Marathon Veterinary Hospital

Melissa answered the phone and was solution oriented (what a pleasant surprise!), cheerful and knowledgeable. What a terrific first impression!!!

Come from Tavernier to go to this vet.

Was the only office in the Keys that was able to properly diagnose my dog with a minor issue as opposed to "stage 4 cancer" that she would "die from" within one to two years (Stacey Kimball of Island Paws in Islamorada made this ridiculous diagnosis by touch only, no confirmation cytology, bloodwork, or X-rays).

That was over two years ago and all she needed was anal gland supplements and pumpkin in her diet and more frequent anal gland extractions.

Marathon vet has been taking care of my dog and cats ever since.

We cannot thank you all enough for the outstanding care we received with our baby girl Uma. She's resting now and is already acting like herself again. Every single one of you has found their calling, working together. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

After a difficult decision my partner and decided to put our 19 yo Pomeranian to sleep. it is a Sunday, but they accomodmated us. a lot of dignity. very kind

This is the only vet hospital in the Keys that gave truthful information and was able to provide diagnosis for a plugged anal glad that Island Paws in Islamorada (that my husband is actually friends with the office manager/husband of head veterinarian) told us my dog had over 90% chance stage 4 cancer with feeling the anal gland alone without ANY other tests (X-ray, bloodwork, cytology, MRI).

The other vet (Island Paws) recommended I go to LeadER in Homestead to schedule cancer diagnosis and treatment. LeadER wanted to charge $10,000 (no joke) to just DIAGNOSIS the cancer (did not include surgery or anything else). LeadER wanted me to do a complete body, MRI and CT to give the best diagnosis possible for "my baby".

Marathon vet got us closer to the truth for about $325 by taking blood work and a cytology of the inflamed/impacted anal gland. We had an appointment with a well known Veterinary cancer specialist in Ft. Lauderdale and after both their vet and surgeon looked at my dog, they agreed with Marathon Vet's diagnosis over LeadER and Island Paws.

Marathon Vet is one of the only Veterinary hospitals capable of caring for exotic animals, as they have vets that care for animals at the Wild Bird Center, the Sea Turtle Hospital, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Animal Farm, and even Aquarium Encounters, among others.

Since having this experience with my sweet dog, I take the hour drive to go to Marathon to have my pets seen here over all the veterinary hospitals in the Upper Keys.

Took my crazy former stray cat here and they were very nice. Dr. G and Lynnett and Megan made our visit great. They answered all of my questions and were very nice to me and Pete. My family thanks you for tipping correctly and all animals are equal some are just more equal than others. Nice matters

Dr. Trina Krunm treated our dog today.
We could not possibly be more pleased with her treatment, expertise , & "bedside manner."
We HIGHLY RECOMMEND Dr. Krunm if you are looking for the best treatment for your pet.

Recently, I had to do one of the hardest things in my life. I had to take my cat that I've had for 13 years and my only pet in my lifetime to the vet's office to have him put to sleep. It was all done at the Marathon Veterinary Hospital and I'm writing this to let you all know how wonderful and caring those people are. They are so professional, so sympathetic and they did everything they could to make me and my sweet boy feel as comfortable as possible. Back in early December, I noticed that he was losing weight so I took him to a very popular veterinarian in Marathon. In September, he was 14 pounds and in December, he was 11. They did blood work and said that everything looked good and thought maybe the reason he wasn't eating was because he had some tartar on his teeth that they chipped off. I believed them but then had to take him back when it became apparent that this was not the reason he wasn't eating. The doctor gave me some medications and a food and appetite stimulator, but they never did an x-ray or test. This went on for about 2 months - by this time, my cat was not eating or pooping and he was still losing weight. They never even suggested an x-ray or an ultrasound to see what was going on. After more phone calls to that doctor (several of which were unanswered), I didn't know what to do so I stopped in at the Marathon Veterinary Hospital. A really wonderful person there looked at me and said "what's going on with your cat" and I told her the whole story and she said "we need to get you in here tomorrow" and she did. They did an x-ray and found that he was severely constipated and an ultrasound at my request that showed there was fluid in his abdomen and a dark area on his liver. My cat was at least 15 years old. I rescued him in 2010 and they told me he was about two years old but who really knows. Dr. Andrea gave me laxatives for him and after a few days took another x-ray and the blockage was gone and he started to eat and poop and we thought oh good, that's what it was. But after a few more days, he wasn't eating again. He also had no bowel movements so after five days I called and made an appointment to see Dr. Andréa, who is wonderful. By now, he was not even 9 pounds. She took another x-ray which showed a lot of abdominal fluid. So with that, the results of his ultrasound, his past history, his age and all she knew about him, she recommended that we put him to sleep because she believed he had some sort of liver cancer. So, that's what I did. I'm writing this so that you know that the Marathon Veterinary Hospital is the only place I would take an animal. There are three veterinarians and a wonderful staff. They are smart, they are professional, compassionate -- I just can't say enough good things about them. They made me feel OK at a really bad time. You should all take your animals to them because they are the best in Marathon and probably in the Keys.

A few weeks ago our dog suddenly got quite sick on a Sunday. They answered the phone right away, super nice, saw the dog quickly and the charges were very reasonable for 24 hour weekend visit. The dog was better in no time highly recommended. All of this during the covid situation. Had to wait our turn in the car until they called us in.

A really disappointing experience after Lola's supposedly routine teeth cleaning! A total lack of communication and unprofessionalism - doctor actually said to me on the phone later that "she was whining and carrying on" when she awoke from the anesthesia and this was the reason, I only learned much later, that they asked me to pick Lola up early (they said they don't keep dogs if they are agitated (?! side effect ya think from anesthesia!?) It's like they wanted her out of their hair. I had to bring her home still heavily sedated. Unacceptable!
(I was caught off guard by this terrible service because the first time we went we had good experience - friendly, attentive staff, etc.)

Long summary here but I feel it's necessary: I dropped Lola off at 7:30am and was told on three separate occasions that pick up time would be at 3:30 - with no mention that I could expect it would be earlier. At 10:30am, I received a voice mail from the doctor saying that everything went well and I could come pick her up. I called back to confirm as I was surprised.

Upon arriving at 11:30am and paying $680 we were told that the doctor would come into the exam room and "go over the costs" (?). When Lola came into the room with the tech, she was obviously very sedated - walking slowly, uncoordinated, and looked like she didn't recognize us. The tech didn't say much except that she would sleep most of the day. I had to ask all the questions and she just repeated that the doctor said everything went well. I asked to see the doctor and they said she was "in a procedure right now." The doctor never came in to talk with us, did not communicate findings from the procedure (except briefly over the phone), and nobody gave us any specific home care instructions; e.g., when to feed her, if she'd be in discomfort, etc.

While we waited for the taxi, Lola appeared really dazed and confused. When she could barely walk to the taxi, I hesitated to take her home but again just assumed the staff knew what they were doing - should've gone with my gut! I became more worried when on the ride home she was falling all over the place - just flopping around - I had to ask the driver to go slower. We had to lift her out of the taxi, carry her onto our boat and down the stairs. Very distressing!

Once home, Lola flopped down on the floor. For three hours she continually cried in her sleep, making strange vocalizations we've never heard before. I called the office, very upset, asking why they released Lola while she was still heavily sedated. Wasn't it their job to observe her in recovery from anesthesia?? Their response: she was released early because of "aggressive" behavior in the cage upon waking up from the anesthesia - agitated, gnawing on the crate, screaming. Lola has never been like this. Of course she was scared and anxious waking up in a cage! In the doctor's words: "she was whining and carrying on." Seriously?! How unprofessional, uncaring, and rude! It's like they didn't want to deal with her.

Nobody explained that we would see behavioral changes due to anesthesia after the procedure. I learned only after reading online that agitation and disorientation are common after anesthesia. "An animal may exhibit behavioral changes for several days after general anesthesia." Why did I have to learn this myself after the fact? Why wasn't I told this?? Why wasn't she kept longer for observation? I asked why they couldn't remove her from the cage? The doctor said she doesn't have the staff to watch her. What kind of answer is that? If that's the case, then don't do these procedures if you do not have sufficient caretakers - and release a pet before they are well enough to go home. The worst part is not communicating this fully to us, its the least they should do. The doctor said that she had to sedate Lola again after the procedure. And they didn't communicate this either at pick up!


There was a serious lack of communication on so many levels. If they had given me more details about why they released her early, I could have been more prepared. In reality, though, the doctor should have waited to release Lola until she could talk to me in person.

We still have questions: is she experiencing pain in her gums?? Pain in her throat? Was she crying because of pain or anxiety or both?
There was no explanation of what to feed her, when, how much? Softened kibble, canned food? Hard treats starting when? Will she be sore from the cleaning? Sore throat from anesthesia? There weren't even any written materials answering these questions.

This vet hospital is convenient - just 4 minutes from our marina - yet I will absolutely not be going back. I just wish I had waited to have Lola's teeth cleaned when we go back up north in May. Thank god she did not need any extractions - I can't even imagine what that would've been like.