Community Veterinary Medicine

I have seen Dr Krieger for years, she’s helped me through some challenging times with my two previous cats; they had some serious conditions over their 16 years, both acute and chronic. She went above and beyond to help me make the most difficult decisions about end of life care and euthanasia. She’s an amazingly compassionate and caring human being! I honestly don’t know how vets do it! I’m happy to be back in her care with my new kitty babies😻😻 The office is clean, the staff is friendly and they’re good about providing estimates prior to procedures, sometimes the estimate is a little off, but it IS an ESTIMATE. I see bad reviews about this and feel others may not understand that they may not be able to predict all costs, especially with dentals. Also, having a pet is expensive. Fur babies require annual check ups and sometimes expensive medicine or surgeries just like humans, we humans have health insurance so we don’t see the full cost of healthcare, with pets we see what the actual costs are. If you are not taking your fur baby in annually for a check up and show up out of the blue with something wrong; there’s no record of health, there could be any number of problems and it will likely require many diagnostic tests to determine what exactly is going on, this is going to cost you a lot of money! This is not the vet’s fault. Do yourself a favor and sign up for pet health insurance. You can work this fee into a monthly budget, then when something comes up like a 4K-5K surgery, which it did for both of my previous cats, you don’t have to worry about affording it. You can just do what’s best for the fur babies and not have to think about if it’s worth it, if you can afford it, etc. No one needs a large financial stress on top of the emotional stress of caring for an unwell pet. I learned this lesson too late for one of my cats, after a 5K surgery. You can’t insure them for a pre-existing condition. With one insured and one uninsured, the costs throughout their lives were similar. If I were disciplined enough to put away $200 per month in a cat savings account and not use it for anything else, I could see forgoing insurance. Whatever you do, know that there will be expenses, sometimes very large ones throughout your pets’ life. There are many helpful YouTube videos about how and what to choose pet insurance. We have to take responsibility as pet owners, vets aren’t miracle workers. Unlike doctors, who may not like people, vets love animals and want desperately to help them be well.

posted: 12/02/2025

Dr Krieger has been nothing but amazing for me and my dog. She is always very thorough every time we have been ensuring that she can help any way she can. Whether it is making sure we can get in for a last minute appointment, making time to be available for any questions or even ensuring quality care for a very affordable price. Very glad she is our neighborhood veterinarian

posted: 02/12/2026

I'm so lucky to have Dr. Krieger and her staff in my neighborhood. They take such good care of my dog and by extension, me. When problems arise, they are so good at explaining them and finding solutions. And they are excellent at keeping me up to date on her vaccine schedule. Thank you Dr. Krieger and team!

posted: 02/05/2026

I took my cat, Lenny, to this vet in late 2023. I was told by Dr. Ortiz that Lenny needed ALL his teeth removed because he had stomatitis (not surprising, as he was on the streets until he was 7 months old). I was given an estimate, and specifically asked if he needed to have his front teeth removed as well. Dr. Ortiz said “ABSOLUTELY - his gums are infected at the front as well.” Come the day of the operation, I bring Lenny in at 8AM, and I’m told I can pick him up after 4. I call at 3 to see how he’s doing and they tell me he hasn’t even gone into surgery yet (??) and that I should call back at 4:30. I do. I’m told that he’s still in surgery. At 5:30 I head to the office because they’ve been VERY cagey about what’s going on with my cat, and they close at 6. I wait. I wait. The office closes and still I sit. Finally, at about 7:00, they bring Lenny out, and he STILL HAS HIS FRONT TEETH. When I ask about this, the assistant says “it’s fine.” When I ask to speak to Dr. Ortiz, I’m told “he left.” I’ve never experienced anything like it. I called and emailed the following week and was completely ignored. $4,000 to take SOME but not all of my cat’s teeth, and now I still have to worry about his front teeth being removed, *and* never had it explained to me. The doctor wouldn’t talk to me at all. Horrifying. I moved over to Harlem Animal Hospital where Lenny receives excellent care. I would never trust Community Veterinary with an animal again.

posted: 11/28/2025

On Friday I had an appointment for my beautiful lab Coco, who has been having hip and walking difficulties for a few days. I took her to see her vet Dr. Krieger, who has seen her for a few years for basic care and vaccinations. I was definitely scared for her so my husband had to take her in while awaited outside. Dr. Krieger walked in asked what was going on with Coco, my husband described her issue, she says well let’s get an x- ray to diagnose her. I come in a ask what’s going on the assistant explained she needed an x-ray so we agreed. They take Coco away and about 5 min later the assistant comes back with a bill for $823.00 which includes an X-ray fo $175 and 2 other x-rays for at another $110. Blood test for $230, sedation for $117 plus the office visit for $70 and last but not least medication $ 120. Yet, she hasn’t been diagnosed but they already know what medication to give her ? But that’s not the worst thing, I now have to explain I cannot afford the charge and ask what can we do. The assistant says let me talk to the Dr. 5 min later here comes another assistant with Coco, she hands Coco over to me and says you can take her to the ASPCA. I was so confused because I couldn’t afford $823. They were not willing to help Coco? They didn’t even try to offer a payment plan? Or try another way with less charges. So, I did as they suggested I left. I then get a call from the office because they had prepared medication for her and I didn't pay the office visit. I explained I didn’t want the medication for $110 dollars when the medication was offered before a diagnosis was even given and that particular medication can also be bought on line for less then $20.00 and since the Dr didn’t give her an exam I wasn’t going to pay the $70 visit charge. I was then repeatedly chastised by text from either the assistant or the Dr. I explained how offended and hurt I was at the treatment Coco and I received, at no point during our 10 min visit did they put my Coco well being first. I understand it’s a business but there are better ways of handling such issues. Sad to say this is not a place you should bring your best friend for care unless you have money a lot of it!

posted: 11/08/2021