Van Dyke Animal Clinic - Veterinarian - Lutz, Florida

Stephanie Mitchell

I used to really like this vet. This last experience was awful. The vet tech I dealt with was a floating vet tech who "helps sometimes." She told me my dog didn't need her anal glands squeezed, meanwhile charged me for the service. The vet tech was standing at the front whispering whether she should charge me or not and so I asked for confirmation if I was being charged for this. When I mentioned the vet tech had only checked her while my dog was laying down, I requested she check her again, the vet tech told me they'd have to charge me again. I was appalled at the behavior and couldn't believe this is how they want to run this practice. I will definitely be looking to transfer to another vet and will be informing all of my family, friends, and clients that I do not recommend this place. I am very disappointed.

Sondra Eriksen

There's lots of things I can say on here. I have 3 pets now that I bring here. A mainecoon cat, a very dominate (semi aggressive) cane Corse and a very large viszla. I have had animals all my life and thus have had vets over the years. When I moved to Lutz I was still commuting across town for my vet in Tampa palms and decided to make a change. I am always leary about vet offices because some are a bit of a money grab. They Nickle and dime you and or make up things your pets need that well, they really don't. I am happy to say the vet at this office has been very forthcoming and honest. I am writing this review 2 years after moving to this practice. The vet here is a super straight shooter. She tells it like it is and gives you honest options. I had to have some of my older dogs teeth pulled and when I arrived to pick him up, I saw back in the room and she was sitting with him just staying near and consoling him (he is a bit anxious and old) and thats not something you pay for. I really trust this Vet. She is an honorable person and the staff is also kind. If your wondering like I was, is this place gonna rip me off and is this place good for my fur people, the answer is yes. Hold me to it.

Joni Deitch

I would like to thank Van Dyke Animal Clinic for taking Reba back as their patient. I appreciate the care and honesty and the non-invasive approach to getting to the bottom of her limping issue. We will be working on her weight loss and we will continue to use Van Dyke Animal Clinic as our veterinary care for Reba 🙂

Alyssia Clark

This place is awesome! They have extended late hours if needed. And they work with you if your in a financial bind. They are pretty expensive in price compared to the local shelters but worth it for their quality, cleanliness and love they show your fur baby! This is my furbaby's main vet for almost 4 years! He loves the girls there and they him too. Check them out if your in the neighborhood!

Rich R

So took my dog here to have her spade, everything seemed ok, dog came home rested all afternoon and was monitored the whole time never being left along to access her incisions. She got up and walked a couple of feet and we notice blood coming from her abdomen. What you see in the photo only tells part of the story, a towel was used to stop the bleeding and was extremely saturated with blood. We rushed her to the Vet ER where the bleeding continued all over the place and they had to wrap her up like you see in the attached photo. The ER had her monitored overnight and we called Van Dyke the next day at noon to find the vet absolved her self and practice from any wrong doing and did not even offer an apology or call me, but had the front desk lady call me to give me the news. I will ensure no one I know ever uses this vet ever again as there is no personal accountability for her actions, no remorse for the condition to which my pet was placed. I originally thought this Vet held herself to a higher standard and truly cared about every aspect of her practice but this incident has clearly shown me this vet has two side to her professionalism.

Paul Godfrey

Quick service and very helpful. They’ve treated our cats very well.

Bree Jungbauer

This office staff is absolutely the BEST staff I have ever seen anywhere. I had to bring my baby in and they kept him overnight. I was so worried about him as he has never been away from me for a night. They took my phone number and texted me pictures, videos and updates on my baby! It truly helped the experience for me as I was a wreck while he was gone. They even follow up with you to ensure your baby is doing well. I also texted them a question after I picked my baby up and they still helped me! They care not only about the animals they treat but also the owners who are worried about their babies. This will now be where all my babies go because they are truly in great hands.

MaryKate Downing

I took my three cats here for about three years, initially because my husband and I lived in the apartment complex across the street when we adopted our first cat. We’ve since moved, but I kept going to Van Dyke Animal Clinic since my cats were used to it, and the drive up the Veterans wasn’t bad. This was a mistake.

I should have switched vets much earlier, as one of the first things Dr. Kahl said when I brought my first cat in is that the apartment complex we lived in was often flea infested. She assumed we lived there without even asking, and although we did live there at the time, the judgement was palpable. (I’ll add that the apartment complex is actually quite nice — we lived there for several years with no flea issues.) This was when my cat was suffering from anxiety that caused her to itch her ears excessively. She had been on flea medication for months already with no noticeable fleas, and we kept our apartment clean. By researching pet anxiety on my own, I was able to help my cat overcome this issue. She never had fleas at any point we owned her.

Over three years, Dr. Kahl ignored or disregarded concerns I had about this same cat, who was in the worst health of all my cats. Additionally, while some of the vet techs were competent and caring, others never spoke to the vet about concerns I voiced before appointments or over the phone. I would have to follow up with them multiple times to get recommendations or test results back.

I finally switched vets much later than I should have after a vet tech failed to ask Dr. Kahl for any treatments for constipation my cat was experiencing and instead told me herself to feed my cat HALF A CAN of pumpkin. This would not have been healthy, as the recommended amount of canned pumpkin to help a constipated cat is 2 teaspoons a day.

Once I switched vets, my new practice immediately addressed my concerns and tried to find the root cause of my cat’s constipation. Additional bloodwork that Dr. Kahl had never suggested was done, and we found out that in addition to having hyperthyroidism, my cat had early stage kidney disease. My new practice has several vets, and more than one of them told me that hyperthyroidism in cats can commonly mask other issues like this. I don’t know why Dr. Kahl wouldn’t haven known this — maybe she did know and didn’t care.

Long story short, my cat also ended up being diagnosed with not only early stage kidney disease but also with diabetes and almost near blindness after Dr. Kahl had given her a “clean bill of health,” minus her thyroid issue and arthritis, at a visit earlier the same month.

My cat also may never have been given the one vial of Solensia arthritis medication I paid for. After leaving Van Dyke Animal Clinic, I reviewed my cats’ records from them and realized that one of my other cats had that medication on her record, which explained the follow-up call (over two weeks later, after I’d left the practice) inquiring about how the wrong cat was doing on this medication. I’m not certain whether the wrong cat was actually given the medication, but my bringing in two of my cats to the vet at once was no excuse for incorrect record keeping or, worst case, the wrong cat being given the medication.

On that note, record keeping was not good in general. Dr. Kahl and the vet techs would ask *me* what dose of hyperthyroid medication I was giving my cat (after dosage discussions I’d already had *with Dr. Khal*) when I followed up on my cat’s T4 blood work results or asked questions. I’d think they should have kept records of the correct dosage since they were the ones prescribing the medication…

Overall, while there were one or two competent vet techs there as of March 2023, I wouldn’t recommend Van Dyke Animal Clinic or Dr. Kahl to anyone, especially if their pet is senior or experiencing health issues. Ehrlich Animal Hospital and Arthritis Therapy Center is a little pricier but much better, and they have five capable, caring vets on staff.