About

Paws & Claws Medical Center

Who we are

Paws & Claws Medical Center is a Miami hospital for dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, reptiles, and small mammals. It is not a 24/7 emergency room. Boarding is for existing patients, by appointment. Ramon de Armas, DVM, PGCert(EAS), GPCert(EAP), founded the practice to do general practice at hospital standard — including exotic animal practice — without treating the exotic caseload as a hobby and the dog caseload as a mill.

The credentials are PGCert(EAS) and GPCert(EAP). The memberships are AAV, ARAV, and AEMV. The accreditation is AAHA. That last one is a hospital standard, not a marketing badge. We display the mark because the standard is current, and because clients deserve to see it next to the person who actually works here, not buried on a vendor page.

Dr. de Armas is the creator and founder of the ExoHub/ExoCalc ecosystem — professional tools for exotic-animal veterinarians, not pet-owner apps. That same exotic-medicine focus is why birds, reptiles, rabbits, and small mammals are treated here as core practice, not a side interest. Learn more at calc.avianexotics.vet.

The first visit

Expect a calm room, a real exam, and questions about diet and housing that are not filler. Bring records if you have them. Bring photos of cages and enclosures for exotic pets. Bring the thing you are actually afraid of, said plainly. We will not punish you for a late vaccine, a seed diet, or a dragon under a heat rock. We will also not pretend those things are fine. Fear-free handling is the default. Hablamos español — call (786) 361-9344 and ask.

How the medicine is done

CT, ultrasound, in-house diagnostics, a surgical suite, laparoscopy and other minimally invasive options, dentistry, and exotic anesthesia live in this building so you are not assembling a hospital out of three referrals and a hope. In-hours urgent care means if they are sick while we are open, you call. It does not mean we absorb every after-hours crisis. After close, go to a local ER.

Common problems are the ordinary work: dental disease, GI stasis, metabolic bone disease, respiratory disease, ear and skin disease, reproductive emergencies, trauma during open hours. We will tell you what we can do here and what belongs at a specialist or an overnight ER. That sentence is a feature.

Husbandry we will not ignore

Husbandry is part of medicine for every species we see. UVB, hay, air quality, heat, water, and diet will come up when they are the disease. You will leave with a short list, not a personality evaluation. The facility — surgery, ultrasound, waiting room — is on SW 137th Avenue because this is a physical hospital, not a brand with a phone tree.

AAHA accreditation is current. The badge on this page is the same mark we put on the homepage proof row. If a hospital will not show it, ask why. If a hospital shows it and still lists 24/7 ER they do not staff, ask why. We will not do that. Saturday 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM is real open hours, same medical standard as the weekday clinics.

3858 SW 137 Avenue, Miami, FL 33175. (786) 361-9344. outreach@pawsnclawsmiami.com.