Testimonials

I hope you never have an emergency, but if you do, I recommend South Peninsula Veterinary Emergency Clinic. My dog nearly died 3 weeks ago.

They gave me an accurate estimate, I felt that all the services provided were appropriate for his diagnosis of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, and they kept me well informed of his status. Plus I got to hold him while he got his I.V. which made me feel a whole lot better. I was treated with respect and no question was too small to be answered by the vet or pet nurse. This was a wonderful experience in a time of extreme duress. I hope I never need them again, but if I do this is where I am heading. The only gotcha is that they are open normally when other vet services are closed and closed when other vets are open.

I have been back several times with the same experience. All experiences have been excellent. —Ann F.

I have rats, and over the years I have been here quite a few times for emergencies (broken leg, broken tooth, respiratory infections). I usually go to Adobe Animal Hospital in Los Altos for non-emergencies, but in an emergency you usually have to wait a long time at Adobe. South Peninsula Veterinary Emergency Clinic seems to run much more smoothly. Dr. Thelan is wonderful. He is very caring and does a wonderful job. I have never found that he has recommended anything that wasn't necessary, he is not just trying to charge you for things your pet doesn't need. All the staff here are very nice. I recently had to take one of my rats here to be euthanized, and was a total wreck. Everyone was so nice to me and they treated my little guy with so much compassion. I was really grateful. I am so happy to have this clinic right in my neighborhood! —Julie M.

I recently had a major kitty issue - a kidney failure. My normal vet, Sequoia, transferred him to South Peninsula Veterinary Emergency Clinic (for the very first time) as it happened on a Saturday and they close in the afternoons. I've been with my normal vet for 2 years, but have never truly loved them. However, when I transferred to the emergency clinic - which should be so much more stressful...it was a breath of fresh air. The staff and the vets are almost the best ever. They are absolutely phenomenal - nice, sweet, amazingly caring and the most amazing follow up. If they could be my normal vet, I'd switch in a heartbeat. They did make me realize I need to find a truly great vet...but for any emergencies or weekend issues, I'm heading back to these guys - and FAST! —Amber M.

My visit here was a result of a convergence of several things:

1) Starbucks-Safeway was offering "free" tea lattes that week and I sampled all of their flavors, settling on the Black Tea Latte as a fave.
2) The Black Tea continues to steep in the latte as the barista leaves the tea bag in the cup.
3) Black tea is toxic to dogs and the string attached to the bag can wreck havoc on a dog's intestines.
4) My pup, Neil Diamond (a.k.a. Diamond) accompanied me on my errands that evening as we were on our way to a play date.
5) Earlier that afternoon I had a free Black Tea Latte; I promptly forgot all about it after the last sip and had left it in the car.
6) Diamond eats **everything** that she can get her not-so-little paws on.
7) When I came back to the car, after returning a video, Diamond was in the passenger seat (instead of the back), she had latte foam on her nose and an empty Starbucks cups and lid were strewn about...but there was NO longer a tea bag in the cup.
8) Did I mention that black tea is TOXIC to dogs???

In these types of situations you only have about an hour to act to avoid catastrophe and corrective surgery. Luckily, I have the South Peninsula Veterinary Emergency Clinic's number programmed in my cell phone and called their office to confirm that Diamond and I should book it there. It was confirmed and we hauled booty up 280 to Palo Alto.

Although they were busy when we arrived, the receptionist handed me some new client paperwork and took Diamond in the back to fetch the tea bag. About thirty minutes later, Dr. Thelen came to the front to show me what he found. In the collection of vomit there was a black tea bag...a knee high nylon and a gym sock (it's nice to know that the little tea bag wasn't lonely in there).

Within another 30 minutes, Diamond was brought back to the front by her new best friend, the vet tech. The dog had a lovely time (except for all the induced vomiting) and it appeared to be fairly mutual as the copy of the vet records, that I was handed, went into some detail about what a good doggy she was. (Well, that is some consolation as it might serve me well later for insurance or apartment rental purposes). Dr. Thelen even called the next day to make sure his new pal was doing better.

LESSON LEARNED: There is no such thing as a "free" tea latte. —Kari S.

If you want wonderful care for your little loved one - dog or cat - for an emergency situation, this is a wonderful place to go, and I would take my pet here before resorting to Adobe in Los Altos.

They can do the blood work and get the report in about 30 minutes, and they have a surgeon there full time. Everyone was really wonderful to us, calming and supportive. The vet on duty when we were there was Jennifer Hanes, DVM and if they are all as caring and good as she is, you can't go wrong. Very gentle with our kitty, and with us as well. I would give them 6 stars if I could. —Donna S.

I felt like I was in good paws here.

I had to take my dog here when she suddenly exhibited signs of a bladder infection after hours. First, they were great at giving me advice over the phone on how to decide if it was an emergency or if it could wait until morning. When I arrived I did not have to wait too long, the staff were all very warm helpful and on top of their stuff. They tested her and determined she had a bladder infection, gave me antibiotics, and then later called to follow-up.

They also recommended I get pet insurance, which I am all for now. If I ever need after hours care again, this is where I will go. —Jill P.