[Ronnie61]

My husband and I are moving to the villages in May, and my cat will have about 8 weeks of chemotherapy treatments remaining. The oncologist told me we can have our cat’s weekly chemo trxtmts finished in Florida. Can anyone recommend a veterinarian oncology specialist near the villages?

[CFrance]

I suggest calling a vet near The Villages and ask for a recommendation. You can do a search on TOTV for veterinarian suggestions. Or I can just flat-out recommend my fantastic vet, Candace Manganaro at Park Heights Animal Hospital. 352 326 9116. She works closely with specialists in the area. Good luck with your kitty.

[drpepper]

Gainesville, U of F , You will be impressed. Great facility and people. A little over an hours drive. My Golden Retriever is treated by oncology there and we're very satisfied. About an hour and 10 minute drive but there is no comparison in quality of treatment anywhere near.

[GeoGeo]

University of Florida in Gainesville like drpepper mentioned. We've used them for other things, but have talked to people who were there with pets going through chemo. They are wonderful there.

[Bonnevie]

as in all cases, what one has experienced colors one's views. I have had bad experiences with U of F vet. hospital. My neighbor took her dog there and because there were two dogs with the same name, her smaller dog was given the chemo dose of the much larger dog and almost died. remember, it's a teaching hospital so the vets treating you are in a residency often just out of vet school. there are oncologists at Blue Pearl in Tampa which is very easy to get to since it's to the north end of Tampa so just off the highway. I'm sure there are oncologists in Orlando as well. I took my dog to neurologist there but I found the one in Tampa was easier to find and I didn't have to drive thru the city.

[jimnc]

Another recommendation for University of Florida, Small Animal Hospital, Gainesville (352-392-2235). Unfortunately our beagle, Holly, passed away in December from a rapidly spreading form of cancer.
We were devastated but have only the highest praise for her treatment. They did everything within reason to help her. Holly's oncologist was Dr. Alexis (Mia) Livaccari.
As mentioned in another post, our local veterinarian is also Dr. Candace Manganaro, Park Heights Animal Hospital, Fruitland Park. It was Dr. Manganaro who referred us to Gainesville.
Give UF a call. I am confident you will be impressed with the way they do business. Yes, they are about 1 1/2 hr. from The Villages but the drive is well worth the excellent care your pet will receive.
Good luck.

[billethkid]

University of Florida, Small Animal Hospital, Gainesville (352-392-2235)

On a 5 star scale they get 7!!!

If I ever need care I want to be in a place with the quality of care and ambiance and patient focus as is present at the UF Small Animal Hospital.

I am not sure there is anything in the surrounding area that has similar capability/ability.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Bonnevie

as in all cases, what one has experienced colors one's views. I have had bad experiences with U of F vet. hospital. My neighbor took her dog there and because there were two dogs with the same name, her smaller dog was given the chemo dose of the much larger dog and almost died. remember, it's a teaching hospital so the vets treating you are in a residency often just out of vet school. there are oncologists at Blue Pear in Tampa which is very easy to get to since it's to the north end of Tampa so just off the highway. I'm sure there are oncologists in Orlando as well. I took my dog to neurologist there but I found the one in Tampa was easier to find and I didn't have to drive thru the city.

I believe it's called Blue Pearl.

Not to slam U of F, but we have had our dog there for a muscle wasting condition. They wanted to run every test under the sun, and admitted they were stabbing around in the dark. The worst was a muscle biopsy they wanted to do, which would only provide a diagnosis if they hit the correct part of the correct muscle (they admitted this). Also, we never saw the same vet twice. We stopped short of the biopsy and went back to Dr. Manganaro, who spent much time researching muscle wasting problems and came up with three possible solutions, one of which worked. That was several years ago, and the condition has not returned.

Dr. M. also works with AVS (Affiliated Veterinary Services) in Maitland, who has oncology department. They are about an hour from TV. (We use their dermatology department for our guy.)

[Bonnevie]

my experience with UF was that they also wanted to do very expensive testing. they failed to run basic chemistry blood tests despite my dog being there for 5 days in their ICU. As a pharmacist, I saw many mistakes and when I brought them up was given a credit on the bill. unfortunately, the damage was done on my dog who was not treated properly for seizures and continued with them for over two years before having to be put to sleep. It was obvious from reading the notes I ultimately asked for, that no attending vet did anything--it was all first year residents. it was a horrible experience. I now will go to private practice specialists who have more clinical experience when I need something for my animals.

[billethkid]

When we had our Dalmatian there for heart related issues, yes residents did much of the "leg" work.
At the end of the day a senior teaching resident went over the results, which included listing the three veterinary cardiologists who reviewed and contributed to the diagnosis. I asked to have one of the cardiologists stop in for questions. Within 30 minutes the lead cardiologist was in the room with us.
We have gained many more years with Maggi as a result of our visit(s).

Hence, based on our experience, we rate them very highly.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by billethkid

When we had our Dalmatian there for heart related issues, yes residents did much of the "leg" work.
At the end of the day a senior teaching resident went over the results, which included listing the three veterinary cardiologists who reviewed and contributed to the diagnosis. I asked to have one of the cardiologists stop in for questions. Within 30 minutes the lead cardiologist was in the room with us.
We have gained many more years with Maggi as a result of our visit(s).

Hence, based on our experience, we rate them very highly.

Everyone who has been there has a particular story; I know that. Some are good, some not. In our case, at one visit they walked our dog into the lead vet in another room for a consultation without telling us or our being there, then came back with what he said. We never got a face-to-face consultation with anyone other than an intern. It was all inconclusive, and we never had the chance to talk to any lead vet.

They suggested a $2500 biopsy that only had a slight chance of diagnosing the problem. We were not in favor of that on a couple different levels. Put a senior dog through anesthesia for what, maybe a diagnosis. We formerly spent $3000 at AVS to have his broken wrist repaired when he was 7 because the outcome was secured. It's not like we didn't want to spend the money on our guy at U of F. We just felt they were grabbing at straws and wanted the research.

It's a teaching hospital, and I'm glad for that, because it leads to the kind of knowledge that places like AVS have. But I'm not willing to put our senior dog through their guessing procedures if they don't have a definitive prognosis.

Just my opinion.