Animal Referral & Emergency Centre

Charged $469 after sitting in my car for nearly two hours waiting for a vet to wash a wound on my dog's head. Expect to pay around three times what other vets charge.
Unless my dogs on deaths door and every other vet is closed ill never go back to this money making machine.

Thank you so much for the care, kindness and compassion you showed our family yesterday, after we brought in our big beautiful Doberman Cleo. She was obviously gone when we got there, but you showed all the care and concern that you would if she were still alive. Thank you for the work you and your dedication to it, we really appreciate it. Kinds regards, Tom, Liz, Emily and Sam xx

Midnight and I live 3 hours away. Called in and the vet nurse spoke to me on the phone in depth about all of the symptoms and what I should do to keep my dog healthy through the night. Very helpful and kind. Thank you

Revolting experience. Phoned ahead to see if they could fit my dog in as she developed a urinary infection. Arrived and had to wait 5 hours in the car with her. Asked them to do tests and after I got the sample myself, they didn’t bother use the sample until I asked how the test was going. In which they asked if I consented to a test. Considering I had been waiting over two hours at that point, with a dog I had told them was incredibly anxious out the house, I was already annoyed. Got messed around for the next two hours being told we were next in line. Parking lot was empty, I’m sure there were internal patients needing care but with time management and general empathy towards animals being that poor, it’s hard to blame the wait on anything but incompetence. Didn’t even get to the see the vet, I had to leave before being seen due to my dog deteriorating, and asked for my sample to be sent to a different vet. Final straw was being charged a consult fee. Would love to know for what consult. Empty handed with a dog more flat than when she arrived. Terrible experience, a tragedy they’re the only vet open on a Sunday. Worth it to drive to Central Coast instead.

After my Cavoodle Odie had an unexpected seziure at 1am I rushed him into the emergency vet. The nurses took Odie straight out the back whilst I filled out all his forms. A nurse then come back out and sat with me and explained what was happening, ensured me Odie was okay and the vet would be out soon to speak to me. The nurse spoke with compasion and understanding for my emotional state. This eased my mind and emotions.
Odie was okay and was able to come home the next day
Althought yes this vet trip was more expensive than the regular vet I would pay anything for my little dog and am very grateful to have this service in Newcastle.

Had to rush out little Pomeranian Milo into the vets on a very busy Saturday night as he wasn’t breathing properly and showed signs of strange behaviour. We were greeted and Milo was rushed out the back. It wasn’t long when he was returned to us by a triage nurse stating all his vitals signs were perfect. We opted to monitor him at home as there was a long wait to be seen and i felt I was maybe overreacting. Milo is perfectly ok but some people weren’t lucky to be able to take their furbabies home with them. The team were so kind, compassionate and very informative. I haven’t heard many good reviews but I couldn’t fault them at all. Just beautiful people doing an extremely hard job. Thank you team at AREVets.

I am thankful for all staff whilst my Luna was in AREC care. A special thank you to Elizabeth Napier who was Lunas first point of contact when entering AREC.
In regards to communication - unmatched.
All staff rostered on at the times Luna was admitted in AREC care I was made sure we understood everything that was happening step by step to keep myself and partner up to date.

Sadly my beloved Luna girl did not make it out of emergency and passed on Wednesday 14 June.
I thank all staff at AREC for the amazing care and support during one of the hardest times of my life. ️
Luna was so loved and I am grateful for the care during sadly her last moments here with us.

Our regular vet referred us here as they couldn’t fit us in yesterday and our cat couldn’t walk and was in a bad way. We suspected another cat had bitten her but we needed to see a vet for treatment.
The staff were attentive but the vet was in experienced and didn’t give us any convenience. She failed to diagnose the problem and wanted to charge us $1500 just for X-rays which we declined. $440 later we left last night with our cat.

We went to our regular vet today. Paid another $164 which included a consult an injection and antibiotics for 1 week. Our vet quickly confirmed our cat had been bitten by another cat and showed me the bite marks.

I get that this facility is for emergencies and I’m sure they do an amazing job, but just know their fees are outrageous and you may not be getting the highest level of treatment and correct diagnosis you’re paying for. The vet was afraid to touch our cat for fear of being bitten. Seriously our cat was in a lot of pain but never once hissed or got aggressive. I thought vets were trained to handle animals?

I was witness to them putting my cat to sleep in a janitorial closet room. As if the event isn’t depressing enough. Enough said.

Within a few days of each other, we had two pets needing emergency care.the first was callie, who ended up having hge.staff were amazing through and through.she ended up staying two nights and bounced back quickly.being able to call and get updates about my baby was amazing; she’s my dog and i felt awful and terrified with her away from me, and the team didn’t even flinch the second night when i called at 1am because i just needed reassurance that she was fine!

our second dog ended up being quite serious in the end and finished her hospital stay in a critical condition at sash (luckily, lucy has recovered well!). While arec weren’t able to diagnose and treat her problem, they communicated this wonderfully and my family is forever grateful.while originally thinking she was suffering with a toxin, lucy ended up with severe pancreatitis and sepsis.despite needing to call us late at night (around 1-2am!) the vet was still professional in their assessment and recommendation that lucy be transferred to sash, and were nothing but kind and empathetic to us and our dog.we really can’t thank you all enough for your timely recognition that lucy needed more specialised care - it was definitely a contributing factor to her recovery

all in all i couldn’t recommend arec more for any animal in need of emergency vet care!

Our golden retriever, Dexter, was brought in to the emergency vets one Saturday night. We left him there for the team to run some tests and had a call to say he needed surgery. Without hesitation, we opted for the surgery. I want to say a huge thank you to the vet, Maya Boxler, who saved my dogs life. It is a week later and Dexter is doing very well. I admire the skill this vet showed in being able to treat Dexter so successfully. Thank you Maya…it is a joy to see the kids being able to cuddle Dexter again. You’ve given him another chance in life and for that I am so so grateful. Thank you!

This place is the most pathetic after hours care, they care more about money then they actually care about the animal. My dog is sick and they wouldn't take him because I wouldn't have the full medical bill. Please never go here

Our dog came in today with issues with his eye. The vet was clearly inexperienced, recommending that our dog go to his usual vet tomorrow because they didn’t ‘cover eyes at uni’. Instead was more interested saying the eye pressure machine cost $10k. She didn’t know what the low pressure in one eye meant! This is disgusting service and complete mismanagement, she should have been supervised by a qualified vet or at the very least conferred with another vet to get the right advice and care for our dog. Being charged $400 to be told to go to your own vet is horrendous. A refund and a review of these business practices are needed.

The staff were very caring and understanding when we arrived in the early hours of the morning with our very sick dog. They made sure she was comfortable so we could spend some time with her before our final goodbye. The vet and nurses showed great compassion towards us and our dog, Moose, in what was an extremely difficult time.

Quoted my partner and I one price and once we called again to clarify before travelling an hour to get there they upped the price another few hundred. Honestly it’s not about the money but the unprofessional experience we had only over the phone to this ‘emergency vet’. I’d pay anything to help my pets but it’s the sheer lack of compassion and only wanting the money that made me realise this business only does it for money. Disgusting.

We took our one year old puppy here and the triage nurse Jenny was outstanding in her manner and professionalism
She was caring and gentle with our boy and gave a thorough check up
Cannot thank them enough for their help

Big thank you to the amazing team working Christmas Day, can’t thank you guys enough. The staff were lovely and we were seen quickly

Saved my parent's beloved "daughter" Daisy, a 12 y.o Jack Russell terrier. She had cancer of her spleen. Very much a Christmas Miracle for the Icetons. I'll trust my future British Bulldogs (mine are the HEALTHY specimens!) to these guys. We NEVER put a price on love.

Didn’t give us an update, told us our dog was stable, came back two hours later for X-ray results was told vet had not seen xray only to wait again and the be told that the only option was to put our dog down. Not sure what happened in the middle as no one gave me an update on her. She is 13years old. I opted to bring her home on pain relief was not offered an option to see her and had to wait another 30 minutes in the waiting room to be able to take my dying dog home and wasn’t able to go and see her. They kept calling her a him. I get they are an emergency vet and are busy and stressed but some compassion would be nice I had to ask about four times to have my dog given back to me. It’s not an environment I would want my dog euthanised I’m not even sure they would let you see the dog as this was definitely not an option discussed with me.

I was absolutely appalled with the service I received from AR&C.
Throughout the evening, my dog (Leo) was gagging, appeared to be choking, shivering and warm to the touch. I woke up at 2am to the sound of Leo gagging/coughing continuously and what sounded like something was itching at his throat or was attempting to vomit something up. I contacted AR&C and informed the receptionist of Leo's current state and symptoms, I was then advised to bring Leo in for further assessing. I arrived with Leo, I was one of two patients. At the time, Leo appeared to be okay and wasn't displaying as many symptoms in comparison to prior at home. He was assessed by the triage nurse, I was informed he had a high-temp, however he appeared okay (good thing right!). Approximately 20 minutes later, a Vet walked out and said "so what's wrong with him? ", when I told her what had happened she glared at Leo with a blank face, and didn't say anything at first. She then asked if I could take him for a walk whilst she observed him from behind. Leo appeared to be walking okay, from that she giggled under her breath and said "I suppose we better take him through". The tone and body language clearly indicated this Vet was bothered and irritated rather than wanting to help. She listened to Leo's lungs in the consultation room and said "his lungs sound fine, I don't know what to tell you there's nothing to examine. Has he been gagging since you arrived? " I replied "he has a couple of times, however not as much. It sounds like he has something stuck in his throat, he just seems off and uncomfortable. He also didn't eat his dinner which is very unusual", again she glared at him without an answer at first. She then stated "go home and we can pretend this never happened", then giggled. I was absolutely blown-away. Fast forward, when we arrived home Leo started to experience the symptoms again, he appeared super uncomfortable. I of course, was absolutely beyond stressed and confused, losing complete sleep over this. I know my dog and that this isn't normal. My partner took Leo to our local Vet today (approximately 9 hours after). He was given two needles and is now on antibiotics, an infection in his throat with suspected kennel cough. Again, I'm absolutely appalled. However, I'm thankful that Leo is okay and has received the correct treatment and attention he and all other animals deserve. As a result, I contacted AR&C and filed a complaint.