My senior cat Emily has stayed @ Richard's on an average of 3 to 4 times a year, sometimes for a…read morefew days but often for a week at a time. I feel that she receives EXCELLENT care!

Wonderful family, warm and caring, my two large dogs were there every other week for a long time of…read moremy travelling job. They would walk there wagging their tails- that is the best sign.‍‍

Puddlebank has been our dogs' home away from home since 1995…read more Our beloved Carrie Barrett was our original dog whisperer. Carrie's son Dave, her daughter-in-law Cherie, and her right hand woman Dottie have carried on her tradition with perfection. Our animals are our family, and we trust Puddlebank with their lives. Puddlebank is the sine qua non of animal care - your animal companions will be truly safe with them. And besides, our dogs love them! It doesn't get better than that.... Karen Greenberg, MD, Brookline, MA

I've used Puddlebank for week long boarding for my lab, Babs, for over six years. Carrie and…read moreMarrian offer home pick up or group pick up at a Newton Hotel parking lot. Their boarding prices are reasonable as are their transportation fees. They arrive in a hairy smelly doggie van w/ individual seat/ leash belts that are attached to other doggie "friends" for the ride to "the Farm". Babs is always thrilled to see the van pull up, and she always comes home healthy, well fed, newly groomed (if you want to) and just tired enough that I know she had a great time but without any great degree of stress or trauma. Each dog is given their own "den"...fed apart from the others...and is allowed to bring their own beds, bowls, chew toys and 'lovees' ( I always send along one of my tshirts). The dogs are given lots of play time, free time and socialization time outside their dens. You will NOT ever have a pacing, frenetic dog returned to you (unlike my experience elsewhere). These two gals who run the place are pure animal lovers who are making a respectable living doing what they love. I highly recommend them for boarding your dog.

To "North Shore Dog", Thank you so much to the owner and staff that works there. I work with a dog…read morerescue as a foster parent and was in need of boarding for one of my foster dogs. We went with North Shore Dog, because I didn't want our foster to be placed in a kennel all day like other boarding places do, with little to no interaction. The staff here took great care of him as he had so much fun playing and interacting with other dogs and staff members, this I know from what I seen on the live web cames offered. He was able to spend all day with other dogs, learning how to play, interact, and follow a routine schedule offered at this facility. This structure is very good especially for a foster dog who is learning to trust, and become more confident to be adopted. Thank you once again, and you can see how happy you made this sweet guy.

The owner has an attitude, and that is why her staff is rude. I just boarded my dog there for 5…read moredays. She is a boxer breed, and I have found that the staff is vastly uneducated on Bully breeds. They keep trying to change her natural instinct due to there lack of education. It was frustrating to pick her up and here that the stuff was being hard on my dog when the way she plays is natural. I also have a major problem with the way they treat POST PANDEMIC DOGS. Most of the puppies born through COVID have high separation anxiety and the hotel doesn't really care if the owner has needs for the pet I was told to fill out my dogs medication chart before boarding which I did in full, and when I picked up my dog from boarding all of her medication, treats, and toys , had not been used at all. She was returned with the wrong dog bowls, and the owners were rude when asked to return them. I was told to not bring dog bowls for boarding . However I expressed my dog is post pandemic and suffers from anxiety so the idea of eating out of a bowl not her own she doesn't do. So I labeled the bowls and was told on DROPOFF it was fine. However on pick up day - they were lost ( they gave me two random bowls) and proceed to tell me to not bring bowls for the future I am disappointed in this place because I had faith with some of the employees but overall 4 employees have been rude , and when I met the owner today, she was rude to me 5 seconds into convo. If the owner is rude to customers , then so won't her staff be.

Four Paws and a Leash was the second dog walking service we used. We turned to them for our puppy…read moreafter being dissatisfied with our first service. Although Denis (the owner) promised to take great care of our pup, we experienced nothing but problems from day 1. On our second day with them, Denis neglected to tell us that the walker assigned to us got a new job. Therefore, no one showed up to walk our 3 month old puppy. They apologized and offered to give us our first week of walks for free...but it didn't stop there. Two weeks later when our "replacement" walker broke his ankle, Denis the owner offered to take over. He came and walked our pup on Monday, but then neglected to show up for the rest of the week. When we tried to call him to ask him about it (and demand he return our house keys) he ignored our phone calls. After one last threatening message, he showed up unannounced at our apartment on Friday evening. He returned our keys after he sobbed in the entry way of our apartment about how is life is falling apart. Needless to say, Four Paws and a Leash is extremely unreliable! I would never put another animal in their care.

FPAAL has looked after my cats for the 3 trips I've taken this summer. Although I would like a…read morefaster response from Dennis confirming my scheduling, the cats are always well taken care of. After returning from my last trip, my condo was spotless, my mail organized, my plants watered, and best of all, my cats were completely calm and happy after being on their own for 10 days. Jeff is great!

about a year ago, I had to take my cat to a new vet because the I was seeing was overbooked and my…read more needed a rabies shot. I went here and I brought my cat on a leash and we sat quietly in the area and everything was fine. They were very friendly and fond over my cat and he was put at ease and behaved great through the entire exam and the shots. Today when I went, I had a terrible experience and when I brought my cat in on the leash, nobody said hello to me or my I went up to the desk to check in and they said I was checked didn't ask me how my was or say anything friendly to me. Meanwhile, every dog that came got a treat a hello and all kinds of attention I thought maybe it was just because they knew those dogs but then a few minutes later they came out with a cardboard pet carrier and told me cats have to be in pet carriers. They didn't look at me nicely. They didn't say I'm really sorry but we need your to go into this carrier. They didn't say anything soothing to my cat. They didn't even pet him. He was very upset about going into the carrier since he normally goes around places on a leash and a harness. Every I've ever gone to I've taken him in with a leash and a harness and he's always done fine and I said why does he have to go into a pet carrier? They said because he could get hurt by a dog or a dog might attack him and I said well then shouldn't a dog wear a muzzle and they looked at me and and said we don't muzzle dogs here to which I said, but you can put cats cardboard so that the dogs don't hurt the cat? I would think that it's the dogs that need to be rained in. From that point on they didn't have any conversation with me. They did not apologize to me. They did not try to calm my down and when we went in for the exam, my was obviously upset and was and the that came in Dr. Gallagher was not who I had originally made the appointment with when she entered. She She immediately put hands on my cat, who hissed at her. She didn't try to calm him down. She didn't talk to him. She didn't say anything at all to him as a matter of fact, and then she took to draw Blood and she told me that they couldn't because he was too upset and I needed to take him home and sedate him. I've never done anything like that. He doesn't hiss at people the only thing that upsets him is getting his nails clipped. I will never go there again and I recommend you don't either especially if you have a cat.

This place is overpriced and the front staff is very nice but apparently can't do simple tasks like…read moreadd.

I have taken different dogs to RIAMC over the years. They have urgent visits and will get you in…read morequickly. They are responsive when you call. The staff are very professional and empathetic. I highly recommend them.

DO NOT BRING YOUR PETS HERE !!…read more My dog had a fractured bone in his leg and was brought here, where they TRIPLED the recommended dosage of pain medication which subsequently caused major organ failure and sudden DEATH, and is not recommended for dogs of his age, and then they had the audacity to try and blame me for not rushing to the animal hospital, when I was calling about my poor babies side effects the whole time and their incompetent staff kept telling me it was normal. It was NOT and caused my best friend and companion to DIE. After discussing with colleagues and friends, I later found out that 3 of my friends experienced the SAME THING and also lost a pet here due to some sort of negligence :( DO NOT BRING YOUR PET HERE !!!

5 stars -- Empire State K-9 changed my dog -- and honestly, changed me, too…read more I don't write reviews like this often. But this deserves it. My dog Coco is family. She's also high-energy, distractible, reactive, social to a fault -- the mayor of every block. Walking her was a full-time job. I'd resigned myself to always having a leash-yanking, sidewalk-sprinting, bird-chasing kind of pup. Then I found Empire State K-9. After almost two weeks of immersive training, Coco came home a different dog -- not in spirit, but in structure. She still has her spark, but now there's focus behind it. She heels. She respects boundaries. She listens. She can walk by my side, calmly, even in high-distraction environments. A pigeon flew by today -- she started to glance, and with the smallest tug, she turned back to me and kept walking. That kind of transformation doesn't happen by accident. It's built through consistency, skill, empathy, and serious time on the ground. And that's exactly what Empire State K-9 delivers. From the moment I dropped her off, I felt like I was handing her over to someone who truly cared -- not just about dogs, but about people, too. The trainer spent hours with me upfront: walking me through the theory, the tools, the transitions, and the work I'd need to do when she came back. I got worksheets. Real-time walkthroughs. Space to ask questions. Time to process. He even drove me to and from the train. Brought me lunch. Gave me trash bags when I forgot them. The care was constant, not performative. Coco came home with a new collar, a new leash, and a completely new relationship with the world. She now lies down at my feet when we enter restaurants -- something I never could have imagined before. I can finally take my hand off the leash and trust that she won't bolt. Even now, I get unlimited follow-ups for three months -- real access: calls, texts, whatever I need. No nickel-and-diming, no weird fine print. If I had to offer one piece of constructive feedback, it's that sometimes the sessions ran a little long -- the wrap up one especially. I was promised two hours and hit closer to three. I was totally fried by the end. But to his credit, he noticed immediately, read the room, and got me to the train with kindness and care. So even the one "flaw" was handled with grace. Was this worth the cost? Yes. Would I recommend it to anyone who feels overwhelmed, frustrated, or unsure where to start? Absolutely. Will I be continuing to work with Empire State K-9 moving forward? 100%. Three months of training post I dont know of another bootcamp that offers that. This wasn't just training. It was transformation -- for both of us.

Look no further!!! Rick truly is a one of a kind dog trainer and animal behaviorist. If you need…read morechanges, this is who you need! What makes him stand apart is he trains the family as much as he trains the dog so you get a complete understanding of your dog's behavior and the how, why, and when to apply what you learn in the course. We, as a family, learned just as much or even more than our dogs learned! He includes the entire family in the classes which was awesome because it kept my husband and I on the same page so we didn't confuse our dogs and he taught my kids proper dog safety and proper engagement which is crucial! We found Rick about 8 years ago when we got our first dog, Scout, a shepherd/Doberman mix, who was extremely anxious, fearful and aggressive towards anyone outside our family and other animals. It was impossible, stressful, and downright embarrassing to take him anywhere due to his insistent barking, pulling, and lunging... so we sought out help. We had a hard time finding a trainer who was willing to even take on the training of Scout and actually had multiple trainers tell us just to put him down!!! As soon as we met Rick, he was not only willing to work with Scout, but was enthusiastic that he could treat Scout's individual issues and get us the results we wanted which was such a relief!! Scout entered Rick's program and he had a COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION. He gained so much confidence and control through the program and through Rick training us as the handlers, Scout was comfortable in whatever situation he was in because he could trust us as his alphas and that he was safe under our command because of the skills Rick taught us. Flash forward to 2020, my father bought a Rottweiler puppy that ended up being way to much for him to handle so he asked us to take her and my first phone call was to Rick... She was OUT OF CONTROL. We adopted Phoenix, and started her training right away. She had entirely different issues than Scout, mostly no control, no house manners, and had no social skills. Rick worked with her and almost instantly she was a different dog. She was still her happy-go-lucky self, but had manners and control. Through her growth, Rick worked with her and us to mold her into the ideal family dog! Scout & Phoenix are able to enjoy life much more as we are able to handle all settings and bring them along with us anywhere with confidence. He just has a complete understanding and nature with dogs and it's astonishing to watch him work. We are so grateful for what Rick has brought to our family and will always go to him for our dogs in the future!

Waited long time…read more They had emergency that took up vet time It would have been great if they told us, many people were waiting, that there will be a delay

We had to take our 15 yo cat into the ER a day ago. Today we had to humanly let him go. We want to…read morethank Victoria, Kathy, Dr. Russell, Dr. Gerhart, and Kathy (liaison) for a smooth and compassionate process.

I have been a Customer at Norfolk Vet for about 8 years and to be honest, have never been that…read moreimpressed with the customer service I received, and the Dr's bedside manners as they say. within the last 2 months I learned, my dog is in active heart failure. I had called the office Monday, twice, and was told each time Dr McCabe is not in today, however, another Veterinarian on call would call me back, regarding a very important issue. I did not receive a call back, so on my way home I decided to stop by the office. I was met with the front desk staff, who was very rude, and told me the Veterinarian that is on call couldn't "speak" to me because my dog is not "her patient". I then asked if that was the case, which sounds ridiculous and a complete excuse of the Drs. negligence, why wasn't I told that when I called twice. Staff then assured me that I would receive a call the following morning from my Vet. I waited for 1.5 hours following morning for the call that never came. I called the office and was told she was seeing patients. I am beyond shocked that this is how the staff operates, Vets included. it is now 5 hours after I called, 3 times within 24 hours, and not one Vet has got back to me. Mind you my call was very important regarding my dog's active heart failure and cardiac cachexia. DR McCabe is heartless, ignorant, and downright rude. She has zero empathy, and her staff is the same. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME HERE. I have another dog who is 3 and after this experience I am looking for a new Vet ASAP.

Fantastic vet. The support staff are friendly responsive and love animals. The doctors are…read moreclearly nerds and do a great job explaining everything. They've done a great job managing our elderly cats diabetes.

Called them at 430 in the morning about some weird behavior my 16 year old dog was displaying out…read moreof nowhere. They said I should bring her in but recommended waiting until shift change at 7-8am. Got there about 745 and she was taken right back. I was brought into a room and few minutes later the vet came in and said they'd done a physical exam already and asked me to explain why I was there. He said based on everything I said, he believed she had a brain tumor and we could do an MRI but the treatment would only manage symptoms which would get worse quickly and could include seizures, personality change and aggression. We made the difficult decision to help my baby pass on. They did not rush me and were super understanding. I had brought her blanket and toys and treats as I wasn't sure how long we would be there so she was very comfortable. The entire thing took about two hours which was much faster than I expected.

I recently left a review from our experience @OceanStateVeterinarySpecialists botching our dog's…read moresurgery and them submitting a collection account to my wife's credit report 2 years later, which at the original time of their 2nd surgery they said they would not be charging us for and therefore we never received any bills, as such we thought this matter was resolved. This is in response to "Business Manager Abby K's" response to my review on 5/20/26. Facts: We were trying to not name specific names in my initial review on 5/20/26 to protect the honest employees and give confidentiality. 1. Dr, Sweet said an infection could not have occurred so quickly during their care. Basically impossible as it takes more time for an infection to develop. Dr. Sweet was extremely kind and truthful. We appreciate his transparency to this day. 2. Dr. Sweet did not do the original surgery, but did the incision revision (2nd surgery) and said the reason the initial surgery/incision opened up was because instead of doing internal and external stitches from the initial surgery they only did internal stitches and external glue, which he said was not the proper method as the glue couldn't hold the incision closed because the incision was too big. 3. Ocean State Veterinary Specialists would never provide us with of any documentation of lab results showing any infection that supposedly occurred under their care, but they stated he had a very generic infection, which we believe was attempt to cover their mistake, as Dr. Sweet stated an infection couldn't have developed so quickly. 4. We've consulted with other experienced Vets since this matter, with all relevant information/photos/etc provided to them and they all confirm that our dog was mishandled. We very much appreciate Dr, Sweet for fixing our dog and his transparency. He's a very honest and qualified surgeon. Unfortunately the hospital Dr Sweet works for is not. While we promptly paid the collection account in full as soon as it was posted, we will be seeking most importantly changes and also damages through legal channels regarding this matter. We are not looking for any monetary reward besides our lost time and expenses, but rather aiming for this institution to improve itself, not blame the public, admit when they've made a mistake and not defraud the public at the same time. It will cost us more unnecessary expense to see this through, but with most of our experience on camera in their own hospital with this event and just the moral aspect of doing the right thing for pets we will incur this expense on behalf of others that perhaps cannot afford it and more importantly, all our pets. Please go somewhere else in the meantime for the safely of your pet and research past court cases against this company. If you feel this response is in unfounded, I welcome direct contact for any questions.