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Business Profile

Veterinarian

Upstate Vet Emergency & Specialty Care

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Reviews

Customer Review Ratings

1.73/5 stars

Average of 11 Customer Reviews

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Review Details

  • Review fromJ. Thalia C

    Date: 05/30/2025

    5 stars

    J. Thalia C

    Date: 05/30/2025

    As an emergency physician, I’m painfully aware of the reality of prolonged waiting times in emergency departments.
    Whether it’s a two-legged or four-legged patient, emergency department staff must triage every patient according to clinical acuity. The most critical patients must be evaluated first, and take priority over more stable patients. If your pet’s blood pressure were dropping to life-threateningly low levels, you’d want emergency department staff to pay immediate attention to your pet rather than the pet with a mild skin rash, even if the other pet had arrived first.
    When one is frightened about the well-being of a sick family member - two or four-legged - anxiety levels rise along with frustration and annoyance. This is understandable, but unfair.
    The quality of care, comprehensive range of services provided, genuine caring, compassion, and outstanding customer service skills exhibited by the ED staff at Upstate Veterinary Specialties is far superior to most EDs for two-legged patients.
    We have depended for years on the range of specialties of veterinarians at UVS, most of whom are residency trained. following four years of vet school. Most of UVS’ specialists are also board certified, so that following seversl grueling years of tesidency training after finishing four years of veterinary school, they must pass an equally grueling exam.
    Most recently, we brought our beloved almost 17-year-old cat to UVS’ ED. He received excellent - and likely lifesaving - care. We were kept informed on a regular basis, and truly appreciated the frequent updates regarding diagnostic test results during his admission.
    We feel fortunate to have a facility of UVS’ excellence in our area.

    Upstate Vet Emergency & Specialty Care

    Date: 06/12/2025

    Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a thoughtful and informed review. We sincerely appreciate your understanding of the challenges inherent in emergency veterinary medicine, particularly the importance of triage and prioritizing care based on clinical urgency.
    Your perspective as an emergency physician brings a unique and deeply valued voice to the conversation, and we are incredibly grateful for your recognition of the efforts and expertise of our team. Our emergency and specialty staff work tirelessly to provide compassionate, high-quality care to every patient, and it’s truly rewarding to hear that you’ve experienced this firsthand over the years.
    We're especially glad to know that your beloved cat received excellent care during his recent visit and that our communication and updates helped bring you some peace of mind during a difficult time. It is our privilege to care for the pets who mean so much to the families in our community, and we are honored by your trust and kind words.
    Thank you again for your continued support and for choosing UVS.
  • Review fromJerry W

    Date: 03/13/2025

    1 star
    BEWARE .. Money grab ..my local vet diagnosed my 61/2 yr old dog with lung cancer, took him to Upstate Vet for further evaluation. They did a a CT scan ($2400) to ensure there was only one nodule & to do blood workup.
    Scan showed 3.5 cm mass in left lung & no evidence of spread.
    I was told my dog was a good candidate for surgery($6-8K) and good prognosis after surge(y , >1 year of survival). So we opted for surgery.
    Took my dog home after a 2 day stay, He was restricted, & on a bland diet, no excitement but he was having issues with gagging & throwing up.
    Got the results of the biopsy a week later, they weren't exactly sure what kind of cancer it was. So they wanted another $1K for further pathology & $580 for a stomach ultrasound,

    SADLY my dog lived only ONE MONTH after surgery..
  • Review fromAlice S

    Date: 08/27/2024

    1 star

    Alice S

    Date: 08/27/2024

    I took my ****** Cat to Upstate, because it was a Saturday, and my vet was not open. My cat was not eating, grooming, and was very lethargic. She was just not right. I sat in the waiting room 2 hours, before they took us back to a room. After a hour the vet finally came in the room and examine her. I knew they would want to get blood, because she is 14. Finally 3 hours later she hame in to talk to me. She did not see anything that jumped out at her. I told her I had Pet insurance, and there had to be a diagnosis, plus all of her notes to file to the insurance. The cost was over $800, which I did not care. Just wanted her to be taken care of and the insurance to pay. She gave her a shot of antibiotics, because she felt that was the problem. On the forms she put inflammation vs infectious vs other. So the next day I noticed something wrong with her butt. Looked at it and knew she had a ruptured anal gland. When the vet checked her she did not even look at her butt. So took her to my vet on Monday, and they saw it right away. So of course the Insurance denied half of the $800, because she did not put a diagnosis. I will never take my pet back there. Also my vet told me that me having to wait 6 hours was not even right. Nothing takes that long.

    Upstate Vet Emergency & Specialty Care

    Date: 09/05/2024

    Ms. ****** -
    Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Based on our records, it seems our Hospital Director has had a chance to speak with you and we are glad we could assist in resolving the insurance matter.
    As an emergency veterinary hospital, our primary focus is on providing immediate care to pets in critical need, which can sometimes result in longer wait times for less life-threatening cases. We understand that waiting can be frustrating, especially when you're worried about your pet's health, and we apologize for any inconvenience this caused during your visit. We are constantly working to improve our processes to minimize wait times while still delivering the high-quality care every pet deserves.
    Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us as it helps us identify areas where we can enhance our services for our patients and their owners. We appreciate your trust in us, and we hope that your cat is doing well now.
    Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything further or if you have any additional questions or concerns.
  • Review fromLYNN H

    Date: 08/15/2024

    5 stars

    LYNN H

    Date: 08/15/2024

    I have never had issue with upstate,
    Yes they are expensive but that is a good thing.
    I have had 3 cats that were taken care of by upstate
    Olive had epilepsy and heart failure.
    She received the best possible care
    Fritz had Lynphom

    Upstate Vet Emergency & Specialty Care

    Date: 08/25/2024

    ****, Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful review! Our team is incredibly dedicated to each of the patients we serve, and always strive to provide excellent care. It brings us so much joy to hear you have had such great experiences with our team. Thank you for continuing to choose Upstate Vet.
  • Review fromAlan R

    Date: 07/30/2024

    1 star

    Alan R

    Date: 07/30/2024

    Looking at the reviews on their website, you would think Upstate veterinary is terrific. That's not the case.
    My experience with them started with a referral from my local vet. Our cat had become seriously ill, our vet ran blood work and saw an immediate need for further testing, abdominal ultrasound and X-rays. This was a Saturday and they couldn't do those on that day. I asked if it could wait until Monday, she strongly advised against waiting. She gave us a referral to Upstate. Upstate is a 2 hour drive away so before we left, she called Upstate to make sure they could do the tests, and they said they could.
    We arrived and got checked in. An hour passed before our cat was taken in, supposedly to be examined. Three hours later, with no communication during that time, we were escorted to an exam room to speak with the doctor. We sat there for an hour before the doctor came in, all the while dreading what we might be told and how we would proceed.
    When the doctor came in, she says "So what's going on with your cat?". I replied "That's what we want to know, what did you find out?". She said that they hadn't done any testing, that would be done Monday and offered to hospitalize our cat over the weekend. I couldn't believe that in the 3 hours that our cat was in their hands, they did nothing. She told us that the hospitalization and testing would run somewhere around $4000 to $6000. With that, we left with our cat, and will never return.
    Monday, we returned to our local vet, they did the necessary testing, unfortunately, the diagnosis was renal failure, and we had to euthanize our baby. Our cost was only slightly over $500.
    I'm posting this review in the hope that others will be aware of the way Upstate veterinary operates.

    Upstate Vet Emergency & Specialty Care

    Date: 08/01/2024

    Mr. ***,
    I would like to express my sincere sympathy for your loss of Jethro. I know how difficult it is to lose a family member, especially when they become acutely ill. Jethro was very lucky to have you advocating for him as you did and for knowing when the kindest thing to do was to let him go.
    As you are aware, ER facilities have to function on a triage system, prioritizing emergencies based on the acuteness and severity of the illness. While Jethro was deemed to be sick, he was less acutely ill than some other patients that arrived around the same time as him. Our team and doctors do strive to ensure that all patients are seen in a timely fashion, but sometimes a wait is inevitable. Another goal of ours is to involve the family members in decision making for their pets. This means the doctor typically discusses the plan prior to running tests that could be expensive and potentially undesired by the owner. The ER could do a lot of testing, initial diagnostics and stabilization, though some tests like advanced imaging would not occur until the specialists are in the building on Monday.
    I do wish that you had left our hospital with a better feeling and less frustration. We will continue to improve our communication to ensure that owners are aware of wait times and that we are transparent with our goals and plans.
  • Review fromChris E

    Date: 04/20/2024

    1 star
    Total money grab. No pet concern at all. GET THAT MONEY!! Spent $1000 for them to tell me to come back in two weeks and do another blood panel. Said it was $40 only for follow up blood work. I show up two weeks later and the $40 turned into $187...i asked to speak to the Dr and the nurse said it was $179 to talk to the Dr. WHAT?!!...All I wanted to talk about was the $3000 procedure they wanted to do, that may lead to nothing. What a joke of operation. There should be laws against price gouging. Can't tell you how disappointed I am in this organization. Smh
  • Review fromJennifer M

    Date: 11/08/2023

    1 star

    Jennifer M

    Date: 11/08/2023

    Horrible emergency care.
    3.5 hours to convince the surgeon to come in. Even suggested we leave and go elsewhere to have the surgery. After the surgery she died. Could have been save with some real emergency care. What a shame. Thought they were really good. NOT AN EMERGENCY CENTER!!! But they like the charges and the money!
    Poor girl deserved better than subpar treatment. She was a sweetheart. They will never know the damage they have done.
    Disgusting to call themselves DVM. They are money hungry humans. Poor Hadley. She was rescued by animal control only to be “used”
    To make money.

    Upstate Vet Emergency & Specialty Care

    Date: 11/27/2023

    Thank you for talking with our Medical Director and our ER/ECC director. We appreciate your thoughtful feedback and your time.
  • Review fromSarah G

    Date: 11/05/2023

    1 star

    Sarah G

    Date: 11/05/2023

    Terrible. It deserves zero stars. Our family vet insisted we take our 7 year old ******* immediately to this clinic and sent over the records. After an hour drive, we arrived at 10:30 AM and were the only ones in the waiting room until someone with a cat came in. We waited two hours for a consultation. After a 10 minute exam, the veterinarian stated any testing would cost between $1,000 - $2,000 which was due upon completion of the tests. We were very surprised but agreed. She suggested we go get a cup of coffee which we did.
    After waiting in the lobby another four hours without any communication from anyone, my husband asked the receptionist to please get our dog. No tests had been done. Our dog had been given a sedative. We paid $250 for the 10 minute exam and shot, then left. Never again.
    Upstate Vet is anything but an emergency clinic.

    Upstate Vet Emergency & Specialty Care

    Date: 11/27/2023

    Hi *****: We’re sorry to read that you weren’t satisfied with your visit to Upstate Vet, Greenville. We realize you were quite concerned about your pet during your visit, which is very understandable. I apologize that there was not better communication from our staff during your wait time. I understand that the lobby was not full during your wait, however that is not an indication of what was happening in treatment and in the hospital wards. Yet if the staff didn't communicate to you, you would not have known what was going on behind the scenes. We are working on a solution to provide better client communications during extended wait times and appreciate your feedback. If you wish to speak with us further, you are welcome to contact us at ***** *********
  • Review fromCrystal R

    Date: 07/16/2023

    1 star

    Crystal R

    Date: 07/16/2023

    I have to give one star unfortunately if you look on there page you will see my review if you want your pet alive avoid this place I have told my vet the same thing because they have signs in their office for this death faculty my dog was attacked by other dogs unfortunately I brought him here and they charged me almost 3000 dollars everything is about money here not your pets life and they stitched his wound wrong and his stitches busted so my boy had to be seen by my vet and his treatment was just more torture unfortunately because he was in so much pain and suffering that I had to make the decision to have him euthanized to end his suffering and pain I'm consulting with legal advice because I believe if they done everything correctly I would still have my dog

    Upstate Vet Emergency & Specialty Care

    Date: 07/19/2023

    Ms. ****** -
    Thank you for contacting us through the BBB. I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your *******.
    I understand that we saw ******* on June 6, 2023, after he was attacked by another dog. Per our records, his wounds were very extensive. ******* was brought straight back to treatment for stabilization, a critical care consent form was obtained, and our veterinarian even took radiographs to ascertain if he had any broken bones due to the severity of the attack. We kept ******* overnight with heavy sedation as we repaired his wounds and sent him home with you the next morning on antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and pain medications. I understand that you contacted us by phone after taking ******* home but did not bring him back to us for follow-up care as advised by our emergency veterinarian.
    Again, I am so sorry for your loss. However, it does not appear that we were negligent or wrongful in any way in the treatment of Rollins. If you would like to further discuss your concerns, I am happy to set up a time to meet.
    Rana S******
    Referral Relationship Manager
    Upstate Vet Emergency + Specialty Care
  • Review fromMarianne B

    Date: 07/07/2023

    1 star

    Marianne B

    Date: 07/07/2023

    Price gouging
    No concern for your animal.
    This is an awful place to take your animal. They charged $200 for just the exam and consult. Vet was in the room 3 minutes and told me nothing. Then they put collar on and charged $35 plus all the tests my vet the next week said was not necessary. Waiting room was nasty and I waited 3 hours even though there were very few people there. This is disgusting and I will never go there again.

    Upstate Vet Emergency & Specialty Care

    Date: 07/17/2023

    Ms. ****** -
    Thank you for reaching out to us through the BBB. Per your email you have a few concerns that you wanted brought to our attention. I will bullet point them here to ensure I address each of them, in order.
    * Price gouging
    * No concern for your animal
    * Veterinarian was in the room briefly and did not tell you anything
    * We performed tests that your DVM said were not necessary
    * We charged $35 for an *********** collar
    * There was a long wait time
    * The waiting room was “nasty”
    Firstly, you perceived our emergency exam to be “price gouging.” I will not deny that emergency medicine is expensive, however, our costs are in line with other emergency facilities in the area and are fair for the market we reside in.
    Next you stated we have no concern for your animal, you did not state why or what gave you this impression, but I can assure you that no one that works the hours of emergency is uncaring. Our employees work evenings, weekends, and holidays to provide for pets that need care after typical day practice hours. No one gives up time with family and works the worst shift hours possible because they do not care, it is truly the opposite. Our employees care so much that they want to be sure that pets have a place to be seen and that is why we are open 24/7/365 and that we never turn pet parents away.
    The emergency DVM that saw you on the Saturday night that you came to us did not spend an exceptionally long time with you in the exam room, this is not inaccurate. Our veterinarian did come in and speak with you briefly and then take your dog into our treatment area to examine him and to perform one test – an eye stain on your pet. The DVM did not spend a longer amount of time with you and your pet because although your pet was experiencing an emergency, it was luckily not a life-threatening emergency, and she was able to be direct and expedient.
    Multiple tests were not performed on your pet, and none were performed that your family veterinarian deemed unnecessary. Quite the contrary, the family veterinarian also stained your pet’s eye to ascertain if the eye was healing appropriately. And, yes, we did charge $35 for an Elizabethan collar for your pet so that he was not able to contact to paw and scratch at the eye that was injured. If we did not provide this collar to you, it is possible that he could have damaged the eye further causing irreparable damage.
    There was a long wait time, you were in our facility approximately 3 hours. Again, this is accurate and not out of character for a stable patient with a non-life-threatening injury to have to wait in an emergency room setting. However, you also stated that there were only 3 patients waiting to be seen. At the time of your check-in, it is possible that there were only 3 other patients waiting to be seen ahead of your dog. However, that does not mean that there were no patients in the hospital. There, most likely, were 30 to 40 patients already receiving in-patient care, more patients/clients in exam rooms (we have 18 total) awaiting exams, diagnostics, or medications, and additional patients in the treatment area undergoing care. We did see over 70 patients on emergency the day you came to us with your dog, and I do apologize that the waiting room did not meet your standards, and it could be that our staff was behind in cleaning that evening. I do know that our staff clean whenever they have the time to do so and they do everything in their power to keep our lobby sanitized for the clients and patients to be seen.
    If you would like to discuss your concerns further, I am happy to set up a time to meet with you.
    Regards,
    Rana S******
    Referral Relationship Manager
    Upstate Vet Emergency + Specialty Care

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