I have used this clinic for 10 years and my only complaint is that it is so very busy. Dr Z and the staff have always been helpful, professional and very compassionate. I have used the Clinic for 2 dogs and 2 cats.

No animal that I have any influence over will enter the door to this clinic. We adopted a dog that had been treated at the shelter for the opportunistic form of the mange. We didn't know how many time she had been treated. The vet said that the scrapings showed no infection, and that we should have hew dipped once, then tested again. We had her treated. When we came back for repeat testing, they dipped her again, after I had instructed them not to unless the scrapping showed active infection; they didn't even do the test. When I brought her back again for the testing, I talked with the vet and the staff about not dipping her. (She became sick for days after the earlier dips.) When I returned to pick her up, the had dipper her! They excused it by saying that she had peed on herself and had to be bathed anyway. This time she was sick for weeks, slowly recovering. So, I paid hundreds of dollars for treatments that I didn't authorize, and have to wonder at the long-term health effects of the "treatments." I hadn't been told of any possible negative effects before the treatment that I did authorize.

We just left Dr. Z's and we did have to wait. As I remember it's always that way there. We were putting down our cat of 17 years. She handled it professionally and in good Christian manner. She also talked to my son and made him feel better about it all. Thank you Dr. Z for helping in a very sad time for my family.

This place completely bent us over a barrel on an "injury" my dog sustained. One morning, I found that my young dog had a bulging spot on his side that felt squishy to the touch (like a water balloon under his skin). Concerned, I took him to Shelby Animal Clinic immediately. After a brief exam, Dr. Z told me that he had something called a "seroma" under his skin because of some sort of trauma, and she would need to operate on him and put in a drain tube to release the blood serum that was collecting there. After he was at the office for 2 days, I received a call that they were going to operate again to remove the area of tissue that was still secreting this serum fluid, because it still collecting under his skin. He ended up staying there for 10 days with tubes draining out of his side, and when I picked him up, he had a 5 inch long incision where she'd taken the skin away. Total cost: $950. A few days later, the bubble on his side was back again. I decided to take him to Dr. Day in Montevallo for a second opinion. Dr. Day walked in, checked the incision, and drew out the fluid with a large needle and syringe. My dog didn't even flinch. There was no infection, and Dr. Day said if it came back, just bring him back in and he would remove the fluid again. A seroma is not a big deal, it was not going hurt the dog, and eventually it would stop filling back up. Total charge from Dr. Day: $35. If I'd taken him to Dr. Day in the beginning, I wouldn't have been out nearly $1000. I feel SERIOUSLY duped by Dr. Z, and I feel like I got totally ripped off by Shelby Animal Clinic. I would NEVER recommend them to anyone. Also, every time we took our dogs in for their check-ups, we never got out of there without dropping at least $230 for shots and tests. They were always wanting to give vaccines that weren't necessary (such as bordetella, which is to prevent kennel cough, when our dogs are never around other dogs) and parvo for an elderly dog. With Dr. Day, it was less than $100, and he only gave the shots that were necessary.

I am still weighing my options on this clinic. My dog, 9 yrs old, had two places, one on each side of her hip, she was biting them etc.... to the point of being bald and having bleeding. Got to the clinic 15 mins early filled out paperwork, gave them copies of her medical record. We left the clinic at 5:30pm. I was very disappointed about two things, one they didnt' get permission to do all they did which ended up costing me $261 and the waiting I had to do. Now that said 1 week later, my dog is 100% better. If she doesn't have ringworm, then I need to figure out if it is a hip problem or if it is an allergy problem. So the question is do I stay with this clinic or go somewhere else?