We had a really good experience with VCA. Not a good outcome, but that was not their fault. They were caring and communicative and their triage was quick and effective. Hard to evaluate cost since pup was past the point of needing treatment, but overall a better experience than we’ve had with Friendship.

Most people who bring in their pets to vet ERs are doing so out of an abundance of caution. A little Googling and math will tell you whether your pet ingested a potentially lethal dose of whatever, or what their symptoms might indicate. You've got to memorize the list of symptoms that mean an immediate ER trip. It's pretty short. For the rest, you call for the earliest appointment.

VCA is the answer and you can buy a plan with them that save you some money and waves the exam fee. Last emergency cost me $2k. They took the dog from me (respiratory infection) and came back with her 2 hours later not telling me what they did, asking permission for certain treatments or tell me what was going on up until that point. I feel like if your going to be hit with a bill for a few thousand they need to tell you before they do certain treatments and diagnostic work.

Please avoid Apex Vets. A vet recommended Apex to me for emergencies. Oh wow the medical director used to be from Friendship. The vet there will use the classic “do all these tests or your pet will die”.

You have to a bit outside of the beltway to get cheaper emergency care, but that's not always an option if you need help quickly

My vet gave us a recipe to induce vomiting in our Lab who will eat roadkill if we let her. 1 tsp (teaspoon! Not tablespoon!) of regular 3% hydrogen peroxide per 10 pounds of body weight:

https://bettervet.com/resources/pet-safety/how-to-make-a-dog-throw-up

We have given it to her in chicken broth and she's slurped it right down. My vet's view was that when we know what it is (like grapes, e.g.), it's better to induce vomiting as soon as we know what's happened rather than wait for the food to proceed with digestion while we get her to an ER.

I wouldn't do this for something really terrible like antifreeze or a sharp foreign object, just for a food I know she can't have.

MEAC is good but expensive. I took my dog there a couple of years ago after she ate some grapes that DH gave her without knowing they could be harmful to dogs. $700 to induce vomiting and run some basic blood work and give her fluids. It was cheaper than doing nothing and facing the prospect of kidney problems later though.

VCA in Gaithersburg is great - it can be expensive but they don’t recommend unnecessary treatments.

Friendship is the absolute most expensive/overpriced and I’ve found they recommend unnecessary procedures.

Anonymous wrote:

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)

But they’re open 24 hours, handle emergencies, respond to my non emergency questions by phone and email, and are all around delightful to work with. I’m willing to pay the extra money for the trust and peace of mind tbh.

But also, yes, vet care is a huge expense. I hope OP’s pet’s treatment is simpler/cheaper this time! It’s a huge shock to the budget every time something comes up.

The price of emergency pet services has gone up drastically year over year (as has the related price of pet insurance). Generally the emergency vets are often busy or full, and you need to call around to find out where you can get your pet in immediately.

I'm sorry your pet is sick.