UF Small Animal Hospital Gainesville, Florida

Brought my dog here at 12AM who was lethargic and throwing up all day while I was at work. After 2 hrs I get a phone call saying her vitals are very high and they need to sedate her to take X-rays of her chest and stomach. Obviously whatever they need to do is fine. Both scans come back perfectly fine. The vet apologizes for the “scare” earlier even though I told her my dog is very anxious (which was even noted on my discharge papers) that is why she could have higher vitals. They sent me home almost 4 hrs later with pain meds and a $865 bill. I took her to my primary vet the next day as she still wasn’t feeling well, they did one fecal sample and we’re able to find an intestinal parasite and take care of it right away. Why that simple and very common task wasn’t done also between the 10 X-rays or blood samples they were “sending to the lab”, especially considering her symptoms…I have no idea? Don’t waste your time here they’re just trying to rack up an expensive bill for you.

Thankyou so much everyone!!!!!! For helping our sweet girl Bonnie. I am sorry that people are so rude to you guys.

My English mastiff has had 2 TPLO surgeries here the first went very well and led me to believe that the second would go well too. Except it didn’t and to tryget help from them has been impossible!! I called and they basically told me to call another vet ( seriously) and today I spent 6 hours at their emergency department and 2 hours after they took my dog no one could give me any update. Not even a quote which is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to them they MUST put the money first even after you have given them over 9 grand. Just remember when you go here nothing is consistent. Every time you get different students and doctors even if it’s for the same ailment, surgery or sickness and if it doesn’t go well they don’t care. No fallow up calls to make sure everything is ok. If you call they say fallow up with your vet. Ok but my vet is not a orthopedic specialist! I am absolutely disappointed disgusted and worried about my dog for a 3 Hour Dr. home and then out the door to Blue Pearl should’ve gone there in the first place!

We were treated very rudely. This facility is an unprofessional, unorganized, lacking in communication skills, and most importantly empathy. Extremely insensitive staff speaking about death (Ashley and Madison) so flippantly.

I never write reviews, but I felt I had to write a review about the hospital that saved my dog's life. I can't thank the vet techs and doctors enough. My dog had sudden-onset internal bleeding and needed his spleen removed. They updated me consistently through the process so I wasn't left waiting and worrying. I know people will complain about having long wait times, losing your slot to a higher-priority animal, etc., but that's the trade-off for having a 24/7 emergency vet. While I was waiting there, two dogs in critical condition came in and were rushed into evaluations (one had been hit by a car). Even though I had to wait a little longer, it's reassuring to know that they do triage patients in order of priority. I would 100% recommend coming here for urgent veterinary needs.

After coming back from a driving trip on Monday 10/4/2021, our 8 year old Belle became very distressed which caused her respiratory distress. That same day we went to out (EX) Vet Crystal Creek animal hospital. He gave her some anxiety and allergy medications. We took her home but was not getting better. We had made plans to get a second opinion from another Vet, but on Friday 10/8/2021 she could not sleep and was having a very difficult time breathing. At about 7:50am Saturday morning she collapsed and stopped breathing, my wife yelled so loud that came back from it. We rushed her to Animal Creek which opened at 8am and was immediately placed in an O2 chamber. At about 1pm someone from the vet called and told us we should come in to say goodbye because she was not gonna make it. We rushed over there with our own oxygen and transported her to an emergency clinic in Orlando. She was there for 2 days and we were told we needed to make a decision because she was not getting better. By the grace of God a friend of ours told us if she was gonna have a chance she needed to go to UF small animal hospital. On Monday morning 630am we picked her up with oxygen and made the hour and a half drive. We called UF ahead and when we got there they were ready for her. Because she was so unstable they were unable to perform any X-rays or tests on her. Throughout this time the staff was constantly giving us updates. By Tuesday night she had progressed so much she was no longer oxygen dependent. X-rays revealed she had a stage 4 collapsed trachea. She had less then the space of a straw to breath. Dr. Pascutti and medical student Demitria cared for her from there on. They gave us updates at least twice a day. After placing a stent in her trachea, we were able to bring our Belle safely back home. UF literally saved our dogs life. Our family will always be thankful for them.

TAKE YOUR ANIMAL ANYWHERE BUT HERE. To start, we never spoke to a vet the entire 6.5 hrs we were there. That's right, we paid a $140 exam fee to speak to a few interns who had no clue about anything related to treatment and diagnosis. In fact, they continually said they would have to ask their clinician about our questions and then radio silence. We never spoke to an actual vet and then the interns wouldn't even return calls regarding questions. Mind you, we drove over 2 hrs for this because our vet said UF was the best. Wrong. Problem 2: before they even assessed my dog they recommended that we hospitalized her so they could treat her at their.lesiure. We told them we would rather spend $4000 on treating her and we uncomfortable making that decision without even speaking to a vet. I can only assume that to punish us after we conveyed this information they made us wait another 3 hrs for a phone call that never came to discuss treatment. Well, apparently if you don't let them have your dog, they arent interested in ANY treatment. They did some blood work and no one ever gave us the results. Next problem: Finally at nearly 7PM after having arrived at noon, I said I wanted my dog back and that we were leaving. The vet apparently was very snippy with the front desk lady who was kind enough to call her for us since we had been at their office the entire day. Finally, they bring out our dog. She was covered in her own urine because they hadn't walked her the entire time she was there. She is a small dog and could not physically hold it any longer. They also gave her no food or water, despite the fact that it wasn't necessary for any surgery or diagnostics. Bottom line: I have had animals my entire life and have known many clinics and I have never EVER in my life had a worse vet experience. The vet dngaf and it showed. I am utterly disgusted with UF and will tell every person I know to avoid it at all costs. If you want to ensure that your animal has above subpar care, GO ELSEWHERE.

I can’t thank the staff, nurses, surgeons etc for taking such good care of my cat and me!!! She had a tumor (non cancerous) in her ear that needed to be removed. They kept me well informed throughout the whole process. They are very caring, professional, knowledgeable and very responsive to my questions and concerns. My cat had successful surgery this morning and there were no complications. I will bring all my pets here whenever they have the need for specialize treatment. Thank you again!

A good facility indeed for ur furry pet’s emergency. The doctors seem to be fairly knowledgeable on all kinds of animals. Prices can be a little less though. Wait times are really long!

I first took my pet here after it being 2am after I got home from work, and saw my pet had gotten into medicine I had around. They did everything in their power and warned me she might have liver/kidney failure and even lasting effects on her organs, because of the toxicity she ingested. She came home to me after a couple of days, groggy for sure, a week after I brought her to my primary vet, and her functions were COMPLETELY normal. They saved her. Second visit was today, our family pet was sick for a couple of days, started breathing weird a night prior, with plans to take her in, I observed her having a seizure. My plans to go to the primary vet was shaken so I took her here. She was a old girl, a stray that we picked up off the road, and never had gotten a vaccine in her life. Instead of ridiculing me (I wouldn't have been the right person about that anyway) they just accepted it and took her tests like they would a normal pet. It turns out our 11/12 year old stray family pet had severe diabetes that were just showing, and signs of kidney failure. I let my mother handle the call regarding all of the status, and the doctor (Hamilton) was very sweet and caring. She told us her honest opinion when we asked what was best for our pet, and she is in a better place now, where she can dream all day of Mcdonald's hamburgers. A very warm thank you for the receptionists, and Dr. Hamilton, and the techs for taking care of our baby, and my baby previous.

Staff were super nice to me and my bird they obviously care for your animal as much as much as you do and I didn’t have to wait for an extreme time when I got there it only took about 5 minutes for one of the nurses to come out and take my bird back

If you want the BEST care for your furbaby UF Small Animal hospital is the place to go. I cannot say enough great things about the care my furkids have received !

Took our kitty Chloe here. Our emergency vet misdiagnosed her w/cancer before pathology even came back. They made too many mistakes, losers!! I knew I was going to being her here to UF. I can’t say enough about how on top of it they were. I was constantly updated about how she was doing before and after testing. Helen the student was fantastic and Dr Walton was the best. I am very thankful. It turned out that Chloe had an inflammatory process going on with her bladder. She is doing fabulously!!

They handled our situation so well, our son has decided to become a vet and go to school here! Amazing staff and the best care available. Thank you UF!

They don’t care about animals they only care about the money, I brought in a kitten less than a week old eyes not even open and they euthanized, when all it would have taken was a cleaning and some stitches, I have been a vet tech for 5+ years. Please for the love of your fur babies do not take your babies to this vet. Take the extra 30 minutes -1 hour drive to take them to Saint. Augustine. They killed this poor baby because they did not want to take the time to let them live. The kitten wasn’t even bleeding so it was a superficial cut (didn’t penetrate the meat, it didn’t hit vital organs) and they KILLED! (Euthanized) this baby not even a week old!!! Please if you love your animals do not take them here!!! I wish I would have read the reviews before I took this baby here they could have had a chance if I wouldn’t have taken them here. A two story building “dedicated to saving lives” couldn’t even save a kittens life with a superficial cut. Please for the love of everything do not please do not take your loved ones here. ❤️ I sat for 20 minutes waiting for a response at the emergency door, from the lady at the desk to get off the phone just to take this kitten back so continued to speak on the phone for 20-30 minutes after me and my husband arrived, in an obvious hurry to save the kittens life. They ONLY care about the money. -5 stars. I will keep making negative rewview till this place makes a change. This isn’t the only thing this place has done wrong!!!

We can’t say enough about UF small animal hospital. It’s never easy hearing that your fur baby might have a serious condition, especially when they are 13 years old. Our dog Romeo was in a little over a week ago for removal of one of his parathyroid glands as well as bladder stone removal & a liver biopsy. From the moment we had our surgery consultation we could tell this was a good place. Alexandra, the student vet on our case, came to take Romeo back for his physical & we were shocked by how calmly Romeo went with her. He has never done this with anyone anytime we’ve had to drop him off anywhere! It was clear that he trusted her! Alexandra & Dr. Schlaeppi were both so informative about the procedure, things they found on imaging, and overall letting us know what to expect. She also praised us for our research we had done on our own & how well we’ve taken care of our sweet boy. They really eased our worries about putting this 13 year old pup under anesthesia too. He went in for surgery the next morning and despite the delays due to other procedures taking a bit longer Romeo’s actual procedure was just over an hour! We were shocked at how quickly they got him in & out. They were fantastic with giving us updates afterward & the days following and even allowed us to see our sweet boy the following day. He is recovering so well & Dr. Schlaeppi has continued to be in communication with my parents for updates about how he’s doing. It is quite a drive from winter garden that we’ve had to make for calcium level checks but seeing how trusting & comfortable our dog is has made the drive worth it. We are so grateful to Alexandra & Dr. Schlaeppi for taking such good care of our sweet boy & putting our minds at ease.

The receptionist was nice but the rest was horrible, theyre very pushy to get you to pay them exorbitant prices and scaring you into thinking your pet will die if you don't do what they say. They also rlly want you to sign up for a credit card and push it down your throat several times.

Wish I could leave -5 stars, I hate this place brought a kitten (eyes weren’t even open yet) im a vet tech I would have taken this cat if my work was open, at this time. The kitten had a cut/gas on its side didn’t even go past the meat, (wasn’t bleeding) and they euthanized the kitten, the bill for just looking at the kitten to see what they had to do was $170 I can’t afford a bill over $1,000 which it clearly was going to be. They euthanized the barely week old kitten, whe all it needed was to be cleaned up and some stitches. If you care for your fur baby DO NOT BRING IT HERE

I took my little guy here a month ago. It was an emergency, but they did not answer the phone the first nor the second time I called and I stayed on the line for a long time. Once we arrived, the wait time was 3 hours only for the vet to tell us he was fine and only had a scratch on his paw and therefore was limping because of that. Took him to a checkup, turns out he fractured his wrist and his pinky and now he will have to live with it because we thought we were waiting for a scratch to heal when in reality his bones were screwed up.

We brought out cat to their emergency room over a weekend... She was critical & despite best efforts she was not able to overcome it. The vets were very thoughtful and discussing all options from minimal to you the most extreme, but also help advocate for what was reasonable to. They did not ever allow our cat to suffer. When it came time to let her go, they were extremely compassionate and thoughtful through out the difficult choice. At no additional cost, they make impressions of your animals paw prints to mail to you and we chose to donate our cats organs which allowed us to have a necropsy to better understand why she died. While our choice to donate her organs was made out of wanting her death to mean something, we found out that the necropsy would be at no cost to us. If you bring your animal there for an emergency, I did not expect to spend several hours waiting to find out the status. But that was because they were stabilizing her. My only complaint is they require 75% of the proposed treatment to be paid up front. While we never asked, it felt like if you couldn't pay for what your pet needed they would let them die. They do not offer any type of payment plans. For that reason I can't give them five stars. Most people don't have disposable income to cover an emergency like this.

We had a medical emergency with our fur baby on a late Saturday and was referred to UF because it was the weekend and our vet was closed. We expected to have to pay more with it being weekend maybe $1000 but never expected the doctor to tell us $5000! I just broke into tears because there was no way we could afford . The vet talked to us like we didn't understand it was life or death .Of course we knew this but how can someone that cares about animals humans anything but MONEY expect average pet owners to pay $5000. We all have jobs and need to make money but this was unbelievable. We left with our dog just praying she would make it till Monday morning . She made it and we got her to our Veterinarian a man with compassion and professionalism Dr Hagler in Lake City at Columbia Animal Hospital. He saved our fur baby and for not even 10% of what UF wanted. Thanks Dr Hagler, Denise Greene and the rest of Staff at Columbia Animal Hospital. To sum it up we love our dogs like kids but unless we were wealthy we could not save our baby at UF because apparently it's all about money there!

I've tried bringing my beautiful fur baby Lazarus to UF small vet ER twice and both times I have been met with nothing but smoke and mirrors. They tried to charge me $750 for the first hospitalization while saying that I couldn't have an itemized receipt for what I was being charged for. I ended up paying ~$140 for two prescription medications and his checkup. Beyond this, the second time I called (just wanting an anti-nausea injection) I was put on hold for 15 minutes and was told that I would still be charged a workup fee but that it changed for each vet and that it would be upwards of $60 even though my cat had been checked that morning at another vet which I still had the paperwork for. At the end of the call the girl said my 'dog' wouldn't be able to probably get in today and that I should go to Urgent Vet. If you want help look elsewhere, but unfortunately this is one of the only 24 hour vet clinics in Gainesville so you may not have much of a choice. I was actually once a pre-vet UF animal sciences major and I am so glad I changed my major and avoided being affiliated with this place.

Unfortunately We had a bunny that passed away after they said she will be fine she did not have no more than 24 hours to live and I wish I knew that. It could’ve definitely been prevented. I tried calling six veterinarians in my area but unfortunately no one was in so My mom had to drive an hour away to get my daughters pet to be looked at. I’m looking at the reviews now today and I wish I did a long time ago because there’s a lot of one stars. I hope it gets better .

My cat was here about a year ago on the verge of going into liver failure. This hospital saved his life! I was more than pleased with the care he received while he was here. The doctors always kept me informed and made sure I understood everything they were doing. They didn’t ever seem like they were in a rush to get off the phone with me either. I would definitely recommend them!

OUR DOG HAD ITS ONLY EYE REMOVED SO THEN THE AHEM "doctor" SAYS THIS POOR CREATURE MUST SUFFER EVEN MORE AND WEAR THE CONE OF SHAME UPON REALEASE. THE DOG WAS GROGGY AND SEDATED THERE WAS NO NEED FOR TCOS AS SHE DOES NOT HAVE ANY GUMPTION BUT OH WE MUST PUT THE CONE OF SHAME ON THIS POOR POOR DOG BECAUSE APPARENTLY SHE HASN'T SUFFERED ENOUGH. GO NOLES

I would give it a Zero star, service was pathetic. They don’t care for your pet, we waited 5 hours with a crying puppy and they still didn’t see him. Absolutely the worse veterinary hospital I have been too. Do not waste your time!

HORRIBLE SERVICE!!! VERY RUDE WORKERS! 0/10 would not recommend!

They were exceptional at every encounter, especially the oncology and clinical trials teams. They served cutting edge knowledge and genuine care every time. I’m grateful for the time they gave me with my pet.

ER means emergency. People don't take there dog to the ER and want to wait 24 hrs before they get anything done. Very amateur.

Was on hold for over 40 minutes. So we decided to drive there. After calling a few vet services that recommended them, they refused to take in 2 kittens claiming there was no space available. Then down talked the other vet services for recommending them. We ended up getting excellent care at the Petsmart on Archer Road since UF refused us. Terrible experience and I will never recommend them to anyone. Just find a local vet office.