Fresno Pet Emergency & Referral Center

I’ve used Fresno Pet ER’s services a handful of times in the past years. First, I had a horrible experience with a different emergency vet (they’re located on Blackstone and Shaw) when my spoiled fur baby went lame. The other vet refused to accommodate me and sent me to Fresno Pet ER (thank God!). I encountered professionalism and kindness when I arrived at Fresno Pet ER — and their excellent care and customer service has continued throughout the years.
A few years later, my beloved dog needed to be put down. He was suffering and I was in shock after staying up the majority of the night with my dying son (my chihuahua terrier son). They explained the process to be since I had never had to put a dog down and made sure I got to say goodbye according to my wishes. They kept him in his dog carrier-​purse that I had brought him in and I believe that was a comfort to him as he passed. Fresno Pet ER went ABOVE AND BEYOND when a few days later I received a sympathy card signed by their staff and with my doggie’s paw prints on it. My heart was overwhelmed by their kindness. Not all vets do that, they have a heart at Fresno Pet ER!
Most recently, my spoiled fat cat had an emergency and I was VERY anxious. I felt like I was having a heart attack because of my overwhelming concern for my cat. Fresno Pet ER (specifically Mary) met me at the door when I arrived and was SO kind, warm, friendly, and concerned for my baby kitty! The doctor explained all the options to me and was kind in answering my questions. They even took into consideration my limited budget which was so appreciated! Their prices were very reasonable as well! They did as they promised and promptly faxed their ER report to my normal vet and called me to check in on his condition.
I will continue to bring my spoiled pets to Fresno Pet ER and recommend them to all my friends and to you! I literally have sang their praises for YEARS! I’m so so SO thankful for Fresno Pet ER!

I brought in a very sick cat tonight who eventually died. I spent almost an hour going over estimates of her treatment. The vet, Dr. Marsh, mentioned the «Care Credit» credit card within five minutes of meeting with me. I was initially told I’d need to pay $ 1000 — 2000 for my cat to make it through the night. I finally told the staff I only wanted to make her comfortable, and I would take her home to die with me. They had me sign a release because I was going against their recommendations.
Then as I was waiting for her to be brought to me, I was told she was passing. They took me back to say goodbye to her. The assistant was very compassionate and stayed with me while she died. I’m grateful for that. But the doctor came over as my cat was dying, said something about being sorry, then asked, «So, are you going to take her home with you tonight, or…?» Like, am I going to take her body home with me tonight. I said I didn’t know. Only now, a few hours after this happened, am I absorbing how sh***y that was. I’m wondering if the doctor wasn’t insulting me for not having paid the two grand to treat her– which I couldn’t afford anyhow. I ended up paying about $ 350– for fluid and antibiotics which apparently they gave her in the minutes before she died– and the cremation.
I will say that all of the assistants I talked to were great. I just felt bad for them because it’s almost like their job is to «sell» you treatments.

I don’t know that I would go here if there was no where else available. You’d probably be better off «googling» home remedies. If there was a NO STAR selection that would be my rating.
Bella, the four-​legged sister of the family who is now 10, put us in a place to seek immediate medical attention. We rushed out and to Fresno Pet ER as they are active participants in many local events and I hadn’t heard any kind of feed-​back about them. And when I called they stated a $ 69 exam fee and three options to pay that and any other charges. Cash/​Credit, CareCredit and the Third Option which was never discussed. (RESEARCH before taking your pet ANYWHERE folks!)
$ 635.00 later (on credit I don’t have and couldn’t afford — which she mocked my son for my paying instead of him) the infamous (from reading the reviews) Dr. Weaver remained true to her colors and provided sub-​par care for our beloved family member. She gave her shot in the dark thoughts of guessing what could be wrong vs. diagnosing the problem. She placed Bella on 3 separate prescriptions (one costing over $ 150) or offered a worst case scenario of amputating her strangely enlarged leg.
There was no blood test given, no biopsy performed (yet tumors were mentioned). We were provided a this. or that scenario without a thorough look into what could really be going on. How could you without basic baseline tests?
Upon arriving home we followed the «doctor’s» (using this term loosely) orders and gave Bella her medicine like clockwork. Her breathing became irregular and her heart rate all over the place. Her leg swelled beyond the size it was when we took her in and she began shaking and whimpering.
We researched the antibiotic that was prescribed by Dr. Weaver and it is know to have a high allergic reaction rate… REALLY? We were up with Bella throughout the night, watching her and hoping that she would flush the meds out of her system without fatal results. She did.
My son called PET ER this morning to share his finding and speak with Dr. Weaver. It took getting VERY upset on the phone with the receptionist for an extended period of time before he was finally able to speak with the Dr. She was rude and very defensive. Offered to have us bring Bella in for the Blood test etc. that she should have ran yesterday. (of course for the additional associated fees). My son (probably not so nicely) informed her what a whack job she was and demanded she refund him for the harmfully useless medication she prescribed. Letting her know he did not trust her and that she ultimately was responsible for putting Bella in worse shape she was in when we sought medical attention — by prescribing her medication without a diagnosis. She attempted to flip the blame to us asking if we had any prescriptions laying around the house or drugs (pot) that the dog could have ingested. (Are you freaking kidding me — you wouldn’t have made this assumption Dr. based on my son’s long hair and laid back on his day off attire from yesterday would you?) After 20 minutes of argument and debate and my son letting her know that we would be contacting a lawyer, she agreed to the refund.
My son showed up there… we noticed something interesting. These folks are not in this business because they care about our four-​legged family members. They are in it for the money. If you have been there… read your receipt. You noticed, your dog wasn’t brought out until after you paid… right? That is because if you can’t pay. they keep your dog. You have 14 days to come up with the money or it is considered abandonment. I think someone should so a little research into how many family members have been forcibly «abandoned» at this place — and how many of them ever made it back out of the doors.
I WILL NOT RECOMMEND THIS DOCTOR OR FACILITY TO ANYONE. ACTUALLY, I WILL BE SHARING MY EXPERIENCE WITH MANY TO INSURE THEY DO NOT HAVE TO EXPERIENCE WHAT WE DID. UNPROFESSIONAL, COLD, UNCARING, SUB-​PAR SERVICE FROM SOMEONE WHO IS IN A POSITION TO SAVE LIVES.

I have had 2 experiences with Pet ER in the past 4 month and I couldn’t be happier with the service. But, unfortunately for me, I had to put my 2 dogs down on seperate trips… the staff was so kind and thorough with me, going over each option and allowed me to choose what I felt was best. I asked for their advice, and never once did I feel they were in it for the $.
It isn’t cheap to bring your pet here, nor is it cheap for you to visit an ER on your own… we should all know that going in. I wasn’t expecting any discounts or concessions, I chose to bring my dogs here because timing, being available when our family Vet wasn’t. I really hope I don’t have to come back here in the future, but if I do, I know that I will be in good hands.
Thank you for being there for us.

Sometimes you are forced in an emergency to choose quickly when it comes to where to take your pet after hours — be aware that if you bring your animal here in an emergency, you better have a couple hundred dollars available or they won’t help you and won’t care.
I had to bring my pet in an emergency after midnight once and they demanded a $ 400 deposit after I told them I had nothing. I offered to pay the deposit in 2 days when I got my paycheck (this was a Friday night) but they were unwilling to make even the smallest concessions: getting their money was more important than if my friend were going to live or die.
Had my brother not come to my rescue with a loan then i would have had to bury my dog
Go here if you must be know that they care more about money than the lives of animals.
****UPDATE***** i wasn’t going to post this review but seeing all the other pet owners complain that this business cares nothing about animals and all about the $$$$ i decided to go ahead and add my voice to the chorus.

My first experience here was when our Gypsy (terrier) got into a battle with a St Bernard. Dr Weaver was so caring and got Gypsy all she needed almost instantly. We felt we were in great hands. Some years later Gypsy went into kidney failure and was there on IV for over a week. Total loving experience. The kidney was held together as long as possible but ultimately we were told it was time. They worked with our regular vet and were always amazing to us and the fur-​kids.

Recently took my cat here for a urinary obstruction. Loved the Dr., very articulate and knowledgeable. Costs are consistent with Emergency Veterinary Care, so that’s not my issue.
My complaint is that my cat was in a lot of pain and not happy to be there and as a result was a little more fractious than usual. Every time I called they reminded me that the cat was «feral and aggressive» and they were unable to handle him without sedating him. My poor cat was sedated at minimum 2x per day. Handling animals IS YOUR JOB, you do not get to make clients feel guilty about their pets being afraid. We took him to another vet after the weekend was over and they had no issues with him. My advice would be to get some training on how to handle fractious animals correctly. I work in the animal welfare field and have never seen a team more afraid to handle a yowling cat…

Doctor Weaver who is one of the doctors there works on the facebook page. It’s like her religion to get a 5 star and try and get rid of the sad customers. My girlfriend’s dog died there because it was not treated till hours later. When she picked up her dogs ashes behind the desk there were tons of dead dog ashes that were waiting to be picked up by other dog owners.

I took my 8 year old chihuahua mix here at 7pm on a Thursday night because he was acting strangely and I felt like something was wrong. The staff here were very informative. Lab work let us know he was suffering from pancreatitis. The doctor was very informative and explained everything to me. He ended up having to stay for about 36 hours and required IV nutrition, pain meds and antibiotics. They allowed me to visit and were accommodating when I called twice a day for updates.
Yes, it was very expensive. When all was said and done I ended up spending close to $ 2500, but keep in mind my dog was getting 24-​hour care. They also did not try to upsell me on services or treatments which I appreciated. I highly recommend this pet ER. They also accept Care Credit which is nice.

My dog was experiencing what another vet said was allergies, but they were unable to treat him. I decided to take my dog who was vomiting and had black tar stool to the Vet ER. We were scared at first since we have not found a vet in Fresno or Clovis that we like. We moved from the coast and absolutely love our vet back home. After reading the negative reviews we were skeptical about whether to go here or not. We are so glad that we decided to take our dog here. They literally saved our dogs life. They ran tons of test and took great care of our little one. His bill was over 1,500, but it was well worth it. He had to stay for 29 hours. After his stay we took him to our vet back home on the coast and she said that they did a great job with testing and trail and error medications. Unfortunately, our dog has a very rare case of severe allergies which caused a immune system problem. Overall, we are very happy with the results and will always take our dog to the Pet ER. They made a tuff, stressful situation better. I wouldn’t listen to the negative comments. Most people leave negative comments because they can’t see paying that kind of money. You need to understand that your pet is in a hospital and getting care around the clock. Hospital visits are not cheap. The only thing that I would have liked is for the doctor to have come out and talked to us when we picked up our dog. Instead one of the ladies explained everything to us. It was still unclear to us what was going on with him. This is why I gave the 4 stars. But once again my dog is a very special case. Many vets our confused with his condition. We have to see a specialist.

Talk about horrible service. This place was the only vet open on the holiday, and it was a terrible experience. They had us by the balls and they knew it.
My puppies found some hydrangea at the house we were visiting, and began vomiting uncontrollably. My research led me to believe acute GI discomfort was all they would experience. But the vet insisted that they were at risk for liver damage, kidney failure, and Parvo.
They wanted to run tests for this and that, keep them overnight, run IVs and the whole nine yards. They handed us a bill for 1600 dollars.
This wouldn’t be so bad if the vet didn’t sass us and storm out of the room when we opted to take them home when we were told the tests came back normal (but they wanted to keep them overnight). «Well that’s just my professional advice… But if the money is that important to you…»
Anyways, we took them home. They had a quick nap, some water, some white rice and boiled chicken, and now they are running around like crazy, happy pups.
It’s impossible to really explain how much I despise this vet, so just avoid it unless it is an absolute emergency, or if you have a couple grand burning a hole in your pocket with nothing to buy.

Chris Dobbins is the WORST vet in the area. He has ZERO bedside manner and told me that I can go on the internet and type in «dr. Google» and see what pops up if I wanted more information on what was wrong with my dog. I asked him for an educational/​teacher discount and he said he was the cheapest in the area which is a LIE. This place is unlawful and should be put out of business. Listen to the reviews!

Took my dog to Pet Er on Bluff, closest to my home big mistake! Two days and 3,300.00 dollars later, I finally brought her home. The first night I had to leave her, I wasn’t getting out the door until I left 1200.00. The next night I was called at 930 pm to tell me I would have to pay another 1800.00 !! This place is all about the money. When I picked her up I paid the rest. This was not even surgery, she had rectal bleeding. The vet I saw was rude and even put down my regular vet which was unnecessary and unprofessional. I finally insisted on getting my dog out which she didn’t agree with, yelling at me on the phone ! I couldn’t believe this! I’ve been to lots of vets, with the different dogs in my life but never had one speak to me like she did. I’m not questioning the way she treated my dog, I believe she is a good vet, but she needs to be lmore understanding and have more compassion. After picking up my dog, you would think I would get a call from Pet ER asking me how she was doing, showing some concern! Well guess what nothing!!! That validates my thinking, it is all about the MONEY for them! I recommend taking your pet to one of the other emergency vets in town, this will be my last and only visit to Pet ER!

Price Gouging at it BEST !!!
Our dog had a rash/​hives on her chest. Was not going away. We decided to take her to the VET. I called PET ER and asked about pricing. They said $ 69 for an exam. Did not matter what hour we went, prices are the same day/​night. Cool, off we go, Sunday night.
Find the place behing BMW Dealership. Taj Majal of VET Buidlings. Very nice. Fairly short wait (maybe 30 minutes or so until the vet sees our dog. Pretty much tells us what we already thought. Decides on giving our dog Cephelen (anti-​biotic), Prednisone (steroid), Hydroxyzine Pamoate (antihistamine), and ChlorhexiDerm Shampoo.
She was not itching, we didn’t really need the Hydroxyzine.
Decided to just get the meds the VET recommended.
SHOCK TIME: $ 101.25 (just for prescriptions $ 69 for visit $ 4 for haz mat)
$ 174.25 for Total Visit
$ 73 for basic exam no problemo…
Went to my local RITE AID to find out cost of prescriptions…
SUPER SHOCKER
CEPHALEXIN 500MG #21 VET COST $ 24.00 RITE AID $ 9.99
PREDNISONE 20MG #8 VET COST $ 18.75 RITE AID $ 9.99
HYDROXYZINE PAM 50MG #21 VET COST $ 24.00 RITE AID $ 9.99
CHLORHEXDERM SHAMP 8OZ VET COST $ 34.50 ONLINE $ 9.99
(CHLORHEXDERM CAN BE ORDERED AND SHIPPED TO PETSMART FOR FREE SHIPPING ALSO RITE AID CAN ORDER FROM MCKESSON WITH NO COST FOR SHIPPING also same as hibiclens otc that people buy before surgery)
VET CHARGE $ 101.25 FROM RITE AID $ 39.96
DIFFERENCE $ 61.29
This is just plain stealing. They do not care.
Yes everybody has to make $$$, but really? more than double the price???
If you are forced to go there, ask for paper prescriptions to bring to your pharmacy.
PRICE GOUGING AT ITS BEST !!!

These ladies were so kind to LJ! I’ve never had such a great experience. Dr. Weaver was extremely generous and kind. I will never go anywhere else after experiencing the professionalism and empathy an from this place. She spent so much time educating us too! And we even got greeted by Victory. Thank you to all the girls who helped my pup! FRESNO’s FINEST.

My family had the worst experience at this dump. «Dr.» Marsh never once looked me or my daughter in the eye the entire time, and I wondered why. Know I know. All this place is worried about is money. They soaked me for over $ 1000 for nothing. And all I got was them wanting $ 500 or more for more tests. The very next day, I took my beloved pug to Cedar Vet Hospital and receive care from the kindest, most compassionate people since Dr. Sun retired. AVOID THIS PLACE IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR FOUR LEGGED FAMILY MEMBERS.

This place is horrible! DO NOT SEND YOUR PET/​ANIMAL or ANYTHING here. The owner of this business Dr. Weaver is unprofessional to say the least. I would never trust her or her staff with my animal, quite frankly anything! PLEASE PLEASE Do not send your pets here, there are plenty of other vets in town!~Search around but do not go here, dont even consider~

I had an entirely different experience here than everybody else that has posted the 1 star reviews. My dog needed services quickly and Dr. Dobbins was very professional, caring and peformed everything I asked for and then some. The only complaint I had was that one of the receptionists was a wee bit rude when I initially contacted them, but I was hysterical when I called.

This was the only place that I could think of when my canine had a pit bull’s mouth around it’s head. Thank goodness, I stopped him before he bit into my dog’s head. There was only a scratch inside my dog’s ear. No other signs of injury were obvious to me. I did not want to take a chance so I took him to this establishment. There were no other patients there. When we walked in, the receptionist looked at us and took her sweet time about attending to us. When the vet was available to see us, which was quite some time, he acted as if my dog’s situation was comical. He kept laughing and saying «at least his head didn’t get bit off.» How is that funny in such a situation? The care that my dog received was sub par. I would suggest that pet owners not use this ER unless they are in dire dire need.

I have to warn you. Don’t go there.
My dog had liver disease, and by the time she showed symptoms, her liver was cirrhotic. I was working with a local vet and a specialist in Sacramento to extend her life, in a healthy condition, as long as possible.
She began showing signs of hepatic encephalopathy (HE), which is a buildup of amonia in the blood due to protein that the liver cannot process. I was giving her medication that was supposed to help leech the protein out, but it didn’t seem to be working. At night, I decided I needed to seek treatment because the condition was worsening, and so went to Pet ER for help.
The only thing the doctor said about her condition was «Wow that’s bad» (Sadly, this is the second time an incompetent vet in Fresno has used that phrase when diagnosing my dog. If you hear a supposed professional say that, get out and find a better one.) I explained the situation and asked specifically if there was anything they could do to provide her with some relief. He said no. Turns out that wasn’t true.
From what I have found out, the very first thing he should have done was to give her an enema. That would have cleared the protein out of her colon, which would have helped tremendously. To make matters worse, if he had done what he was supposed to, he would have seen instantly that she had blood in her stool (from ulcers that started to bleed) and we could have begun treating that. I did not find this out until she had a bowel movement the next morning.
I can see a substandard, basic vet missing this STANDARD procedure for treating HE, but an emergency vet not knowing his practice is completely inexcusable. My regular vet was completely pissed he didn’t give her an enema. After seeing the blood in her stool, I rushed my dog to Sacramento for proper treatment. She recovered a little, but the trauma from the night before was too much on her body. She declined again quickly, and so I had her euthanized.
My dog was terminally ill with a prognosis of about 2 years, and the ulcers were definitely a bad turn of events. But I feel Pet ER’s incompetence shortened her life even more, and worse yet, contributed to needless suffering. I have since heard that Pet ER is known more for their personable style than their medical expertise.
PLEASE for the sake of your pet, use a different ER.