Veterinary Emergency Center - South Daytona (FL)

5 /5 Nathan Mamula: On Friday, 3/7/25 around 11PM, we took our 10-month-old kitten, Coconut, to the ER due to frequent and small urination with blood. We called ahead to check the wait-time, to minimize his stress, and were advised to bring him in immediately. They informed us that all animals would be physically examined upon arrival, & depending on the severity of the ailment, would be placed in queue accordingly. True to their word, upon arrival, they immediately checked for urinary blockages (potentially very dangerous/life threatening) but informed us that there wasn’t one, thankfully! The front staff, especially Rhianna, was incredibly kind, eased our nerves, and offered us a private room with WiFi and streaming TV, as we waited for the doctor. She was very knowledgeable and checked on us often as we waited around 3 hours to see the doctor. The vet tech, Michael, provided excellent care, keeping us informed throughout our wait, as well, and elaborated on the doctor’s directives. Both Michael and Rihanna were very helpful in answering any questions we had. Due to a software glitch and Coconut’s eventual “spiciness” (on brand), they were unable to complete a urinalysis, and removed the charge from our bill. Based on a physical exam, Dr. Z’s diagnosis was likely Stress Cystitis, potentially due to recent stressors that included neutering, trips to/from clinics, & the high volume/chaos of bike week. Because there didn’t appear to be any urinary blockages, she recommended we take him back home to continue monitoring him where he’s comfortable. She also prescribed two different pain meds to relieve his discomfort and to help relax his urethra — which appear to have worked, as he’s now urinating normally and enjoying his medication-enhanced cartoons. VECEV operates on a triage basis, so wait times vary, but our visit took about three hours. The bill was reasonable, covering the after-hours exam and meds. While we hope to never need them again, we’d return in an emergency. Huge thanks to VECEV for their compassionate care of Coconut!

1 /5 Heather Goncalves: Worst experience I have ever had. The situation was was horrific as it was,seeing as I just went through a similar situation with our familys dog days before at a different location and the experience there was amazing. We had to euthanize our family dog and the receptionist with blue and pink hair was the least bit compassionate. Every 5 minutes she would enter the room asking. Are we ready? Are we ready? Heres some chocolate shes going to die anyways. We were completely mortified. Nick was about the only one who was compassionate. He took his time to explain to us the process and checked in on us to make sure we were okay and needed anything told us to take our time. The gentleman who ended up taking our dog was also sweet as well. I did not get a chance to get his name but he asked my daughter if she wanted her blankie back or if she wanted her dog to be cremated with it. Though I know that our dog may not have meant anything to anyone else. Thank you to Nick and the gentleman who took her after she crossed the rainbow bridge for having so much compassion while the receptionist laughed and cackled and nearly pushed us out of the room and told us to get it over with because it would make it easier on us so we didnt have to carry her outside to use the restroom since she no longer had use of her legs. I would never recommend this place to anyone.

5 /5 Alivia Colebank: I took my cat in and they took the best care of my baby. I am very happy with my experience. Ford was the absolute best! I am so grateful Lenny was in his care. You can tell he really loves and cares about the animals. He made Lenny feel loved, cared for and safe and I felt it too. All of the staff was great. They were very helpful and knowledgeable. Thank you Ford for taking the best care of my baby. I couldnt have asked for a better person to take care of him. If I ever need to bring my babies in, this is the place I will go and recommend. Thank you to everyone.