Valley Brook Veterinary Hosp

Excellent doctors and techs. Great office staff. They know how to care for well and sick animals. Valley Brook staff took care of our dog for 15 years. So knowledgeable and caring. My dog had so many ailments and Dr, Risken and his staff made every effort to keep my dog healthy . Even though my dog needed medicine for years for many ailments they knew what to prescribe to keep my dog comfortable and young and active. Dr. Risken knew what medicines could be combined together to help our dog. Unfortunately, my dog recently passed. Besides being broken-hearted about my dog , I miss the Valley Brook Family. I would recommend Valley Brook for any pet for well care and for any illness your pet may have.\r We also boarded our dog here and our dog walked in happy and came home happy and clean and well taken care of. more

I brought my dog there for an X ray. She was NOT supposed to get anastesia. She was there many times before for x rays. Because she had an enlarged heart. But to my surprise when I picked her up she was given asasteasia and over dosed. She was not acting correct her breathing was labored. I called the office to speak to DR RISKEN and the staff told me he just had a baby. THEY DONT WANT TO BOTHER HIM!!!!! I told them to get him on the phone with me. That this is my baby!!!! They finally decided to call him. But it was to late. I had brought my dog to ORADELL ANIMAL hospital and she died. That night. They had to put a tube down her throat to help with her breathing. I used Valley Brook for many years but after DR RISKIN had his children he does not put the care into his animals. He was more caught up in his child then to care for my dog and return a phone call. He reimbursed me for the xrays and blood work that was done the day he killed my dog. But that will not bring her back!!!!!! That was my baby. I had her for 10 plus years. I lost her do to a doctor not paying attention to his job. HORRIBLE VET!!!!!! DONT BRING YOUR ANIMALS THERE!!!!!!! more

I have taken my dogs there a few times, each time was pretty good, but the last few times I have seen DR. RISKIN and he is absolutely phenomenal! He genuinely cares for the animals and talks to them as if they were to answer back. You can clearly see his true passion. I am very happy with him work, he takes time explaining small details to me. I highly recommend him, when making an appointment please request him. You will not regret it. more

I just picked up my very sick 7 year old female cat Bella from Dr. Riskins office. I will not get into her problems because this is not why I am writing this review. For people when things go wrong we look to blame someone for what went wrong. All I can say is that Dr.Riskin and all of his staff are all heart. Dr. Riskin made me feel comfortable in my decision, a very hard decision. He called me everyday even on his days off and made me feel like Bella was not just a cat but my loved one. Thank you Dr.Riskin and staff I will never forget how loving you all were. Sharyn, Kristin & Ashley Senior (pinto) more

Saturday one of my dogs started chewing on her leg. I looked at the leg and saw it was getting really red. I called and got an appointment right away. I arrived and shortly (you have to have patience they are very busy) I saw Dr. Meltzer-Press. I thought for certain it was a skin irritation. Dr. Press took her time and manipulated my dogs leg and pointed out that she could have pulled a muscle or injured herself on the ice and snow. She informed me that dogs don't have thumbs so when they are injured they sometimes chew or lick the area. She was right on target. I never thought of that. I've been there with my three dogs, two previous cats and many previous dogs. I've seen Dr Rifken and Dr Press. I think they are very good and their prices are very reasonable. My sister had a dog that had food alergies and had a cancerous cyst. Dr Rifken worked with her and the dog and the dog lived to be 15 yrs old. Vets can't know how a pet is behaving at home so you really have to tell them (any vet) if there are symptoms that the animal isn't dispalying in the office. I have another dog that I adopted who had a skin problem. Dr Press treated her but when she saw it wasn't responding she immediatly suggested that I may want to take her to a specialist. She referred me to Dr Rhodes who wrote the book on skin problems. I highly reccomend this hospital as a regular primary care clinic. more

Excellent care, friendly staff. I had to put my friends dog to sleep, he was 17 and sick, but it is still a very difficult thing to do. made us and the dog very comfortable, gave us good advice, and were so caring and supportive. i was so impressed i went back with my own dog when he was due for his shots. more

My mistake was I mentioned I was from out of town. I took my dog in because he developed a swollen ankle overnight. He has been suffering from aches and pains. After the doctors review she wanted to proceed with test for this and that, xrays, blood work, and so on. After all was said and done she contributed the pains to Arthritis (dah), the swelling she assumed was an infection, wasn't sure how but prescribed antibiotics. WhenI was given the bill of $780 I was in shock. They apparently saw a sucker and decoded to do whatever they deemed was a reason to dip into my pockets. From complete blood work to xrays of the chest (?!!) and the ankle.\r I asked why, they said they were screening for cancer..!! CANCER!! Even after they did blood work and it was perfect! WOW, how can they be so stupid? Here is a 10 year old dog and they decide for themselves how much money I'm willing to spend. They apparently have to find any excuse to use all their in house equipment and labs to support th more

My daughter took her senior cat to Valley Brook upon my recommendation. I have been a client since Dr. Perkins opened the clinic . The cat was diagnosed as having chronic kidney disease and diabetes at a cost of over $250.00. As an owner of numerous felines over the past sixty years I am well aware that there is no treatment for chronic kidney disease. My daughter who has had many relatives with diabetes is well aware of how to give insulin injections and how to monitor blood sugar levels. The cat responded well to the diabetes treatment. However, only one vial of insulin and one box of syringes was prescribed at a time. When it was time for renewals, Dr. Riskin refused to give another prescription for the insulin until the cat was brought in for either a senior wellness test ($!80.00) and/or a blood sugar level test ($40.00) and/or had an office checkup ($65.00) . My daughter made it clear that she only wanted the diabetes treated. When it was time for the next renewal of the insulin, the greedy doctors at Valley Brook refused and would not prescribe another vial of insulin until full testing was completed to monitor the kidney disease, not the diabetes . They didn't care if the cat died from lack of insulin. They wanted their money . There was no compassion and no caring about the welfare of the cat or my daughter. So take my advice and if you love your pet do not take him/her to Valley Brook Hospital. That is unless you are rich and can afford hundreds of dollars in office visits and tests you don't want done or the animal doesn't need or unless you don't care if your pet is treated by vets completely lacking compassion and a love for animals. more

I rescued a puppy last year. He ate a dishrag and could not pass it. My son brought him to Oradell Animal Hospital. They informed him that the surgery would be in the $7,000 to $10,000 range. I just don't have that kind of money. I called the rescue group from which the dog came and they asked me to call Valleybrook Vet. After several conversations, they did the surgery on my dog for $2,000. No hidden fees. They gave me a case of special diet dog food for him and he came home on meds...at no extra cost. \r Since then, I have been to this practice several times. They always take their time w/ my pets. I am sometimes in their office for 20-25 minutes so they can answer all of my questions to my satisfaction. My only negative thing to say is that the waiting room time can be very, very long. Perhaps due to the fact that they do spend so much time with each person. Maybe they shouldn't schedule appointments so close. more

I have been going to Valley Brook for some 15 years seeing Dr. Riskin and he is absolutley the best!! Everytime i have an emergency they always put me right in the next appointment! Dr. Riskin is hands down the best doctor ever. He always explains exactly what is going on and gets straight to the point. He calls evertime with bloodwork. He never sugarcoats anything and tells it from his point and what he treatments he thinks will work best. The staff is phonominal and cannot say enough great things about them! Dr. Riskin is the best vet and the practice is wonderful : ) more

My senior cat was ill and I called many places.... Dr. Riskin saw me that evening.... He was gentle and loving to her. She is usually so scared of people but not of him or his staff... goes to show you what caring people they are... Pros: Caring veterinary doctor more

I would never recommend this vet or this office to anyone. I would rate this office as ngative 9 Pros: Worse Vet - Worse Staff Cons: Worse Vet - Worse Staff more

I had an emergency with my dog on a Jewish Holiday following a weekend. I was able to get an appointment right away! I saw Dr. Ruskin the following day, and he explained the results of the bloodwork to me. I think this practice is wonderful. more

They figure out problem of my dog. It cost me 800$ (all tests), but in 2 days they got diagnos right. Only problem they cannot predict what can be a problem more

I believe that the review below that was just written is fictitious and was written by the staff to counter the negative reviews.\r \r My experience is truthful and factual. Its sad because this is what these people have to resort to. They would rather spend their time and money on making this stuff up then to focus on the clients and patients. \r \r Now the damage is done and it all could have been avoided by a 5 mintue call from the doctor who obviously doesn't care enough about the animals or the clients to make the call. \r \r The other problem is they don't even see us as paying customers. Remember, the customer is always right. Now they've lost business, money and time. \r \r Again, the bottom line is the doctor prescribed the wrong treatment and he should care enough and be professional enough to be able to discuss that intelligently with a client. more

They are uncooperative and unresponsive? We took our 16 yr old cat there.. and recieved nothing but amazing care for animals... the dr's truely care about the animals and look out for the pets best interest.\r My 16 year old cat got really sick over the past few weeks and a family memebe recommeneded taking her to Valley Brook. I hesitated because they are a little farther than others. I went to another vet and got charged ridiculously high for bloodwork and an examine with no answers. So i took the bloodwork to Valley Brook. Dr Meltzer Press worked with me, being tight on money, and with a older cat, explained everything to me and helped me out. My cat is diabetic and needed some follow up workup. This was yesterday. I went back for diabetic insturctions with one of the technicians and my cat is 110% after one. They were very helpfull and I will defiantly go back and recommened people go here. They saved my cat and were very helpful and explained everything. \r Not having much experienc more

Had a very unsatisfactory experience with both the doctors Risken and Press. My cat has kidney disease and was diagnosed with a Urinary Tract Infection. We did the blood work as requested. The treatment was 1 shot of an antibiotic which did not last. I was told by other sources that this is not the proper treatment for a severe UTI. I called the vet a few weeks after she had a relapse and asked that they prescribe more meds as this was not enough. They refused and asked that I bring her in again to do lab work again. I requested to speak to Dr Risken and he would not return my call but rather had an incompetant admin provide his response. I feel that after giving them 250 dollars to help us the least the doctor could do is call us back in person. \r \r So bottom line is we switched to Ridgewood Vet and I received excellent service. They confirmed that the treatment Dr Risken provided was inadequate to eliminate the UTI. Ridgewood was able to provide the proper dosage of antibiotic and su more

my cat dosent do well with strangers.. during the first visit there my cat was comfortably melting in the assistants arms. After my mother and I saw that we knew this was going to be a good place. After a while my cat became very itchy and caused a large circular cut above her eye. Dr. Colloran was amazing with the care she gave my cat. she had us bring her in for regular check ups and i am really thankful to her.. although i just called because my cat is starting to scratch again. unfortunatly Dr. C is no longer there. i dont know what to do. we are going to see Dr. Riskin tomorrow. i hope everything goes well.. Pros: very comforting and friendly more

Worst vet ever!!!! I have used this vet for 7 years and I don't really know why. When I first started going Dr. Riskin used to compare my dog to his daughter which is a little strange but I still continued to go. After 7 years I decided to change vet's because they charged me $25 to cut my dogs nails which is crazy but goes to show you they are only interested in your money not your dogs well being. My dog Baron has been on prescription dog food for seven years and Valley Brook - Dr Riskin refuses to write a prescription for Baron so I can not get it anywhere and he is starting to get sick. Which Dr Riskin or Dr Meltzer Press cares about - all they care about is saying I can never go back there which I never had any attention of doing so. As far as Mary she is just a robot that they have do there dirty work so whether or not she is nice she should have compassion for the owners of the animals that the doctors see as there money. So good luck to anyone who uses VALLEY BROOK it is a deat more

I would never recommend this vet to anyone. Dr Riskin always compares the dog to his children which turned me off from the beginning but I figured maybe he is just a little weird to openly compare his children to a dog but that wasn't the worse part. I used Valley Brook for 6 years and my parents used Valley brook for longer. They are very unprofessional and Like I said I would never recoomend them. My dog has been on prescription dog food since 2002 for stomach problems and Dr Risken refused to write a prescription because we decided to go some where else after they charged $25 to cut my dogs nails. So need less to say Baron has been sick and he still refuses to write a prescription. So I ask one question is the concern for Baron's well being or for Dr Riskin and Dr Meltzer Press feeling being hurt. Please if you want good medical attention for any of your pets do not go to Valley Brook or to Dr. Riskin or Dr Meltzer Press!!! I would rate them a negative 10. Cons: Everything about the practice more