Sep 3, 2026

Emergency Vets in Boulder: Two Verified 24-Hour Hospitals

CASE on Iris and VEG on 29th, two miles apart in the same ZIP code, are the two Boulder emergency hospitals to save.

Luis ZamoraCo-founder of PetCompass; Dog Dad to Banzo and Tuck

Boulder, Colorado10 min readPet Care & Services

Boulder has two hospitals we could verify as open around the clock, both in the 80301 ZIP code, roughly two miles apart. A third clinic is widely listed and we could not verify it, so we are not printing its details.

Here is what each source actually says, and what we could not confirm.

The two we verified

Colorado Animal Specialty & Emergency, known as CASE


Address as published	2972 Iris Ave, Boulder, CO 80301
Phone	(303) 545-2273
Hours	"Open 24 hrs" listed for all seven days

Verbatim from its own site: "CASE is a newly constructed 37,000 square foot 24-hour emergency and specialty animal hospital, providing veterinary specialty and emergency care to Boulder, Louisville, Longmont, and the surrounding areas."

And on scope, verbatim: "We provide around-the-clock emergency and critical care to dogs and cats 365 days a year in the greater Boulder area."

Note "dogs and cats" in that sentence. If you have a rabbit, bird or reptile, ring first.

Veterinary Emergency Group, known as VEG


Address as published	1905 29th Street, Boulder, CO 80301
Phone as printed on the page	(720) 738-9994
Hours	Open 24 hours, seven days a week

Verbatim from its Boulder page: "Our VEG veterinary emergency hospital in Boulder, Colorado is open 24 hours, seven days a week to provide the highest quality pet emergency care and urgent care for animals of any kind". The sentence continues to name birds and exotics specifically, and we have trimmed the quotation there because the punctuation the page uses at that point is a dash our house style does not print.

Animals of any kind, birds and exotics included, is the differentiator against CASE's dogs-and-cats wording.

On walking in, verbatim: "Call VEG if you have questions about your pet's emergency. An ER trained vet will answer your questions. Or walk in anytime. VEG is open 24 hours, including holidays; no appointment needed or taken."

"No appointment needed or taken." So do not wait for a callback.

On parking, which matters at 2 a.m. with a dog in your arms, verbatim: "Our pet emergency clinic is conveniently located in Central Boulder at the intersection of 29th St and Walnut St, just minutes from Erie and Longmont. Park in the shopping center lot. If you think you'll need a hand getting your pet inside, just give us a call. We'll have one of our VEGgies meet you by the door."

One caveat about the number. Aggregator listings publish different phone numbers for VEG Boulder. We are printing the number on VEG's own page, and if it does not connect, the address is the reliable part.

The one we could not verify

A third emergency clinic on 30th Street appears in most local roundups. We could not verify it and we are not printing its hours or phone number.

Two reasons, both stated plainly.

What to do about that: if you are building your own list, look it up yourself and confirm by phone. A clinic that keeps partial 24-hour hours on some days of the week is exactly the sort of detail that changes, and printing it unverified would be worse than leaving the gap.

The day practice that tells you the truth about its limits

Not a 24-hour hospital, and it says so. Verbatim from Arapahoe Animal Hospital's urgent care page:

"During regular business hours, Arapahoe Animal Hospital provides emergency evaluation, stabilization, hospitalization, and urgent medical treatment for pets."

And, verbatim: "If your pet requires services beyond what we can provide in-house, including advanced or 24-hour emergency care, we will help coordinate a referral to an appropriate 24-hour emergency animal hospital . Calling us first allows us to guide you to the safest and most appropriate next step."

That is a useful and honest position, and it is the right kind of first call during the working day: a practice that will stabilise, then hand you on.

Boulder also has a Humane Society veterinary clinic at 2323 55th Street, which we know from the city's own dog licensing page, where it is listed as an in-person licensing location.

Why two hospitals in one ZIP code is better news than it sounds

Boulder is a city of about 100,000 people with an unusually outdoorsy dog population, and both of its verified 24-hour hospitals sit in 80301, within a couple of miles of each other on the east side of town.

That geography has one practical consequence. If you live in west or south Boulder, near Chautauqua or Table Mesa, both options are across town from you. On a Sunday afternoon after a trail incident on Bear Peak or Shadow Canyon, the drive out of the foothills is the first leg and the drive east is the second.

So the useful preparation is a route, not a name. Know which of the two you would head for from the trailheads you actually use, and know that in bear or snake weather you may be starting that drive from a car park with no signal.

Two hospitals is also a redundancy worth having. A single 24-hour hospital in a city this size means a capacity problem is your problem. Two means a busy waiting room at one is a reason to ring the other.

And both are specialty as well as emergency. CASE describes itself as a 37,000 square foot emergency and specialty animal hospital, which matters if what starts as an emergency turns into surgery or a referral. Our emergency vet, what to know guide covers how that transition usually goes, including the questions worth asking about estimates before treatment starts.

Fifteen minutes tonight that will matter later

Pick your hospital by drive time, not by name. CASE on Iris Avenue and VEG on 29th Street are both in 80301. From most of Boulder one is clearly closer, and at 2 a.m. that is the only thing that matters.

Write the address down, not just the number. Names and phone numbers on aggregator sites drift. Street addresses do not.

Drive the route once in daylight.

Note the species difference. CASE's own wording is dogs and cats. VEG's says any kind including birds and exotics.

And fill in an emergency card. Our emergency pet info card and pet emergency preparedness checklist templates are built for that, and a sitter will need them more than you will. Our emergency vet, what to know guide covers what happens on arrival.

Register with a day-to-day practice while your dog is well, too. Our how to choose a veterinarian guide covers what to ask.

The three emergencies Boulder actually generates

Worth knowing which way your local risk runs, because it changes what you carry.

Heat, in summer. The city's own signs list, verbatim from the Dogs on OSMP page: "Excessive panting" / "Lying down often/unwilling or unable to get up" / "Dark red gums/later pale gums" / "Dry mucous membranes and/or thick saliva" / "Disoriented or unstable".

And Boulder's first aid instruction, which is more precise than most city guidance, verbatim: "Cool your dog with cool wet rags on their body, especially head and feet." / "Try to get your dog to drink, but do not force water into their mouth." / "Use cool but not freezing cold water or ice on the body. Cooling the body too quickly with very cold water or ice can cause blood vessels to constrict resulting in the internal temperature rising even further." / "Call or visit your vet right away."

Read that middle instruction carefully. Cool, not ice cold, and the reason is given. Our summer heat safety for pets and pet first aid basics guides cover the physiology.

Cold, in winter. From the city's winter dog article, verbatim: "Paws, tails, and ears are vulnerable to frostbite in cold weather. If you notice ice crystals on these areas, bring your dog inside immediately and allow them to warm up."

Plus two poisoning risks it names. Salt and de-icer, verbatim: "These can cause paw burns, extreme drying, and cracking." And antifreeze, verbatim: "Antifreeze is toxic, but its scent makes it a big danger for pets. Keep all antifreeze containers closed tightly and placed on out-of-reach shelves. Be on the lookout for green, blue, pink, or orange spills in your driveway."

Ice, in both. Verbatim from the same article: "Keep pets away from frozen bodies of water. If your pet falls through a frozen body of water, do not go out on the ice. If the ice cannot support the weight of your pet it will not support your weight. Immediately call 9-1-1 and specially trained firefighters from the City of Boulder will come help."

That is a 911 call, not a vet call. Boulder Fire-Rescue does this, and the city says so on two separate pages. Our cold weather pet safety and toxic foods and plants for pets guides cover the rest.

Which number for which problem

Medical emergency: CASE or VEG, direct, day or night.

Pet through the ice: 911.

A bite, an attack or a loose dog inside the city: Boulder Animal Protection, a division of the police department, on 303-441-3333, with non-emergency enquiries on 303-441-1874. Our reporting a dog bite in Boulder guide covers what follows.

The same, in unincorporated county or in Lyons, Nederland, Superior or Ward: Boulder County Communications on 303-441-4444.

A missing dog: our lost dog in Boulder guide has the sequence, and impounded animals go to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley at 2323 55th Street.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an appointment at VEG? No. VEG states that it is open 24 hours including holidays and that no appointment is needed or taken.

Does CASE treat exotics? Its own page describes around-the-clock emergency and critical care to dogs and cats. VEG's page says any kind of animal including birds and exotics, so ring ahead for a non-cat-or-dog patient.

Is there a third emergency clinic in Boulder? A third clinic on 30th Street is widely listed, but we could not verify it. Its own domain did not resolve for us and the Humane Society page listing emergency hospitals returns an error, so we are not printing its hours or number.

Is Arapahoe Animal Hospital a 24-hour hospital? No. It provides emergency evaluation, stabilisation, hospitalisation and urgent treatment during regular business hours, and states that it will coordinate a referral to an appropriate 24-hour hospital where more is needed.

What should I do if my dog overheats in Boulder? The city advises shade immediately, cool wet rags on the body especially head and feet, trying to get the dog to drink without forcing water, using cool but not freezing water because rapid cooling can constrict blood vessels and raise internal temperature further, and calling or visiting your vet right away.

Who do I call if my dog falls through ice? 911. The city states that specially trained firefighters from the City of Boulder will respond, and warns you not to go onto the ice yourself.

Sources

Hours and phone numbers change, and one local clinic could not be verified at all. Confirm by phone before you drive.