Veterinary Emergency Clinic of Central Florida | Orlando, FL — Local services in Alafaya

I have debated for a couple of days whether or not I wanted to leave this emergency vet a review because there are a couple of things I know:

Emergency vets are almost always going to be more expensive than regular vets These vets and techs are working graveyard shifts which puts them at risk, and I can't imagine working the hours they do is easy.

However, now that I've deliberated and given much consideration to how I wanted to proceed, I think it's only fair I leave this veterinary practice a review after the nightmare they indirectly put me through and their willingness to withhold any treatment, care, or concern for my pet when I brought him in.

I came in around 12:30 am on Tuesday (02/06/2024) after my kitten, Sock, sustained an injury after an awkward fall. He was sore to touch, he wasn't getting better after a couple of hours, and he was struggling to do basic tasks like eat, drink, etc. I knew something worse was wrong with him, and I rushed over to this vet in the middle of the night hoping we could help him that night. Little did I freaking know just how expensive expensive was. Also, I did not realize their primary concern would not be what I actually brought my kitten in for. They took Sock into the backroom, after about 30 minutes a vet came out to talk to me. This vet was more concerned with the fleas Sock had -- that I told her we were actively treating -- than the fact that he was in a lot of pain and his leg was possibly broken.

This woman tried to sell me on a flea medication called CAPSTAR -- which I now know is an over-the-counter medication, the same stuff they were telling me was ineffective and garbage by the way -- at $20 for a single dose. For the record, Pet Alliance charges $7 for a single dose, and they sell the medication on Amazon for approximately $41 per 6 doses, meaning a single dose is, give or take, around $6.83. I know my cat has fleas, I know it's dangerous, we're dealing with it, that's not what I came for. Just thought I'd do that little math breakdown nonetheless to show how silly their prices are. I will get CAPSTAR on my own accord, thank you very much, please focus on the injury my cat has, thanks.

She left after that, and I waited about another 30 minutes for the vet tech to come out, bring me a price sheet that equated to roughly $900 on the low end, $1000 on the high end -- and I know they were hoping for the high end. I told the tech I just lost my job, I'm in school, I can't afford this unfortunately and asked what could we do. She asked me, at 1:30 am, if there was anyone I could call to see if they'd help me pay for this. I told her no, it's the dead of night, and my family is in no position to pay for this either. I then had to begrudgingly apply for CareCredit which I got denied for -- btw, she put in $1000 for the credit which proves my theory they wanted that high end amount. In that price sheet included $300 for a splint if need be, $125 for an exam (which isn't too bad to their credit, but if the exam were actually fruitful and not just them telling you exactly what you already know, it'd make more sense), $342 for ONE x-ray, $57 for an injection, and the list goes on, but in some smaller dollar amounts that add up to the original $900-$1000.

As I collected my cat, who was not cared for whatsoever beyond being given a 200mg prescription of Gabapentin which cost me $20, I went up to pay the $145 total I owed for this unfortunately useless visit. I asked the vet tech and the receptionist repeatedly who was more affordable that I could take Sock to. They only recommended Banfield, wouldn't give me any other names. This leads me to believe they have some sort of partnership with them. I had an absolutely awful and disgusting experience with Banfield, if you're curious about how they'll treat your pets, check my other reviews out or look at the location in Winter Springs -- bottom line, I do NOT recommend Banfield, or here, whatsoever and any recommendations to them being more "affordable" are misleading, and they will 100% mistreat...

Wow, it's Thursday, 8/29, and they removed my "1" review"- AGAIN - This indicates so much to me, they rearrage or eliminate reviews, how they do that is beyond me - other than Mars Candy/Pet care is awfully big. But it just reconfirms for me what I have said, it's a second rate move that is meant to attract dollars, not a great option for most people - - in an emergency, triage stuff - and its after hours, they are a choice that should be considered, if not an emergency or just to see a vet after hours like I did with my now dead cat Chester, WAIT TILL TOMORROW and see a respected vet in your area. That's sad. Which means they can dish it out, but cannot take it, you killed my cat through stupid error - over hydrating him - he dies you send a collector from Banfield on me today - Priceless people !!! Actually really stupid people, that just makes me madder. The only good part of this is that I was clear with the collector - "see you in court". I thought 3000 + dollars would have sufficied them, but I guess the parent company - Mars Candy (really they own all three - Emergency-Banfield-Blue Pearl) wow - what a racket!) says "no" dead cat or not - we want our money - again, save the dunning calls, sue me and I will see you in court, cannot wait for discovery! For the record, yes I am pissed, if you are a pet owner and you bring them in and need some help and you take them out in a plastic bag, and they walked in - no accident, no trauma, no inability to not walk,breathing fine, just wasn't drinking. I just wanted a vet, instead I got zip - not even we are sorry - just a bill collector for something I honestly believed I paid for already - yes I am pissed. My cat was my buddy, not just another animal to make a buck on. Cannot say they are "save all" solution. Maybe in triage, but if not a triage moment, wait a day and go to an independent vet, not a price crazy, money driven, vet. Horrible experience and they will charge you a boatload - if you can wait for real vets - wait, they are not the most sensitive people either - I had a cat who wouldn't drink - it concerned me so I took him to this clinic - he walked in and I needed some expensive direction and was willing to listen, and expensive it was, three days later, almost 4 thousand dollars, they suggested I put the cat down because I questioned how we got to this place. Then I found out - they recommended Banfield for a vet - daytime vet as they only work nights - Banfield - the almost vets, but I trusted them though my cat was now in distress, Banfield then told me to return to them after 6 pm - a real three card monty - then I found out they are owned by the same company, but another priceless moment was then I was referred to Blur Pearl - they are suppose to be the best of the worse and told me it would a minimum of 2000.00 dollars more with no expecttion. of success, really!!! plus another well known vet clinic, which by the way they also recommended, anyway when I questioned them, their answer was to put him down, I said "why", but they had him now on O2, breathing horribly, and my heart broke to see him - their answer was that essentially "best thing for Chester". So if you love your pet like I did and this place after 4k tells you to put him down because they screwed up and over hydrated him and could not reverse it, advice, wait until a real vet can see your pet - oh by the way the company that owns them all is Mars Candy, yes the candy people ! Go figure. Save your pet, save your money, I had a cat who walked in, and I put him down three days later - they feel zero remorse, that''s what makes it all worse. Again they will do you no favor, if your animal is in an accident, I agree roll the dice, if you have an extra day - get that animal to a real vet, maybe independently owned, God I wish I had done that, stay away from the candy makers, to them, it's all about money and they know how to be brutal with your emotions to get it. Save your pet, save your money. David Ruggieri - for my cat Chester, the victim. Thanks...

Disgusting, vile and despicable!!! That's what I would use to describe this after hours emergency clinic. My dog was hit by a car Sunday at 2 a.m. I rushed him to this clinic to be treated. (The only positive thing I'll say is they do have payment options since I had no money to treat him but i will tell you why soon) after xrays and pain medicine they told me that he had a broken femur bone. I was thrilled knowing that my dog wasn't going to die. After being told however that surgery to fix it would be in the range of $2500 to $3,500, as an estimate because they weren't sure they didn't perform those types of surgeries, i was scared again . (laying everything out truthfully so they don't have a chance to rebuttal with lies like they do on other poor reviews) I told them I didn't have that type of money to get it fixed but that I was going to try to find a way. The only other option they gave me to fix it was to cut off his leg which would also be $1,000. Way more than I had. And since I was doing payment options there they knew that I wouldn't be able to pay it upfront and didn't think I'd be able to do the same somewhere else. They told me this over and over again. Reminding me the most humane thing to do would be to euthanize him over a broken leg because they felt he'd be suffering. They didn't give me a chance to try to save him they just wanted me to kill my dog, my disabled dog, the dog a bottle fed as a puppy instead of trying to save his life. Luckily I've never listen to what anyone says and I worked all day and night and was able to find a clinic to help me. (if you're looking for a great caring clinic please check out downtown pet Hospital they are amazing) I felt the whole time they were pressuring me into euthanize a my dog. Looked at me like I was being cruel to keep him alive with a broken leg. They felt I would have no means to fix. But here's the icing on the cake ladies and gentleman. This wench of a veterinary Dr or if you can even call her that. Dr Starek called animal control and sent them to my home to make sure that I wasn't keeping my dog in inhumane situation!!! She never once tried to help me find an orthopedic surgeon to help with payment plans, she never once tried to comfort me that I could save my dog. Her kindest response was to put my dog down with a broken leg, nothing more! AND THEN HAD THE NERVE TO CALL ANIMAL CONTROL AND FIND OUT IF I WAS BEING HUMANE! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!! I've already read this a couple times in their negative reviews and I just want to restate it again. This clinic cares nothing for animals only for the lining of their pockets! $431 for xrays and pain medicine that is what I got at this clinic. What did you people do?!But what they really offered me was fear, heart ache and the possibility of charges through animal control. You people should be disgusted with yourselves. If you had simply called me and asked how things were going, if you even gave a crap about my dog you would have known that I was doing everything in my power to save his leg and his life. Not that a person with any shred of humanity couldn't see that night at the clinic! You guys shouldn't be allowed to even look at animals let alone treat them! And I'm keeping my promise! I will find every review outlet so I can let people know the type of clinic you guys are running! Oh and if you guys read this please feel free to call me Thursday to see what real vets do to save animals. Thanks again Downtown Pet Hospital!!!

A 1⛥ is wayyyyyyy too...