Dr. Gordon at Animal Kind: Is she a good vet?

animal kind is not a vet clinic I'd take a pet to outside of emergency situations. any vet there is suspect. feel free to search this message board for animal kind and you'll find tons of people who agree.

I, personally, use hope animal clinic.

totally disagree and stand by all of my earlier posts.

I had a couple of negative experiences with Animal Kind, which I've already posted about. But even leaving that aside, unless you already have a specific vet there that you like, why bother with Animal Kind's long waits, assembly-line atmosphere, and high prices, when there are other good vets in the neighborhood? I switched to Prospect Park Animal Clinic years ago and have been very happy with them.

and we all have different experiences. gibson has been exceptionally kind to me: the last time i was there harriet-kitty needed a scary test, and i was hysterical and practically needed to breathe in a bag, and crying, and he made sure i was given an exam room to stay in till the test was over so i wouldn't have to cry in the waiting room.

plus, i have to say, they have this animal handler, ben, who is the only other living being, other than myself, who can deal with harriet-kitty without her going completely berzerk. he's like he's an animal whisperer.

honestly, while i feel exceptionally strongly about my experiences at animal kind, i'm really glad all of us have so many places to choose from and so many vet that we can each see the one who suits us best and makes us, and our pets, feel more comfortable. fact is, no vet can give your pet a good exam unless it's calm and not freaking out. but, again, just my experiences. if not for animal kind, i'd likely go to hope because so many here that i trust have raved about them. and if it were really serious, i'd head to the AMC in the city. again, that's just what i choose. we each need to do what we feel comfortable doing.

i love my cat as much as any other child-free, oft partner-free cat owning human. this changes my expectations and perception. my choices are no better and no worse, for the most part, so long as i feel she's being treated exceptionally.

There are other posts about Animal Kind on this forum So I won't repeat myself but I am so happy that a medical facility of this caliber is in Park Slope. Both in customary care and emergency care this facility excels! Yes it is a more extensive care facility than local Joe Shmoe vet ( and justifiably more expensive) but if you have shared many of your human years with animals you are more likely to understand that if in the end game you need to know that you have provided for your pet throughout their life time the best vet care possible... then you would be grateful for Animal Kind.

The only other facility in NYC that suprpases AK for emergency care is the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan. If you choose to use Animal kind for your pet's medical care make a choice of a primary Physician (just like you do for yourself) and for routine care use that vet but know that if that vet is not working that day or you come for emergency situation that Dr. Gibson hires his staff well and that the vet you are likely to see on a "random" basis is very likely to be graduate of Dr Gibson's alma mater and did not graduate at the bottom of the class! . Dr. Gibson was trained at Cornel and he maintains affiliation with the hosiptal. Graduates of that facility who land up working at Animal Kind are hand chosen. They are at the top of the class not only as medical technicians but as compassionate people who relate to animals..

Yeah yeah I know this thread is likely to go in to a bashing of Animal Kind.. The OP had no understanding of that but I have seen that progression before.

I think everyone makes their own decision for the care of their pets and everyone brings to that decision their own considerations. We learn much on this forum from anecdotal reports but in the case of vet care things got hot and heavy on the forum. We all agree that the choice of medical care for a beloved pet is a far more important decision that what restaurant we eat in tonight.


Peace be with you and good medical care be part of your pet's life.

rosey wrote: I've heard wonderful things from my cat-sitter about Animal Healing Arts in Carroll Gardens - thinking of taking car service for a 2nd opinion after getting a serious diagnosis at AK.

Now that made such sense to me!!

Animal Kind as a facility may not be known as particularly Holistic.... so once you get a dx... would seem like a good thing to consult with a vet that had a more Holistic approach.. But... I have to tell you that I had a similar situation with Boris, my maltese dog .. who was beseeched with allergies and Dr. karen Matyiak (I always mis-spell her name..lol!) actually consulted with a Holistic Vet I found in Wash State... and as a team we fixed the problem.. So.. the point is... depending on what vet you do use at Anumal don't feel that they will shut u out if you start to discuss holistic treatments and options.

wally wrote: We've only had good experiences with multiple pets with Dr Weiser, Dr Thompson (or is it Thomas? First name is Mark), Dr Spiegel.

It is Dr. Thompson. He is awesome. Unfortunately, though, he only works at Animal Kind part-time on a per-diem basis. Does anyone know if he works full-time somewhere else - because I would go there just for him. He helped us save a litter of very sick feral kitties & was the warmest and most outwardly compassionate of all the Animal Kind vets we've seen. unfortunately, you can't even make an appt with him because they never know in advance when he'll be there.

Dr. Salas was only back for the summer.

Animal Kind doesn't have any leanings, it seems, holistically and the vets seem to know only ultra-"conventional' medicine. I've gone there and I respect what people have written that they get top of the line new doctors. I'm just saying, it would be nice if they knew some of the other ideas that are out there about animals that have to do with looking at things more holistically - working with diet, etc.

What I've tried to do lately if I go there is to know that they are very mainstream medically-oriented and be specific about what vet I go to(although 2x over the years, I have had another vet come in with no explanation because the vet I was booked for was running late. The substitute vet both times acted as if they were the vet I was supposed to see and made me feel uncomfortable. so that was weird).

I have had 2 instances with Hope Vet where they read some variation of the blood work wrong. I think they are great in the environment they've created and they do use diet and herbs and natural remedies - which I SO appreciate about them but I feel wary of doing anything 'major' with them after misreading of blood work.

Prospect Park Animal Clinic seems pretty good but I didn't get an amazing vibe from Dr. Silverman. Someone wrote to me privately with a bad experience she had there so I've hesitated to go back!

It really is tricky to find the vet that is right for you and if you find that person- of course you are going to be amazingly loyal. I appreciate hearing everyone's experiences.

I took my kitties to Dr. Gibson, the owner, of Animal Kind and found him attentive and thorough. I had a nice, and pricey visit. I hear all vet bills are high. Meow!