America’s Best Veterinary Hospitals

*Our 2021 list will be out soon!

Dear Readers,

The mission of this list is to single out the country’s leading veterinary specialty and referral hospitals. We recognize that a veterinary practice without comprehensive, 24/7 emergency or specialty care can also meet the highest standards, and we are endeavoring to commit more resources during 2021 – Year 2 for TCR – to building out more sections of this database to recognize practices in different categories. We appreciate your continued patience.

Eligibility for our ‘best hospital’ list is limited to fully staffed facilities with 24/7 emergency and specialty services.

A number of elements factor into which hospitals are selected. TCR engages an extensive network of professionals across the animal health industry, as well as pet owners around the country, for input.

We look for two accreditations: The Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS) accredits veterinary hospitals for their emergency and critical care capabilities; we automatically include all VECCS – Level 1 hospitals because there are only about a dozen hospitals in the entire country that earn this elite distinction. There is also the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA): this organization also accredits veterinary hospitals using, they say, about 900 criteria; only about 15% of hospitals are AAHA-accredited. However, the AAHA accreditation does not automatically earn a hospital a place on the list.

TCR conducts exhaustive due diligence protocols for all hospitals that appear on the list. Our veterinary hospital research includes obtaining any available public records from local, state, and federal government, including reports from OSHA, veterinary medical licensing boards, and health departments.

The hospitals listed here have profiles pending in our newveterinary hospitalsection. Please check periodically as long-term reporting work is now underway.

We rate hospitals on a 1-5 ‘paw’ scale, and hospitals are searchable by rating. Many of the hospitals listed have not yet been rated.

Your feedback is most welcome and sincerely appreciated at editor@thecaninereview.com .

Arizona

• Animal Medical and Surgical Center (Scottsdale)
• Arizona Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Center (AZVECC) in Gilbert, AZ
• VCA Animal Referral and Emergency Center of Arizona (Mesa)

California

• Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego (San Diego, CA)
• Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of UC Davis (Davis, CA)
• VCA West Los Angeles

Colorado

• Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for Small Animals(Fort Collins, CO)
• Veterinary Specialists of the Rockies (Castle Rock, CO)

Connecticut

• Cornell University Veterinary Specialists (Stamford, CT)
• VCA Referral and Emergency Center (Norwalk, CT)
• Pieper Veterinary Emergency & Specialty (Middletown, CT)
• VCA Shoreline Veterinary Referral and Emergency (Shelton, CT)

Delaware

• Savannah Animal Hospital (Lewes, DE)
• VCA Newark Animal Hospital
• Veterinary Specialty Center of Delaware (New Castle, DE)

District of Columbia

• Friendship Animal Hospital

Florida

• Marathon Veterinary Hospital (Marathon, FL)
• University of Florida Small Animal Hospital (Gainseville, FL)
• BluePearl Pet Hospital (Jacksonville, FL) 

Georgia

• UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital (Athens, GA)

Illinois

• University of Illinois, Veterinary Teaching Hospital

Indiana

• Northeast Indiana Veterinary Emergency Specialty Hospital (Fort Wayne, IN)

Louisiana

• LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital

Maine

• Maine Veterinary Medical Center (MVMC) (Scarborough, ME)
• Maine Veterinary Referral Center (Scarborough, ME)
• Portland Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care

Maryland

• Anne Arundel Veterinary Emergency Clinic (Annapolis, MD)

Massachusetts

• Angell Animal Medical Center (Boston, MA)
• Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital
• Tufts Veterinary Emergency Treatment & Specialties (Walpole, MA)

Michigan

• Emergency Veterinary Hospital in Ann Arbor (EVH)
• Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center  (East Lansing, MI)
• Animal Emergency Hospital (Burton, MI)
• VCA Southwest Michigan Animal Emergency and Referral Center (Kalamazoo, MI)
• BluePearl Pet Hospital (Southfield, MI)
• BluePearl Pet Hospital (Auburn Hills, MI)

Minnesota

• Veterinary Medical Center – U of Minnesota (St. Paul, MN)

Mississippi

• Animal Emergency & Referral Center (Flowood, MS)

Montana

• Best Friends Animal Hospital & Urgent Care Center (Billings, MT)
• Pet Emergency Trauma Services Bozeman (PETS Bozeman) (Bozeman, MT)

Nebraska

• VCA Midwest Veterinary & Referrals (Omaha, NE)

New Jersey

• Oradell Animal Hospital (Paramus, NJ)
• Red Bank (Mount Laurel, NJ)
• AnimERge (Raritan, NJ)

New York

• The Animal Medical Center (New York, NY)
• BluePearl Downtown (New York, NY)
• BluePearl Midtown (New York, NY)
• Cornell University Companion Animal Hospital (Ithaca, NY)
• Long Island Veterinary Specialists (Plainview, NY)
• Upstate Veterinary Specialties or UVS (Latham, NY)

North Carolina

• NC State University Veterinary Hospital

North Dakota

• Red River Animal Emergency Hospital (Fargo, ND)

Ohio

• Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center (Columbus, OH)

Oregon

• Cascade Veterinary Referral Center (Tigard, Oregon)
• VCA Southeast Portland Animal Hospital
• DoveLewis ER & ICU Animal Hospital (Portland, Oregon)

Pennsylvania

• The Ryan Hospital (Philadelphia, PA) / U. of Penn Veterinary School
• Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center (VSEC)  – Levittown, PA
• Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center (VSEC) – Philadelphia, PA
• Valley Central Veterinary Referral Center (VCVRC) –  Whitehall, PA

South Carolina

• Charleston Veterinary Referral Center (Charleston, SC)

Tennessee

• Nashville Veterinary Specialists (Nashville, TN)
• University of Tennessee Veterinary Medical Center (Knoxville, TN)

Texas

• Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists (Houston, TX)
• Texas A&M University Small Animal Veterinary Teaching Hospital (College Station, TX)

Vermont

• Burlington Emergency and Veterinary Specialists (BEVS)

Virginia

• Columbia Pike Animal Hospital and Emergency Center (Annandale, VA)

Washington

• Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital)
• Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle (VSCOSEATTLE)
• Seattle Veterinary Specialists BluePearl – Kirkland
• Pet Emergency Services (Pasco, WA)

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