Animal Emergency Clinic of San Diego

Reviews

• CN

  Chris Norwood

  Aug 29, 2026
  2.0
  Took my dog into this place and not only did they misdiagnose my dog and tell me he had a torn acl ( requires about a 10k surgery) they also charged me $100 for a single anti inflammatory drug. I got the same exact drug from my regular vet, and 7 doses of it for $25…. Not 1 for $100. I will never return to this clinic with my dog again!
• TT

  Troy Taylor

  Aug 28, 2026
  1.0
  I normally don’t like writing negative reviews, but the experience we had here was so disappointing that I feel obligated to warn other pet owners. We brought our Lab in for what we believed could be an eye infection. Check-in itself went smoothly. There were two dogs in the lobby, including ours, and after the vet tech documented our chief complaints, we were told to wait outside because they weren’t sure whether the eye infection could be viral. We waited outside for over an hour. Since it was close to 10 PM and still extremely hot outside, we eventually went inside to ask the front desk if there was any estimate for when the veterinarian would be able to see our dog. We were told there was no estimate whatsoever. We asked if we could wait in our car instead because of the heat, which we did. After another 30 minutes, my wife went inside to let the front desk know that we were leaving because of the excessive wait. At this point, we had been there for roughly an hour and a half and had still not been seen by a veterinarian. The other dog that had been waiting was already taken back, so it appeared that our dog was the only patient still waiting. What happened next was honestly shocking. As my wife was leaving, the front desk employee stopped her and said, “Ma’am, you have charges.” My wife asked, “Charges for what? We haven’t even been seen?” The employee insisted that our dog had been seen and said this very confidently. She then checked with another vet tech who happened to walk by, and the tech confirmed that our dog had not been seen. The front desk employee then told my wife that we were free to go. This was incredibly frustrating and concerning. The same employee had checked us in and had watched us sitting outside for over an hour, yet she initially insisted that we owed charges for a visit that never happened. I understand that emergency veterinary hospitals can become extremely busy, and we are completely willing to be patient when there is a genuine emergency ahead of us. However, the lack of communication, the inability to provide even a general estimate, the excessive wait with no veterinarian evaluation, and especially the confusion regarding charges made this experience extremely poor. For a hospital that presents itself as an emergency veterinary facility, we expected a much greater sense of urgency and, at minimum, clear and accurate communication from the front desk staff. Thankfully, our dog was never charged for a service she did not receive, but the experience left us questioning how patients and their owners are being handled when they arrive needing care. Pet owners should be informed, treated respectfully, and given accurate information—especially in an emergency setting. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and reviews both the communication and customer service provided by the front desk team.
• JG

  Jonathon Gruener

  Jul 15, 2026
  5.0
  This animal hospital was absolutely amazing for our cat. They were able to repair some busted sutures and help us take care of him after the fact, including a course of antibiotics. They were very helpful with working out a course of action that fit our budget while making sure we got the necessities in. Yes, the wait times can be long, but that is how it goes at an animal hospital. Shout out to Dr. Gilpin and all of the staff there for making us feel comfortable and helping us so much.
• SM

  Samantha Madnick

  Jul 9, 2026
  5.0
  We came in late on July 4th and we're taken care of efficiently and quickly. We were given all the information in a way we could understand and before they did anything else to our pup. Lane at the front desk was very sweet and personable and helpful. James was very nice. And Dr. Gilpin was so attentive and made is feel like our dog was in good hands. Thank you to the whole staff for making these 2 stressed out puppy parents feel just a little bit better. ❤️
• BS

  Beth Shea

  Jun 8, 2026
  4.0
  Everyone was very kind and helpful to my dog. She was usually dog reactive and they were able to clear the lobby, etc for her to get her in and out. There were a few start and stops -- I waited in a room for a while (alone) before being told that I could actually go wait back outside with my mom and dog. My mom repeatedly asked for our itemized lists and felt frustrated, but when I went inside and asked, I was given exceptional service, so it may have just been poor timing. Obviously this is an emergency vet, and we came in on a holiday, so all other vets were closed. That meant that things took a long time, which was very understandable. Overnight admisson was accompanied by a wonderful vet who called with my family constantly with discussion and updates. She worked to get us a priority placement at an ultrasound specialist elsewhere if we wanted it. However, when the case was passed on in the morning, we were told that the other vet was comfortable doing a quick ultrasound. It was phrased as 'specialists might see something I won't, but I can see obvious stuff'. He found the obvious stuff and while I'm sure more information could have been gleaned by the specialist, it told us what we needed to know. Unfortunately we had to move forward with humane euthanasia. We had our own service in mind, and AECSD was very supportive of us making our own choice. They even collaborated with the service we chose and left in her IV for them. Great, compassionate people on an impossible timeline! I wish I could give 4.5 :(