Safari Veterinary Care Centers

Watch the cameras carefully here. There are assistants or techs that do not have the patience to deal with a large dog calmly and will immediately use physical restraint and force without supervision, including muzzles without your consent for certain procedures. They will not talk with you if they're having any trouble with your pet, they will not ask for assistance, they will immediately make a stressful situation more stressful. My dog "lifted her lip" even after having her mouth handled and messed with in the same ear-cleaning procedure (we still aren't sure why they were messing with her mouth during the procedure long after the initial checkup) without any reaction from my dog and that was enough to warrant a full physical restraint process including being pressed into the wall with a muzzle put on her when she has never bitten anyone and displayed no outwardly aggressive behaviors other than "lifting her lip". She has never had a muzzle put on her before at this clinic or anywhere else, this was her first experience with a muzzle and I was not informed that it was up for consideration or even asked if it could be used. I don't know the safety of muzzles but I'm fairly certain wrenching a dog's head back and up with the back of the muzzle using force is not safe nor acceptable practice. For me, that action was the difference between accepting the treatment and escalating the situation. I can say all day that my dog is an angel that would never hurt anyone and no one would believe me because I have a 90lb Great Dane. If it was a genuine concern and I was asked, I would have consented to the muzzle. However, after the situation was escalated to the owner, Dr. Garner, he used this as simply a training moment for his staff and essentially told my fiancé, the other owner of our dog that reached out after being told the situation was being used as a training moment (he was not satisfied considering he paid over $200 for this appointment and it has left lasting skittish behaviors into the next day), that he wishes us the best and told us to let him know where to send her records. He wiped his hands of us because it was too much trouble to go any further than sending out a clinic-wide memo to utilize common sense when dealing with people's animals. Mistakes happen, but they should not be happening in a trusted clinic to this extreme of a degree. My dog is not a training tool and your employees should not need a reminder to be respectful and empathetic to pets and owners during visits. I watched that entire interaction from start to finish and I can say with absolute certainty that the employees were too heavy handed from the beginning and my dog behaved perfectly for them with the exception of not holding her head exactly how they wanted for the duration of the procedure and leaning forward on the table, towards the tech doing the ear cleaning and away from the tech restraining her. They muzzled her for their comfort, not their safety. They wanted compliance and were willing to skip several steps to get there quickly. This office is a business, not a veterinary clinic. It just happens to have veterinarians working there. And if you don't shut up and accept the first resolution on the table, you are no longer a customer they care to keep. This easy disregard and lack of empathy is highly disturbing to see from a clinic that came highly recommended and has been entrusted with my dog's care since she was less than 6 months old. Do not take your dog here if they are large (or just of an intimidating build) and there is potential for fear or if you aren't prepared to advocate for your dog and force communication from those handling your dog. They certainly won't be the ones to step up. There are some great employees here, but these two were the worst I've ever seen in my decades of owning animals and dealing with vet clinics. I have a hard time believing they're licensed with how they behaved based purely on impressions that must have encouraged them to act out of fear from the beginning of the entire interaction.

posted: 09/25/2024

Exceptional Care at Safari Vet Hospital They have provided outstanding care for my two dogs, and I am truly grateful for the level of attention and expertise they offer. The veterinarians are highly skilled, taking the time to thoroughly assess my pets and explain every step of their treatment. Whether it was routine check-ups or more complex health concerns, they approached everything with compassion and professionalism. What stands out the most is the personalized care they provide. Both of my dogs have unique needs, and the vets took the time to tailor their treatment plans accordingly, always keeping me informed and involved in the decision-making process. The follow-up care has also been excellent, with the team checking in to ensure everything is going smoothly post-visit. Safari Vet Hospital has earned my trust, and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a veterinary team that truly cares for both pets and their owners. Their dedication to animal health is evident in every aspect of their work.

posted: 10/15/2024

It is hard to find an avian vet, let alone one who is open during the weekend! It is always terrible to have a bird health scare on a saturday and know that no avian vets nearby are open. League City is a bit of a ways away from us, but the fact that they were open was a life saver. Our green cheek conure Sabine was having some foot troubles. We brought her in, were seen quickly, and both the vet and vet tech handled our parrot with great care. We got some pain killer for her foot and were happily on our way! The bill was extremely reasonable. Seriously, I was expecting to have to shell out a couple hundred bucks for medicine, but it ended up being just barely over 100! I've had parrot checkups at other vets more expensive than this. The atmosphere is also wonderful, I've never seen a vet office this colorful and fun before.

posted: 08/11/2024

The staff is amazing. Ashley took great care of us. All the staff members we encountered on the day of our visit were amazing. We had a passing and was heart broken, they offered us a room so we could grieve in private. They gave us all the time we needed and were very patient with us. They offered us good options for cremation at reasonable prices. We had another appointment on the same day and they took great care with our little one. Overall great service and affordable visit. The design of the whole building is beautiful as well, from outside to inside.

posted: 08/05/2024

We took in our baby Swiper yesterday to be seen. Not only did they get us in the same day after calling 2 other hospitals that had no time for us, they were caring, compassionate, and got us in quick. The Vet was very thorough on what she believed was going on and took less invasive steps to healing Swiper than jumping right into extreme measures. Safari is the nicest vet hospital I've ever been to! It's beautiful, well kept, and looks like a playground for all animals! I will refer them to all my friends and will be bringing all my fur babies here!

posted: 07/23/2024