LAKE HOWELL ANIMAL CLINIC

unknown

I can't say enough about Dr Diaz and his staff. The doctor seems genuinely interested and consistantly does a excellent job on the care of our bird. Occasionally we board him at the clinic and he seems to enjoy it. I love Lake Howell Animal Clinic. Dr Diaz is awesome!

unknown

Upon the referral of a friend that was a long time client at this vet, was attempting to be a new client.

I have two dogs, one is elderly with arthritis, and the other had a bad skin infection.

I have a disabled status with back problems. I also live a good distance away from this vet.

The morning of the appointment I called to confirm, and was worried about the traffic, the girl who answered said OK , and to call if I was late. When I got there, after much stress and getting the two dogs in the waiting room, the reception girl was visiting with a guy (seemed like a date) She then let me know my appointment was for an hour later, AND the two married doctors for the business were not coming in that day. She then said I could see their fill in Doctor or vet tech.

She didn't have an answer when I asked why they couldn't let me know.

Shortly after that, my friend who had referred me there was having problems with a very special rabbit she owned. She has a terminal illness, and this rabbit was her therapy. This vet knew this as she had been with them for years and spent thousands of dollars.

It was coming into light that this vet was going downhill after the Doctor had a child. They never show up for appointments, (on Angies list and other websites) Everyone's special angels are at the mercy of the vet tech or fill in Doctor.

They killed her rabbit in my opinion through malpractice. The Doctor that had usually helped her said he couldn't figure it out.

The vet tech was holding the rabbit unprofessionally and was rude to my friend when she questioned it. He was to give the rabbit fluids and when she got her back, her leg was broken or had torn ligaments because she couldn't use it at all.

The rabbit went into convulsions and died shortly after the doctor treated her.

The really outrageous behavior came next, (the unnecessary death was bad enough)

Once I got the message what had happened and my friend was having a breakdown, and devastated, I offered to pay for the cremation service so she did not have to go back.

We then found out the vet was not at all happy that I had gone around them to pay the cremation company directly. It turns out that the vet charges 2 or 3 times the real cost. It is sick that any vets make extra money off of a client that has just, lost a pet for a service they do nothing for.

I have owned and said goodbye to 10 dogs and one cat, no vet is perfect, they all charge a lot, but some are better than others.

This is the worst I have ever seen, and would bet there are other horrible stories out there.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS VET, BEWARE!

This past visit was very routine and what one would expect from a vet. We had an appointment and the doctor got to us in timely fasion at our appointment time. He took quite a lot of time with us and made sure we understood basic care for our axolotl. Our previous visit was more remarkable. We had rescued an juvenile axolotl that had three legs eaten off by a tank mate. One of the legs was not healing and we discovered a growth on the stump. We called first thing about getting in. It was a saturday and there were no available appointments. We were scared about waiting two days. Dr Figueroa's office suggested that I could come right in and wait in case there was a cancellation. That was a very welcome opportunity. To make it even better, we were told that if there were no cancellations the doctor would see us at closing time after taking care of those with appointments. We arrived at 9AM prepared to wait until closing (1:00 that day) if necessary. Luck was with us and after about an hour someone called to say they were going to be late and the doctor took that time to take care of us. The growth was lint that collected on the stump because the bone was sticking out. The doctor had to cut the leg off cleanly above the bone (axolotls do regrow lost limbs). He then gave us an antibiotic with instructions on how to dilute it down to a strength suitable for a 3 inch amphibian. We followed the instructions and the little guy recovered without further infection. The doctor made a great impression on us that day.

We had been using Lake Howeel for over a year and we have seen a dramatic change in their responsivenedd and quality of service. Today I was not able to squeeze-in an emergency appointment for my dog eventhough I told them I am traveling tomorrow for a week and he needs care for a rash he developed over the weekend. They were inflexible and did not even suggest to put us on a cancelation list which has become a trend with them since their business has picked-up. I tried Interlachen, just 0.5 miles up the road and I am really glad I made the move to try someone else! Interlachen's clinic is super clean, the staff are very professional and friendly, and the Dr. was right on time which is a surprise since I had gotten used to long waits at Lake Howell! I guess this made me realize that sticking with the known old habit is not always smart!

Our ill parakeet was first seen at an avian veterinarian in Winter Park that we were very dissatisfied with so we searched for a new Avian vet. A local parrot store recommended Dr. Diaz at Lake Howell Animal Hospital. We have been extremely pleased with Dr Diaz. He spends a great deal of time each visit explaining the issues and treatment options to us. Dr Diaz' treatment has improved the health and quality of life of our bird. Our pet has a life threatening illness but Dr. Diaz has been encouraging and has been monitoring our bird and tweaking the treatment based on the lab results. Dr Diaz specializes in Avian and exotic pets and he truly loves animals. His wife works with him at the same office and she treats domestic animals (dogs, cats, etc). We are very pleased with Dr. Diaz' loving care.