Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island

My 18 yr. old cat is in «crisis» (again), so I have been to VMCLI several times since April. I have nothing but praise for Dr. Fondacaro, and all of the Internal Medicine Drs, technicians and staff. They consistently provide exceptional care with compassion and patience, taking the time to explain what’s going on, explain the treatment options, and to listen to my concerns and answer all of my questions. I may not like what the facts are, but, I do have complete confidence that my cat is receiving the absolute best medical care and attention at VMCLI. Absolutely the best. If they ever start treating «humans», I’d be 1^st in line :)
I am also very appreciative of the staff at the front desk. They always go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and welcome.
If your pet needs to see a specialist or if you have an emergency, this is the place to be.

This animal hospital was amazing with my cat! I had brought my cat in around 8pm at night when I noticed that she could not open her mouth and was trying to eat but could not open her mouth to eat. The front desk was very pleasant and comforting. The assistant was so sweet and gentle with my cat. When the dr came in she explained what needed to be done which was an exam under anesthesia to look in his mouth for an abscess possible broken jaw etc. after the exam, we were called back when the dr explained to us that she has come into contact with some poison outside that had burned her tongue and inside her mouth. She thoroughly explained to us that they were going to do blood work to see what the chemical was. She also explained the medication we were going to have to give her. I really had a great experience with this vet. They were very honest and compassionate in a time when I was very nervous and stressed. Thank you vmcli!!!

Horrible service ! They do not care about your pets !! Only care about money DO NOT GO HERE!!! Went there twice and deff not making the third mistake of going again !

FYI an appointment with ‘Dr. Daniel Carmichael’ can cost a minimum of $ 2,200 for 1 – 3 teeth extracted or $ 2,600 for 4 – 6 teeth extracted PLUS $ 145.00 consultation fee. I understand that a specialist can charge whatever they want for there services, but the question is can the public afford them? The doctor and his assistant are very nice, as well the people at the front desk. Unfortunately we had to leave and find a doctor within our means.

Dr. Seltzer and the dermatology department saved my dog! This place has been nothing but caring and helpful.

You do not want to bring your pet to VMCLI The incompetence, lies by the one owner I spoke with via email and administrator to cover up for the inability and incompetence is just appalling. This is all documented with medical records and I had 4 different well respected vets review everything with a fine comb.
My cat walked in here on a Saturday, by VMCLI’ own reports was a healthy cat despite having a single isolated tumor, all organs in great shape, blood work came back good and all in normal ranges, body rating was a 4 when a 5 is as good as it gets, yet within 4 days of being under there care, passed.
Since reviews are limited as to what you can write I have created a website,
where there is a more in depth review and all the medical records are uploaded to back everything up that is written in the review.
Since reviews have to be brief on here, I noticed during the week my cat was not eating her usual amount of food, less than normal dry food as well as wet food. I took her to the vet where he found a tumor, gave her a shot of cortisone and scheduled a exploratory for the following week, nearly a week later. Being this is health; I did not want to wait a week and figured I would take her to specialists to find out what is going on with my little one. I scheduled an appointment on Friday evening for Saturday at 11:30am. Dr Puza did a full work up. The bad news, she has very early stage 1 lymphoma. The good news, it was caught right away and treatment can be giving. I was with my cat 23 hours a day so this is no surprise that it was caught right away since I knew her every move and even by VMCLI’ reports her organs all come back clean and normal except for a tumor in her intestine, blood work is all normal and her body rating is a 4 (5 is the best you can have). There is no, I repeat no metastic disease as it is even stated on VMCLI’ report. Dr Puza then recommends a ultrasound guided aspiration of the single tumor which is in her intestine to determine what kind of cell it is. I later find out this can cause a rupture and Sepsis which will lead to death. Why was I not told of this risk? Its amazing when you do research and have 4 vets looking over records what you learn. The proper procedure is to surgically remove the tumor.
Tuesday morning, we have an appointment with Dr Edwin Brodsky at VMCLI, their oncologist. Mir is noticeably not herself, such a difference from when she first came here just 3 days before but Dr Edwin Brodsky dismisses that and says there are no side effects to chemotherapy and that we should start on chemotherapy. Well as it turns out, either Dr Edwin Brodsky wants to make his numbers for his department or is just a very uneducated oncologist. Chemotherapy does in fact have risks to it and in fact Lymphoma is one of the two diseases that have a very high risk to chemotherapy and need to have precautions taken. Tumor Lysis is of great risk when it comes to Lymphoma. Precautions should be taken before and after to prevent Tumor Lysis. Dr Brodsky, after telling me there is no risk and the outlook is very good, takes her in the back and administers her first does of chemo. At the time I knew none of this risk and was relying on what Dr Brodsky says rather than consulting with other doctors. Dr Brodsky needs to be fired!!! He ended up being responsible for my cat’s death.
Tuesday night: I notice Mir, the cat is sitting in a very awkward position, but again, she had another rough day and was just seen by the Dr at the vet today. I am thinking she is in good care.
Wednesday morning: The alarm clock goes off and Mir who is sleeping next to the bed goes to get up but cant. She can’t stand on her front legs. I know something is very wrong. She has not been herself since coming here days before and now this. We arrive at VMCLI, Mir is very alert, breathing fine. We spend the entire day here and Dr Edwin Brodsky actually has the nerve to come in and try and clear himself of any wrong doing telling me this is not his fault. They do another ultrasound and tell me they now want to check in her in and keep her overnight. At almost 4pm I get to see her after they had her in the back all day, she is breathing fine, alert and by all means normal while I am holding her in my arms. Around 9:30 I get a call from a Dr Erica Friedrich telling me I should be concerned, that she might not make it. What? What do you mean? 3 days ago my cat was running around the house and by all means acting like a spunky little kitten.
****Yelp does not allow enough space to write a full review of what happened*** Please, read the full review written on
and do not, do not come here. They allowed her to die from Tumor Lysis, which 100% happened under there care and because of the drugs they gave her. The worst part, this was treatable. I was also lied to by one of the owners and administrator as to what happened to top it off. Heartbroken and devistated

Okay, look. Fortunately, I have no other experiences with animal hospitals. However, I have, of course, heard how expensive they can be because people love their animals and will take out second mortgages to ensure their good health and safety. With that being said, and prices aside (since I have no comparison), here is my review:
One fine, normal, uneventful morning, I saw my puppy looking absolutely suspicious. I walked closer to him then realized he had an outlet cover in his mouth, and sure enough, he got scared that I would take it away so swallowed it whole, NATURALLY! We have been down this road before, and if I have learned anything from this dog, it is that he can pass just about anything and everything through his system. This time though, I knew it was different. The outlet cover was a weird shape, hard plastic, I knew he swallowed it without crunching it up first, and I could not bear the thought of what was going to happen next.
So, I called my vet who told me to take him immediately to this animal hospital. As soon as I walked in, the very personable receptionist paged someone from the back to come up and retrieve my dog as this was considered an emergency. I asked to be informed before they made any decisions, and they made sure that is what happened. Dr. Hutt talked me through every step/​procedure, gave me price estimates, and had me sign papers after receiving my consent. I appreciated that this gave me a ballpark estimate for how many bulk packages of ramen I will need to pick up for the next year or so. Law school debt= not as cool as it looks.
If you find yourself in an emergency situation, I highly suggest you bring your pet here. All the doctors were trustworthy and professional, the prices did not seem astronomical, and my sweet Tino is now back to his regular scheduled programming: wreaking havoc and chasing his female friends while swallowing outlet covers in his downtime.

Do not bring your pet here if you want them to receive compassionate care. They’re main concern is ripping you off because they’re open 24 hours and know if it’s an emergency, you’ll pay anything to help your pet.

Thank you, Tara and Joy (and Truffles, for the wonderful kisses and love you gave me Friday night when I was so sad to leave my baby overnight). And of course, to Dr. Wharton for her kindness and the excellent care she took of my boy. Long Island/​Suffolk County folks, if you EVER need emergency care, 24/​7, for your fur babies, I highly recommend this facility. This is the second time they have taken care of Memphis (when he has decided to be bad when no one is home and eat something that is NO good for him, which is also way out of his reach). They were all so kind, understanding and compassionate, and they stayed in constant contact with me, as they promised they would. So grateful to have my baby home, hanging in my office with me, where he belongs. I find it hard to believe that people are leaving bad reviews for this place. Yes, the care is expensive. But the care that you receive, the attention, the kindness, the excellent service, 24/​7, is well worth the price. I am so grateful that this facility exists and that it’s so close to me, and more than anything, I’m grateful for the excellent care my Memphis received. Five stars well deserved!

On 9÷20÷15, my (13) yr old Maltese, Sammy was crying in pain and she tried to bite me when I picked her up. She has never growled at me or ever tried to bite me in the past, so I knew she was in a lot of pain. She was panting and lethargic and my daughters were very upset about her not feeling well and it was a Sunday and my vet’s office was closed, so reluctantly I went to VMCLI. She fell off the bed in 2013 and has a herniated disc, but has been doing well until last Friday, 9÷18÷15, I gave her a bath and she ran around and slipped and cried out in pain, so that’s what started her back pain. On 9÷20÷15, at 6:00 pm, I take her to VMCLI and explained to the vet tech what happened and she took Sammy into the back for (2) hours.
Dr. Moy came out and said they took an X-​ray and she has a collapsed trachea & heart murmur which I already knew about and I explained to her when Sammy gets excited or stressed, she starts panting a lot. Dr. Moy put her in a oxygen box to monitor her breathing and said her tongue was blue and needed to be monitored overnight. Dr Moy recommends an echocardiogram, which I said no because last September 2014, they charged me $ 651.00 for a consultation, echocardiogram & blood work and she was fine. I asked the vet to look at her back cause I can’t bring her home being in that much pain, I said she needs to be put on pain medication. Later on the vet tech comes out and I hear her telling (3) patients that they recommend their dogs staying over night and being put in an oxygen tank and they don’t advise them seeing the dogs until tomorrow cause they’ll get excited and their stress level won’t help their breathing. A women said no, but the (2) other people agreed and the vet tech comes out and tells me the exact same thing and I said my dog is fine, but she said she’s critical and she was turning blue earlier and that if I take her home that night it may be detrimental to her. Of course, I’m hysterical and said fine, but I wanted to see her. She was jumping up on the window and I said, she can’t do that because she has a bad back and she’ll injure it more, they said they’ll monitor her all night. The next day at 830 am, I see Dr. fondacaro, the internist, and he can’t tell me what’s wrong with her and recommends a echocardiogram in (4) weeks. I was quite upset and said for $ 1700, you still don’t know what’s wrong with her. I asked Dr. fondacaro, if he looked at her back and he said no, then he leaves and comes back and said we make a good team, it’s her back. She needs to stay until 4 pm to start her on (3) pain medications and when I picked her up, she looked awful. I bring her home and the next day she’s dragging her right leg, which she never did before. She’s still crying out in pain and I take her on Tuesday, September 22, 2015, to my regular vet that knows her very well and sees her on a regular basis. I told them the story and she shook her head and had to readjust all of her meds. I told the vet her right leg is dragging and could that be from her jumping up on the oxygen tank during the night and she said it’s a possibility. They charged me $ 151 and I asked if she should stay overnight cause I’m afraid to take her home cause of her pain, but my vet said it’s more stressful for her to be away from us and that I needed to confine her to her crate. I told VMCLI, that she sees her vet on a regular basis and that it was not her breathing issues that I was concerned about, it was her back pain. I was there for (3) hours and witnessed so many people spending thousands of dollars on their pets. Everyone at VMCLI, was very kind to me, but my advice is if you can wait to see your regular vet, who knows your pet well and will charge you the minimal amount of money, not an astronomical amount of money. Also, your vet will probably make you come in so he can reevaluate your pet. VMCLI, didn’t know Sammy and she’s in worse shape now with back pain and dragging her right leg because they were treating her for the wrong thing. They charged me $ 679 immediately and then $ 972 to stay overnight and my vet charged me $ 151 for all of her meds and for a consultation. Shame on VMCLI for preying on people who love their pets.

VMCLI is one of the best 24 hr animal hospitals on Long Island. right from the start they made my min pin and myself very comfortable. they greeted us in a quick and mannerly fashion. took his weight and discussed what was wrong with him… then I had a seat in the waiting room and was called within 10 min. to be put in the doctors examination room where the nurse took all his vitals and after taking the vitals again took the time to make my pet comfortable and not stressed. then the doctor came into the room did her complete examination and discussed the options that were needed to make my pet better… My Min Pin had scratched his cornea and and formed an ulcer in his eye which needed surgery to help the eye heal properly and faster… the doctor worked up an estimate for the procedure they gave me 2 estimate one was a low side and one was high side. the higher one was if the surgery was a lot more involed and would not know if the would need to use the higher one till they started the surgery… Well I decided to pay in full the lower estimate and the opthemoligest Dr. La Croix did the surgery. after the surgery Dr. La Croix called me and assured me that the surgery was a success and went as good as any surgery could go… anyway when I went to pick up my dog Dr. La Croix took me in the examination room a discussed with me all the meds and how to take care of my dog to heal. When my Min Pin was being discharged from the hospital they presented me with my real bill and surprisingly they went with the low estimate and not only did they go with the low estimate, they gave me a $ 208.00 refund because the surgery went better than was expected… I was so suprised about the refund… they were very honest in my eyes… they could’ve kept that money and would not have known any better but they didnt keep it. So in my eyes it was not about the money and it was all about my min pin and him getting better… when I brought him in to have his stitches removed and his eye examined… Dr. la Croix said his eye healed wonderful and discharged him from her care… She also thanked me for caring so much to have the procedure done and taking such good care of Nene as if he were my kid… After all my dogs are like my children and I want them to have the best life I can possibly give them… Thank you Dr. La Croix & the entire staff at VMCLI for taking such good care of Nene for me… I definitely nrecommend this Hospital if you are ever in need of a specialist for your pet… thank you again for everything.
Best Regards,
Andrew Morice

For an emergency care vet, they could sure work on their customer service and reception skills.
I found a kitten that was hit by a car in the middle of the road yesterday and was instructed to take her here.
After bringing a tiny bleeding kitten inside, the first concern was finances. NOT the health and well being of this baby.
The receptionist said, ‘this is going to be expensive’
This is a kitten that is not even mine, and I was not given courtesy what so ever.
As it’s known, stray cats can have leukemia, but before they even tested this baby, they did all this invasive work for over $ 1,000.
Turns out she was sick, and had to be put down. I was still charged.
If you want to go somewhere that cares about your animal more than they care about money, I suggest you go elsewhere.
***I’ve had a similar experience when i took my dog in for an emergency. They shoved me aside, and acted like I was crazy for coming in for such a thing. They were NO HELP at all**

I gave this hospital one star only becouse they will take you in an emergency. If you can go anywhere else then I advise you do so. They are more interested in draining your wallet then helping your pet.

Don’t go to Dr Berone. She was a waste of time! Unprofessional nasty and rude. She. Will not listen to your concerns or respect what you have to say. I Weill never go there again!

So I’m going to make this simple… Shame On You… Maybe God will forgive you. my short story.
I found a kitten 5 days old in cold and was soaked. Was going to be cold that night would have never lasted. he was only one left out of five. so I brought home bought stuff from petco from nice woman. told me what to do… he seemed like he was doing good but next day really wasn’t moving didn’t seem right… I called z Babylon shelter they said couldn’t help no doctors on try here they do Good Samaritan work. I was like great cause I don’t have money to spend for treatment… so I called here. a girl picks up phone. I explain situation… and all of a sudden she tells me fees$ 150.for this. more money for treatment. etc…money money money… So I said Babylon shelter said you can help me. Good Samaritan treatment for kitten.
SO THE GIRL REPLIES… WE ARE NOT BABYLON ANIMAL SHELTER… SHE MEANT SORRY NO CAN’T HELP YOU UNLESS YOU PAY$$$…what A SIN… BECAUSE THAT NIGHT THAT LITTLE BABY KITTEN TOOK IT’S LAST BREATH AT 9:10…and I burried him today… so thanks for your help and concern… what would have cost you too help this little guy. Shame on u. this lies on your establishments back…

Very informative. These people know exactly what they are doing. Everything was explained to me and I felt comfortable, I won’t go anywhere else.

On Saturday my cat Zena was referred here for an emergency ultrasound and to have fluid drained from her lung.
We arrived at 1pm, and she was brought right in… to be put in a cage in a procedure room with a cone around her neck and wait for 4 ½ hours. The doctor met with me, then provided estimates to do the aspiration and ultrasound. They said it would be an hour or so before these procedures would happen so i went home.
I was on my way out the door to go back (about 2:20) when the doctor called to say they wouldn’t be able to do the ultrasound since they were overbooked and there were other emergencies that day. I called at 4 and left a message. Left another message at 5:30, then kept calling to find out what the heck was going on! I was finally told that they did the procedure to remove the fluid, and that the doctor would call me back. At 6:45 I called again and finally got the doctor who said i could come pick her up in about an hour to an hour and a half. We finally got out of there at 8:30.
Monday I called to make an appointment for the ultrasound. Just what i wanted to do… put Zena through more trauma of going to the vet, but since they didn’t do it Saturday, i didn’t have a choice. My appointment was at 2:30, and i was told (since I called beforehand), that there wouldn’t be a wait. Well, they lied, and we were stuck there an hour and a half before she was brought in… both of us totally stressed out. Several techs kept coming in to check on us, and one was actually annoyed with ME that I wanted Zena seen!
Unfortunately, my little Zena is terminal, with tumors in both lungs, and is day to day. I will never forgive this place for the unnecessary trauma they put us both through. Use them only as a last option in the middle of the night, or go to Twins in Bay Shore.

Easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given.
If you’re like me and find yourself in an emergency situation, with little time to do research, and now you’re in the parking lot of the VMCLI checking Unilocal — rest assured you’ve come to the right place.
Smuckers decided this past Sunday that although he gets his 3 cans of food per day, along with numerous treats, he was still in the mood for some socks. He was very covert about it, and did not let us know.
After he had thrown up 3 times, I immediately took him to my vet. After a couple x-​rays it was determined there was something in his stomach (the afore mentioned socks), and since he hadn’t held any food in, it probably wasn’t food. They referred me to VMCLI.
Even though it was in Suffolk County, I trust my vet, and boy am I happy they did.
From the crew at the front desk, to the women that explained the billing prior to the procedure, and most importantly, the veterinarian — all deserve the full 5 stars. The vet (John) took the time to explain what he believes is happening, what the best course of treatment is, pluses and minuses to the various options, and answered any questions I had. Although the waiting room was full, the experience was not rushed. The vet also had a colleague or an assistant with him, she also deserves 5 stars. The entire crew was compassionate, patient and kind.
As a follow up, I called the place the next day because Smuckers wasn’t too keen on taking one of his meds (damn slurry). The woman that picked up the phone said she would relay the message to the vet and get his thoughts on options. We’ve all heard this before, right? If they call back its hours and hours later. Not this place, they called me back within thirty minutes.
If you are taking your pet to the vet, you have some level of love for them. You can trust these people to do the right thing, and they’ll make you feel comfortable throughout the process. Smuckers is my boy, I would want him to have the best of everything, while at VMCLI, he did.

I can’t say enough good things about this office. Everyone there from the receptionist, assistants and the doctor that treated my dog, were wonderful. Kind, compassionate and patient with me. Since I had a harder time than the patient. Dr Lacroix, the opthomogist, is very kind. After my JR had to have one of his eyes removed I went back completely prepared to preempt his losing his remaining eye by another very expensive surgery. Instead of saying sure let’s schedule it she told me that at this time it was completely unnecessary and we could treat him with medications and close follow up. You don’t get that from most vets. I have full confidence in her and the staff. I will continue to use them and highly recommend them to any other pet lover looking for a compassionate, competent and honest vet.

i’ve limited myself to 4 stars because i did not experience their emergency services.
VMCLI is where the only recognized veterinary dentist on long island practices out of — dr. carmichael. his very able third year resident, dr. durand, also works out of this location. my cat piglet had a visible lesion on one of her canine teeth that my old vet would not diagnose as FORL and wanted to extract. the morning of the extraction, bloodwork showed piglet was well into kidney failure. my old vet wanted to keep her on iv fluids for two days in the facility then do the extraction — without doing X-​rays. i decided it was time for a second opinion.
dr. carmichael was, understandably, busy for some weeks, but dr. durand was available within a few days for a consultation. i was told that if surgery was necessary, it would be done after the consultation. dr. durand looked at piglet’s canine that was being resorbed and immediately agreed that it looked like FORL. she also noted a small lesion on another canine AND noted that two premolars had already been resorbed — my vet, who had seen piglet for years, did not notice that. i was told that X-​rays would be done and, because piglet’s kidney values were so high, they would like to keep her on iv fluids for one night, then do the surgery the next day. the estimate i was given was about $ 250 more than what my private vet wanted.
let’s quickly recap that — private vet wanted piglet to stay in their facility on IV fluids for two days prior to a single tooth extraction (without X-​rays) to be followed by a thorough dental cleaning. including the anesthesia and a biopsy on the ‘mass’ on her tooth, their estimate was A LOT. VMCLI wanted piglet to say one night in the hospital on IV fluids, have at least 2 teeth extracted WITH X-​rays, followed by a thorough dental cleaning. including anesthesia and a biopsy, VMCLI estimated A LOT plus $ 250.
dr. durand and the vet tech explained everything very carefully and i felt very comfortable. the front desk then helped me complete an application for care credit (which i was anticipating doing) and i was ready to go within about 30 minutes. they took my piglet back after i gave her a ton of kisses and i went home to worry.
i shouldn’t have worried. dr. durand called early the next afternoon telling me everything went well and i could pick piglet up that evening at 5pm. after X-​ray, dr. durand noted that all four of piglet’s canine teeth «looked like swiss cheese» (her words) and were affected by FORL; all four were removed. additionally, some of the mass on piglet’s canine and part of the tooth were biopsied, just in case (both were negative). because the canines were already affected, dr. durand performed crown amputations — and the final cost was actually a bit LESS than the estimate they originally gave me. dr. durand herself called me with the biopsy results and asked after piglet.
i was thrilled with the service here — the front desk staff was excellent, the facility is beautiful and as clean as a 24-​hour place filled with furry animals can be. yes, there was some hair in the waiting room. unless someone was out their sweeping every 30 minutes, there would be hair. it wasn’t dirty. the exam rooms were warmly decorated and felt comfortable. i’m sure many services here are more expensive than at a ‘regular vet’ — these vets are specialists and/​or performing emergency services. i’ve found their prices to be reasonable for the services offered. i’ll never hesitate to recommend VMCLI to others.