Abc Animal Hospital

I too had a horrible experience with ABC Animal Hospital and Dr. Tufaro. My cat was diagnosed with cancer and was given 2-4 weeks to live. The only recommended treatment was pain management and eventually euthanasia. This was an extremely painful/stressful time for me that was made worse by Dr. Tufaro and his staff. I just wanted to keep my cat comfortable until my husband could get back in town and we could be together to say goodbye. During this time Dr. Tufaro and his staff exacerbated mine and my cat's stress and pain with their incompetence and miscommunication. No plan was provided on how to manage the pain. I had to track people down, call multiple times and drag my dying cat back and forth to the vet in order to receive an effective pain treatment. And even then, they misrepresented the pain medications length of effectiveness, causing my cat days of suffering in her last days with us. When I questioned their practices and complained, Dr. Tufaro patronized me telling me I was upset because my cat was dying and made several excuses that had little relevance. I was very upset about my cat dying but perhaps even more so about her suffering. I think they must simply be overwhelmed, but even if that is the case it is the animals and their owners who pay the price. And trust me this place ain't cheap in terms of dollars and cents and emotional scarring. My cat's illness could have been an opportunity for them to do the "human thing" make our lives easier, made us feel taken care of and like we mattered. It would not take much- instead I had the complete opposite experience. I filed an official NYS Professional Conduct Complaint against this clinic and Dr. Tufaro and encourage anyone who has similar experiences to do the same. Dr. Tufaro is not going to change his ways unless we make him. You can do so at the link below:http://www.op.nysed.gov/complain.htm

He does not care about the animals at all. It is all about the money to him. He is rude with his clients with very inexperienced staff. If you love your pets you will not go to this hospital, you will regret it. Most animals come out more sick than when they arrived and he over charges. Never again....

There are better vets, he is the absolute worst.

I had an evening emergency when I needed to get Pinky to the nearest vet ASAP, even tho' it was already about 6pm. She received a very bad shock when she wandered onto some melting snow near an electric outlet surrounded by wires and extension cords in Stuyvesant Town. Knowing ABC had moved to 14th St. I had a friend RUN her there, not knowing if she'd be turned away, while I tried my best to prevent some kid from possibly getting electrocuted and attending to my son before running there myself.

Dr. T did a quick look/see to evaluate the extent of the urgency and then I waited while he attended to the patients he had in the back.

When we got in the man got on the floor with her before taking her on the table. His bedside manner was superb even with my not giving a sh** about bedside manner (and yes I was a wreck)because when all is said and done what one needs in emergencies is COMPETENCE plain and simple, not hugs and kisses. He gave a good and proper exam relevant to her condition.

In my case, I do have some medical background, and was able to tell immediately that his observations, which had not occurred to me, made total sense. (That she had a seizure as a result of the shock.)

No unnecesary tests were ordered. No recommendation for overnight observation. No recommendation for medicines or x-rays unlike other vets I've been to who will tell one anything to pump up the billing. (I got that tee-shirt a few times.)

Dr. T impressed as concerned for his patients as well as the community at large. I had to reassure him that I had contacted everybody necessary to ID the spot and do whatever was necessary to keep somebody from getting electrocuted or something. "This could've been 100,000 times worse," he reassured, "remember that girl by Veniero's?" (Yeah we remember.) I hoped they weren't previous patients, because he said that at least twice with authentic concern.

Of course one thinks of things later and Dr. T called me at 11pm and 7 am in response to a call and to an email. Does he not sleep?

I would give a 5 but for a couple of things: First, I didn't have a surgical need or a true "trauma victim." His receptionist was "new" and wouldn't allow me to use the phone to check on my son without prior approval which FELT like it took forever. I also think it would behoove him to display degrees, board certifications, and whatnots which is marketing stuff but is still reassuring to waiting patients. That being said it IS a new office. Plus my dog didn't like their free dog cookies. LOL! Another minor thing is even if the receptionist is behind the counter one can't tell because the counter is too high to tell. Minor stuff, plus this was a one time, albeit POSITIVE, experience.

We will go back.

Pinky's Mum

I brought my dog to ABC animal clinic because he was limping badly. I had an appointment. When we got there, Dr. Tufaro said my dog had to stay for observation, but that I could pick him up in a couple of hours. After 2 hours he had not called, so I called the office. The receptionist told me my dog had to stay longer. I could not understand why and she could not tell me. She just said that Dr. Tufaro said so. I dropped my dog off at 10AM and did not get him back until after 4PM. Dr. Tufaro told me he had some kind of bone problem and that the limping would occur periodically. He gave me a standard anti-inflammatory medication and sent me and my dog home, charging me over $400. I was not convinced and was put off my the conflicting messages I got from Dr. Tufaro's office, lack of clear explanation, and exorbitant bill. So I took my dog to another vet. The new vet told me there was no evidence of the bone disease Tufaro had diagnosed and it was a simple strain. I never went back to Tufaro and strongly recommend against his "services."

I took my male puppy to Doctor Tufaro to be fixed. When I picked him up, I saw that the doctor had not been careful when shaving my little guy's abdomen. The doctor cut off the tops of all his little nipples. They were bleeding. Poor baby. The nipples never healed. When I asked the doctor about it he told me this was normal. When I said this had never happened with my other dogs, he became rude and hostile. If you value your animal's health, do not go to this clinic.

We took our 7-month old yellow lab in for a spay appointment. Off the bat, we showed up and no one was at the office. When the receptionist did show up there was no warm welcome or attention at all to myself or our puppy. The bed side manners of the entire staff were reprehensible. It is understandable that this vet performs operations and is "used to" the routine however it is new for us and our dog. The vet showed no interest in our puppy nor did his assistant. They were cold and unfriendly. A huge contrast to our usual vet, Dr. Wiener at Gotham Animal Clinic. Further they asked us to be at the clinic at 9am--we showed up on time. We were told our dog would be operated on at 11am and we would be called afterwards. I called at 12:30 and they said our dog had not been operated on. I called again at 4pm and we told that she had been operated on and that she had done well-they had never reached out to call us after the operation.

We showed up to pick up our dog at 6.15 as per the office and on his way out the vet said nothing to myself or my boyfriend. When I asked questions regarding food/water/emergencies the nurse answered me while talking to the night shift girl showing a sheer lack of professionalism.

The entire experience was utterly awful. As of now our dog seems fine if not groggy. We chose a private vet as opposed to the ASPCA because we did not want an impersonal or unloving experience for our dog--and for 500 odd dollars that is exactly what we got.

Dr. Tufaro and Monica of ABC Animal Hospital have literally 'rescued' our rescue. They have enabled us to save over 40 dogs in the last 6 months.
They have been extremely supportive of our rescue efforts and helped us in every way possible.

We cannot express our gratitude for their help. We know our rescued & adopted pugs feel the same way!

Drea Peters, Co-Founder CTPR
drea@CurlyTailPugRescue.org

www.CurlyTailPugRescue.org

Monday 2-18-08 I take my 10 year old, female pit-bull in to see Dr. Tufaro, because she was very sick. I explained her symptoms to the reception and had to wait an hour before the doctor came in. After he gave the dog an x-ray he showed them to me. The x-rays were very unclear, his machine is useless. Stating her uterus was infected. Dr. Tufaro informed me that my dog needed a hysterectomy, because she had a very bad uterus infection. I started crying immediately, because I'm a college student and I knew I would not be able to afford the surgery. I called around and was finally able to borrow the money. I was told Negrita (my dog) would be fine. With the estimate of $950-$1150, I was sent on my way.
Tuesday my mother and daughter pick up my dog. He states she has not eaten because she wouldn't. However, she will recover faster at home. I get home and my dog's nose is wet, her breath no longer smells, she looks a little better. Her body is very cold though. We lay a blanket on the floor and take turns cuddling her. By 9:20AM, Thursday 2-21-08, my dog is dead. Dr. Tufaro said (after autopsy) she had advanced stage of cancer and her liver was competing gone. He never checked her blood for kidney or liver problems, even though the anesthesia is filtered through those organs. I'm not stating my dog died because of him, but she was put through unnecessary suffering. And the bill was $1250. He was sympathetic, but careless. I know of one other person who had the same problem with their dog and Dr. Tufaro. He also became very hostile when I questioned his actions. Now he will not give me her medical records stating, I must first pay for her cremation fees. After everything is done, his attitude is completely different. I don't recommend this place, the atmosphere is very gloomy. Actually after going with a friend to her vet there is an amazing place on 52nd street between 1st and 2nd avenue called Eastside Animal Hospital huge difference.

Recently, my dog Pete, a nine year old overweight Australian Cattle dog was limping terribly. I brought him to ABC where the doctor diagnosed him with a torn cruciate ligament. Surgery was indicated and Pete was operated on in late October. The surgery was a success and Pete was able to walk, with a slight limp, within a week. The recovery took longer than I thought, possibly due to his age and his weight. The doctor did a good job with the surgery and the rehab is going well. We we have decided to put Pete on a diet and we will monitor him every other month.

both of my pets -- cat and dog have been dr. tufaro's patients for over 4 years now. they are both around 13 years old now, and have had numerous problems over the years. dr. tufaro was been great through it all -- he's performed surgeries on both, always been accessible and helpful and always treated both me and my dear pets with compassion and respect. just a week ago, i came home to find my cat laying on the floor, not really moving or doing anything. i called dr. tufaro through their emergency service and he immediately came to our aid, despite the fact that it was already late and that it wasn't quite clear what was wrong with my cat...
a week before that my dog was having trouble moving, like i said she is quite old, i came in with her and we discussed the possibilities for her care. a shot and some meds later and she was doing better. this is a tough time, but i feel i have someone helping me through it and hopefully we will be able to make the right desicions for my dog.
i would recommend abc animal hospital and dr. tufaro in a heartbeat and i am very thankful for the care and service my pets and i have received there over the years.

Ive been to a few other vets before I came here and I was relieved at the service offered. The doctor actually cares about animals and I found the prices a lot more reasonable than the ones I'm used to uptown. He was very efficient and knew my cat had bladder stones as soon as I went over the symptoms where as at the other clinics they would just prescribe me antibiotics and send me home, he gave me options and gave me a plan so that was nice.

When my fury little guy got sick with eye infection, I brought him to Dr. Tufaro's clinic early in the morning hoping he can see my dog and he did .The assistant was very kind and Dr. Tufaro spent alot of his time to explain how to care my dog's eye. Dr. Tufaro took care of my dog with much love and care. From then on we (my fury little guy and I) didn't mind drive all the way from Queens to downtown to see Dr.Tufaro.

Right after I moved into the city, my daschund somehow hurt his leg and was limping. I did not know what vet hospital to go to since I was new to the city. I found ABC Animal Hospital. I was told that my dog tore his ACL and needed surgery to repair it. Dr. Tufaro did wonderful surgery. The recovery process for the surgery was very long (several months) and hard, but all of the staff at ABC were very supportive. I am very happy with my experience and my dog is doing great.

After years of satisfactory service I am saddened to have to relay that our most recent experience was absolutely traumatic with Dr. Tufaro at ABC Animal Hospital. Although the level of care was acceptable for our pet, his interactions with us humans was contemptible and questionable. It leads us to think that he is unstable psychologically as he exhibited personality traits that can only be described as paranoid and neurotic. I understand that many others have experienced his "Jekyl/Hyde" personality. PLEASE spare yourself and your pet and go elsewhere.

I had to take my great dane to ABC Animal Hospital when he broke a rib. They did an awsome job in acessing my dogs situation and providing the care he needed. The nurses were top knotch and cared for my dog with much love. Prices were pretty decent, but you get what you pay for.

I was very impressed with the ABC Animal Hospital. The staff and doctors were very nice and you can tell right away that they care about the animals. We just got a new cat and wanted to have him checked out to make sure everything was okay and they did a really good job. They even gave us alot of tips on taking care the our new cat.

I had recently been to my friends and found their cat had some problems, We went to ABC. I found this really a very safe place for pet emergency. Actually they offered to keep him on under their own care so he could be watched around the clock. Isn't it nice.

PROS: Nice place
CONS: nothing

ABC loves animals first and foremost. When our cat was very sick, they offered to keep him on under their own care so he could be watched around the clock. They seem to give that same level of care to all their clients. They service all animals and have a clean, well cared for space.