Upstate Veterinary Specialties

I came in at 7:40 PM with my sweet boy Grayson. I explained that he is a spunky cat who is now lethargic and not moving. He could not even lift his head. I told them multiple times something was seriously wrong. No one listened. During triage, they said he was stable and fine, which baffled me Because stable and fine is not a sweet kitty who can't move or lift his head. After sitting there for over three hours, Grayson continue to deteriorate and turn yellow. I had to push for them to reevaluate him. During reevaluation, they realized how severe his condition was. Decided that he was an urgent case after making him suffer for over three hours. Finally at 12:10 at night, they determined that he was a diabetic keto acidosis which is life-threatening. They allowed my sweet baby to sit there and suffer for over three Hours. I did not get an I'm sorry we made a mistake. Nothing. My poor boy came back with bloodwork that showed everything was failing on him and the chances of him making it through were not great. I ended up having to put him to sleep, which broke my heart.. They need to take these things a little more serious when you're telling them that something is seriously wrong. I feel that if they were concerned and took care of him sooner, maybe things could've been different. I'm very angry. They did not do their job correctly. They need to train their triage Staff to take a little more time and to seriously listen. The family knows more than anybody when something is wrong with their babies and now my sweet baby is gone and I'm angry and heartbroken. To the staff, please take more time and consideration when triaging so our babies don't Sit and suffer for hours.

Anaia was super friendly on the phone and made me much calmer about bringing in my cat. The waiting environment was clean and accomodating. Having restrooms, water and coffee available made it much easier to wait for five hours than a typical ER. A staff member came around and asked how I was doing a few hours in and even asked if we needed water or coffee. That kind of concern and acknowledgement of our stress is super calming and validating. The doctor, Kimberly Kirchner, was friendly and informative and the tech that showed us how to give her meds was also very kind and helpful. All around a wonderful experience even though our poor cat is still so sick. You made a hard time a little easier.

Thank you to everyone who helped Levi on Friday night. I spoke with so many people that I can only remember Dr. Wolf's name, but I see each face clear as day, with a warm understanding smile. There was the person at the front desk who offered me water and a snack when I told them I felt faint, the person who brought Levi back to me while we waited to be seen and told me how to get blood out of the sweater grandma knitted, the person who took us back for a preliminary visit to talk about what happened and offered me advice on which local hotels were safest when I said I didn't feel well enough to drive an hour home. Then of course was Elizabeth Wolf, someone I admire deeply, for her knowledge, skill, patience, and kindness. Qualities shared by each person I had the pleasure of meeting. Forgive me for not remembering all of your names, but Levi and I are so grateful for your compassionate care. It's clear you all value your patients AND their family, and we are lucky to have a resource like you in our community.

I presented on Thursday night 9/18/25 around 1030 pm. My 8 month old bulldog puppy that I adopted a month ago chewed my Amazon fire stick and I panicked when I didn't find the other battery (after finding one chewed battery on the couch). I was hysterical and ALL of the staff were very compassionate (front desk, techs, doctor, etc.). I was scared to death that this puppy I've had for a month was going to have a medical emergency that I couldn't afford. I was relieved that he didn't present with any symptoms and we were able to go home with donated medication. I've never had a bad experience at upstate, and I've unfortunately had some close calls with my other dog Santana that were really scary. I referred my friend to upstate back in the spring and she had a really good experience during a scary time for her dog. I'm very grateful for upstate and their staff.

This was my first visit due to an emergency with my dog. The people at Upstate are wonderful. Kind caring and compassionate. Dr. Berube was terrific. Did a thorough exam and figured out the medical issue very quickly and addressed it. My dog is dramatically better. I drove over an hour to get to upstate. I would do it again in a heartbeat.