Garden State Veterinary Services

If you can avoid going to this place then avoid it! If you need to go in an emergency make sure you see your own vet as soon as they open. My dog was not only wrongly diagnosed but they wanted me to have him stay overnight for a surgeon evaluation even after saying the surgeon would not be there until Monday (it was Thursday) and the residents would also not be in until the weekend. They also wanted to have a joint tap done (my dog is severely epileptic so strew could really hurt him). All he had was lymes disease he had all the signs and symptoms yet this place neglected to even test for it. Thankfully I got the heck out of there and went the next day to my regular vet! These people don’t care about me or my dog they just see $$$

1. U Penn Veterinary Hospital (Dr. Latney and Team)
2. Westfield Animal Hospital/​Plainfield Animal Hospital (Dr. Loomis)
3. Oradell
If my exotic pet was in dire straights, this is the order if I had any choice in the matter of where to bring my pet in an emergency.
If you are reading this and in a state of emergency and have an exotic pet, and your gut feeling as a caring pet owner that knows about their exotic pet and it’s husbandry then this place will be of no use to you.
Furthermore the receptionists or whoever answered the calls this evening 11/​18/​2015 entirely misrepresented their doctors on call this evening abilities to see or diagnose exotics. They need to be retrained or this place will ultimately suffer from litigation caused by malpractice.
We called this place up as they were an emergency vet that we weren’t familiar with and was a last resort choice as our normal exotic vet was closed for the day. We brought in a Chinchilla which are herbivores and the doctor on staff said that he was out of his element and unable to really diagnose what was going on with the Chinchilla outside of doing a emergency check.
He then agreed with our assessment that the Chinchilla wasn’t eating and prescribed to us a pound of Clinicare emergency food for dogs and cats He prescribed a pound of protein whose main ingredient is whey protein (the same stuff that causes kidney damage in body builders who take in too much protein) to an animal that is an herbivore. He then conceded that they did not have Oxbow’s critical care for herbivores in stock. What was incredulous was that he had to look up what it was.
In any case the honest truth is I should have known better that you can’t take your exotic pet to some grade F emergency vet hospital because they put up a plaque on the wall that says they care for sick animals. Having the stuff that can actually knows what they are doing, and an honest team of receptionists who understand the limits of the doctor on call that day also helps.

It is very strange that I am giving 5 stars to a vet that had to euthanize my cat, but I am. This morning, I brought my senior kitty Galahad in to the emergency vet. He has had runny eyes and nose the past few days, very extreme. I had decided to bring him to his usual vet on Monday if no improvement, but this AM Sunday, I went to clean his eyes and nose and noticed that he looked worse and had a very strong smell coming from his mouth. Brought him in and he was examined by Dr Avery Kasten. Dr Kasten decided to do blood work on him as she said his kidneys felt weird during physical exam and that the respiratory infection could be a symptom of something bigger. Unfortunately, Galahad was found to have late stage renal failure (how other docs missed it idk) and Dr Kasten laid out the options for us. Treatment may have given him a couple of more months, but he would suffer and not be ever cured. After much crying, we decided to let him go. We were given plenty of time to say goodbye and able to hold him as he died. Dr Kasten and her staff were wonderful to us In our time of sorrow. They did not bug us about money matters, just asked if I wanted to take care of bill before Galahad was brought out. I tearfully handed over my atm card, it was not super expensive even with electing to get his ashes back. I recommend Dr Kasten and this office, I hope I do not need them again but if you do, they are awesome and respectful animal lovers.

We brought our elderly sick cat in around 11pm after her symptoms had gotten progressively worse throughout the day. Our regular vet had been treating her with antibiotics for a few months, but couldn’t pin down a diagnosis.
The staff was very friendly and accommodating. Dr. Patanio gave us an honest evaluation and provided an explanation of every route we could take. We had already discussed putting her to sleep before arriving and the entire staff was incredibly sympathetic when that’s what we decided to do. They even waived the exam fee for us.
I understand everyone’s experience is going to be different depending on their attachment to their pets, but this place made an already horrible experience much easier. We really appreciate that.

This place only wants money!!! They are not true animal lovers. I had called in after a sweet sweet stray kitten was attacked by a raccoon and they told me that they could take the kitten as a «favor» but would not be treated unless I could cough up the cash!
I ended up calling Edison Animal Control. EAC ended up bringing the kitten to the place because they had no on call vets. Two minutes in their care and they euthanized the kitten. They refused to tell me what injuries the animal had sustained that led them to make such a quick decision, probably because they didn’t even do a proper assessment. You CAN NOT decide to euthanize and animal by just looking at external injuries, which were minimal. And I have video an photos as proof. I am very disappointed. How cold hearted to turn and animal away because it had no owner. And when the kitten they did not even attempt to treat her because she was a stray brought in by the town and they couldn’t make money, by treating a stray animal.
SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU

Our 12 year old Lhasa Apso’s xray at the regular vet showed a large mass on her liver and her enzymes were off the chart. The recommendation was to go to Iselin for an ultrasound to get more specifics. Granted, it was Labor Day weekend and no other vets were open, but they were severely short staffed. They took the ultrasound on Sat. night and were going to get back to us in the morning. We left her overnight. By noon the next day, we had heard nothing. My husband finally went there and was made to wait for 3 hours. Their excuse was that they were too busy with only one vet on staff. They knew that they would be busy, why didn’t they provide sufficient personnel to service a busy holiday weekend? Management needs to reevaluate their staffing needs. Despite the workload, however, Dr. Marcus was great.

Please stay away from this emergency veterinary office if you value your pet and your wallet. I brought my cat in on a Sunday afternoon due to an emergency with my senior cat. There was no one else in the waiting area yet I waited for over an hour. The staff is indifferent and cold all around. They gave him an injection for pain and took x-​rays. They said there is nothing they could do. The next day when I took him to my regular vet since they were open, they told me that they didn’t even give him enough pain medication to make any difference. They were shocked when they saw that I had paid hundreds of dollars for nothing. I called them up to say what my regular vet had said and they were rude and just couldn’t care less about administering any quality care that might help your pet. All they care about is having tests, blood work, x rays done to pad the bill. I wouldn’t mind paying extra had it alleviated or helped my cat but to pay top dollar for nothing is wrong.

I took my sick Chihuahua there this past Wednesday night. She was lethargic and not acting like herself. I arrived just at 8pm when they opened and we were taken care of right away. The two ladies at the front desk were very nice, calm and patient and explained everything to us. Dr. Friedlander was on call that night and she was very knowledgeable and kind. I was obviously upset and she assured me that my dog was in good hands. She did an examination and then did some x-​rays (she explained the cost and need before performing them). Since my regular vet is Iselin Animal Hospital which is across the street, she recommended that I go back there in the morning to avoid the high cost of the surgery she would provide and have our regular vet do it in the morning which saved us $ 1,000 (not that I wouldn’t have spent it in a heartbeat, but I appreciated the fact that the doctor was confident with my dog’s condition to make it the 8 hours until she could be seen by the regular vet and not want to have me spend more money than I had to since she knew I was going to spend a lot with my dog’s condition). She gave my dog fluids and assured me she would be okay until the next morning since the x-​rays didn’t show a need to perform the surgery right away. They also faxed my dog’s charts and x-​rays over to my vet and sent me home with a copy of everything and a disk with her x-​rays on it. I would recommend them to anyone who is in need of emergency vet care. Their office is a little broken down right now because they are under construction, but they are open and providing care. They are now named «Garden State Emergency Veterinary Services».

Teddi in very bad pain since off of pain meds from bladder surgery last Wednesday. Panting so fast and hard. Went to Emergency Vet tonight. Couldn’t get in the door locked. Finally a client opened it for me. Had trouble getting Teddi to move and he was houling in pain. Vet came out from a door behind me and yelled, «Can you take that dog outside he is scaring the cats in the back!» She didn’t even bother to look to see he was in pain and couldn’t move around much. The people inside were upset for me. I got up and said a 4 letter word to her, picked Teddi up and carried 53lbs to my pick-​up truck. I am home now and after 1am. I have never heard or seen anything so rude in my life. Poor Teddi in pain. Sign outside says «Under new management» What a horror! More like «Under bad management»

A friend took her English Springer Spaniel to this clinic late last night because the dog was still recovering 1 wk post-​op. He was in severe pain. A very rude and unprofessional vet approached my friend. Instead of acknowledging the client or the fact that her dog was in obvious distress, this vet chose to scold my friend and tell her to get her dog outside because the «cats in the back are scared». What a horrendous way to treat a client with a pet that was in need of urgent care. My friend didn’t expect the vet to drop what she was doing and give Teddi priority, but a simple, courteous acknowledgement would have gone a long way. This was calloused and unethical behavior for a vet. Management would be well advised to address this immediately. This person is destroying your business and burning bridges.

I recently visited Central Jersey Vet Hospital because my dog was having an allergic reaction to something, it was the middle of the night and my regular vets answering machine recommended that I go here. I called to advise them that I was coming and they were practically waiting for me when I walked in 20 minutes later. The tech & doctor on duty were wonderful. They calmed my nerves (our pets are our children so I was worried) and were very loving and gentle with my anxious, scared & ill dog. After a thorough exam, my dog was administered a few shots and we were sent home with a prescription & detailed list of how to care for her over the next week (meal instructions, medication instructions & possible things she may do/​need while sick). I do not feel that CJAH overcharged me at all. For the emergency service they provided as well as the combination of injections & prescriptions I was given, my bill was under $ 300. They have recently merged with Garden State Veterinary hospital based out of Tinton Falls which has a wonderful reputation. Thank you to Dr. Freidlanden (spelling?) for taking such good care if us.

Brought my one year old Cat in for an infected paw after her claw came out while she was climbing on furniture. THe Receptionist couldnt have been more annoyed to see us and even though the waiting room was completely empty she still had us wait alomst 20 minutes before the Vet came and got us. THe Vet couldnt have been more rude — wouldnt listen to us when trying to explain what happened to our kitty’s paw, how long it had been since claw came out, factors leading up to paw becoming infected vaccines etc. She tried to touch the paw multiple times and than asked me to sit outside while her and her staff held down my cat to a point where she needed a tranquilizer to calm her down — Doctor’s words not mine. Than she said she didn’t «think» it was infected but [receeded to prescribe me almost $ 100 in medications to treat her. When i asked to speak to the doctor again the Dr refused to come back out referring all questions to the receptionist who couldnt have been less educated when it came to answering my questions– thus leaving me stumped as i left the office and less $ 228. I would not recommend anyone going here unless it was an EXTREME emergency.

I brought my cat in on a Sunday afternoon. He had received an enema at our regular vet on Thursday to relieve constipation, and on Sunday he was still extremely sick, and I noticed that he had blood in his urine (a lot of blood). This can be fatal for cats, so I brought him in right away.
I have been here before and waited a long time, but I came at a good time, and there was almost no wait. They saw my cat immediately and knew almost right away that he had a UTI and needed overnight treatment. The vet technician was very kind, and handled my cat properly, and the vet was extremely kind as well. She made him feel at home. I’m used to my cat being over-​handled by our veterinarian’s technicians so I was very relieved to see that it’s not my cat that’s mean — but it’s the inappropriate handling that makes him angry. Having this ER vet so close to home on Sunday lifted a massive weight off of my shoulders. I left knowing that he was in good hands. This place is not cheap but it is WELL worth it for the treatment you receive. I would go here in any emergency.
As a side note, the vet technician was on the phone with me for a good 20 minutes before I even came in. The phone attention was much appreciated, and it was what I needed to decide if I was going to come in or not.

We were referred to CJVES by our regular vet’s answering service. We brought our cat in today because he was vomiting and also developed a strange head tremor. He had been hospitalized earlier in the week for dehydration and anorexia, multiple diagnostic tests were inconclusive, so when his appetite declined again we didn’t want to wait to have him checked out. The staff at CJVES was very professional. Unfortunately we had a long wait — nearly an hour and a half — which is the only reason I didn’t give a 5-​star rating. I know they were short staffed on a Sunday and a couple of emergency cases came in, but was really tough to sit there for so long with a scared cat in his carrier. Once we went into the exam room Dr. Spodnick was great, she conducted a very thorough exam, listened to our explanations and concerns and had thoughtful questions and responses. She recommended a fluid injection along with a shot for the nausea. We brought him home and he perked up pretty quickly and started eating again. So hard when they can’t tell you what is wrong! We will follow up with his regular vet tomorrow. But we wouldn’t hesitate to take him back to CJVES again, the only drawback was the wait time.

We were babysitting our friends dog and during the night she cornered an opossum who defended itself by biting her on the side of the face. The dog is a mix of golden lab & Jack Russell Terrier ~ a true sweetheart during the day but at night, she goes hunting in the back yard. Since it was 3am Sunday morning, the regular vet was closed; on their recording was the information to call the Central Jersey Veterinary Group. We arrived there by 4am. The doors are kept locked which is nice since it is the middle of the night. They have glass doors & windows, so the staff is able to see whoever pulls up,
We were immediately greeted by a pleasant woman who asked the reason she was brought there. After determining it wasn’t life threatening, we filled out the forms & waited our turn ~ probably for ½ hr or so. The waiting area was clean, bright & spacious with plenty of chairs.
When it was our turn, the vet came out and we explained the situation & what happened. She took her inside and cleaned out the wound, stitched & patched her up & she was done! The vet said she was a good patient.
While we were waiting, we met 2 other patients and their people. One had come from quite a distance because of their previous good experience with Central Jersey Emergency Group. The other couple were fairly local as we were (8 miles); they said that a relative told them to go there, so this was their first time. When we were done, I told that person that we had a good experience, so not to worry.
Bottom line is that they are there when the vets are closed and besides being very professional, they are kind to both the patients and their people! I would highly recommend them if you have an emergency with your pet.
:-)