How much does an emergency vet visit cost?

The exam fee pays for a vet to examine your pet and tell you what they think is wrong. Anything after that is added to the bill: bloodwork, X-rays or ultrasound, fluids and medicine, a procedure or surgery, and a stay in the hospital. Emergency hospitals usually give a written estimate before treatment and many ask for a deposit or payment at the visit; ask when you call.

We list the exam fee because it is the one price clinics post. What a whole visit cost is what owners can tell us: the "What did you pay?" card on each metro page asks for the exam fee and the total.

• Kind of clinic. Emergency hospitals stay open overnight with staff for critical care; urgent care clinics keep set hours and fewer services. So far only urgent care clinics post a fee here ($99 to $129); none of the emergency hospitals in either metro posts one.
• Time of day. 3 clinics we list post fees that change by time or day (ArkVets Avondale, ArkVets Central Phoenix, ArkVets North Phoenix). Ask about it when you call.
• What the vet finds. Tests, treatment and a hospital stay make up most of a larger bill, and none of it is known before the exam.
• The wait. Emergency hospitals see the most serious cases first, so a stable pet may wait. The fee does not change with the wait.

Urgent care vet clinics see problems that need care the same day and are not life-threatening, as their own pages describe them, during set hours that often run into the evening. Many say they send critical cases on to an emergency hospital. Emergency hospitals are open overnight or around the clock and take the most serious cases. Not sure which fits? Call either one before you go; the staff can say whether they can see your pet. This page lists prices and rules only and is not medical advice.