Animal Coalition of Tampa

Reviews 3

GI

Gina Thomas

I have brought all my cats here at one time or other for their update rabies shots. Its true the staff loves animals, a lot of them are volunteers who are working there for the love of animals. They also are much better priced than most all vets and even the Hillsborough County Humane Society, which has become very money-oriented the past few years. The ACT people had been able to move out of cramped quarters a few years ago and into nice, clean spacious facilities, only to lose it a year later when some mentally-ill person set fire to the building. So they are back in the small quarter and that lends it to seem cramped, crowded and less than spotlessly clean and people do have to wait outside. But it is expensive to find better digs. I can only speak to the care given my cats who get their shots there. The techs are very good, know what they are doing and dont try to push unneeded care on you. The prices are the best in town. What made me drop a star is the requirement to pay in advance to see a vet if you need one, and the appointments are often way out. There are things can can come up when you cant schedule an appointment within a few days. The last I knew, the wait was two weeks. That is a long time and what happens if you have car problems? You have lost the payment. I have never brought my cats to one of their vets, so this has not happened to me, but it is something to consider. If one of my cats needs a vet, I will take it elsewhere because of the payment situation. I hope ACT can soon find bigger facilities because the one they worked so hard to move into was a dream. Nobody had to wait outside, and cats and dogs had separate waiting rooms. But this takes money and not everyone donates (hint hint) but they take their animals there. The leadership works hard on fundraising for new digs, but they had a big set back with that fire. I also get Revolution anti-parasite anti-flea and tick there and the prices are better than youd find at other vets. They also have a wide array of flea and tick and de-worming etc. medicines, so youll find plenty of choice if you have a specific product you want. I have only purchased the Revolution. You also can buy online and have it shipped, a nice little perk. These folks also do spay and neutering for stray cats and it used to cost $10 if you brought the cat in in a trap. That is the price the Hillsborough County Animal Services suggests paying when they provide vouchers for low-income. There is a desperate need to spay and neuter cats in Hillsborough County, which for years has battled extremely high euthanasia rates at its county shelter. Its a problem that needs to be tackled on a lot of fronts and fixing stray pets is one of them. Everyone including ACT needs to remember that keeping it affordable is a way to get people to bring in a neighborhood cat. I called a few weeks ago wanting to trap and bring in a stray Tom I had been feeding and was told it would cost $35. No way. I have two cats that are mine so I feel if I am going to help a stray/neighborhood, they need to honor the price animal services set. Maybe that was a mistake what the man said. ACT also has been in the forefront of education about spay and neuter. I would recommend Animal Coalition of Tampa -- and do so over the local Humane Society which is money-oriented with their shiny new facility. Its not the digs, its the heart, remember!

CR

Crissy Hopkins

USE PLANNED PETHOOD INSTEAD!!! I took two small dogs for spay and neuter on Saturday January 21st. The website and all advertisements say $75 for male canine under 50lbs and $85 for female under 50lbs. They tell you upon scheduling via phone that a rabies shot is required for all surgeries and that would be $15 additional for each. No problem. However....arrive and check in, tech Tim was awesome and very friendly but never once disclosed any extra fees we would be in store for. He told me nail trimming was complimentary and that he could send us home with free heartworm preventative samples if we chose to. I agreed and asked again, are you sure they are free? he said yes. We came back to pick up the dogs later that day and the ladies at the counter told me my bill was $270!! Now mind you, I already paid the two $25 deposits for the surgeries ahead of time. I was anticipating $140 remaining balance. I questioned the additional charges and they were very rude. They said they gave them both heart worm tests (without my acknowledgement or agreement) and we were being charged for them at $15 each. We were also charged $10 each for some flimsy terrible cone they place on the dogs after surgery which have both broken off one single day later. They also make you pay for pain meds that they make you think are free when youre checking in. They need better communication...the staff does not inform you of any additional costs you should expect. The staff accused me of lying in front of a crowded lobby when I told them no one told us about these additional charges nor were there any signs or communication regarding a HEARTWORM test being required prior to any surgeries. They told me that Tim was their best technician and they knew for sure he had informed us about the charges. The staff member in charge, a short little chunky blonde with caterpillar eyebrows was smirking and just thought she was so high and mighty and obviously she is never wrong about a thing in her little bubble of life. They literally argued with me and made smart comments about the ordeal. I refused to pay the additional charges and even threatened to leave the dogs there to which they simply replied, oh well we will just have animal services pick them up and you can live that guilt. They are rescue dogs! Horrible, horrible customer service, hidden nonsense fees, rude staff, lies, and a filthy filthy facility. There was blood on the exam room table they brought the dogs to me in. I never once saw anyone wash their hands between clients and there was odor that cant be described any better than rot emanating throughout the facility when we picked up. There are other low cost places around... dont waste your time here. I will NEVER be back. This is coming from someone who frequented this facility until now.

AS

Ashley Flack

I took my female dog in to be spayed on November 8th. She has never been there before, she cornered herself scared. I called to check on her around lunch time and the person that answered stated they do not give updates. No news is good news and someone would call if there was an issue. Its now November 28th. She is currently in exploratory surgery to find out why she has a belly full of puss. I took her in on Nov. 21st for a uti and vaginal discharge. Friday Nov 25th my vet called waiting to change her food diet. I wasnt sure that was needed as she is on top of the line food and never an issue. They stated i needed to get her back to ACT ASAP because she could have an infection and the fluid in her body was fatal if in fact was this type of infection. Head surgeon at ACT said get her in asap. The tech walked into a filthy exam room with THICK amount of animal hair on the floor, she went to look at the incision on her stomach and had blood on her hand from a previous surgery. I told her she was not touching my dog until her hands were washed. She said her incision was perfect there is nothing wrong. i discussed the discharge still coming out almost 3 weeks later and she said 5-7days that will stop and I explained its been almost 3 weeks, the issue is inside not outside. The only thing she had to say was we can schedule you Monday for an exam with an examination doctor and pay for the visit. I told her I will not pay them another dime, there is something wrong with my dog and they obviously are not willing to help me. So I have now already spent $300 , met with another vet and today she is in surgery to find out what is causing this infection she has never had before. DO NOT TAKE YOUR FUR BABIES TO THIS CRAP HOLE WITH RUDE EMPLOYEES!!!!! I have now made two calls to the office to try and speak to a manager regarding this issue and first call at 8:56am spoke with Tara i was promised a call from Dr. Sabshin. I havent heard back and just called again at 12:13pm Brandy rudely told me my message shes sure has been given to the person who needed to call me back. When she put me on hold and came back she explained Dr. Sabshin is not in today and would not let me speak to anyone else in charge. HORRIBLE SERVICE ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!! Now I have to fear for my dogs life.