When I got my first dog a friend recommended St Mark's so maybe at one time they were good, but not in my experience. In retrospect (and after having found a great vet since), I actually feel preyed upon by them. Constantly ordering tests that weren?t needed (and even the good reviews admit St Marks is very expensive) - I literally could not get out of this place without a ballooning bill. Some of it was my inexperience being a novice dog owner and thinking everything they suggested was necessary, but that almost makes it worse in my opinion. Examples include a biopsy on a bump (on the suture from his neuter) my current vet said he never would have looked twice at, a heartworm test as part of a ""routine"" checkup when my dog was on medication and had tested negative on his initial visit eight months earlier(!), and his neuter. The neuter estimate was jawdropping. When I balked, they then admitted some of the services included were optional ? two different painkillers for example. I asked if one of those could possibly go the response was a guilt-inducing - ""but you wouldn't want to put your dog through pain would you?"" The catheter? What if my dog is a hemophiliac and bleeds to death before they can put one in? I finally pushed back and pared the services down (cruel dog owner that I am) but still paid over $500. Left there ever time with an uneasy feeling I'd just been swindled.
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