Pet Help in the San Diego Area
In San Diego and need help now? For an emergency, go to a 24-hour hospital below and tell them if cost is a barrier. To lower costs, start with the spay/neuter programs and low-cost clinics. For a bill you can’t cover, get a free funding plan.
Want what’s closest to you? Search by ZIP code or your location. Nearby: the Inland Empire. Santa Barbara and Ventura.
Spay, neuter and vouchers
- SNAP San Diego (Spay Neuter Action Project)
San Diego County (mobile clinics)
Nonprofit mobile spay/neuter clinics plus vaccine and microchip clinics, with free spay/neuter vouchers for junior enlisted military. - San Diego Humane Society - Community Cat Program
5480 Gaines St., San Diego, CA 92110 · (619) 299-7012
Spay/neuter, vaccination and exams for healthy free-roaming community cats, which are then returned where found, plus trap rentals with training.
Low-cost clinics and vaccines
- San Diego Humane Society - Community Veterinary Clinic
5485 Gaines St., San Diego, CA 92110 · (858) 216-3908
Appointment-only veterinary clinic for wellness, senior/sick and spay/neuter care for pet families with the greatest need, on campus and at mobile sites.
Help paying a vet bill
- Rancho Coastal Humane Society - Veterinary Care Program for Seniors
389 Requeza St., Encinitas, CA 92024 · (760) 579-2426
Case-by-case help paying for veterinary treatment for pets of low-income seniors, with payment going directly to the veterinarian. - FACE Foundation (Foundation for Animal Care and Education)
10505 Sorrento Valley Road #175, San Diego, CA 92121 · (858) 450-3223
San Diego nonprofit that provides financial help for veterinary care to families at risk of losing a pet due to hardship.
Veterinary hospitals and clinics
- Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) - Encinitas
260 North El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024 · (760) 377-6611
24/7 emergency vet hospital in Encinitas serving North County. - VCA Emergency Animal Hospital & Referral Center (San Diego)
7675 Mission Valley Road, San Diego, CA 92108 · (619) 299-2400
24-hour emergency animal hospital and referral center in Mission Valley. - Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) - San Diego
980 Camino De La Reina, San Diego, CA 92108 · (619) 346-4249
24/7 emergency vet and urgent care hospital in San Diego.
Pet food
- Rancho Coastal Humane Society - Pet Food Bank
389 Requeza St., Encinitas, CA 92024 · (760) 753-6413
Saturday pet food bank providing dog and cat food to pet parents who need help. - Helen Woodward Animal Center - AniMeals
6523 Helen Woodward Way, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 · (858) 756-4117
Delivers pet food to homebound and low-income seniors, disabled veterans, people with disabilities, and homeless individuals through partner organizations. - San Diego Humane Society - Community Pet Pantry
5480 Gaines St., San Diego, CA 92110 · (619) 299-7012
Pick up dog or cat food and other supplies at San Diego Humane Society campuses.
Keeping your pet, end-of-life care and pet loss
- County of San Diego Animal Services - North Shelter (Carlsbad)
2481 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad, CA 92011 · (619) 767-2675
County animal shelter in Carlsbad that handles adoptions and county animal services for its service area. - San Diego County Carlsbad Animal Shelter (North Shelter)
2481 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad, CA 92011 · 619-767-2675
County animal shelter in Carlsbad. Adoptions close at 4:30pm. - Chula Vista Animal Care Facility
130 Beyer Way, Chula Vista, CA 91911 · (619) 691-5123
City-run animal shelter serving Chula Vista (and Imperial Beach by contract) with adoptions, licensing, and rabies vaccination and microchip services. - San Diego Humane Society: El Cajon Campus
1373 N. Marshall Ave., El Cajon, CA 92020 · 619-299-7012
Animal shelter and adoption center in El Cajon. - Rancho Coastal Humane Society - Adoption Center
389 Requeza St., Encinitas, CA 92024 · (760) 753-6413
Nonprofit humane society adoption center in Encinitas. - San Diego Humane Society: Escondido Campus
3500 Burnet Drive, Escondido, CA 92027 · 619-299-7012
Animal shelter and adoption center in Escondido. - Helen Woodward Animal Center - Adoptions
6461 El Apajo Road, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 · (858) 756-4117
Nonprofit animal center in Rancho Santa Fe offering dog and cat adoptions. Every adoptable animal is vetted, spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. - Parrot Education & Adoption Center (PEAC)
San Diego County · 619-287-8200
All-volunteer San Diego nonprofit that rescues and cares for relinquished companion parrots, rehomes them, fosters, and teaches current and future bird owners proper care. - San Diego Herpetological Society - Rescue and Relinquishments
San Diego County · (619) 760-0578
Volunteer-run rescue that takes in unwanted pet reptiles and amphibians, fosters them in volunteers' homes, and rehomes them. Turtles and tortoises are referred to the San Diego Turtle & Tortoise Society. - San Diego House Rabbit Society (SDHRS)
4807 Mercury Street, Suite A, San Diego, CA 92111 · 858-565-2869
Volunteer-run nonprofit that rescues and adopts out domestic rabbits and helps local shelters place them. It keeps a waitlist for owner-relinquished rabbits. - San Diego Humane Society - Rabbits and Small Animals
San Diego County
Large humane society that adopts out rabbits, guinea pigs and small rodents such as hamsters, mice and rats at its campuses in El Cajon, Escondido, Oceanside, San Diego and Ramona. - San Diego Humane Society: San Diego Campus
5500 Gaines St., San Diego, CA 92110 · 619-299-7012
Animal shelter and adoption center on Gaines St in San Diego, with an on-site cat cafe. - San Diego Turtle & Tortoise Society
Adoption events: Casa Del Prado, Room 101, Balboa Park, San Diego
Volunteer society that evaluates turned-in turtles and tortoises, places them in foster care, and adopts them out at monthly meetings after a yard or pond inspection. - SDHRS Rabbit-Savvy Veterinarian Directory
4807 Mercury Street, Suite A, San Diego, CA 92111 · 858-565-2869
Directory of 16 veterinary clinics, including emergency clinics, that treat rabbits regularly. It lists a spay/neuter program that does rabbits and clinics known to offer the RHDV2 vaccine. Includes Riverside and Murrieta clinics as well as San Diego County ones. - County of San Diego Animal Services - East Shelter (Santee)
452 Riverview Parkway, Santee, CA 92071 · (619) 767-2675
County animal shelter in Santee, which took over sheltering from the closed Bonita shelter. - San Diego County Santee Animal Shelter (East Shelter)
452 Riverview Parkway, Santee, CA 92071 · 619-767-2675
County animal shelter in Santee, which took over sheltering from the closed Bonita shelter. Adoptions close at 4:30pm.
Paying for a bigger bill
Ask any hospital about payment plans, CareCredit or Scratchpay, and apply to more than one assistance program. Ways to pay a vet bill in California lists the programs that are open now, and a free funding plan puts them together for your pet, with a free fundraiser page if you want one.