Emergency Vet that isn't $$$$$

[Anonymous]

We had to use Friendship Hospital recently and I almost needed a loan to pay my bill. My pet is sick again and I'm trying to figure out if there are other options.

[Anonymous]

They are all expensive; vets need to pay their bills! If you need a scheduled (non-emergency) surgery, you can look at Value Vet in McLean and Falls Church or Helping Hands in Richmond.

[Anonymous]

It's like asking for a cheap ER, unfortunately. You could do a vet that does home visits and see if they'll do after hours.

[Anonymous]

No such thing, unfortunately. Find a vet with standard weekend hours who can get you in if you have a need for urgent care, but for a true emergency you will pay $$$

[Anonymous]

The best option if you don’t/wont have the cash on hand is to get pet insurance. But it’s really just financing and I think you’d be better off putting the same amount in a savings account each month.

[Anonymous]

DNE

[Anonymous]

I actually saw a veterinarian urgent care business in Leesburg recently at Route 7 and Battlefield Parkway. Not sure if this is a new model for animal care?

Clinics tend to be less expensive generally.

This is why I now carry pet insurance on my animals. It's not as good as human insurance, but in a catastrophe it helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No such thing, unfortunately. Find a vet with standard weekend hours who can get you in if you have a need for urgent care, but for a true emergency you will pay $$$

There's no such thing as cheap BUT Friendship is one of the worst!!!! (ie most expensive)

[Anonymous]

We recently had a really good experience with Metropolitan Animal Emergency and Specialty Center (Thrive Pet) in Rockville Pike for our dog’s orthopedic injury.

We had a very short wait time and thoughtful care. They did testing that was urgent but outlined follow up testing and interventions that would be more cost effective during follow up with our family vet. They fully disclosed recommendations, costs and risks/benefits and we came away with a bil of around $350 including exam, lab work and prescriptions.

I would use them again if needed. For what it’s worth, we live close to Friendship and do not use them for routine or ER care given the price tag.

[Anonymous]

You can have something done quickly, cheaply or quality - pick two of the three....cannot have it all....

And why should they be inexpensive? Do you think they don't need to be paid? Don't have to pay bills? Payroll for staff? Not sure who you think should pay for the medical care for YOUR pet....if you live in a high COL area, care is going to be expensive. I don't ask for a less expensive house. I know that I live in an area close to the metro, inside the beltway, near amenities. If I want cheap, I need to go out of the area....

[Anonymous]

They are all very, very expensive. Take your pet in OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are all very, very expensive. Take your pet in OP.

Seriously though - friendship is the MOST expensive. There are absolutely better options out there, PP listed one. Why are people berating OP like she's expecting it to be free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We recently had a really good experience with Metropolitan Animal Emergency and Specialty Center (Thrive Pet) in Rockville Pike for our dog’s orthopedic injury.

We had a very short wait time and thoughtful care. They did testing that was urgent but outlined follow up testing and interventions that would be more cost effective during follow up with our family vet. They fully disclosed recommendations, costs and risks/benefits and we came away with a bil of around $350 including exam, lab work and prescriptions.

I would use them again if needed. For what it’s worth, we live close to Friendship and do not use them for routine or ER care given the price tag.

We found MEAC to be super-expensive and a really long wait. $1600/5 hours for what turned out to be a mild cystitis in a cat.

[Anonymous]

We also took a cat to MEAC, and it was no cheaper than our experiences at Friendship. The MEAC folks were up front at least and checked in with us about possible interventions and their costs. I like Friendship too and would not hesitate to recommend them.

I think the cost depends a lot on what you are bringing an animal in for. I've found with three different experiences that if your pet needs "stabilizing", you are not getting out of there for under $500. This is the first step before any interventions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We recently had a really good experience with Metropolitan Animal Emergency and Specialty Center (Thrive Pet) in Rockville Pike for our dog’s orthopedic injury.

We had a very short wait time and thoughtful care. They did testing that was urgent but outlined follow up testing and interventions that would be more cost effective during follow up with our family vet. They fully disclosed recommendations, costs and risks/benefits and we came away with a bil of around $350 including exam, lab work and prescriptions.

I would use them again if needed. For what it’s worth, we live close to Friendship and do not use them for routine or ER care given the price tag.

We had a good experience there as well. Our dog had pneumonia and needed an overnight oxygen treatment. The price was for 24 hours but she only needed 12 and they refunded half without us asking.