Compassionate Care for GTB’s Pets
By Ryan Walsh
Compassion is at the heart of veterinary care, and nobody understands that better than the expert doctors and caretakers at Tampa Veterinary Hospital (TVH).
Owners Jon VanNevel and Dr. Melissa Webster have even codified this as part of their business’s mission statement:
“Our lives are dedicated to caring for pets and their families with compassionate, state-of-the-art veterinary medicine.”
Founded in 1925, TVH is not only Tampa’s oldest veterinary hospital, but it is also one of the largest and most innovative. With a team of over 50 employees, TVH offers everything, including telemedicine services, MRIs and pain-management methods like stem cell therapy and cold-laser therapy.
From dogs and cats to birds, fish, ferrets, lizards and more, if an animal is family to a patient, it is family to TVH.
“It’s about what patients and their pets want from us, not what we want from them,” said Dr. Webster. “It’s not just veterinary medicine, but listening to the people who bring their pet in. At the end of the day, we work for them.”
VanNevel and Webster see their patients as guests, going so far as to eschew the words ‘client’ or ‘customer’ from their vocabulary. For them, it is about the extra things – providing curbside visits during the pandemic and complimentary pet photo events during holidays are just two examples. Building relationships with their animal guests and human owners is quintessential to TVH’s overall philosophy.
Webster, a graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, became an owner of TVH in 2008. In 2021, the facility moved from its longstanding location on Kennedy Boulevard to its current spot on North Howard Avenue. Taking over this Tampa fixture was a longtime goal of Dr. Webster’s.
“Since I was in vet school, I always wanted to own a practice,” Webster said. “Tampa Veterinary Hospital was a dream for me, and I’ve been very fortunate to accomplish this.”
Beyond its full-service offerings, TVH is also heavily involved in giving back to its community. It sponsors and supports nonprofits such as Pets 4 Patriots and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, in addition to donations toward the Glazer Children’s Museum and the Fraternal Order of Police. On a personal level, guests with service animals can receive discounts on medical care, and internship opportunities for aspiring veterinarians are often available.
Compassion comes with the territory.
“I enjoy seeing the pet and the family over the course of that pet’s lifetime,” Webster said. “I love helping them achieve what they want for their pet.”
