Aug 24, 2026

Emergency Vets in Seattle: 4 We Could Verify Are Open 24 Hours

Four Seattle-area hospitals publish round-the-clock emergency cover on their own sites, spread across the city, north, east and south.

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

Seattle, Washington9 min readPet Care & Services

Four hospitals in the Seattle area publish round-the-clock emergency cover on their own website: one in the city, three in the suburbs, spread north, east and south.

We are going to be straight about the limits of that list. It is what we could verify, not a claim that nothing else exists.

The four

Hospital	Address	Phone
VEG Seattle	1827 15th Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98119	(564) 888-4898
VEG Lynnwood	4725 196th Street Southwest, Lynnwood, WA 98036	(425) 329-7170
VEG Redmond	15830 Redmond Way, Redmond, WA 98052	(425) 818-0760
VEG Federal Way	1209 South 320th Street, Federal Way, WA 98003	(253) 260-3919

All four are listed under the heading "OPEN 24/7" on veg.com's Washington page.

Geographically that is: in the city, VEG Seattle on 15th Avenue West in Interbay, which is also a five-minute drive from the Seattle Animal Shelter. North, Lynnwood. East across the lake, Redmond. South, Federal Way.

Save two, and pick them by drive time

Seattle's geography is water and bridges, and that changes emergency planning in a way flat cities do not.

If you are staying in the city, VEG Seattle at 1827 15th Avenue West is the obvious first save. It is close to Magnuson Park's side of town by car, close to Kinnear Park and Magnolia Manor, and central enough for downtown.

If your day is on the Eastside, Redmond, because crossing a floating bridge at the wrong hour is not a thing to do with a sick dog.

If you are south, Federal Way.

If you are north or heading to Lynnwood or Everett, Lynnwood.

Our emergency vet, what to know guide covers what a hospital will ask when you ring ahead, and our pet first aid basics guide covers the interval before you arrive.

What to have ready before you call

Your dog's weight, because almost every drug dose depends on it.

Vaccination status and any medication, with doses. Our pet health and vaccination tracker is built for this and works as a photo on your phone.

What happened and when. Times matter for toxins and for bloat.

Where the dog has been. In Seattle that means saying if it swam, because the one place a dog can legally swim inside city limits, Magnuson Park's off-leash area, is open water rather than a treated pool.

A card in your wallet. Our emergency pet info card is a one-page version to carry, useful precisely because the moment you need it is the moment you cannot recall anything.

The Seattle-specific incidents worth preparing for

Off-leash incidents. Seattle publishes fourteen off-leash areas, and its off-leash areas page calls Magnuson "by far the largest, most popular and most widely used off-leash area in Seattle". Concentrated use means dog-to-dog friction, and the city prices the consequences: permitting an animal to bite is $269 under SMC 9.25.084(G-1), and permitting an animal to menace a human is also $269, per the Seattle Animal Shelter's fees and fines page.

Water. The city bars dogs from beaches, swimming areas, wading areas, ponds, fountains and streams in its parks, which removes most casual water exposure. Magnuson is the exception, and open freshwater carries its own considerations for ears and for what a dog swallows.

Stairs and slopes. Several off-leash areas are built into hillsides. Dr. Jose Rizal Park is reached by "a long set of stairs at the north end of the Park", I-5 Colonnade is "on a steep slope" with tiers and stairs, and Woodland Park's off-leash area is on a slope. That is hard on older dogs, and our traveling with a senior dog guide covers pacing it.

Traffic at the gate. The city warns specifically about Regrade Park downtown, where "Street vehicle traffic is substantial in this area", and about Kinnear, where "Mercer is a busy street" and dogs should be leashed between the car park and the off-leash area.

If your dog is impounded rather than injured

Different emergency, and Seattle publishes the costs: $45 for a first impound, $150 second, $200 third, $275 fourth, $375 fifth, plus $20 daily kennelling, $15 vaccinations and $30 for a microchip implant.

The Seattle Animal Shelter is at 2061 15th Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119, on (206) 386-7387. That is a short distance from VEG Seattle on the same street, which is a useful coincidence to know.

The single thing that shortens that story is a current microchip registration and a licence tag on the collar. Our microchipping your pet guide covers the registration side, and Seattle fines a missing licence at $125 under SMC 9.25.080(A), which is the most expensive routine penalty in the city.

Cost, and the conversation to have early

Emergency care is charged at the time in most cases, and asking for an estimate is normal.

Two questions worth asking at the desk rather than afterwards: what the consultation and initial diagnostics are likely to come to, and whether a deposit is needed to admit the dog. Our how to choose pet insurance guide covers the version of this you can solve before travelling.

And one note on the model. A hospital that is open 24 hours triages, so the sickest animal is seen first regardless of who arrived first. A dog with a limp waits behind a dog that cannot breathe, and that is the right order even when you are the one waiting.

Before the trip, not during it

Save two numbers in your phone, not one, chosen by where you are sleeping and where you are spending the day.

Photograph the vaccination record.

Check the microchip registration, which takes five minutes and is the difference between a phone call and a search.

Write down your dog's weight, because you will not remember it at 2 a.m.

Where to stay: our pet-friendly hotels in Seattle page lists what each property charges and allows, and the Seattle hotel directory covers the wider area.

The other emergency: a lost dog

Not veterinary, and worth setting up before it happens.

The Seattle Animal Shelter, at 2061 15th Ave W on (206) 386-7387, holds found animals, and its hours and contacts page lists when you can attend in person. Impound costs start at $45 for a first impound and rise to $150 for a second, per the fine schedule.

Two things shorten that story to a phone call: a current microchip registration, and the city licence tag on the collar. Seattle fines a missing licence at $125 and a missing tag at $54, so the incentive runs the same way as the practical benefit.

The shelter also publishes the Seattle Municipal Code sections that govern impound and release, which is worth a look if you ever need to argue about one.

Getting the licence sorted, because it comes up at the desk

Emergency hospitals ask for identification and history rather than a city licence, but the shelter does, and an out-of-date licence is a nuisance at exactly the wrong moment.

The city's licensing page gives the routes: in person at a Customer Service Center or the Seattle Animal Shelter, or by post to Seattle Pet Licensing, 2061 15th Ave. W., Seattle, WA 98119, with cheques payable to City of Seattle. Replacement tags can be requested online at $7.

One more habit that shortens an emergency

Write your dog's weight on the same card as the phone numbers.

It sounds trivial. It is the first question a hospital asks, it determines almost every drug dose, and it is the thing people cannot recall under stress. A number on a card in your wallet removes a minute of guessing at the point where minutes are the only currency you have.

Two more that belong on the same card: your regular vet's name and number, and any medication with its dose. If your dog is on anything at all, the hospital needs the name and the amount rather than a description of the packet.

Why we are listing four rather than a round number

A quick word on method, because it affects how you should use this page.

We list a hospital when its own website states its hours. That is a deliberately narrow rule, and it means our tables are sometimes shorter than a search result page.

The alternative is worse. Aggregator listings go stale, opening hours change without notice, and a hospital that closed its overnight service two years ago can still look open in a directory. In an emergency, a confident wrong answer costs time you do not have.

So the four here are four we could read. If you find a fifth locally, use it. The rule that actually protects you is the one at the top of this page: ring before you drive, and ask whether they can see your dog now.

Conclusion

Four hospitals we could verify as open around the clock: VEG Seattle in the city, plus Lynnwood, Redmond and Federal Way covering north, east and south.

Save two of them now. And treat this list as a starting point rather than the whole map.

Frequently asked questions

Which Seattle vets are open 24 hours?

Four are listed as OPEN 24/7 on veg.com's Washington page: VEG Seattle at 1827 15th Avenue West on (564) 888-4898, VEG Lynnwood at 4725 196th Street Southwest on (425) 329-7170, VEG Redmond at 15830 Redmond Way on (425) 818-0760, and VEG Federal Way at 1209 South 320th Street on (253) 260-3919.

Is that all of them?

No, it is what we could verify. Call locally rather than assuming this list is complete.

What is the nearest 24-hour vet to downtown Seattle?

VEG Seattle at 1827 15th Avenue West in Interbay, on (564) 888-4898.

What is nearest to the Eastside?

VEG Redmond at 15830 Redmond Way, on (425) 818-0760, which avoids a bridge crossing from Bellevue or Redmond.

What should I tell the hospital when I call?

Your dog's weight, its vaccination status and any medication with doses, what happened and when, and whether the dog has been swimming, since Magnuson is open freshwater rather than a treated pool.

What does an impound cost in Seattle?

$45 for a first impound, then $150, $200, $275 and $375, plus $20 daily kennelling and other fees including $30 for a microchip implant.

Sources

Hours and phone numbers change. Call before you drive.