What an awesome organization! I found a colt (baby crane) in the street last night and no parents to be found. It was hobbling so I thought it might be injured and took it to the hospital after hours. I called this morning to check on it and let them know that the parents and second colt were still in the neighborhood if it was healthy enough to reunite. They called me back shortly after and said it had a clean bill of health and asked me to stay near the family until they could bring it home. I'm happy to say that the family of 4 is back together an everyone at the facility was amazing. Great group of people serving a greater purpose! If you need a feel good for the day, please watch the video! read more

This hospital is a god send fir wildlife in need of rescue. Everyone that I have come in contact with is truly amazing. This is mostly a thankless job & a huge overtaking. I hope they are around for many many years. Thank you for rescuing a turtle, a duck found in the middle of A1A & numerous baby birds for us. Again this hospital does a spectacular job. read more

We have brought a number of baby squirrels, injured birds, etc. here over the years and I did go through their volunteer orientation a few years ago. This is a great group of volunteers who care for hundreds of wild animals in need every year with the express purpose to release them back into their home when they are rehabilitated. I am so glad to have a safe place to bring an animal that I know needs help. read more

Difficult for me to decide a rating. Growing up in Eau Gallie we've taken a few animals here in my 45 years. Depending on who you talk to they can be friendly or they can be rude. I get that sometimes hardcore animal people can sometimes be a little misanthropic and deal better with animals than people; I'm a bit like that myself. But you'd think they'd realize that people contacting them are doing so out of love for the animals and be able to at least connect on that level. First: if you just want to be rid of a situation but still feel like you've done your part; you can take it here and drop it off between 9-4:30, 7 days a week. Recently we tried to rescue a baby squirrel that's mother had gotten run over and it's sibling had died in the nest before my 10 year old daughter discovered it. We called for advice and were basically just told it's illegal for us to rehabilitate and we should just bring it in and drop it off. My daughter wants to be a vet and I thought this might be a good opportunity to allow her to administer some care and show some responsibly and at the end release it back into our yard and trees and observe it's natural life cycle. I understand what they said is true, and that they do represent it's best chance of survival, but I also feel like they could've given us some pointers to follow until we could bring it in as they were closing up for the day when they finally called us back. I feel like that's what they would've done if they cared more about the animals than the permitting. To be clear: it's not illegal to keep a squirrel as a pet in Florida, it's illegal to rehabilitate orphaned wildlife without a permit. Kind of a red tape situation, in my opinion. TLDR: not interested in helping you save an animal, just want you to bring it to them so they can decide if it's worth caring for or needs to be euthanized. read more

We found an injured osprey in our carport and after calling the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, we were directed to Florida Wildlife Rescue and in short order a young lady from Melbourne came to pick up the bird and take it to Florida Wildlife Hospital. I am so grateful for this organization and the people who serve there. If ever you should find an animal needing assistance, we would wholeheartedly recommend this group! read more

Very knowledgeable and helpful! They were able to take 3 baby opossums that i found even though the clinic already had 53. I left a message and they called back very soon after which was They even have cages to where if they're not open and you found an animal that you need to bring, you still can. read more

I found a baby Bobcat who was too young to survive without it's mama. I called my vet who referred me to Florida Wildlife Hospital. I called and was able to bring the little thing in quickly and they were waiting for me, explained how things worked and very thorough. I felt so grateful and hopeful that they had everything handled. Thank you for all you do! read more

What do you do when you find an injured bird or animal on the beach? Most people walk away (feeling bad but not knowing what to do). Florida Wildlife Hospital & Sanctuary is open 9 -5 EVERYDAY!! They accept any animal in need of care. If you are visiting any beach near cape canaveral, cocoa beach or if you see an injured animal on the road, now you know the right thing to do. FWH has comfortable cages for all size animals for after hours patients. They rely on the donations of individuals only (non-profit) so you may find yourself buying some really cool tshirts while you were there or joining as a member (we did both). Shirts are only $10 but really nice. We found an injured Loon (water bird) this morning behind the Double Tree in Cocoa Beach. Went home and grabbed a container (Hotel offer one too). Put a towel over the bird so he/she couldn't bite me and put him in with some water and left over sushi. He looked at us like we were trying to sell him a time share but I understood. We drove him to the FWH where they were happy to take him and help him recover. Local anonymous vets donate time there. I live on the beach and have often felt helpless when these animals need help. THIS WAS SO EASY!! I'VE GOT THE POWER!! Seriously, thank you, thank you, thank you so much Florida Wildlife Hospital for being there and giving us a chance to be better people. read more

Florida Wildlife Hospital - We brought in our Sea Bird but could have dropped in off after hours in this comfortable animal hotel just outside the door. - Animal Shelters Near Me - Melbourne, Florida

I have heard good things about this place however I did not have a good experience. I had found a bat and cared for it for 5 days, doing around the clock feedings before I was able to drop it off at the wildlife refuge. When I dropped him off I told them exactly how I had been feeding him and left them with supplies as well as a donation. When I checked back in two days I was told that they did not have his number on file but that the only bat they saw on record from that day had been released on a tree that night and was gone the next morning. I told her that could not be true as he was a baby and could not fly yet, in addition to him having a broken leg. She then preceded to tell me that if he had a broken leg then he was probably euthanized since a broken bone in a bat will never heal correctly. I asked them why they would euthanize it right away without letting me know after I had been nursing him back to health for five days and he was getting stronger. I was going to check with the zoo (as I have worked there before) if the refuge place would not take him so I felt as though I had trusted them and that trust was taken advantage of. The lady at the front desk had no other answers for me and told me to check back on Monday. When I went in on Monday I was greeted very rudely and told to call next time. After ten minutes of searching she told me that the bat I had brought in had actually been sent off to a handler because he was so small. While this may be true I am hesitant to believe what they said as there was so much confusion before and no one seemed to have any idea of what was going on. In addition to this every interaction I had with them was handled very unprofessionally. I thought that they would be happy that people cared about the animals so much but it was as if you were just a nuisance to them. So I would say that if you intend on dropping an animal off here, make sure that you follow up closely with what happens to it. read more

These people work extremely hard for the animals! Because of where we live and our love for animals, we have used them multiple times. The care they take with the animals is exceptional! My daughter has donated birthday money here for years. read more