on the dot, and told them what happened. They took my little guy in, removed the gauze with mineral oil, and gave me a bigger cone. All free of charge. They are the best, and I will continue to take my little guy there.

I love this place! I came here after having a bad experience at another vet (Cat Exclusive see review). I wound up seeing Dr. May. She really took the time to address all my issues and concerns and steered my in the right direction with my cats treatment. I never felt rushed or pushed with her and she made me feel like my cats care really mattered and help me feel calm. After all her help my baby is 100% better. I would like to say that Dr. May is awesome! I like the fact that she would personally called me to see how my cat was doing and with any results. The receptionist are so nice and make you feel welcomed. Thank you all!

My cat Molly has been a patient of Dr. May every since I adopted her 6 years ago. Though we moved away from the area for a couple years and picked up a dog named Rondo along the way I never forgot Dr. May and the staff at Animal General. Now that we have moved back to NJ, there is no other vet I’d take my furry babies to. Dr. May is kind, caring, very knowledgable and practical in her approach to caring for pets. She doesn’t suggest tests or medications that aren’t needed and always seeks to get to the root cause of any issues we have had. She is not only a doctor but an educator of pet parents and is most importantly a very nice person. You can tell that she as well as all of the staff are not only service providers but pet lovers.
Thank you so much for everything!

This is the best place. I travel from Long Island just to take my dog here. I’ve been taking my Newfoundland here for over 6 years. This team of vets are extremely professional, reliable, and anyone would be lucky to take their pet here.

Worst place ever. My Yorkie was perfectly healthy. The vet administered a rabies vaccination without informing me or my mom as to what to look out for if the dog had a reaction. The VET was too busy trying to SELL us Products!!!
WE were not informed the dog could have any type of reaction !!! He stated she needed shots and he would space them out clear and simple.
Our dog died when we got home!. Dr Friedman tried to blame it on a trachea issue which is false he was arrogant and I felt he could care less about animals.. Prior to the visit my dog was active and super healthy. The vet who administered the vaccine acknowledged he didn’t inform us as to what to «look out for» in case of a bad reaction or that there could be ANY reaction either! Never bring a dog here!

Dr. O is caring, compassionate, thorough and takes the time to answer the many questions of a nervous pet parent. The entire staff is very friendly. I had called in a sheer panic when my beloved kitty had a sore and wasn’t acting like herself.
Since bringing in my car Sheba for an infection, I have recommended Animal General to everyone I know with pets.
My cat Sheba is very” particular” about the company she keeps, she doesn’t like strangers and can lash out at those she doesn’t know. She must have sensed hat Dr. O was there to help, besides letting the Dr. Take a look at her and touch her, when I came to pick her up later she was surprisingly at ease and everyone on staff knew and commented how sweet my Sheba was… I though maybe they mixed up my cat lol.!They didn’t, it’s just that their love of animals translated to both the human and feline species and my cat was able to know that she was in a good, if not the best place, to heal her.

Great facility and staff. Very courteous and attentive, not to mention competent ! Along with fair pricing, this makes it a 5 star vet !!

We have been coming here for about a year now. At first I was not impressed. Prices were higher then others in the area but others recommended me here. I have a big dog and our first visit they stuck us in the smallest room which was pretty uncomfortable when we had to get 2 techs to help and ended up with 4 people and a Great Dane. However visit #2 was better, bigger room, and the doctor gave us more time and also gave us options for keeping the prices on the lower side for treatments. These last few months we have now been in more often then my wallet would like but now my dog is known, they know she is pretty nervous, they get her in a proper room size quickly and the doctors have all been great with helping us.
I will now be another pet parent recommending this vet clinic.

Dr. Onderdonk is the best. Her calm demeanor and thorough explanations really put my mind at ease when I am worried about the health of my dogs. She took her time with diagnosing my dogs and was not quick to jump straight into using medication. The staff is equally professional, friendly and so caring with how they handle my dogs. The price does seem higher than what I hear other people pay, but I don’t mind the higher price tag. Because the trust they’ve built was from day 1, and it continues til this day.

I have had dogs all my life and have never been more satisfied with a vets office. The doctors are caring, knowledgeable, and take the time to provide individual care based on each pet’s needs. The staff are always friendly and courteous. Some people have said the prices seem a bit high, but I’m a firm believer that you get what you pay for. They may not be offering the discounted shots a petco offers, but I really don’t think their prices are unreasonable compared to a traditional vet. My dogs are like family and I want to bring them to someone like the doctors here that understand that.

My 2 year old French Bulldog Blanca and I were heading to Mexico and needed a health certificate to travel. I saw Dr. Freedman who is the BEST veterinarian I have seen over my pup’s life span. He explained things that my vet in Los Angeles, (where I lived previously), had never mentioned. Apparently, Blanca has a knee issue in her back leg that causes her to skip while walking. I had never known why she did this. While Dr. Freedman needed simply to fill out the health certificate, he took time and loving care to walk thru Blanca’s overall health with me.
The facility was clean. The receptionists were attentive. Couldn’t speak more highly of this place and primarily because of Dr. Freedman’s bed side manner and expertise.

People seem to love this place. The vets are nice, seem knowledgable and are excellent about doing followup. The prices are reasonable for the area. Unfortunately, they nickel and dime you without meaningfully engaging you regarding your pet’s treatment options. I have never left the building without spending at least $ 340. If my pet had a serious problem, I wouldn’t mind this. However, in both circumstances they told me I probably had nothing to worry about. Spending $ 350 on testing and treatment for something that is «nothing to worry about» just seems excessive to me. If you go in ready to demand an itemized list of treatment options and prices, you will probably have a good experience. Otherwise, plan to leave with a big bill and a lot of stuff you may not need.

I have been going to Animal General for over 5 years and feel fortunate to have found Dr. MAY, who has always taken tremendous care of my two dogs (one is 11, and the other close to 15). She is dedicated, compassionate, and consistently invests her time — above and beyond my expectations– in providing my girls with top-​notch medical care, as does the entire staff at Animal General. As a special note, my oldest has a number of complicated medical issues, and I firmly believe that Dr. May’s care has increased her quality of life and overall health.

I have been taking my dogs to DR. MAY for 6 years and she is not only a wonderful, caring, humble and excellent veterinarian internist that I never get tired of recommending her to everybody I know, but in fact once I went to a specialist from the best hospital in manhattan and also spoke wonders about her professionally.
So there is no doubt in my mind that this recent review had to be an emotional misunderstanding and I do understand as a dog owner how we can get a bit emotional sometimes about our pets health but I really wanted to share my story since I think it shows more of Dr May’s reputation.
Basically in 6 years, not once she had express an uncaring or unprofessional opinion she always takes time to listen to you about your pet’s issues and you can always count on an honest and extremely bright opinion with a great explanation that’s why I trust nobody else with my dogs health.

Took my newly adopted kitty for a general check up at Animal General a couple of weeks ago. They were very accommodating giving me an appt around 7:30PM so I could make it after work. The place is big and clean, and the staff is really friendly. I got a follow up call early the next day to let me know the results of a test they performed, that was pretty efficient.
The vet was really nice and he answered all my questions thoroughly.
Only thing I realized when I left is that I was not given a detailed summary of things, I got a general receipt with annual check up and x, y, z test on it but it would be nice to get more info regarding your pet’s current health, like weight, temp and such. Not a big deal and I’m sure if you ask they can provide you with it. Definitely coming back to them when I need care for my cat.

Ive taken all three of my cats here for over 10 years. This place is very helpful, friendly and outstanding. My female cat is a bit of a bitch and does not like men, and to be handled by strangers all the time. She loves to be pet by any of the staff here and they love her, a few of them know her by her name-​Starr DiMuro.
The main reason why this place won me over and truly made me feel loved was what happened the day after Hurricane Sandy. My family and I lost our apartment due to it, which resulted in me having to bring Starr to my boyfriends house – where 7 other cats live. A situation in the past hapepned that resulted in us having to sedate her a little to deal with stress, my family and I knew this would work best to calm her down and get her used to being around other animals at first.
When we pulled up, the lights were off and i paniced. No one had answered the phone, and i knew this could help her. Not only did a staff member come to the door, but she checked my chart, called up Oradell Animal Hospital in Paramus and spoke to them about calling in the medicine. Everything went smoothly and Starr was fine.
Dr. Friedman left me a voicemail to check up on Starr and make sure everything went fine. Even a few laters later, he called again to find out if we needed anything. This place is truly loving and cares about their clients, and little furry friends. Ive used other vets and have had just the ‘whatever’ attitude from them, and almost a cold feeling.
Deff. bring your animals here, they will go out of their way to help them and you.

I have been taking my dogs here for over six years. I love all of the vets in this practice. Even though there are several vets in the practice, there is great consistency to the approach and level of caring across the staff.
The things I love most about this practice are:
1) The caring attitude of the staff.
2) Followup by the vets to see how my dog (or cat) is doing.
3) Conservative approach to treatment
4) Affiliation with River Pet. When I need to board my dogs, which is rarely, I feel comfortable knowing that the vet is just a few doors down.
5) Availability for to leave my pet as a «drop-​off» if my schedule precludes me from being present for an unexpected appointment. For an additonal fee, I can drop my dog off in the morning and one of the vets will see them as time permits.
6) Costs are very reasonable for the area. With the conservative approach to treatment, I spend much less than I did prior to brining my pets to Animal General.
While the follow-​up is always great, they were particularly great during the last several months of my elderly dog and cat’s lives. That was a very difficult time and they were able to answer all of my questions and offer support, sometimes even calling from their commutes home to check on things. I love these guys.
I have referred several friends to this practice, including former neighbors in Northern Manhattan. They have all raved about their experience at Animal General and it is significantly less expensive than vet practices in Manhattan.