Incompetent & unfriendly. These people are dead inside. Seriously misdiagnosed my dog a few years ago. He passed. In a panic I recently brought my cat in & she was blatantly misdiagnosed. Drive the extra few minutes to the other nearby emergency vets. Dont risk your pets health! We love our pets like family & absolutely will NOT ever go back here. Read Less

DO NOT TAKE YOUR PET HERE! I can't even tell you how horrible me and my cat were treated, and after being misdiagnosed and talked down to by a staff and managers and taking him in a SECOND TIME!!! ...after I told her that my cat is having to have his leg REMOVED because of their misdiagnosed and we want a refund because all they care about is money and not your animals.(We also took my neighbor's dog to him 5 years ago and he was misdiagnosed with a respiratory illness and died subsequently after this) I am besides myself and anyone that knows my cat pumpkin please pray and send him good vibes while he is cared for at the VCA in kerney mesa ER. I will be protesting then for as long as I see fit and I would hope that you will not support this sham of a business!! Read Less

Dr. Wishnack and is staff are the best! Our 12 year old maltese was having trouble breathing and was very sick. As soon as we brought her in she was rushed in the back because her gums and tongue didn't look good. The staff immediately put her on oxygen. Dr. Wishnack did x--rays and found a mass in her chest. We were devastated. He explained our options and encouraged us to get a sample tested to rule out cancer. Long story short, we did what he recommended and the results came back cancer-free. He encouraged us to do everything we could for the best possible outcome. He was right and our girl is doing much better on meds. We don't have how much time we have left with her, but thanks to Dr. Wishnack and staff, we have more time. I won't take my pets anywhere else. They are amazing! Read Less

Dr. Brooks and the staff at the Animal Emergency Clinic were extremely kind, professional, and compassionate while diagnosing our family pet. They took extreme care to ensure that she was comfortable and that we were informed of her diagnosis in a manner which we could easily understand. I would recommend them to anyone who's pet is experiencing health concerns. Read Less

I accidentally snipped my cat's skin while trying to cut off some of her matted fur. Pro tip: NEVER try to cut out matted fur on their bellies, the skin is too loose/thin/stretchy, and can easily get cut open - a tiny snip can leave a cut that is inches long! There was basically no blood, and it was a superficial wound, like a couple millimeters deep. But the skin was spread apart and I knew it needed to get closed up so it wouldn't get infected. Of course these things always happen at night when the regular vet is closed, so I looked up this place on Yelp. I'm trying to remember how much the emergency visit fee was, I think it was around $60 or $70. The place I used to go to was $100 (Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Sorrento Valley), so I was looking for a place cheaper than them. The emergency clinic in Poway used surgical glue to close up my cat's wound. They asked if I wanted them to shave off the rest of the matted fur on her belly and gave me a print out with the proposed charges (including a kidney blood panel or something like that, because she's 17 years old, and likely has kidney failure). I didn't want to do any expensive tests at the time, but I appreciated that they offered me all the options. I got the shaving done for about $60, some Cosequin joint supplements for her arthritis for about $20, and a few cans of prescription kidney diet food. They gave me a huge display case of the dry kidney diet food they had in the closet, which was super sweet of them. They even helped me carry the case of food to my car. The total for everything came to about $200 I think. I will definitely come back if I ever need an emergency vet. Everyone was nice and helpful, and I think the prices are reasonable. Read Less

Wheres the option for no stars when you need it. Not good for "emergencies" even though its marked as pet emergency on google. I was driving on my way to this place and was calling them at the same time, answering machine will tell you to keep calling back if its an emergency so i did. Then when they finally picked up after how many times, they put me on hold. So i got there already and i was still on hold. They couldnt help me because they only have 1 vet working and they already have a lot of emergencies. So SOL for me, i have to drive to the other pet emergency in sorrento valley. They do not care that much if your dog's face is swollen from an allergic reaction if someone is ahead of you, you wont get any help regardless. So thanks for wasting my time and not picking up your phones. No apologies when we told them. They are not sympathetic and they do not even acknowledge your presence in the front desk until you wave them down. To the front person, Please if you don't like helping pets and their owners find another career.Read Less

Before I tell you this story there are a couple of noteworthy things about this business that you should know . The owner is a graduate of UC Davis and has been practicing emergency veterinary medicine here for over 25 years. Their exam fee  is about $59 compared to other emergency rooms which start at $140 and up. They are fully equipped with imaging, an oxygen kennel, and most lab work is done in-house... No waiting.I cannot believe I've not done a review before this. My apologies for taking so long. 3 years ago my 85 lb Airedale Terrier  was struck in the throat by a rattlesnake.He was laterally recumbent (basically paralyzed) for 4 days and I did not know until recently that he is considered possibly the worst snake bite they've ever had. ( thank goodness they didn't tell me at the time) Dr. Wishnack, the owner, spent nearly all of his time over those 4 days with my Ben at the hospital. Dealing with a snake bite can be very tricky business as the antivenin can cause reactions of its own. Dr. Wishnick is probably one of the most experienced vets in the entire County in snake bite encounters and he is precise and expert in his protocol.On the humanist side of this equation is the rest of the story.Ben is a big dog and could not be put in the Big kennels because they needed to have him monitored continuously. He was near Dr Wishnack for those 4 days and dr. Wishnack has a very resonant voice and would talk to Ben as he was laying there....for 4 days. How much better must a dog that is paralyzed and probably anxious feel to hear someone talking to him and saying his name all the time ? To this day Ben sees him, hears him, smells his truck in the parking lot and absolutely turns into a 6 week old puppy with love. My dog loves Dr Wishnack maybe more than he loves me. Ben even treats his grown children with that same exuberant 6 week old puppy routine I guess because they have a Wishnack smell? Airedales are often aloof and he is not affectionate as a general rule although he is friendly his General demeanor is nonchalant and he politely ignores 99% of the people he meets. His reaction in this case is a very clear indicator of what is going on behind the scenes at this Hospital. All of the staff were extremely kind and considerate to me, the overbearing hysterical pet owner and that is an accurate assessment of my demeanor during that time.. there are not enough accolades or even words to express my deep gratitude for their quality of care, dedication, expertise, compassion, empathy and understanding. They communicated with me in a timely and proper manner and never gave an inkling that they were exasperated with me when I asked questions although I'm sure they were.Just recently they made an addition to their website with Ben's story.These people really love animals. Deeply and wholeheartedly they're committed to doing their best for each and every patient. If you call ahead and say you're bringing in an emergency they will be waiting for you at the door if at all possible. You will not find a finer Veterinary facility in San Diego County Read Less

All my visits have been great. Helpful and timely. I had two female vets who have separately helped my cats. THIS vet has amazing customer service like really good. The people at the front are the nicest people I have met and are very much the reason I found a place to stay. This place saved my black cat from really bad worms caused my fleas. This place relived his anal sac same with my black and white cat. They have allowed me to pay for a nail trimming for both cats and helped me learn how to give them pills without having WW2 in my house. Please keep on staying open at amazing times and helping animals. The times there open and there location is amazing I was thankful to know that I could bring my pet here past 5/6pm. I RECOMMEND DOCTOR GREER FOR CATS WITHOUT A DOUBT. My cats need a check up anyways! See you soon!!! Read Less

This guys are a great place to bring your pet for after hou emergencies. My dog got bit on the tail by a coyote so I brought her here to get stitches and they did excellent work, treated my dog well and were very professional. The cost was average for emergency vet care, but I don't hold that against them. they didn't try to upsell me or prescribe something my dog didn't need. Read Less

So my fur baby had been sick already for a few days. Fiancé & I decided we better take him to a vet. We called around vets in poway/rancho penasquitos to see if they had openings. Everyone was booked. One veterinarian office recommended visiting this emergency clinic & I'm completely glad they did. Right when you walk in you're greeted with the nicest front desk lady. (I forgot her name but I will update later because I think she's worth acknowledging). We were shown into a room & the vet technician pre assessed our pup & she was also awesome. She was compassionate, friendly & all around a very good encounter. She walked us thru the expected bill for the check up & assisted us throughout the entire visit. The Veterinarian (which I will also update with a name) was awesome. He was so nice & made everything very comfortable for my sick pup & for both my fiancé & I. He was thorough with the explanation & educational with the treatments. Nothing was left unanswered. I definitely recommend this emergency clinic. You won't be disappointed with the flow of the clinic & the friendliness of the staff. Read Less

Of course Saturday night our bulldog comes running up to us with a fluid lump behind her ear and yeast inside. So we run to the emergency room since our vet is closed over the weekend. It's very clear Kaya has an ear infection and we need an antibiotic.  After explaining its only been behind her ear for an hour or two, they still insisted to check for cancer?? Cancer?? She doesn't have cancer?? It's clearly fluid behind her ear...   Needless to say $300 later we were provide an antibiotic for her... ugh..The reason I'm providing a 1 star review (which I very rarely do) is not the $300 bill, it's because of the veterinarian assistant who assisted us. He came in to the room to provide us a treatment plan with no options and said, if we have to give your pet CPR there is an additional charge??? The first words out of my mouth was, you charge to give CPR??? If someone/a pet stopped breathing in front of me that would be the first thing I would do..... He snapped at me with an attitude and said CPR is a lot of work.. My responses was of course it is but wouldn't you try to save a pets life?? He stood there with a smirk on his face and rolled his eyes?? I just looked at my husband in shock. My first instinct would be to save a life but apparently not his because it's a lot of work.  Keep in mind our Bulldog is in great health no surgery needs to be done, she is here for an EAR INFECTION... We agreed to this ridiculous treatment plan because he didn't give us any other choice. He didn't say you don't have to do all this, we can just provide you meds until you see your vet.  He made it seem like this is the only option. So an hour later Kaya comes back with her ear shaved?? WTHeck?? Why did you shave her?? Never mentioned to us by the way. It's like taking your kid to the doctors for a shot and your kid comes out with haircut... Who does that?? Did I mention we got stuck with a plastic cone and 3 different meds... Our vet couldn't believe how they gave us all this when they could have just started her on an antibiotic.. This place just put a sour taste in my mouth.. Horrible communication with this VA. The Veterinarian spent two minutes with Kaya so can't comment on her but she clearly didn't like the fact that  Kaya isn't fixed?? The lady at the front desk was wonderful.  She sat down with us and talked, even took the bird out to play. You can tell she loved animals..All in all, I personally would NOT recommend this place for your furry baby....NOTE: This company contacts YELP to have low reviews removed or altered.  My pictures were removed due to them trying to remove my review. Read Less

It was emotionally hard for us to change our regular vet. We love our current vet, but the distance the prices are just too much as our dogs age and need to go in more and more frequently. After thinking about changing for a couple years and reading reviews here and asking pretty much everyone in Poway for a recommendation, we decided to give Best Friend's a try. We ended up bringing our 9 year old poodle in who has been having mobility issues. He already had lab work and xrays at his prior vet and we were doing all the recommended treatments without much difference. From my own research, I was thinking the next step would be to try some shots for arthritis. Of course, I let the vet examine and recommend what they'd try next and it turned out it is the shots that I read about. We had Dr. Greer and she was very thorough with the exam and reviewed all my dog's prior history (which I had sent over from his former vet). She spent a lot of time with us and made sure we were comfortable with everything. She had us order the medication ourselves online and then we brought him in again to learn how to give the shots at home. We had the choice of doing it ourselves or bringing him in and paying an office visit for them to do it. Since my husband works with needles, he is very comfortable giving the shots.Our first visit was discounted for a new patient special. We paid $27. for the very thorough exam. I ordered the medicine through 1800petmeds and our next visit was basically free. No charge for the appointment and we paid them $2.50 for a handful of syringes to use at home. If we did this same thing at our prior vet, we would have paid $70 for the office visit the first time and then $70. for the visit to show us how to give the medicine. That's a huge difference when we feel the veterinary care is comparable. Not to mention, Best Friends is a lot closer and they are open 7 days/week. Best Friends will now be our regular vet. Read Less

Every pet owner copes with a loss sooner or later. Thank you to the compassionate staff here for trying their hardest to save my dog. Unfortunately she wasn't able to make it so my family had to make the ultimate decision. The staff remained kind and understanding all the way. R.I.P. To Honey, May 25, 2008 - March 14, 2017. Eight years well worth your companionship, if love alone could keep you alive, you'd live forever.Read Less

Christmas chocolates...a gift for humans, not your canine friend...but Mr. Moose (our 62 pound pit bull) felt differently and managed to scarf these chocolates within a 45 minute time frame of being at the store. How many chocolates did he eat? After doing the math quickly after our arrival back home, we thought 22...but no, it was actually 31!!! (Two FULL boxes of chocolates) After discovering this awful realization, panic mode set in. We quickly loaded Moose in the car and rushed off to the first Emergency vet I saw when I googled it, Animal Emergency Clinic of San Diego. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a kind receptionist and filled out some paperwork and within 2 minutes Moose was scooped up and taken in the back to administer a live saving shot--one that made him vomit up all the chocolate he had ingested within the past hour--and vomit he did!! The care was top notch (the vet and vet techs were awesome), the price was reasonable & it saved our Moosey's life, we're sure of it!! We couldn't thank them enough for their prompt and understanding care. THANK YOU!!! Read Less

This dog in my photo is an 80-pound plus Airedale and he was struck in the throat yes I said throat by rattlesnake when he was just two years old. If you could see the photographs it would more adequately explained the severity of this injury and he is arguably one of the most severe snake bites that has ever survived. He was laterally recumbent for nearly four days. One of the vet techs actually took a video for me of him taking his first steps after being paralyzed for 4 days. This family, and I am referring to the entire staff as one family because that is how they seem to work together, could not have been more knowledgeable, professional and supportive. There are just not words to describe how grateful I am that I ended up there. Unlike other emergency clinics in the San Diego area you do not end up with the B-Team at night. They are only open evenings and weekends . The A-Team is on duty every evening and every shift. You could not find a more highly trained or qualified staff anywhere. They have the ability to do quite a bit of their own blood work in-house which is advantageous and cost-effective. They have 25 plus years of experience in trauma and emergency animal medicine. The facility should actually be categorized as a trauma Centre for your animals. That being said I don't have a regular vet anymore because I can receive all of the daily vet care required at their office as well for competitive prices. No appointment is necessary and the only drawback is if there is a life-threatening emergency in progress you may have to wait to have your animal treated if they're there for normal everyday Veterinary needs. This is never been a problem for me as I can call in advance and find out if there is any sort of case that will take time. Another huge convenience is that because their hours are evenings and weekends that they fit nicely into most people's work schedules whereas the Day vets normal operating hours are extremely inconvenient for most people that have jobs. You can literally get up an hour early for work and have your dog scene for normal Veterinary needs quite early in the morning or take him in after your favorite TV show in the evening. I adore these people and I'm forever grateful that they are there. They give me Peace of Mind to know that high quality is so close, convenient and affordable. As a final note most other emergency animal clinics in the county have a exam fee that is 2-3 times the amount of the initial exam at this facility and their exam fee is only a couple dollars more than your daytime vet Read Less

I took my kitty, Boo-boo in on Thanksgiving eve. Let me just say the staff and vet went above and beyond any expectations. I explained my boo bears symptoms, the tech explained they would need to do labs, xray. She went over cost, which were lower than what us humans pay. The vet came in the room and explained the results and gave me the grim diagnosis, she at no time pushed me to make any decisions. Once I decided to let my baby go to the bridge, the vet once again explained everything and was very, very kind and compassionate. I would not hesitate to recommend AEC of SD to anyone that needs emergency care for their baby. I just wished I could have remembered everyone's name that was working on that night. You all were so kind to both me and BooBoo, that really meant so much to me. Read Less

Unfortunately we had to euthanize our doggy from 17 years of having her, it was the most difficult thing to do because we had so many amazing memories with her. The staff and the Dr. There were so amazing and supportive during that had time. I recommend them highly! Thank you staff for your help and support during that time we were there. Read Less

I dont even know where to startAEC is simply the best! Having a spoiled, loving, sweet dog and myself being an overly concerned parent, Dr.Wishnack, Dr.Gunderson, Dr.Barbour, Dr.Tanaka and the entire staff at AEC have always made me feel comfortable during each visit And when I say the entire staff I mean the ENTIRE staff. Nina has been taken care of by everyone here at the clinic. There is no way I could pick a favorite doctor or technician because they are all just simply amazing at what they do. There are so many things I love about this place. One, being that my little girl is alive, healthy and back home with me because of the amazing, dedication and hard work they do there. About three weeks ago Nina was bit by a rattlesnake during our walk. Mind you she is only seven pounds, so that should give you an idea how hard she took the bite. I knew that very moment this was going to be tough situation to get through. The minute I walked through the doors at AEC, they took her back immediately, checked her out and brought me back to the room to discuss treatments that needed to be done in order to save her. It was not pretty. It was a complete nightmare, but the entire staff was very supportive through this process. They did not leave me in the dark, wondering or questioning what was going on. They updated me each time with her progress. As I mentioned, I am an overly concerned, neurotic parent when it comes to my baby, so the entire week she was admitted there I called maybe every hour or couple hours to check on her. Yes, I was that annoying pet owner checking in when I can at all sorts of hours and not once did they make me feel like I was bugging them with my 20 million calls or questions. When I was finally able to bring her home and saw if she acted less than 100% of course I wanted to bring her in immediately. Unlike some other veterinarians the doctors here are not alarmist. They all properly assessed Ninas condition and only prescribed what they felt was absolutely necessary. Vet bills can be very expensive so I genuinely appreciate Dr. Wishnacks candor in treating Nina. I cannot say enough good things about Animal Emergency Clinic. The only thing I wish is that I didn't have to come so often because vet bills can be expensive. But, there is simply no price you can put on piece of mind and your loved ones. I was also lucky enough to be introduced to the iCare program they offer. This financial option has been very helpful to get the proper treatments needed for my little Nina without putting me in a financial bend or being forced to come to a decision I did not want to make. With iCare I was put on an affordable payment plan that worked best for me and still get the all medical treatment Nina needed to recover. I am forever grateful AEC had this as an option because my precious girl was given another chance to bless me with her presence. THANK YOU AEC for everything you have done and continue to do for us. Read Less

Dr. Wishnack and staff are amazing! This is the only place we will take our animals and they are lifesavers! We've been to them for major surgeries, trauma, heart failure, and cancer. The staff is always professional, knowledgable, and supportive. Thank you, Dr. Wishnack!Read Less

We have been taking our animals to Dr. Wishnack at Animal Emergency Clinic Of San Diego for the past 16 years. The staff is always helpful, friendly and extremely compassionate. The clinic has the equipment onsite including X-ray, Lab, Ultrasound and other diagnostic tools to help the Veterinarians quickly diagnose whatever we come through the door with. Our latest experience exemplified the thoroughness and dedication of Dr Wishnack to persevere and quickly got to the bottom of the problem. We followed his treatment plan and our dog is back in good health acting like a puppy. Needless to say, we highly recommend Animal Emergency Clinic of San Diego in Poway. Read Less

BEWARE: We found this clinics only interest to be in making a fast buck. Please drive the extra distance to Escondido or another reputable and recommended emergency clinic if your precious pet is in need of emergency care. They were very unhelpful, refused to give us information we needed to proceed with medical treatment, and then gouged us on the price. Bottom line is theyll take advantage of your desperate situation. Our story if you care to read it Our kitty was attacked by a coyote. She lost an eye and something was wrong with her jaw. We took her in at 9:00pm to Animal Emergency Clinic of San Diego in Poway, she was seen immediately. It was obvious that the eye needed to be removed and they said they couldnt tell what was wrong with her jaw until they x-rayed. They said that the jaw might heal on its own, or may require surgery from them, or additional surgery from a specialist. But until they did the x-ray they couldnt tellthey would x-ray her jaw when she was out for the eye surgery. We informed them that she is a 10 year old cat and we would therefor like to know the status of the jaw before she had the eye surgery; would they please x-ray her now before any surgery so that we could decide whether or not to proceed. The vet on call said they couldnt x-ray without knocking her out we said fine knock her out, well pay for it. He said well do that during the eye surgery It went round and roundthey refused to knock her out and x-ray her to give a clear picture of what was happening. Instead they offered us an estimate of $2,500 - $2,800 if we wanted her helped. The eye removal surgery was roughly 25% of this estimate the rest was for a jaw surgery that may or may not be necessary, or may or may not work. We opted to put our sweet Tessie down, and were then gouged on the price by $65 over what our vet or Escondido Emergency charged for the same euthanasia and cremation service. I called our vet to inform them of our losing Tessie and told my story they said ours wasnt the first bad experience theyd heard of with this clinic. Read Less

I have been here many times with each of my three dogs. Each time staff has always been kind, confident, and understanding- whether I'm over reacting about something small, or there for an actual emergency. They are very affordable (comparable to normal vet clinic costs), and the vets spend the time to explain why they feel its important to do certain things. A couple times the hand off from one vet to another has resulted in a little confusion about what is going on, but this rarely happens. As a veterinary assistant I definitely look for certain things whenever I go to any vet clinic other than my own: animal handling, explanation of why they're recommending certain procedures or tests, and making sure I have an estimate before doing procedures, etc. I always 'play dumb' because I usually want things explained in detail to ensure my understanding of the situation, the treatment, and the possible outcomes. My most recent visit occurred because my shepherd mix, Maggie, probably had a seizure. I had recently noticed changes in her behavior and was concerned she might be in early renal failure or was developing diabetes. I appreciated the time the doctor spent with me to explain the test results and help me to understand what we were to expect in the future. His willingness to take that much time is greatly appreciated. Overall, this is a great emergency for after hours care. Read Less