Salem Veterinary Emergency Clinic,PC

I am the manager at a nonprofit animal shelter that takes in stray animals for Marion and Polk counties.
When a stray animal is injured, such as being hit by a car or found injured or sick, they may get taken to this emergency clinic by whoever finds them, where they are treated and then transferred to us, and a bill arrives shortly after.
1. This clinic knows what they are doing, to the best of their abilities, in any situation brought to them. Animal medicine is NOT always clear cut, but they have equipment and resources available to try and treat and diagnose MANY emergency conditions and have always been there for us.
2. They are kind people with compassion for those animals without a voice. They take excellent care of the furry beings and have ALWAYS been kind to us when we have needed emergency care for an animal in our shelter. Animal care, and emergency medicine both have stressful situations with extremely passionate people coming in for service, and to be in BOTH settings in heated emotions, is NOT easy. These folks do a damn good job, considering what they face on a daily basis.
3. Emergency care, for humans or animals, costs a great deal sometimes. Not being in the emergency care community, I know I don’t always understand why there are certain costs for certain things, but to be in a field where you lose some of your patients, you cant always fix the problems, or you are at the mercy of doing only what can you are permitted to do at any time, must be heart wrenching. They are not trying to inflate the prices to make some HUGE profit, merely to stay running, pay for insurances and promotions, and also to ensure they can continue to help the community. they want to heal them all. They truly, truly do. But they also can not keep going if they don’t charge what is needed to maintain equipment, pay employees, pay for the overhead costs and utilities. there’s a LOT that goes into it. Please consider that it is also a business, that must meet its basic costs to continue functioning.
in a nutshell, SO many animals have benefited from this clinic. SO many lives have been saved. SO many. They are compassionate, caring folks who have a strong drive and desire to help as many animals as they can see to recover and heal from their emergencies. Along the way they also try to help out the human clients as well, and on top of that, they help out their community animals. It cant be easy to do what they do, knowing that no one is really ever financially prepared for an emergency room visit.
I am so grateful for this clinic, and while they are wonderful, i truly hope you never have to find out and can just take my word for it.

These folks are wonderful — and provide a great service to Salem. Very reasonable pricing and I am willing to pay to have their help 24 hours and on weekends when most vets are closed or busy. Dr. Zoe was fantastic — and all the staff were caring and personable.

They treat people poorly and animals! They would rather kill dogs and cats then fix them ! Super sick and sad place. Learn compassion !

Went there today with my dog. After waiting 2 hours (not their fault – it IS a no appointment emergency room), the vet checked out my dog for about 10 minutes, then came back with a list of $ 300 worth of treatment. I don’t know how many of them were really necessary, but I’m sick of vets who can only see dollar signs when you bring your animal in. I felt that these people were more interested in profits than pets. Won’t be back.

SVEC took care of my pug who ingested chocolate and xylitol. They were very professional and I feel really did a great job caring for him. They will always do what’s best for the patient and are there truly when you need them most. I would not hesitate to take any of my pets here in an emergency. Thank you SVEC!

I came in on a Sunday evening with a very sad and in pain 15 week puppy. I was scared and so was she. I was taken to a room in about 15 minutes (2 critical life/​death cases came in after and were seen first, understandably). Once I was in the assistant was so sweet and loving towards my pup. She handled her with care and listened to all of my concerns. The vet came in very soon after and treated my pup with the same if not even more love and compassion. She did a very thorough exam, loved on her and listened when she would cry to try diagnose what was wrong. She diagnosed her as having an allergic reaction to a vaccine, treated her and told me everything I could do to make her more comfortable.
Of course E.R. visits are expensive, cost me about $ 200 but worth every penny and I am very happy with my experience.

3:30 in the morning, precious kitty starts to go into heart failure. We knew it was likely the end, but we didn’t have a regular vet. The vet we chose last week doesn’t have emergency hours. Luckily, the new vet had a recording of who to call and it was this place. We were greeted with very kind, compassionate and patient staff. When you don’t know the end is near, you often panic and hope maybe there is something that can be done to prolong their life. The staff was helpful in offering choices even though we knew… we knew… Thank you, kind staff. We highly recommend this office.

My dog Baxter suddenly became ill last Saturday night. I immediately took him to the emergency clinic. They did x-​rays, initially told me that he was ‘full of fluid’; then took more x-​rays and said that it was possibly air. Blood work was done. The doctor really didn’t know what was going on with Baxter. She kept trying to reach a cardiologist, with no success. Finally, about 5 hours later she said that he needed an ultrasound. They don’t have an ultrasound machine. It was suggested that I take him to Portland, because they would be able to give him the care he so desperately needed. I was so shocked and disappointed in the care, or lack thereof that my dog received at this, «emergency clinic». The bill for these few services that did nothing for my dog was $ 749.00. Just to have to leave at midnight and head to Portland, where by the time that I had wasted so much time in Salem, it was to late to save his life. He had been bleeding internally, and had lost far to much blood, the transfusions were to late for my sweet boy.
I think that with the extreme prices they charge us pet owners, because it’s on an emergency basis, they should have the appropriate equipment and the expertise to provide the care that we and our pets are counting on.
I have tried to call them to complain, but of course, they haven’t returned a phone call.
If I have a need in the future for emergency care, I will drive to Portland to Dove Lewis and get the care that my pets need, immediately. I will not sit for hours, while they slowly die, waiting for this place to intentionally run up a bill, knowing that they do not have the tools needed to help the dog! It’s VERY inhumane!

Let me preface this review with, YES I understand that a veterinarian office is a business, and they need to make money. Understanding that, let me explain why I think this emergency vet is heartless.
I ran to the vet with my little dog who was acting very abnormal and was obviously in a ton of pain. We got taken in, and saw the vet. She did her exam, and determined that we couldn’t draw any conclusions from the exam, so she recommended an x ray and blood work. She was worried that my dog had eaten something dangerous. She was very sweet and understanding until I started asking about prices. As someone who literally JUST bought a house, and who has a 5 month old son, I don’t have hundreds of dollars to just hand over. It’s just literally not in my account.
I asked her if they had a payment plan, or if payment could wait until the 31^st (5 days from now) when I get paid. She said no, and pretty much just wrote me off. The caring woman who entered initially became distant and uncaring for my poor, sick dog just because I didn’t have $ 500 dollars to hand over right that second. She told me that if I couldn’t afford their prices, I could drive my dog to Corvallis.
I have been to emergency vets in the past and have always had the experience where they will work with you. If you can’t pay for a few days, they won’t send you packing, they’ll let you pay in a few days. Or they have some sort of payment plans available.
Basically, if you take your pet here, expect to pay at least a few hundred dollars out of pocket, or to be turned away with no options.

I’ve unfortunately been to a few vets in emergency circumstances; SVEC is by far the best experience I’ve ever had.
I had to rush my puppy over when she suddenly got a puffy face and hives all over her body. The vet tech calmed down this blubbering first-​time dog mommy, and my dog loved her, too. The vet was great– Dr. Rachel– she explained everything in terms I could understand (not a science person!) and gave me options for treatment that would fit within my budget.
A sick pet is never fun, but Salem Veterinary Emergency Clinic makes it bearable.