Animal Care & Emergency Services (ACES) - PERMANENTLY CLOSED

ACES or Animal Care and Emergency Services recently closed suddenly without notice. I had taken my cat there and paid for tests which no one has communicated with me about. I am pursuing their failure to honor services through all legal avenues. If you ordered tests from ACES be sure to check to see if they were ever processed. I was a big fan of ACES before this sudden closure and lack of communication. Megan Snyder is the owner.

Walked by today (5/14/24) and saw that unfortunately ACES is no longer in business. This was the most convenient 24/7 emergency service for animals in and around the sunset neighborhood. There aren't many 24/7 emergency services for animals in SF. This is a big loss for families with animals! Sad to see this business go. Wish they notified us via email of their closure. This was very sudden.

Update. The clerk who checked me out told me she accidentally double charged my care credit and she didn't have the authority to issue a refund. She also sent me the wrong dogs records. She said a different office would issue the refund and I would see it in a week or so. When this did not happen I opened a credit card dispute. Then I went to the business to talk to them, but found to my dismay a note on the door saying they closed permanently due to not being able to compete with corporations.

TL;DR the care at this hospital is atrocious, particularly from Dr. Melissa Ryce, who discharged my critically ill dog when she should have been hospitalized overnight. She could have died had I not taken her elsewhere. My dog fell very ill, very quickly, and I took her here. They ran a bunch of tests on her but found nothing conclusive immediately, so they hydrated her (no IV) and gave her antibiotics. When I went to pick her up, Dr. Ryce didn't even come out to speak with me. The receptionist (very rude, btw) simply handed me the discharge papers and was going to send me on my way. I had just dropped $1,600 and was distraught because she was so sick, so I asked if I could at least speak with a vet tech so someone could address my concerns. They acted like this was a huge inconvenience and a strange request. I felt super uncomfortable simply taking my dog home and waiting it out because she was so lethargic and unlike herself; I just knew something wasn't right. That same afternoon, I took her to her regular vet for a second opinion. My vet took one look at her and said she needed to be hospitalized ASAP to get an IV and run more tests. She was really concerned after examining Clementine. So I took her to Sage (amazing care there), and their doctor confirmed that Clementine was really ill and would have to be hospitalized for potentially 48 hours so they could stabilize her. So that's TWO DIFFERENT OPINIONS concluding she needed to be hospitalized. Thanks to the great care at Sage, Clementine made a full and quick recovery, but I can't bear to think about what could have happened to her if I had simply taken her home per Dr. Ryce's instructions. I later found out that they didn't have overnight staffing, and that was likely one of the reasons they discharged her. On top of all that, the staff at ACES were unprofessional and rude. Not to mention, their office is really outdated; they did my dog's intake with a notepad and pen--I never saw anything actually being input into a computer. Dr. Ryce didn't document a single thing digitally or otherwise. If you care about your pet, TAKE THEM ELSEWHERE.

My much beloved dog was put to sleep at ACES shortly after midnight on February 6. While we were there, we spoke with one of the technicians about what to do with her remains. We decided on a private cremation so we could have her ashes and on getting a paw print made. The technician said the paw prints come in different colors and we chose brown. Before we left, we were told that they would contact us when they received her ashes so we could come and pick them up. Six weeks went by without hearing from them, so I called on a Friday to find out what the status of her ashes was. The person who answered the phone said she would have to do some research and would call me right back. She never called back. I called again, and was told that she had left for the day. I explained again to the new person on the phone that I was inquiring about my dog's ashes. She said that the clinic manager would call the crematory service they use on Monday, and that he would then call me to let me know what he found out. Monday came and went, and he did not call. I called again on Tuesday, and explained once again that I was trying to find out what happened to my dog's ashes. At this point, I was getting a bad feeling, and was getting frustrated by their lack of communication. I was worried that they had been lost. The person I spoke with on the phone told me she had no information, but would leave a message for Ryan, the clinic manager, to return my call. He called at 2:30 that afternoon. I was busy at work and unable to answer. He left a message containing no information about the ashes, but did express a desire to talk with me about it. I called back one hour later at 3:30, but he had already left for the day. For the fourth time, I explained to the person on the phone why I was calling, but they were unable to help me. I hung up feeling desperate and scared because I could not get any information from the staff at ACES. My gut told me something was wrong, and the not knowing was becoming excruciating. I decided to call back and get the name of the crematory service they use so I could call them myself and see what happened. I spoke to a very nice man at Koefran Pet Memorial Services in Sacramento who showed me more kindness and compassion than 6 staff members at ACES did. As it turned out, the reason they wouldn't tell me what happened was because they had made a grave error. They incorrectly checked the box for communal cremation on the form, so my baby was burned with a bunch of strange animal bodies and scattered with them who knows where. So I have none of her ashes and no paw print. I have no piece of her whatsoever. I was devastated when I called them back to let them know that I knew what happened. I was transferred to someone in accounting who agreed to refund my money, but still couldn't manage to muster an ounce of compassion or regret about their mistake. Ryan, the clinic manager, never called me back, despite staying in his message that he wanted to talk with me about it. And getting my money back doesn't change the fact that this mistake is permanent and can never be fixed, and has scarred me for life.

They did a great job when our cat swallowed a ribbon and needed surgery. They kept us constantly in the loop, and really did a good job taking care of her

We’ve taken our dog, Hobbes, to ACES twice. The entire staff is kind, communicative and took such good care of Hobbes. They’re also very good with anxious dogs like mine. I’ve seen reviews complain about wait times, but this is because they triage patients and move true emergencies up the list (which we were very grateful for when our dog arrived having an acute allergic reaction). Thank you ACES - incredibly grateful to have such a trustworthy and caring emergency vet in the neighborhood!

cat had a potential urinary blockage and this place gave him zorbium a long acting transdermal pain med that rendered him into a hyperactive twitching spastic zombie unable to hold still long enough to eat or drink! This place over charges ...poor care.... only interested in profit.... I will never go here again. I was fleeced and my pet was poorly treated.

Our fur baby wasn't feeling well and we called ACES because my wife had a positive experience with them. Kyla took our call and was a very informative. Her wonderful help continued when she greeted us at the facility and checked us in. We were there for over three hours and both Kyla and Dr. Highfield were very patient and helpful. We left feeling hopeful our little guy was going to get better. Thanks so much!

My dog was given 7 days MAX to live by "doctor" Snyder. This was Dec 23. Today is Jan 8 and he is well and still ALIVE, active and begging for treats like he always has. Signs of a dog that still has the will to live! And still loves to eat. I spoke to my dog's primary veterinarian and he said it was wrong of "dr" Snyder to give a timeline of his death! She didn't know his past blood work or even care to hear his history. She just wanted to grab that $1500 first! Also my dog came in happy and active. How can this dog, who came in walking on his own 4 feet, climbed up on his own to sit next to me by the window in the waiting room, right before approaching all the humans in the waiting room, wiggling his tail, be dead in 7 days? I didn't understand it. He was still actively eating too! Shame on you Mrs Snyder! Your diagnostic was wrong! You told me nothing I didn't already know and when the data came out to be exactly what I told you, you used that to conclude his exam. You didn't solve the initial reason I brought him in cause "he gonna die in 7 days anyways". But I do want to say, yes my dog is dying, slowly, I already know that, but "dr" Snyder was the grinch of my Christmas and destroyed my holiday spirit and the coming new year by telling me he had a MAX of 7 days! She was not at all gentle telling me he had a max of 7 days to live. There was a few insincere 'I'm sorrys' but no true heart in that soulless body!