Animal Hospital at Baldwin Park — Local services in Orlando

Like others have said, the inflated 5 star ratings for this office are misleading/deceitful, and this translates to how customers are treated.

We've been taking our dogs here for almost 2 years, and we always saw a male vet that's no longer with this office. The costs at this office have always been on the high side, but I put it off as the cost of good service.

A couple weeks ago we took our rottweiler in when he was uncontrollably leaking dark yellow urine, not at a huge rate, but it was worrisome. I explained the issue to the vet, Dr. Trujillo, and she decided we should take a urine and blood sample. She didn't take vitals, feel the dog, or palpate his prostate. Granted, the dog will growl during more invasive inspections, but we did have a muzzle exactly for that. She took him for the blood draw, but came back shortly after to tell me that they were going to have to sedate the dog to get blood, and that it would cost another $80 on top of the visit costs. I'm sure she noticed my hesitancy, because they brought the dog back to the exam room and told me they got their draw without the sedation. We left that day with a $250 vet bill.

I got a call the next day advising me on the blood and urine results, and that her best guess was the dog's liver was underperforming, leading to this issue. She also advised no infections or bacteria were present (*Note: very important to know the difference between a urinalysis and a urine culture for dog owners). I told her the problem had advanced over the last 24 hours, and she said she could PRESCRIBE a "drug" called Denamarin. She also said we should bring him in for acupuncture services. This "prescribed drug", cost $99 at the office, so we're up to $350-ish in costs now.

Our dog's issue persisted over the next 24 hours, so I reached out to a family friend that is a vet in South Florida. I told him about the "prescribed drug" Denamarin, which he immediately stopped me to tell me that it is an OVER-THE-COUNTER SUPPLEMENT, available for about $45 on Amazon (nice 100%+ price markup to the $99 we paid). I then told him about the acupuncture advice and the lack of physical exam, and he just simply warned me, "Find another vet".

We got in at another vet's office in the area the next morning. I met with our newest vet, ran the story by him, gave him the urinalysis and blood work report from Baldwin, he did a full hands-on physical exam, then he began to explain the difference between a urinalysis and a urine culture. He said it was quite the oversight to not simply do the culture, and forego the cost of a urinalysis, considering a urinalysis will not diagnose an infection or bacteria. This new vet advised to start with the culture to see what results we get, before progressing to higher cost procedures. Got the urine culture from the dog without even mentioning sedation.

Our new vet called to tell us the dog has a bacterial infection in his bladder, which explained the urination, and that we can start him on antibiotics. We're at the end of the antibiotics course, the dog hasn't dribbled in over a week, his urine color has returned to normal and our dog is noticeably feeling better.

In the end, I truly feel that Dr. Trujillo at Baldwin, and perhaps the office overall, acted in a deceitful manner. Using words like "prescribe" and "drug" to describe an OTC supplement, as well as the office slapping a prescription-looking sticker on the front of the box, really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I feel like I was straight out lied to. Her failure to diagnose something as simple as a bladder infection, and in the meantime costing me considerably more money, either shows her ineptness or the profit motivation of the business. I'm sure the acupuncture would've run the bill up quite a bit as well. This lead me to post this review, because I feel that dishonest business should...

I write this review filled with grief, remorse, and most of all anger. I have been bringing my dog to this Vet since I received her in February. She was 8 weeks old at the time. I received a call 3 days ago from the clinic advising that my precious dog, Luce was due to be spayed. I scheduled my appointment for blood work, then brought her in this morning for the surgery. Upon arrival at 7:00 AM, they advised her blood work was perfect, she was in excellent health, and she would be just fine. At 10:00 AM, I received a call from Dr. Morerro that my dog has passed due to complications with anesthesia. I am distraught, I am beside myself, I am in shock, and most of all, I am heart broken. Never once did they indicate that there was a risk of complications, never once did they warn me that she could potentially die, never once did they advise that my breed (Italian Greyhound) required special care under anesthesia. In fact, they never even had me sign a waiver. I dropped her off for a standard Spay procedure, only to find out that they had killed her 3 hours later. What is infuriating is that they claim they have no idea what went wrong, they claim they don't understand how this could happen, they claim that they are just as shocked as I am. One google search on the internet after the fact showed me countless of pages of the enormous risk Italian Greyhounds face with anesthesia and the complications that could ensue. I returned to the clinic at 11:00 AM to get an explanation, only to get the same answers as previous on the phone - "We have no idea.". WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE WORSE? They then proceeded to ask me for $180 for cremation after they had killed my beloved friend and I had spent in excess of $1,000 in vet fees in the past ten months!

Luce, it's Italian for The Light and it was the name of my dear friend, my companion, my little pup. She was Italian, an Italian Greyhound to be precise. She was given to me as a gift from great friends, and brought "The Light" into my life, if even for a short period of time. Today, she quietly left this world due to complications from surgery from an incompetent Veterinarian. My heart is so heavy with sorrow I can't put into words. She liked to run, she loved to jump, and she knew she had me wrapped around her paw; even when I pretended to be irritated by her. I will miss you more than you know and am ever so grateful that you were brought into my life. May you rest in peace.

Our pets are our family. I would not trust them with this vet. Regardless of the response, you cannot fix the fact that my beloved family member is gone, no matter what explanation they try to give. Are you willing to risk your family's life to them? Worse yet, they'll charge you for it. It's ridiculous, it's absurd, and it's just plain insensitive. There are so many other clinics that actually do have empathy, take pride in caring for your loved ones as if they were their own. I'm heartbroken, I'm distraught, and I cannot forgive you for your malpractice. Worse yet, the gilt of me selecting this clinic to care for my family member will live...

This is a long post, but a heartwarming one

There was an abandoned cat at the condo I was staying. The guards, two of the residents said the owner left the cat and she(we thought he was a she) was one of the friendliest cats. Always looking to be with people, wanting scratches and cuddles.

I bonded with him and thought about taking him back to Colorado as my daughter works for a rescue and I could foster while their organization found a home. I went every night and we hung out and he was chatting with me as he would get his pets. I asked the residents whether to leave him as they were feeding him, but they urged me to take him to make sure he has a long life. Some dangerous animals there, not to mention people, cars, etc.

So I bought a carrier and then thought he might need some meds for the flight and found Animal Hospital at Baldwin Park was open so made a late appointment.

They made me aware about shots so I asked them to give him everything he might need. Then they found the chip. There was no phone number, but said they had to reach out to the owner before releasing him which made sense. So I was planning to fly back down to pick him up. The question was what were we going to do with him. Maybe delay the flight to the next day? Just not sure and was starting to panic.

At that point, Dr Sara Stevens stepped in and said she would take him home until I could fly back down. I mean wow, they see animals in all situations and given what I saw and experienced the need in Florida is very high, but she swooped in to help our poor little guy. I thought I caught a glimpse of angel wings but was not sure. I offered money to help, she would not take it, she had no idea how long it would be, but wanted to help save a life. This was beyond generous as there was no specific timetable on when I could return if the owner did not respond.

After returning him, I called them and they were able to make contact with the owner which they did. The owner said he ran away. I am still quite dubious about that story as he never did anything like that but wanted to beloved, but legally he belongs to them. I did ask them to provide the owner my phone number and so if for some reason they did not want him, I would fly down to take him to a new home.

Here is my take as a business owner and cat lover. The needs can be overwhelming and it is horrific the situation for many of these precious lives, but can try and help one a ta time. This is an organization that truly cares, and while they have a business to run, they have demonstrated that they have not grown cold and callous but have hearts that are open to give love. For me I would want to take my pets to someone like that. Someone who cares and demonstrates it, in this case to a total stranger who just wanted to protect a lost cat.

So if you are in need to a veterinary service who cares, this is one organization that just does it the right way.

There is a special place in heaven for those women who helped out a lost cat that day, and these angels will never be forgotten and will forever hold a special place...