Veterinary Emergency Clinic of Central Florida 16369 West Colonial Drive, Oakland, FL 34787

"All the reviews are correct. Shouldn’t have waisted my time. Waited maybe 3 hours for a “he’s constipated! Just give him this food and he’ll pass it!” I went to another hospital the next day and he was about 1 day away from dying due to an almost ruptured bladder. The vet himself was shocked when I told him I went to another hospital earlier, he acted as if this was his first treatment. Don’t wait your time. They don’t care"

"The staff and Dr's are amazing! Our dog was hit by a car and we called to let them we were on our way and 10 mins down the road; they were outside the clinic waiting to help get her out of the car and start examining her injuries. They put me in a room while they worked on Rosie and kept me updated at all times. Rosie's injuries were too extensive to be treated fully there, so they cleaned her wounds, bandaged her leg, and prepared her for me to take up to UF small animal hospital. Everyone there was super friendly, compassionate, and supportive. I'm very grateful for them!"

"It was the worst experience I ever had. The staff are friendly, but the lack of communication exceeds them. I went in at 6.40 pm with my dog who had a bleeding paw. He is very sweet and friendly. They placed us in a room, and hours passed, and if I don't go out and check, no one bother to check on us. By 10:00 pm I inquired again, the male receptionist kept telling me that we would be seeing after the next 2 patients. At 11 pm checked again same excuse, but this time he added that no charges were made, and I get to decide if I stay or leave. Then at almost midnight a technician said to us, that the doctor will see us after he sees other patients who were considered a real emergency and that it was taking more time because my dog would need sedation. It took them 6 hours to tell me that they needed to sedate him by the time they get to see my dog. At that point, I left with my dog bleeding and exhausted. That kind of treatment is extremely disrespectful and abusive toward my pet. My dog is a great Dane, incredibly gentle and friendly."

"Traumatic experience here! I’ve waited 20 days to write this review hoping to take the emotion out of it and give a fair and objective account so as to warn others. Avoid this facility at all costs. On 10th Dec we awoke to discover our dog clearly unwell. Static and dribbling and panting heavily. He was drinking plenty of water but struggling and so we called two veterinary practices and each gave us the same emergency number to call. Our nearest location was Oakland. So I took our 9 year old male Vizsla (100% health the night before) to this facility. They were slow to process him and first thing they did was weigh him. It took a while for the vet, Deb Sullivan, to show and my boy was clearly very poorly. When she did arrive she said let’s weigh him. I said he’s been weighed, let get him in. But the vet instead saying “let’s check to make sure”. That’s my first red flag. So the vet says I’m not to go in and tells me that they’re going to do some diagnostics but warns me that my dog may go into cardiac arrest. Red flag #2. Whilst waiting and hoping they’re doing their best I get presented with an invoice to sign by what seemed to be a senior member of the team. Red flag #3. They then say they are doing some tests, vet says he’s very sick but doesn’t know why and I get second invoice. Red flag #4. At this point it seems clear to me that there’s as much if not more attention given to the money than my dog. After a THIRD invoice the vet rushes in to me and says “come quick, he’s gone into cardiac arrest”! As you can imagine, emotionally I am distraught but keeping things in check. As I walk in they’re doing CPR on my beautiful boy. They says he’s back with a pulse but I’m not sure. I’m now stroking his face and pleading with him to hang in there. Then one of the team says “if we have to perform CPR again it’s $150”. I was too upset to say what I felt about this total lack of empathy or kindness or indeed an understanding of human emotions, other than “do whatever you have to do to save my boy”. During the process two of the team were laughing and joking together. They were kids, about 16 years old. I was/am disgusted. I don’t blame them, though they should know better. I blame the culture at this facility. Eventually I had to say let him go. I then spent an hour in a room with him, hugging him, crying over him, it was interrupted with another invoice of course. To this day I feel guilty that I didn’t ride it out the day with him or take him elsewhere. That I didn’t insist on being in the room as they allegedly worked on him, given how needy his was. I feel desperately let down by a veterinary center that came across as wholly inadequate. I was given no reason for Otto’s death other than possible toxicity, a suggestion I’d made, and he certainly could have eaten something on his walk the night before. Yes he had cardiac arrest, but did they bring that on? They did suggest an autopsy but that would not bring Otto back and if there was negligence, what am I going to do? So in closing all I can say is, my experience at this facility was horrendous due in no small part to their total lack of appreciation for what Otto and I were going through, a probable lack of expertise, a lack of urgency, a complete lack of empathy and the fact that my precious, beautiful, sweet, loving companion and family member died. I am and will always be riddled with guilt."

"Dr. Kathryn Papp is excellent. Our beagle wasn’t feeling well so we took him to VEC. Arrived earlier in the night to were taken back to a room immediately. This is a pet ED so if there are more critical cases you will wait, but that’s expected. Dr. Kathryn Papp was fabulous. She explained test/x-ray results to us better than any other doctor (human or animal) ever. Our beagle can be nervous and snap when scared, but she said he was such a sweet boy, I think a lot of that has to do with her demeanor. The front desk staff were kind and helpful. Yes you will likely wait, and yes it’s more expensive than a standard vet, but it’s a pet ED. I hope to never have to go back, but take comfort in knowing this facility is near by if needed."