Aug 19, 2026

Emergency Vets in San Diego: 11 Open 24 Hours, and 1 Entry Across the Border

San Diego has the deepest emergency veterinary coverage of any city we have researched, and the reason is geography. Eleven 24-hour facilities across a seventy-mile county, two of them minutes apart, so the question is which number matches your postcode.

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

San Diego, California11 min readPet Care & Services

San Diego has the deepest emergency veterinary coverage of any city we have researched, and the reason is geography. San Diego County runs about seventy miles from Oceanside to the Mexican border, so a single central hospital would leave half the county an hour away.

Instead there are eleven facilities listed as open 24 hours, spread from Oceanside in the north to Chula Vista in the south, with two of them on the same road in Mission Valley.

The list also includes a clinic in Tijuana, published by a US humane society, which says something true about a border city and needs handling carefully rather than breezily.

Here is the whole directory, organised by where you actually are.

The 24-hour eleven

All from the San Diego Humane Society's emergency veterinary hospitals page.

Hospital	Address	Phone
VCA Emergency Animal Hospital and Referral Center	7675 Mission Valley Rd., San Diego 92108	619-299-2400
Veterinary Emergency Group, San Diego	980 Camino De La Reina Suite C, San Diego 92108	619-346-4249
Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego	10435 Sorrento Valley Rd., Sorrento Valley 92121	858-875-7500
ER4PETS	12335 World Trade Dr. #16, San Diego 92128	858-676-1600
Pet Emergency & Specialty Center, East County	5232 Jackson Dr., La Mesa 91942	619-462-4800
Pet Emergency & Specialty Center, South County	885 Canarios Ct. Suite 108, Chula Vista 91910	619-591-4802
Animal Urgent Care	2430 S Escondido Blvd., Escondido 92025	760-738-9600
Veterinary Specialty Hospital, North County	2055 Montiel Rd. Unit 104, San Marcos 92069	760-466-0600
Veterinary Emergency Group, Encinitas	260 N El Camino Real, Encinitas 92024	760-377-6611
Veterinary Emergency Group, Oceanside	2224 S El Camino Real, Oceanside 92054	760-621-0711
Emevet, Tijuana	Plaza Mercado 9000, Mesa De Otay, Tijuana, B.C., Mexico	+52 664-624-5971

One disclaimer travels with this list, and we quote it every time because the society wrote it deliberately:

"The businesses listed on this webpage were gathered as a courtesy for the community and are not endorsed or guaranteed by San Diego Humane Society."

So this is a directory, not a recommendation. Ring ahead.

Which one, by where you are staying

This is the practical version, and it is why the list beats a single phone number.

Downtown, Gaslamp, Little Italy, Balboa Park, Mission Valley, Old Town: the two Mission Valley hospitals. VCA on 619-299-2400 at 7675 Mission Valley Rd, and Veterinary Emergency Group on 619-346-4249 at 980 Camino De La Reina. Both 24 hours, both a short distance apart.

Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach: Mission Valley again is the nearest 24-hour cluster, which matters if you are using Dog Beach or Fiesta Island.

La Jolla, University City, Sorrento Valley, Torrey Pines: Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego on 858-875-7500, 10435 Sorrento Valley Rd.

Rancho Peñasquitos, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Mira Mesa: ER4PETS on 858-676-1600, 12335 World Trade Dr.

Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad: Veterinary Emergency Group Encinitas on 760-377-6611, 260 N El Camino Real.

Oceanside and the far north: Veterinary Emergency Group Oceanside on 760-621-0711.

Escondido and inland north: Animal Urgent Care on 760-738-9600. San Marcos: Veterinary Specialty Hospital North County on 760-466-0600.

La Mesa, El Cajon, East County: Pet Emergency & Specialty Center East County on 619-462-4800, 5232 Jackson Dr.

Chula Vista, National City, South Bay: Pet Emergency & Specialty Center South County on 619-591-4802.

Save the one for where you are actually sleeping, not the most famous one. In a county this long, that is the difference between fifteen minutes and an hour.

The redundancy in Mission Valley

Worth pausing on, because no other city in our coverage has it.

7675 Mission Valley Rd and 980 Camino De La Reina are both 24-hour hospitals, both in the same district. If one is at capacity on a busy Saturday night, the other is minutes away.

For comparison: the Grand Strand around Myrtle Beach has one emergency hospital and it closes during the weekday working day. Tampa has one 24-hour hospital for the whole metro. San Diego has two within a few minutes of each other and nine more across the county.

If your dog has a condition that has needed emergency care before, that redundancy is a genuine argument for basing yourself centrally rather than at the edges of the county.

The Tijuana entry

The San Diego Humane Society's own directory includes Emevet, at Calle Mineria, Plaza Mercado numero 9000, Mesa De Otay, 22450 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on +52 664-624-5971, described as "24 hours, low cost."

We are reporting it because it is on the list, published by a San Diego institution, and because a guide to a border city that pretended otherwise would be less than honest.

We are not advising you to use it. Taking a distressed animal across an international border raises documentation, wait-time and re-entry questions we have not researched, and the answers change with policy. Re-entering the United States with an animal involves federal requirements that are outside the scope of anything we verified.

If it is ever relevant to you, ring them and ring US Customs and Border Protection before you drive. That is the honest version, and it is more useful than either enthusiasm or silence.

The ones that fill awkward hours

Not everything needs a 24-hour hospital, and several listed facilities cover the gaps at what is usually lower cost.

Animal Emergency Clinic of San Diego, 12775 Poway Rd., Poway 92064, 858-748-7397. Hours as listed: "5 p.m.-8 a.m. Mon-Fri; 24 hours Sat-Sun and holidays." That is the overnight and full-weekend shape, which covers exactly when a regular practice is shut.

PESC Urgent Care, 5200 Jackson Dr., La Mesa 91942, 619-670-0087, "10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily." Note it sits beside the 24-hour East County emergency centre at 5232 Jackson Dr, so one address covers urgent care and the other emergency.

Veterinary Urgent Care, Rancho Peñasquitos, 12880 Rancho Peñasquitos Blvd. Suite A, 92129, 858-732-9656, "Mon-Fri 2-10 p.m.; Sat-Sun 10 a.m.-7 p.m."

Center Veterinary Clinic, 9025 Mira Mesa Blvd., 92126, 858-271-1152, "Mon-Thu 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri-Sat 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun 8:15 a.m.-5 p.m."

Tell Tail Veterinary Urgent Care, 10397 Friars Rd., 92120, 619-282-8035, "8 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon-Fri."

Urgent care is not emergency care, and if you are unsure which you need, call the 24-hour hospital for your area first and let them triage it. Our emergency vet guide covers how to describe a problem clearly on the phone.

What San Diego dogs actually turn up with

Worth thinking about in advance, because the local risks follow from what the city permits.

Salt water, and a lot of it. San Diego has an off-leash ocean beach open 24 hours, Dog Beach at the foot of Voltaire Street, per the city's leash-free list. A dog that swims and plays in surf drinks sea water, and Dog Beach sits where the San Diego River Floodway meets the ocean, so river water is in play too.

Carry fresh water and offer it constantly, so the dog is not drinking the ocean out of thirst.

Heat, and specifically hot surfaces. Cabrillo National Monument's own pets page states plainly: "Please note there is no shade in the parking lots, and temperatures inside your vehicle can quickly rise to dangerous levels." And: "Do not leave pets unattended in vehicles."

Do the back-of-the-hand test on sand, asphalt and turf before every walk. Our summer heat safety for pets guide covers the method and the early signs of trouble, which matter more than the test.

Off-leash incidents. With 20 approved leash-free locations and six of them open 24 hours, San Diego dogs spend more time loose among strangers' dogs than in most cities. That is mostly a good thing and it does mean scuffles. Our dog park etiquette guide covers reading a crowd before you unclip.

Paws. Fiesta Island's main feature is a "5.2-mile asphalt path around the island for dog walkers." Five miles of asphalt is a lot for a dog that normally walks on grass, and the surface gets hot.

One more local rule worth knowing

If you are eating out while the dog recovers from a long walk, California Health and Safety Code section 114259.5 permits pet dogs in a restaurant's outdoor dining area where the owner elects to allow it, and states the dog must be "on a leash or confined in a pet carrier and is under the control of the pet dog owner." A carrier is an explicit alternative to a leash under California law, which is useful for a dog that is sore or unsettled.

What to have ready before you need it

The right phone number, saved for the district you are staying in.

Your own vet's number and a medication list. An emergency team works from what you can tell them.

Vaccination records. Our pet health and vaccination tracker keeps the dates in one place.

A current microchip registration. With this much off-leash access, a lost dog is the realistic scenario. The chip only works if the registry holds a number you answer. Our microchipping your pet guide covers verifying rather than assuming.

A stabilising plan. Our pet first aid basics guide covers the minutes before you arrive, and our emergency pet info card is the document to hand over.

One drive time, looked up on arrival day, while you are parked and calm.

The non-medical numbers

For a lost dog rather than an injury, note that San Diego's enforcement is unusually broad. The city states that leash and restricted-hours violations "may result in citations issued by Park Rangers, San Diego Police, San Diego Humane Society, or Lifeguards."

The San Diego Humane Society is both the publisher of the emergency directory and an enforcement body, which is worth knowing when you are deciding who to call about a dog at large.

We did not verify a dedicated San Diego animal control phone number, so we are not publishing one. Start with the humane society or the non-emergency police line, and your hotel front desk will have both.

Where to stay

Central San Diego, meaning downtown, Mission Valley, Old Town or the beach communities, puts you nearest the two-hospital Mission Valley cluster. North county bases are covered by Encinitas, San Marcos and Oceanside. South Bay is covered by Chula Vista.

No part of this county is far from 24-hour care, which is not something we have been able to write about anywhere else.

Our pet-friendly hotels in San Diego page covers the city, the San Diego hotel directory covers the wider area, and our questions to ask before booking a pet-friendly hotel list includes asking the front desk which vet they call.

Conclusion

Eleven 24-hour facilities across a seventy-mile county, two of them minutes apart in Mission Valley. That is the best emergency position of any city in this project, and it means the planning question here is not whether cover exists but which number matches your postcode.

Save the one for where you are sleeping. Carry fresh water, because the beaches here are open and the dog will drink the ocean. Test surfaces before you walk. And treat the Tijuana listing as what it is: a real entry on a real directory, with border questions attached that we have not answered.

Frequently asked questions

How many 24-hour emergency vets are there in San Diego?

The San Diego Humane Society's directory lists eleven facilities as open 24 hours, spread from Oceanside in the north to Chula Vista in the south, out of 22 emergency and urgent care entries in total.

What is the closest 24-hour vet to downtown San Diego?

Two in Mission Valley: VCA Emergency Animal Hospital and Referral Center at 7675 Mission Valley Rd on 619-299-2400, and Veterinary Emergency Group San Diego at 980 Camino De La Reina on 619-346-4249.

Which emergency vet should I use in north county?

Veterinary Emergency Group Encinitas at 260 N El Camino Real on 760-377-6611, Veterinary Specialty Hospital North County in San Marcos on 760-466-0600, or Veterinary Emergency Group Oceanside on 760-621-0711. All three are listed as 24 hours.

Is there a 24-hour vet in South Bay?

Yes. Pet Emergency & Specialty Center South County, 885 Canarios Ct. Suite 108, Chula Vista, on 619-591-4802.

Why does the San Diego Humane Society list a clinic in Tijuana?

Its directory includes Emevet in Tijuana, described as 24 hours and low cost. We report it because it appears on the list, and we give no advice about using it, because taking an animal across an international border raises documentation and re-entry questions we have not researched. Ring the clinic and US Customs and Border Protection before considering it.

Does the San Diego Humane Society endorse these hospitals?

No. Its own wording is that the businesses "were gathered as a courtesy for the community and are not endorsed or guaranteed by San Diego Humane Society."

Sources

Rules, hours and facilities change. Confirm with the managing agency before you rely on any of it.