Reviews of Animal Hospital Of Fairfield (Veterinarian)

Cynthia S

In March 2019, my sweet little 4 year old pup ruptured both cruciate ligaments. He was completely crippled. I went around to 3 NJ animal hospitals for orthopedic surgery consultations, including a well known trauma hospital in Bergen County. They all said the same thing..... Perform a 50 year old veterinary technique, one leg at a time, for thousands and thousands of dollars each, with a year+++ long recovery. This was not okay with me, and so I kept looking for a surgeon to heal my Domino's suffering. Thankfully, I found Dr. A and his team. There would be NO quick fix fishline-style ligament repair. There would be NO year++ long recovery. Dr. Akbawy set out to repair both legs simultaneously using a state-of-the-art procedure with pins, plates and screws. I was scared to death for my little Domino. 2 days post-op, he was bearing weight on his hind legs and hobbling around. When the casts came off a few weeks later, I was shocked at what I saw. 3 inch incisions on each of his 6 inch long legs, perfectly healing, clean and without any evidence of infection. And I saw his x-rays. What a sight! My little 13lb pup now had bionic legs! We followed doctors orders for his physical therapy and also began laser therapy to help him heal. Sure enough, as expected from Dr. A's therapy timeline, our Domino was 100% at exactly the 16 week mark. He is running (very fast!), jumping, chasing his feline brother, up the stairs, down the stairs and even stands alone on his hind legs to catch a glimpse of what I might be cooking for dinner on the stove. His recovery from being completely crippled is nothing short of a miracle. And it is the direct result of Dr. Akbawy's skilled and masterful hands in orthopedic surgery, along with his loving, caring staff and technicians. My heartfelt thanks to this entire team who gave my pup his quality of life back. ♥️♥️♥️

Steven Pezzino

Excellent care great facility

Dawn Barberis-Viczai

I have taken all 5 of my cats(past and present) plus two hamsters (RIP) to Dr. John. He is the best! I wouldn't go anywhere else. He has great passion and compassion for animals. I saw this when he helped me through the passing of my 3 cats (and two hamsters) by giving me honest sound medical advice and options. He is also very personable and witty and his staff are always smiling and friendly. Everyone at Willowbrook Animal Clinic know my cats names and mine!! :) Last but not least, his prices are very reasonable and he never tries to "sell" you on unnecessary procedures. I am thankful to have him as my vet and my cats are healthy and happy because of him.

Steve Gold

The most Fair place around nice people

Robert Sendewicz

My cat was diagnosed with nasal polyps which needed to be removed through surgery. I went to two different places for help. One could not perform surgery the other quoted an absurd amount without even seeing xrays or other medical reports. I finally went to Animal Hospital of Fairfield. Doctor El Akbawy performed the surgery and removed to his surprise six polyps! My cat Iris had severe nasal discharge which went away after her surgery. I want to thank Dr. El Albany for his skills and the rest of the staff of AH of F for their professionalism and compassion.

Elizabeth Seth

Dr. Elakbawy did Unilateral Arytenoid Laterilization (Tie-back surgery) on my 9 year old Labrador Retriever who suffers from Laryngeal Paralysis (LarPar) with great success. This is a clean facility with professional, caring, quality staff. I came a far distance based on excellent reviews and reasonable cost and my dog received top quality, life saving care. All of the staff showed great care for my dog and also for myself because I was very upset and scared. I was kept updated all throughout the process by calls and texts and even pictures of Buddy in recovery. I highly recommend this hospital to anyone looking for quality, compassionate care for their pet.

INESSE LEE

My Maltese is 16 years old so I’ve had my share of vet visits. I recently got a Siberian husky who has many problems and one of them happens to be very low on calcium. It has caused all his canine teeth to crack in half leaving him in pain. I called my vet and she told me all she could do is pull the them out but luckily I did my research and I was fortunate to find dr.awkbawy who has exceeded my expectations. He is an expert in his field and goes beyond that when it comes to any kind of surgery. He is accommodating and very informative. The staff is always so friendly and they call to check up even a month after procedures. My husky had root canals and crowns done on all his teeth. It is honestly amazing what dr. Awkbawy can do. I highly recommend him as a vet for your pet!!!!

Rennie Jacob

good staff

chuck graf

I drive all the way from Greenwood Lake to go to this office. 2 of my 3 dogs had crutiate ligament surgery in both legs years ago and are now 10 and 11 years old and run like young dogs. More importantly, Dr Akbaway shows concern for our animals and really cares for them. It is worth the 50 minute ride to see him when needed.

Priscilla Nieves

The Doctor and staff are truly incredible! They are super friendly and knowledgeable! My poor pug needed surgery to help stop his horrible breathing noise which made it seem like he always had a bad cold. In a matter of days, maybe even less honestly, he was back to his normal hyper self and his breathing and noise and improved tremendously! The staff loves their little patients and it shows the care they have for the animals. I do recommend them highly!

Adrienne Evans

I have known Dr. Akbawy since 2002. He has treated my pets for a variety of ailments from routine physicals and dentistry to acute renal failure, cancer, heart failure, fractures, diabetes, and overactive thyroid just to name a few. He and his staff our professional, knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. I and my pets have always been treated with the utmost courtesy and respect. In the days of specialization, it is comforting to find a practice that is capable of treating a pet as a whole and unique.

Marisa Drusa

Our cat Lou had a serious bacterial cystitic infection and after a weekend he was completely the old again. The Dr's are very knowledgeable and did not need much time to find out what was wrong with our Lou. After many sleepless nights for me and my husband, we can finally enjoy a wonderful evening at home with the complete family. Lou is a cat with a tough character and never before has he felt comfortable at a veterinarian. We are very satisfied and very impressed by your team. Lou is the old one again and this all because of you and your amazing staff! Thanks for all your help and all your efforts. Even on the weekends, you guys stayed in touch with me and made me feel safe about my Lou. This is really incredible a massive thank to each and all of you !!

Louise Meo

The Animal Hospital of Fairfield neutered our cats. The staff was very professional. We, also, brought our kitten there when she spiked a fever, The veterinarian actually came to the office on his day off to tend to her. She had pneumonia. They did a wonderful job taking care of our kitten while trying to keep our costs to a minimum. We were allowed to visit her each day until she was released. The office was very kind and understanding. I have recommended The Animal Hospital of Fairfield to numbers friends. They truly are the best!

Pablo Fragoso

Took my Cat there for vaccines and routine care. The staff was very caring and were very gentle with my cat. I know they are known for orthopedic surgeries, but also will take care of your pet for routine care. I definitely recommend this hospital for your pet.

Leanne Decker

What an awesome group of people that work at the Animal Hospital of Fairfield! It was my first time there for my kitty Gizmo and they made me feel totally comfortable, they informed me of what Giz needed done of being fixed, shots, etc. They were very kind to Giz because she is timid and I felt they knew exactly what they were doing and I was unafraid to leave Giz there because I knew she was in good hands. If you are looking for an animal hospital you can trust...The Animal Hospital of Fairfield is it!!!

Yoly Collini

I can here because I had a Groupon coupon. Staff was friendly.

Jennifer Santora

These guys are a bunch of quacks! They bled us for money for years and we trusted them. They misdiagnosed our dog, who later died of pancreatic cysts. They gave her a B12 and a fatomide shot and pushed her out the door, and said "good luck." They got angry when we went to another vet for a second opinion and are now lying to rescues about how we took care of our dog! When caught in the lie, they tried to say it was the rescue that was lying.

Mitchell Ledo

I wish I can give 0 stars if I could. I encourage people to stay away from this “ vet “ and go somewhere better for your animal. I bought a friends of animals certificate and unfortunately my local vet wasn’t participating so this is the only reason why I came here and I regret it. My dog had a spaying done from dr. A and I’ve had multiple female dogs and I never saw such a poor job on a incision done before in my whole life. Not only was the incision botched by him but later my dog had an infection from when not the doctor himself but the vet tech ripped it open and left her wound out in the open and did nothing for her. The doctor wasn’t even there to see her when I came about the complaint about the suture in the first place! They let the tech take it out and not the dr or even had him see what was happening! I’m going to file a huge complaint against this place because of the lack of service and animal care they gave to me. I then called the office manager to complain and ask for assistance on the 160$ vet bill I had to take her somewhere else for because of THEIR part and she had the audacity to tell me I did my animal wrong. Please read the rest of these complaints from people about this place and don’t come here. Your better off saving your money and going elsewhere.

Shannon McDonald

Very happy with the service at Animal Hospital of Fairfield. The staff is courteous, professional, and cares tremendously about the animals.

sam pcllc1

Dr.and staff are all extremely helpful, kind and friendly. My experience in past 2 years has been great.

lee adams

My family have been going to the animal hospital of fairfield for at least 17 years. We love dr. Akbawy and his entire staff, They are the kindest and loving people I know. I will go no where else. He is very honest with the human parents. I trust his word. He is for the animals first. When I had to put my cat Simon down two years ago, Dr. Akbawy truly feels your pain. He let us have as much time as we needed with Simon to say goodby. I am forever grateful to dr. Akbawy and his staff for all the understanding and concern that they give to the patient and the human parents. This is one vet that loves animals. My family is very loyal to dr. Akbawy and his staff here in fairfield and in the cat hospital in fairlawn. We love you all The Adams Family

simone osullivan

Dr Akbawy and his team are excellent! My cat broke his leg and needed delicate surgery which Dr Akbawy performed with care and precision. He followed up personally every week and my cat is making great progress. Thank you to you and your team.

Courtney Motylinski

I took my dog here today. They were able to make me a same day appointment even though I was no a current client. The vet tech did great with my nervous dog and the doctor explained my options, gave me an itemized list of costs for potential treatments. That way I knew up front what it was going to cost. The doctor explained everything and answered all my questions. I feel like he suggested a conservative approach to my dog's issue and then discussed other options so I could decide what would work best for us. I appreciate the transparent billing, the explanations of everything that was being done, and the care they took of my dog. I will definitely be returning!!

Ramon Sheffer

DR. HESHAM EL-AKBAWY MY HERO! Last weekend I had an emergency surgery for my bulldog, and after a couple of days in the clinic, dr Hesham saved her life. I am so thankful and again great job Dr!

Daisy Colon

I called to schedule an appointment for my 2 month old Shihapoo with the Orthopedic Doctor; it wasn't an urgent necessity and yet I was given an appointment with only a two day wait. The staff was very freindly and Dr. Akbawy came in to meet us within minutes of arriving. He met Princess Bella and immediately saw she had a crooked paw. He asked me if she had been injured and I told him she was born this way. He said this may sound strange but it would be a better situation if she had been injured and explained why. He examined her and listened to everything I said and answered all my questions. He told us that if she was born with the crooked paw that most likely it is a birth defect but he couldn't be sure without an Xray. He continued to explain the possibilities and asked if we wanted to have the X-ray done, he also explained it could be a long process if he could help her but it all starts with the Xray. He told us it was our decision how far we wanted to go with any possible treatment for her. He was compassionate and not pushy in any way. After my fur-babies Xray, he came in and said that Princess Bella was born with a missing bone and showed us the Xray. He then continued to explain what he could try to do to help her but it couldn't begin until she stopped growing. As of right now I have to wait until then before going back to him, he said there was no need to come back unless something happens to the leg and to my surprise he told me to go to my regular vet to maintain her shots etc. I really liked this Animal Hospital and Dr. Akbawy, After we discussed Bella's treatment he gave us a tour of his hospital. Every room was clean, he showed us the Xray room the Pre-Op room, the Operating room and even the Dentistry room.The hospital doesn't have the usual animal smells it was so clean..The cost for todays visit including X-rays was very very reasonable. I'm about 90% certain that I will be switching my pets to this practice. The 10% is only because the Vet we currently have is close to home and we have known them for over 20 years. But the warmth and compassion we received from this first visit was wonderful and I went home with Hope for my precious Princess Bella.

Nancy B

I would never reccomend this vet. He told me my 2 yr old 24 lb dog needed hip surgery and pressed me to do it soon as it was only going to get worse. I took the dog to another orthepedic specialist who gave my dog a very through exam and told me he did have a mild hip displasia problem but because of his size he doubted he would ever need surgery. My opinion is that this vet is only in it for the money. Ny dog is now 5 and doin fine.

Rick Zambrano

PLEASANT STAFF MAKE MY PETS VERY COMFORTABLE THEY PROVIDE ALL NECESSARY SERVICES NEED IT FOR MY ALL 3 PETS. I AM PRESENTLY IN fl AND IF WE MOVE BACK TO NJ WE WILL BE SEEN YOU. WE ALL GREATFULL FOR YOUR SERVICES RICK & TERI Z

James Marotta

My experience has been excellent!!! Great doctors.great staff!!!! All of whom love the animals and take great care of them!!!!!!! All of my 7 cats are patients of The Animal Hospital of Fairfield and The Lincoln Avenue Cat Hospital which are sister institutions!!! Both great veterinary facilities!!!!!! James S. Marotta.

David Ng

Not the greatest place for my hairy friend and my wallet to visit but the staffs there are nice and professional.

Leslie Seid

Dr. Raj has a wonderful bedside manner. It is easy to see how much she loves her occupation. She explains everything in an easy to understand way. She is very thorough and my dogs do not seem at all stressed when she examines them.

Michael McCarthy

We took our dog there after the workers at her daycare place pointed out she had what they believed was a canine papilloma in her mouth. When the vet came in, he took a look and said it could be a papilloma, but it could be something else. He proceeded to take a picture of it with his phone and said he had to send it to the pathologists. Fast forward about an hour of standing in the exam room and he returns and told us it could be a papilloma, but it could be something else. Then he squirted some disinfectant on a few gauze pads and gave it to us in a Ziploc bag to wipe it off which was obviously a shot in the dark since he wasn't able to give us a diagnosis. I guess his scientific method of texting a picture to the pathologists didn't work out that day. I received more information and specifics from the kids working at daycare. In short, we paid $55 for a few pieces of gauze in a Ziploc bag. For what it's worth the woman at the front desk was very nice.

Ivan Rios

They work with the Lincoln Avenue Cat Hospital. Great staff, friendly and caring. They put you at ease and explain in detail any procedures that your pet may require. Took great care of my little cat Caesar. Thanks!

Jennifer Fetterman

Be very wary of Dr. El-Akbawy. He has a disciplinary record with the New Jersey Veterinary Licensing Board. Most recently, he was disciplined for holding himself out as a specialist when he has only taken continuing education courses. I wish we had done more research before we brought our 3-year-old lab to Dr. A. He told us he was specialized to perform a hip surgery and recommended that our dog have the procedure on his left side. He performed the procedure in November 2018, and he was not prepared to handle a complication. He had to stop the surgery and take a week long break so he could ask more qualified doctors what to do. My dog had to go back in for surgery the next week. Unfortunately, my dog developed an esophageal stricture from the second surgery and he will never eat solid food again. My dog did not use his left leg at all following the surgery, which Dr. A. described as a "success." We took him to Oradell Animal Hospital in February for physical therapy and they were pretty shocked at the substandard procedure that was performed. They referred us to a specialist on Long Island. They quickly realized that my dog wasn't using his leg because his kneecap was completely dislocated. They could tell from the x-rays that the kneecap was injured before the hip replacement surgery, which should not have been performed under the circumstances. My dog had to undergo another invasive surgery in February to correct the knee problem. He will likely have to have the hip surgery repaired by an actual specialist in the future. We have filed a complaint with the Board. I hope they stop him from harming more animals. Please do not let this man perform surgery on your dog. He is not a specialist, even though he will tell you that he is. This is my response to Dr. A's response, which I'm sure he will post: Timber.

Leila Aminoleslami

Very professional, very friendly and thoughtful. My dog is happy there.

Mohsen Khalil

Very good service; nice doctor.

Juan Villafana

Dr. A has taken care of my Rottweiler and basically saved her twice in the past 6 years; between a torn knee ligament and a malignant tumor in her leg. He is very knowledgeable and tactfully straight forward. Highly recommend.

Nadia Pulgar

Staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. The waiting is organized lengthwise and it's a tad narrow but they have on site parking so it makes up for it.

Mazi Smith

This office has a nice staff but I think only routine work should be done here. I would do some review research. My one cat was diagnosed with giardia (which is highly unlikely because he’s strictly indoors only so this was odd), he got really sick on the treatment but i was told to just keep giving it to him. I didn’t. I stopped after a few days. He was puking and lethargic. Did another test and he didn’t have giardia anymore apparently. So he probably never had it to begin with. I had a few issues with my other cat but I’ll list my main concerns. One of the staff members nearly diagnosed her with giardia because they had the records switched with my other cat. Then she was diagnosed with a heavy heart condition - which they never caught/mentioned before until I pointed out her heart sounds weird. She had a few echos done at this office, and I was advised to do an echo every 6 months. This is a really big expense (and what I feel is unnecessary) - but when I asked for the measurements and imaging on the past echos, this is where a major disappointment follows.. I was told that the machine didn’t download right and they’re unable to provide. It seems that they didn’t even take notes on any measurements which would mean: total waste of money. The measurements should be compared between each echo to see how she’s doing, and that’s clearly not what was happening here. Which leads me to believe the doctor should’ve sent me to a cardiologist and not taken so much pride performing a test that he didn’t have a specialty in. I definitely feel he has too much confidence in himself, and sometimes you just need to step down. They weren’t even able to provide me detailed notes from my office visits. And seemed shocked I even asked for them, told me I never said I wanted them before so it’ll take some time. I received a word document with things I already knew from my invoices. ie. date of echos, medication prescribed. Didn’t even receive her full diagnosis in this paper (which I have cuz I wrote it down myself) Unfortunately this was the last chance with this office and I’ll be going elsewhere for her treatment. If there is a following response from the office: please remain professional and don’t lash out at a negative review as I see you have done so in other reviews. It’s not good impression for your happy customers. Thank you

Olga Zabelinskaya

Long time ago ( actually 12 years ago at the old location) they save my cats' life. She past away one year ago at the age of 14.Thank you.

Jessi Prevost

I found this hospital through the Friends of Animals program for spaying and neutering cats. I bought the spay and neuter certificates through Friends of Animals and did some calling around to research the phone manners/courtesy of the participating vets in my area. I was pleased with the women I spoke with and they gave me pricing for their additional costs to have my cats fixed, which turned out to be reasonable. They got me in within a few days, and all went well with the surgeries and my experience there. They didn't pressure me into anything additional, which I felt to be the case for some of the other vets I had called. They really took care of my cats, and I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a new vet.

Eugene Festa

Stay away from this place. Dr. A is not even listed of the state board as a licensed vet, nevermind a surgeon who made a poor incision on my dog and then had an infection. Bring your animal to a better place where they actually care for your animal.

Christina Thokey

Brought my sweet beautiful cat to get spayed two weeks ago and now shes dead! She died this morning she was perfectly healthy until i took her to get spayed and now shes gone!!! I dont know what kind of hack job they did on her maybe they didnt care cuz i used a friends if animals certificate!!!!

Jennifer Hallam

Four years ago, when my two-year-old cat stopped eating, I took her to the Animal Hospital of F airfield. Bella was a sick girl, and her only hope was surgery. i was scared to death, but Dr. El-Akbawy and his staff did all they could to get her through as comfortably as possible. Her surgery went off without a hitch, she was home the next day and the first thing she did was run to her food bowl. Over the next two years, I was treated with nothing but courtesy from the AHoF folks. They are truly a caring, helpful bunch. I moved out of NJ two years ago, and have yet to find a clinic that comes close. Keep up the good work!!

Luis Manrique

This facilty is very clean and staff is very kind and helpful. BUT please whatever you do do not let dr. akbawy perform ANY surgery on your dog. Get vacines, medicine for your dogs but let him get near your dog with a knife. I may have realized as of late that my dog my only brother didnt last as long because of the surgery done so poorly. These people are nice people but unfortunately dr. akbawy is learning to be a veterinarian as he performs biopsys on your dogs

Jessica Van Meter

I previously went to Animal Hospital of Fairfield to treat my dog, just regular checkups and vaccinations. I relocated to southern NJ so I had to get a new vet. I called to have my records sent to me, they only fax copies and charge a $10.00 fee. Ok its a little pricey to fax what I was told would be 2 pieces of paper. They said before they took my payment information they had to have the vet approve to send me my own records. I had called at 8am when the office opened, at around 3pm I called again and they still hadn't spoken to the vet, I called my new vet and they called their twice as well with no luck to receive the information before my emergency vet appointment that evening. Animal Hospital of Fairfield was open until 7pm and had 11 hours that day to speak to Dr. Akbawy about getting me my records faxed. I called at 9am the next morning and spoke to another receptionist and she was very nice and proceeded to tell me she didn't see anything on file that I had called the day before. You can imagine how this made me feel, I explained to her the situation that i called twice and my new vet had called twice and to be told there was nothing on file that I called was the last straw. I asked for the names of the girls who had been working the day before because I was filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (I was literally on the complaint page but thought before I send this let me call there to see where we stand). She stopped me and said let me confirm your fax number and I will send the information right away. I thanked her and wouldn't you know 2 minutes later I had a fax of 2 pages with my dogs charts. She clearly didn't have to have anything approved and she didn't mention anything about a $10.00 fee. I want to thank Laura for her help. I am thankful though that I won't be going there again. You would think in today's economy business would treat their customers better, like Laura did, to take care of something as simple as getting me 2 pieces of paper when my dog had an emergency appointment. Treating customers like that gets the business nowhere but bad complaints and a bad reputation that is sure to be passed around to the community.