Animal Emergency & Referral Center of Minnesota

Fantastic experience! Looked for an emergency vet open 247 near Minnetonka, and found this place in St. Paul.
My first phone call with the secretary, she was very nice and informative that the visit alone was roughly $ 110. First come first serve basis.
So I looked around Unilocal,and with the 11 reviews I thought to give it a shot. Place looked inviting upon entrance. They immediately took me back, and the vet tech took my dogs vitals. Very friendly, knowledgable and seemed to care so no complaints!
Doc came in about 15 minutes later, super friendly and knowledgable, told her my dogs past health history, and she did her checkups. She then gave me her recommendations and said its to me to decide. I told her the last time I was at an emergency vet I spent $ 6000 so I’m very cautious at who I go with and the treatment of my dog. She then explained and prioritized given the circumstances of each action item to take and the cost associated with it. I decided to go with all the options she described. At no time did I feel like she was suggesting things to make the hospital money, but that she cared wholly about my dogs health. Her name was doctor Heidi fay (sp?) and I’d highly recommend her services.
Ended up coming up with positive X-​ray results, sent me home with antibiotics and some liquids, and gave me follow up instructions.
With the service, knowledge and genuine care of the staff, I’d highly recommend for dog owners. Thank you for taking care of my little one!

Ok, my poor cat Max of 17 years died in my arms after euthanize him here 3 days ago. I called and told them I’d be right over, at 4am my baby was suffering and rather than making him wait until my regular clinic opened. I wanted to end his misery and was more than grateful that this place was OPEN and close to home.
So, Im ringing there doorbell with my sick, dying cat in my arms… and NOBODY in sight, for THREE minutes, I am standing there crying and in panic mode!!!
Finally, a hefty, straight faced woman opens the door for me, and just looks at me blinking, I am like where should I go, where can I set him down? Help… and she continues to stand there staring at me… until I finally set him down on a bench without waiting for her to reply. NO empathy, no kindness, she just brings me paperwork and tells me before they can help me, I must sign them… UGHHHHHH I digress…
To make a Long, painful story short… The actual Vet that handled my situation, was glorious and amazingly kind! She was just the sweetest in a tough situation. But the dummy at the front desk needs to be retrained or replaced ASAP

Very happy with them. We’ve used them 3 times in the last year for emergencies with two of our cats and, each time, we’ve had competent, warm and respectful treatment. Can’t ask for more than that.

I try not to be one of those doggie moms that freaks out over everything but we have had a few real emergencies over the years, and they ALWAYS seem to happen in the middle of the night, on a weekend and/​or on a holiday. My dogs have great timing like that. Each time we have taken them to Animal Emergency and Referral Center, and each time we have been very pleased.
The desk staff is super wonderful, which is really important, since trips to this clinic usually begin with a panicked phone call followed by some sort of crazy dash to the clinic in the middle of the night. They are very patient and though they are careful not to give medical advice over the phone for a dog they have not seen, they generally can give me enough direction so that I know whether I need to bring the dog in or not. They also are very up front that the fee for visiting and having an exam is $ 100+, but it’s like Urgent Care for humans — you pay for an emergency visit. But I appreciate the transparency nonetheless. It’s also like Urgent Care in that sometimes you can have a long wait since everything is an unscheduled appointment. But calling ahead also helps here too since they know you are coming and can try to adjust schedules before you arrive.
The medical staff here is friendly and knowledgeable. They spend lots of time with you, answering questions and discussing options. Since most of their visits are emergencies, I appreciate that they often present you with ALL the options and let you choose. They don’t judge you for being cheap — they understand cost is a factor. And they make sure you understand the diagnosis, the potential treatments and the cost differences between each.
The other thing I just adore is that they not only email you a copy of the records from your visit, but they also send one free of charge to your vet’s office so that your regular vet knows there was a problem and has the visit in their records as well.
Urgent care for your dog isn’t cheap. But I do really feel like this clinic really offers excellent service and has been incredibly good to us on our visits so far. They are very good at helping you when you feel helpless as a dog owner, as well as helping your dog.

We brought our dog in on a holiday after he had been vomiting and was just not himself. After $ 400 worth of diagnostics (a couple lab draws) they determined it was pancreatitis and estimated 1 – 2 overnight stays with IV’s at $ 1400-​$ 2400… and this was just the beginning depending on how he responded! When explaining the lab results they stressed that he was in dire condition and asked if they could take him back to start an IV immediately, without even giving us time to discuss. We called another emergency vet and they said that they see this diagnosis often and could do it for half the cost. We love our dog and wanted to start low to ensure we were able to treat him longer if necessary. We explained the situation to the vet tech and he didn’t even seem bothered, like this must happen all the time. End of the day my dog stayed 2 overnights at the other place and walked out feeling like a million bucks for $ 700.
Long story short, the care was good but the costs are ridiculous. It is shameful to take advantage of a pet parent’s emotional state.

Recently, my dog got ill from what would turn out to be her food. At the time, we didn’t know what was wrong with her but she was vomiting blood, not wanting to eat and very lethargic. Our regular vet did what they could and then referred us to this office. The staff was very friendly and I appreciated how up front they were with tests and procedures they wanted to do. Nothing was done without my approval and without me seeing what the costs would be. Since they were doing a lot of tests, I was there for some time and they offered snacks — free of charge. They wanted to keep my dog overnight and I had no problem leaving her there as I knew they were treating her and I so well. Throughout the night and next day, I got numerous calls with updates and what the plan was. I was very impressed with this office and have told many people that. Hopefully I don’t have to go back but it’s nice to have an option that isn’t as expensive as the U can be.

We had just moved to St. Paul when our little dog got horribly sick on a weekend. We took her to the St. Paul center. They front desk personnel were very competent and compassionate. They took her right in to an exam room. The doctor came out to explain her condition to us. She stayed in the clinic for about 36 hours on intravenous therapy. They told us that we would be welcome to visit her while she was there. They called about every three hours during the day with updates and told us that «no news was good news» during the night (i.e. they wouldn’t call unless there was a change for the worse). While there, they took a history and looked over her records from her previous vet.
Very simply put, they saved her life that day.
We went to the Oakdale center for follow-​up with an internist and a cardiologist.
Excellent care at both centers.

I was very impressed with this clinic. The staff was friendly and compassionate. The doctor was thorough and explained the problem and the treatment necessary. I felt the fees were very reasonable for an emergency clinic. I would recommend Animal Emergency and referral Center to any pet owner who needs emergency care for their companion.

We’ve been to this emergency clinic way more in the past year than I ever would have expected but I guess that’s the deal with puppies sometimes. Or it is if you’re a paranoid puppy-​mom, like me.
The staff is fantastic! Everyone is so kind and willing to share knowledge without being judgemental. We brought in a baby bird on July 4^th because it was sitting on my porch and was totally cool with being touched and picked up. The staff examined the bird and determined that he was probably in shock from the loud noises. They told me to take him back to my yard for his mom to find him in the morning. They didn’t charge me and were just so incredibly gracious.
When I have had to bring in my puppy, they haven’t tried to take advantage of my excessive worrying the way I have felt that other emergency vets have in the past. They are very up front with costs and always willing to tell me if I don’t need to come in or if a procedure can wait until my regular vet office is open. They have my absolute trust. If you are in need of emergency vet care (and I hope you are not because pet trauma is terrifying!), this is the best place to find it.

Avoid!
Short story: my shepherd got a large laceration on her leg requiring stitches, I called ahead on arrival the very nice front desk gal took us to a room & we looked over the lac… 25 min later a «tech» comes into the exam room saying the desk gal thinks it may just need a cleaning & dressing (I’m a trauma nurse so at this point I’m already in disgust) she looks at the lac & says «oh it looks like that’ll need stitches… (Duh!) 45 min later I still haven’t seen anyone, young women comes to take my paper work. 20 min later tech comes back to check vital signs. Another 15 min goes by (I’ve yet to see a veterinarian) young women comes in saying «I’d like to take her (dog) to a larger room to be examined». I later find out this means she is kicking my dog back to the treatment room and I will not be seeing my dog anymore. Long story short, after being here for over two hours and speaking to several people about my complication of needing to be out of town this evening NO ONE has explained ANYTHING to me!
Fast forward 3 hrs: I left my dog there to get her stitches, I call three hours later and ask them how she’s doing. I get «she’s stable & resting». Ask for some clarification wondering if she’s off the sedation and analgesia, young woman on the phone tells me she can’t tell me that, she doesn’t know. Getting any kind of information from these people is like pulling teeth. I plan to complain to my primary vet and inquire what alternative emergency locations are in the cities :(

Brought dog in on a Sunday for off balance and loosing vision. They did blood test and came up with THC in his bloodstream. Ok being in St. Paul and having people walk next to the large yard could happen. Was told to bring back if not getting better. Brought him back Wednesday night for not improving and wanted them to figure it out. Made a pet control account for them like they said to get this figured out and left him for the night. Came back in the morning to see how he was doing and same and no answer on what it is. She said I don’t think it’s THC, I agree that it has to be someone else! Leave him till after work and 6:30pm pick up. Guy bring me into the other room and start accusing me of dog eating large amount of marijuana! Ok I’m picking him up and finding someone that wants to find out what’s going on with my dog! Bills at 1000.00 for the week and the guy said bring him back if he’s not getting better and the UofM is more expensive…
Made an appointment at the UofM for as early as I could the up coming Tuesday, the doctor looked at him and asked me question thinking outside the box and in 10 mins came up with the dog had tetanus! Being rear she wanted to show the other vet and she said we all agree! I was out the door with medication for under 300.00! The worse part is he could have died if it wasn’t treated soon enough!
Not to mention first time I visited this place they misdiagnosis the same dog with wobblers…

This place is a joke! Do not go here! They gave us three diffent prices on the service for our dog and they seemed to get upset when we said no, it was a very large amount of money and I had my dog all wrapped up when I brought him in and when we did not take the service they had the gull to bring him out gash hanging wide open. Went somewhere else had service done for a ¼ of the price!

Patience, empathy and compassion. This emergency clinic helped relieve pain my cat was having and helped me make the best decision. I did end up having to say good bye to him and they made it the best experience for the situation.
I have since gone back with a different cat and one of my dogs. I often feel they do «worst case scenario «treatments which can be costly. Basically I have this to say: only come here if it’s really an emergency. If there is any chance you can wait for regular vet hours, do so. Unless your pet is seriously suffering, or injured and they can’t wait, go here. Nothing against this clinic, it’s top notch care and you get what you pay for, but you pay a lot. To get an xray and over the counter meds cost me $ 400. It wasn’t really an emergency so I wish I had waited, but in the heat of the moment you start to freak out and feel the need to bring your pet in ASAP. I lost a cat due to waiting (I went out of town stupidly when he seemed a little sick) so now I freak out and rush in. Take a breath, and assess the situation first. That’s my only advice. They do have tons of payment methods, so if you do need emergency care, you can talk to them about payments.

(I also posted this review on the Unilocal page for the Oakdale clinic, this is because my cat had care at both centers, he was in St Paul for the initial intake, surgery, and immediate aftercare, then the oakdale center for a few days for hospitalization) I feel so strongly about this place, I really want other Unilocal-​ers to know about this place (yep– crazy cat lady right here)
I feel like this might be the most important Unilocal review I have ever written. While on vacation in California my husband and I got a call from our neighbor and cat sitter that our 2 and a half year old cat, Milton was unresponsive, we quickly looked up the closest 24hr emergency vet (as it was about 10PM on a weekend) and away she went.
The Animal Emergency and Referral center was clear from the very beginning, they gave us concise options, explained the costs associated with the surgery (our cat had eaten a shoelace, and had a linear bowel obstruction) If he hadn’t of been taken to AERC he would not be alive, I wouldn’t have my baby to snuggle up with every day, I am so grateful for Dr. Rausch, the staff at the St Paul hospital (for the surgery and immediate emergency care) and the Oakdale staff for the after care, patience and dealing with my crazy cat-​lady panic, they let me come in and try to feed my cat, deferred to me with any and all decisions, and truly made me feel like the most important patient in the world. Yes, it was expensive, as all emergency vets are… but priceless is the care and attention they provide for the animals that come in… most importantly they saved my cat, and I will be forever grateful.