Adelaide Animal Emergency & Referral Centre

If I could give this group more stars I would. Their service and care is second to none. We brought our little Dachshund Bruno in on Thursday after he was partially paralysed and dragging himself around everywhere. We were told by our normal vet that surgery was an option but most likely wouldn’t have a good outcome and we should consider euthanasia. We were then referred to AAERC, they saw us immediately and had him in for scans and surgery within 3 hours. He’s now home recovering happily 3 days later, where he belongs and able to walk around (very carefully). He still has a long recovery ahead but he wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the amazing skills and abilities and the love and care the staff at AAERC show. Truly angels who deserve nothing but praise! Thankyou for everything!

I write this review with a heavy heart and mixed feelings. Firstly I’ve dealt with this clinic on many occasions with fauna rescue and had impeccable service and care from staff and vets alike. All the staff I’ve met there are caring, compassionate and lovely people.



However when my cat became very ill on friday afternoon I elected to take him there because he may need weekend hospitalisation. The first bill I received for bloods, IV, ultrasound and a one night stay was $2300. Now don’t get me wrong. Vets study hard and deserve good pay; but I was horrified. Almost all the expenses were 25% - 50% ontop what a human hospital charges prior to Medicare.



I told the staff I could not afford this level of treatment so checked him out first thing in the morning. They were very helpful finding a cheaper clinic and assisting in the move.



The new clinic offered the same care for 3 days (including, sadly euthanasia & cremation) for $1000



To be VERY specific - the blood test was $280 at AAERC and $109 at Southern Animal hospital.



So if money is literally no obstacle to your baby’s care then this is a good choice. But if like many - vet bills quickly approaching 5 figures puts you in the position of choosing between your pets wellbeing and your future ability to pay rent I’d definitely choose elsewhere.

Our local Vet diagnosed that abnormal breathing in our dog Snoopy (Tibetan Mastiff) was due to fluid retention in her chest. Snoopy is just 11 months old. They removed about 1.5 litre of fluid and refereed us to Adelaide Animal Emergency & Referral Centre (AAERC) and also organised our first appointment.

Doctors and staff at this hospital are very professional and in my first consultation I was convinced that they could save Snoopy. CT scan revealed that Snoopys left lung had abnormality and 2 of her lung lobes are twisted. Dr John Punke (small animal surgery specialist) removed another 2.5 litres of fluid from Snoopys chest so that she could breathe. He discussed the complications of the surgery and treatment. We had full faith in Dr Johns excellent record and experience; we gave consent for this major life threatening surgery. Dr John successfully removed malfunctioning lung lobes from her left lung. Snoopy battled well through this 3-4 hrs long surgical process.

Post surgery, Snoopy had more complications like breathing problem due to which she was put on oxygen for about 3-4 days. She had feeding issues, which was fixed by surgically putting feeding tube through her neck. I/V fluids and medicines tackled electrolyte imbalance and vomiting. Snoopy stayed at AAERC for 6 days and during that time we were daily provided with snoopys updates multiple times a day by friendly nurses, receptionist and by surgeon himself. We also got to visit Snoopy everyday after work.

For me these doctors are like God, who saved our fur baby. I am very fortunate to be immediately recommended to AAERC by my local Playford vet and rest John and his team took care of. I would highly recommend AAERC for their expertise in this field and they are the reason that my fur baby Snoopy is still alive and healthy.

When visiting a 24 hour vet you are there because it is a medical emergency... it isn't your normal vet and you can't expect the same service given they are, quite honestly, in the business of treating life and death emergencies when you visit at 7pm on a Saturday evening.

We suspected our dog had eaten snail bait so called en-route as our dog started to react very badly before our eyes. In this regard as soon as we walked in they knew who we were and took us straight out the back. Of course, we had to immediately fill in paperwork confirming we would pay an $800 fee irrespective to stabilise. Money hungry... perhaps... but Vets are professionals who deserve (in our opinion) to be paid for their time and furthermore, in reality we had to make a decision in that moment and there was no way $800 was standing between us and our dogs life.

If you didn't know... snail bait is extremely poisonous to dogs and survival isn't all that likely.

Once our girl was stabilised we were explained our choices, the proposed treatment plan and given a quote of $4,000 and asked to pay a 50% deposit should we choose to proceed. Our vet was Dr Casey Jacobs. We found the advice sound and we were able to ask questions and talk things through with this lovely lady. We chose to proceed, I understand others may not be in a financial situation to do so.

Due to the treatment at AAERC our girl survived the night and we had a call at 11pm providing us with the status update. In the morning we called to confirm she could be picked up and raced down to collect her. The fee only came to just over $2,500 despite the quote.

During this incredibly emotional time the staff were kind and friendly and we cannot speak highly enough of Dr Casey Jacobs who dealt with us "helicopter parents" and the fact that we were blubbering mess'.

I am sorry to hear others did not have such a pleasant experience however for us, in a true emergency they were true professionals.

Don't go to this Clinic what ever you do. It is not the only Emergency Vet Clinic in Adelaide. I went here in good faith that they would help my little dogs broken leg. The Vet told me he needed an x-ray and that would be $900. I was totally shocked. I used to be a vet nurse and knew that this was a ridiculous price. It should only havecost 5 to 6 hundred. However I told them my financial circumstancesccould not afford this and what were my alternatives. The Vet suggested Euthanasia at cheaper cost of Three Hundred dollars. I refused both suggestions and Angrily payed the $179 consult fee and said I would deal with him elsewhere myself. that night i splintered his leg to make him comfortable. Next morning Before I get a chance to ring another Vet I get a phone call From the RSPCA saying they are outside my front door and want to take my dog. I am absolutely irrate. After a few phone calls I find a very understanding Emergency Vet Clinic that offered a payment scheme for people with low incomed. My little dog is there getting fixed now. However Because I refused the pricing of The Anzac Road Emergency Vet Clinic they call the RSPCA to take my dog. I totally believe that this action was bullying me into using their services only. They offered no assistance to a payment plan to help me with low income pay for any treatment over time. The last thing The Angas Highway Vet said to me was that they have the animals welfare to look after but I believe that this treatment was not in the interest of caring for the pet but filling their greedy Vet pockets . Just to Recap please know that there are other emergency Vets out there that help the the pets with lower income families. this Anzac Highway Emerg Vet Clinic is not one that looks after the Animal. Absolutely Appalling.

Two years ago my beloved dog died 24 hours after admission to this centre. I continue to struggle to come to terms with the untimely loss of this beautiful animal. Emergency care comes with expectations of care and responsibility.

I took my cat to this facility. Unless is it in a most desperate situation I will not be going back. I paid $1200 for the vet to keep him there over night they thought it was gastro, but couldn't rule anything out. They pushed me to pay a further $1100 on top of this for X-rays and bloods. I decided to wait and go to my normal vet once I picked him up the next morning (which they said I would have to do anyways). When I picked him up they said they still had no idea what was wrong being emergency they didn't have time to figure it out. I took him straight to my normal vet who said it was a throat infection within 5 minutes of me being there. Nothing to do with gastro and not necessary for X-rays etc. This facility is nothing more than money driven and is preying on innocent people worried about their sick pets.

Our beloved Deerhound was admitted for a leg amputation this week and she could not have received better care..... Dr. Richard Savoury who we initially saw and then performed the op, was full of compassion and empathy forthe circumstances surrounding our dog's situation and we cannot thank him highly enough. We will never forget the kindness shown to us...........