Animal Emergency Center

Simply put, I cannot praise this place enough for the care and attention they gave my dog during his recent emergency.
On a Saturday morning, my boy had a sudden violent seizure. We rushed him to the Animal Emergency Center, and were greeted and taken in immediately. Dr. Palmer and Yamilka were very thorough with their examination, diagnosis, and recommended treatment, which included 12 hours observation. Nothing in their treatment plan seemed egregious — they took care to explain why each drug or service was necessary or at least highly recommended for his situation. (And yes, it wasn’t cheap, but neither was it exorbitant; and yes, they politely asked for payment up front, which I don’t fault at all — they want to avoid getting stung, I get it.)
They also encouraged me to call at any time during his stay. And I did, and never got a machine or «please hold» — Yamilka or Ariana always picked up on the 1^st or 2^nd ring, and Dr. Palmer was always available to speak (except once, and she called back immediately). There was no feeling that they were too busy, or being short with me; everyone took care to be as thorough as I wished to be regarding my boy’s care. Dr. Palmer even offered to stay past her shift time (after 12 hours!) when I picked him up to discuss her observations. I really felt my guy was in excellent hands the whole time.
Even a day after his discharge, I called to share follow up with Dr. Palmer, and got the same attentive treatment. She clearly had an interest in knowing how he was doing, even though he was no longer under her care.
Sadly, the signs he was displaying indicated he was not recovering. I called his regular vet on Monday morning as soon as they opened (7:30 AM), and was surprised and impressed to find they had already received all the records from the Center over the weekend. The promptness of this just reinforced to me that they cared — those records could have easily sat in an inbox until Monday morning instead of being sent over immediately.
The story does not have a happy ending — my boy was too far gone from the seizure to recover. But I am thankful that Dr. Palmer and her staff were there on Saturday and gave him such great care during that tough time. They are professional and compassionate, and I recommend them highly.

Do yourself a favor and read the reviews. Extremely unhappy with the service I was provided here. All they care about is how much money they can squeeze out of you and that its cleared before they touch your ailing pet. Would never recommend this place to anyone.

Not sure why this place is getting bad reviews… no one really wants to be here, but I came in around 8pm Friday night with one of my kitty cats who hadn’t gone to the bathroom all day, and come to find out, he had some blockage that needed to be fixed immediately. Dr. Wong and her staff were sweet, honest, and quick to take care of us. She was very thorough with us. It was expensive, but all emergencies are expensive. I hope I never have to go back, but I would if I needed to!

Do not take your pet to this place! An hour wait to for the doctor to see my puppy with an injured shoulder and then recommended a pain medicine injection and X-​ray (which they give him until after I paid the $ 578 bill). They told me the X-​ray & results would be 30 more mins of waiting…75 mins later & I’m still waiting for my dog! I’ve asked them to bring my dog out twice now so we can leave and he’s still in the back somewhere!

An emergency after-​hours animal facility is such a great thing to have, but if the vet /​tech on duty is more concerned about receiving payment for their mediocre overpriced services than the well being of an animal … then … what the eff?
My frenchie had (4) healthy and playful puppies 3 weeks ago. We’ve been taking them to an amazing vet out in Lakeland for their routine check-​ups (
) Last Saturday, one of the puppies gave us a scare; her breathing became fast & shallow and she wasn’t eating.
Since the vet in Lakeland had already closed, we drove up to this Animal Emergency Center. We spent a couple good hours with Dr. Wong and a tech who ran some tests, and didn’t see anything wrong with the puppy — normal weight, glucose levels good, doesn’t appear to be sick. They gave her a shot to hydrate her and another shot for penicillin (just in case).
Yes, they were upfront with their price gouging fees for the shot, and even offered to do an x-​ray. (An estimate that could have totaled close to $ 1,000.) We declined — since she seemed to be okay and walked out paying $ 250. Really, we just figured she would be okay until our vet opened in the morning.
We took to her our vet this morning who ran the same tests, and said some of the same things — normal weight, glucose levels good. However, she was surprised that the other vet couldn’t see that the puppy clearly had a flat-​chest. (They call them «swimmers». They’re constantly laying /​sleeping on their chest; picture how a frog swims). She then proceeded to do an x-​ray, and noticed that (bc of her flat chest) the puppy’s heart had moved over & was blocking the left lung, causing her to (rapidly & shallowly) only breathe from her right lung. (She is okay now, and we have some «physical therapy» exercises to do to get her chest to puff up like the others.)
All of this — the tests, the office visit with friendly and helpful staff, the x-​ray, the after-​care — costed $ 105.00. (plus about an hour drive, that is clearly worth it).
I’m so saddened & heart broken by this Animal Emergency Center. Sure, they’re «after-​hours» and have the right to charge a little more for working the «night shift», but it’s not like they’re 24 hours and working around the clock to save our animal’s lives.
Unfortunately, in the downtown /​east Orlando area they currently have the niche (after-​hours) in the market. I’ll campaign for any vet, who truly has a passion for animal care & well being, that wants to compete with them in this after-​hours market. If you and your pet can hold out until regular vet hours in the area, please do so.
Don’t go here.

Twas the night before Thanksgiving and our dog Scout was eating out of the bathroom trashcan… landed us right at Pet ER! Poor Scout, a yorkie, was hospitalized for pancreatitis. He remained under the care of Dr. Wong and several nurse techs. Dealing with a life-​threatening condition was extremely devastating for 2 days. Scout was released after collaborative efforts, education, and expertise from everyone on staff. We were encouraged to transfer our dog to his regular vet to continue treatment. Very, very thankful for Pet ER.

Let me just say that I cannot believe that there are even any negative reviews for this place. We are so lucky to even have access to an emergency facility like this on a Sunday or after hours when our pets are in dire need of treatment. The staff was completely accommodating from the moment that we walked in the door we were greeted by a lovely nurse named Ariana (hope I got her name right). We were distraught and worried because our cat was vomiting blood. Dr. Holly Brown-​Trabbenor explained everything and broke everything down for us as to what it may be. The visit is 85 still only 40 more than what we pay, everything else depends on what needs to be done, and honestly when it comes to our pets we are never concerned about that price, emergencies will happen and I cannot stress enough how thankful we were. Things of this nature can only make your pets health get worse if you wait too long to take them in. This place was spotless and they can accommodate anything that may need to be done. I’m so thankful for their treatment and am glad that we now know where to go whenever in need of urgent care again. THANK YOU!!!

I cannot say enough about the love and care that Dr. Wong and all of the staff at the Animal Emergency Center gave to me and my 15 year old best friend– Katie. Unfortunately Katie has since passed from the hemangiosarcoma cancer that had spread to her organs. The Wong performed a very precarious surgery and 2 transfusions that allowed us to spend more time and love with Katie. She was very professional and realistic with imparting the medical information and seemed to genuinely care and love caring for Katie. While I do not ever want to have to go to another emergency vet center… but if I do, it will be here. Thank y’all.

A few months back I took my pup in because she was peeing blood. They were upfront with the pricing which is expensive but considering it is an after hours emergency hospital not surprising. I have pet insurance so for the most part my visit was covered. I felt like she was in good hands the whole time. They put me in a private room with a tv while they ran tests. Gave me all the paperwork from the tests and filled the prescriptions. I was able to follow up with my regular vet Monday with no issues. They had an open house awhile back and I was able to see behind the scenes of the facility. Everything is very modern and the doctors and nurses are caring. My only complaint would be the price I paid less for an initial visit at a different emergency hospital.

Emergency vets = no fun. NO MATTER WHAT. I had to take my sweet 14.5 year old Bentley girl to The Animal Emergency Center tonight. If I remove the heart ache from losing best friend from the equation I am very happy to say I/​we were treated VERY well. My baby was 35 lbs and there was a sign on the door saying after hours ring the door bell, I parked my car, walked up, rang the door bell and two very welcoming tech greeted me. I asked them if they could hold the door so I could grab my dog. I grabbed her and brought her in, right away the lady tech was asking what was going on, how is she feeling and was kind enough to ask how I was doing. That alone soothed me because the entire situation was just sad. Tech (I feel awful not knowing her name) asked if we could weigh my dog, then said no no no don’t worry let’s get her looked at first, another considerate thing. We went into the room and she had the table ready but I held my baby on my lap. I filed out paperwork and was told they had another emergency that they were working on but they would be in shortly. The entire time the tech was kind, helpful, and compassionate for both me and my baby. Vet came in, he was great, very honest. Told me options, what to expect later, and his suggestions. He said he was almost certain it was one thing, my baby was 14.5 and had been in the vets office in IVs three days last week, I’m not dumb to the fact she’s really old. He said the only way to confirm is through X-​rays. I asked a ton of questions, they gave me time to make calls I needed to make, and I decided to skip the X-​rays and sadly put her to sleep. The tech gave me the money side of things, bless her heart, that would suck to have to talk to people about money, money often times people don’t have, and you no matter what are always sticker shocked at the normal vet let alone an emergency vet. She was great about it. She explain the putting my baby to sleep process and offered cremations and paw prints. We talked about if I wanted to be with my baby or if they would just do it. She was awesome, answered my questions and was a real human about things. She shared a few of her experiences and made me feel good about my choice to stay with my baby. They got her set up with the catheter and the tech was cute, she matched the bandage with my shirt :) She took our photo and listened to my cries. The vet came in, He made sure I had enough time with her and that I was ready, he explained to me again how it would work. He let me say my last good byes and he gave her the sleep meds. Vet assured me again I made the right decision and was really kind.
I don’t wish the experience of saying goodbye to your fur baby on anyone. But I will say as horrible as it is, these people really made me feel like my sweet baby was put to rest with honor and love. The tech gave me a hug and I left.
To the vet and tech whom I was to stressed to absorb your names thank you. I don’t have any paperwork because sadly I only came home with a receipt for my credit card and a dog collar. I was there 12:30am July 28^th with sweet Bentley girl. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I look forward to my baby’s paw print and ashes.

Unfortunately, if you need an emergency vet, it’s likely that you’re going to need to pay money and your outcome might be devastating. What an emotional roller coaster. That being said, I’m so glad I didn’t look at Unilocal before I took my three week old baby kitten here– it would have made the experience more harrowing than it needed to be. Because this place rocks.
I was trying to hold it together while this tiny cat who I found and decided to keep, who I am bottle feeding around the clock– was literally dying. The nurse, Angelina, was so unbelievably nice, positive, and professional with me. Then Dr. Wong came in and laid it out in realistic terms– I was right, I’d brought my cat to the Kitty ER because it was an emergency and as such, there were procedures that needed to happen and if they did what they were designed to do then my kitten would live. I agreed to all of them and when I saw the price, we had a discussion about alternative treatments, but when I thought about it, that seemed foolish. Why? Because. We bring our animals to an emergency vet so we can let the vet perform the service of responding to the emergency. Since I didn’t spend the better part of a decade in vet school it’s not up to me to decide what’s best. I could afford the expensive treatment so I went with it. But if I couldn’t afford it, they gave me other options.
I don’t understand the notion that a place is ripping people off for performing the service that is literally in the name of their business. A (highly skilled) veterinarian who is available on a Saturday night to address the almost always complicated needs of a very sick or dying animal (and the emotionally charged people who brought that animal in) deserves a superhero cape to go with their white coat. And when you break it down and think about it– about how much in and out cash flow this business must really have compared to a regular vet, and overhead, etc… it makes me even more thankful that they are here. Not only that, but if you really can’t afford the bill, they will adjust the service so it’s something more affordable. People, that is NOT what getting ripped off looks like!!!
Dr. Wong was professional, compassionate, realistic, and very competent. All of the staff and the other vet that I interacted with (some by phone and others when I stopped by to visit my little guy) were equally impressive. Of course, to me, they are also the rock stars who saved my sweet little kitten’s life.
The place was immaculate and sterile without being uninviting. You know your animal is in a safe place, but it’s not so sterile seeming that you can’t burst into tears there.
I sure hope I never have to go there again but thank god it’s there. I would trust them again and recommend to anyone who needs to take their pet to an after hours pet ER.

A Monday evening and my dog seemed to be in pain and was bleeding from his rear end. I called my regular vet’s office and the recording gave this number for emergency care. I called and was told to bring him in. I was informed at that time that the charge for an office visit was $ 85.00. I was the only person there and was seen immediately. My dog had eaten a toothpick and couldn’t pass it. He had to be sedated before anything could be done to remove it. I left him there at 7pm, Dr. Wong called me as soon as he woke up and I was able to pick him up at 11 pm.
I can’t say that the visit was affordable, it was almost $ 800.00 but I am sure that my regular vet would be expensive also.

0 stars if i could!
disgusting pigs! they do not care about the health of your animal and like the other reviewers commented they will try to charge you thousands of dollars. they are disgusting people who do not care about the health of your pet. my cat died in my arms while i was there and it was their fault. i am so upset and in shock please do not go here for the love of ur pets do not take them here

These are the kind of people that take others for advantage and they will continue to do so until the community is made aware.
I would have given them a zero if it was an option. Absolutely not in this business for the love of animals. I urge you on a completely personal level not to take your pet here if you care about them. Sure, bring your pet here during emergency hours and get it stabilized from whatever ailment, but be prepared to pay upward in the 1,000’s. We have called five vets in the area, and one off of OBT (yes it is far but trust me it will be worth it) that are on an average 30% less. The are unwilling to negotiate with price and will let your pet die instead. This vet is for some: those who are millionaires who do not care if people are rude to them.
I asked to speak with a manager several times over the phone (I was out of town) and I was told that I was not allowed to speak with the manager as the girl on the phone was the one who «handles» all phone matters. I read another review where someone called this very same person condescending. I want to add onto that. She was one of the rudest, impersonal people I have ever dealt with at a vet office (usually these people are nice and friendly; as are many animal lovers with big hearts) NOT THEM! She talked to me like as if I was a 5 year old. Just plain unprofessional.
I can almost guarantee that the owner will leave a comment back to this explaining why and what happened attempting to justify their actions– but I assure you it will be a complete lie.

As a few others have said, it’s wonderful to have an emergency, 24-​hour vet in a central location and relatively safe neighborhood. I’ve needed to go here on 5 separate occasions, one with a «found» animal that was dying, 3 times with one of my dogs and once with another. For the most part, my experiences have been good. Yes, they will try to sign you up for everything they can, but all vets do that, in my experience. Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s a 24-​hour emergency vet. I have never felt like they were just in it for the money or anything like that. They do seem caring… I won’t go into details about the nearly dead cat that I found, but they handled it better than my own regular vet would have.
Most important thing to know — the office visit price goes up after midnight from $ 85 to $ 125, so if you are hesitating and it’s late, try to get there before midnight.

Definitely not impressed. I brought my dog in around 6:00pm after the woman over the phone told me to bring him by around «6 – 6:15ish». My dog had two small but deep lacerations to his face right near his eye that obviously needed stitches. They quoted me about $ 1,200 to sedate him and sew him up. $ 1,200 for a few stitches? Then they offered to clean the wound and allow it to heal on its own for $ 444.
Yeah, no thanks. It ended up costing $ 85.00 for the just-​to-​be-​seen cost and we left for another vet that our rescue organizer recommended. Granted, it was 30 minutes away from us but it ended up costing just a fraction of what we were originally quoted and my dog is looking and feeling great!
If my dog has another non-​life threatening emergency, I won’t bother with this location.

This place is a complete scam. They are just there to take as much of your money as they can, without ever telling you the truth. I brought it a very old dog who was very sick and in a lot of pain. First, they trued to charge me $ 700 for XTRAYS AND BLOOD WORK. I asked what they would do after the testing and they said «give her fluids and painkillers». I assumed my dog could get better and paid $ 300 for these treatments. Only seven hours later my dog is feeling worse. These people should have JUST TOLD ME SHE WAS BEYOND SAVING AND DID THE ONLY HUMANE THING. Instead, they tried to take me for $ 1000+ then took as much from me as they could and still left my dog to suffer and me to deal with it.

Awesome Staff! Well it was really only the tech and the Doc poked her head in for a minute. Brought my mom’s cat here since she wasn’t eating and was real lethargic. Didn’t have $ 950 to spend on ex-​rays to determine if she had pneumonia so the Doc gave an antibiotic to try.
$ 285 later (hey it was late at night and they were open) and the kitty is a ok.
They don’t take checks at all, cash or you can apply for their credit card. Payment is due at that very moment. They will not work out any type of payment plans either.
So be prepared if to spend some moo lahh because are pets are worth it!

My 17-​pound poodle mix somehow ingested little flecks of metal over over Memorial Day Weekend. My other half and I take Lily for her annual vet visit at the SPCA of Orlando, but they were closed due to the holiday weekend, so we had few options other than an emergency pet facility. Thank goodness we happened to find this emergency center. There was another pet ER much closer to home, but due to 50+ mediocre to bad reviews, we avoided that place in favor of this emergency center across town.
There was an understandably inflated holiday consultation fee to have a vet come into the office. Lily was quickly seen by Dr. Wester, had bloodwork done, X-​Rayed, and diagnosed in about two and a half hours. The price was steep, but the care Lily received was top-​notch. We went home with a groggy puppy that was no longer in pain, a few prescription meds, and the promise of a free follow-​up exam within twenty-​four hours if Lily’s condition worsened. Otherwise, Lily could be seen by her regular vet for any follow-​up care.
Don’t spend precious time that could be spent saving the life of your pet going to a bad pet emergency care center, when your pet is almost guaranteed fantastic and fast emergency vet care at this facility even on a holiday.

It is nice to have an good emergency vet in the area. I have brought my lab here on two separate occasions. Each time they have provided him with excellent care.
The staff is very personable, which I feel is very important especially when coming in contact with my pets. Both the vets I have worked with were very knowledgeable and made sure by the time you left that you knew exactly what was wrong, how to prevent it, treat it and what your options are.
They were especially great the second time when my dog ate spent hops (home brewing). They had to work with poison control –ugh.
On a side note — the have tvs in each of the rooms so you have something to watch while you wait.