AEC is always open 24/7. We do not take appointments for emergency cases, but we do request that you call to notify us that you are coming. We will prioritize the cases we see based on clinical severity, i.e. if there is a critical case, we will see that ahead of a stable case (even if that stable case has been waiting longer).

Our emergency examination and doctor consultation fee is $126. Any recommended diagnostics, treatments or medications are additional. We will review all your options so that you can make a fully informed decision about the care your pet receives.

We do charge a slightly higher fee for overnight and holiday hours ($134 after midnight until 6am, and $144 on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas). We do this because we pay our employees extra wages at those times to enable year round coverage.

Payment is due at the time of service. We highly encourage use of a credit card over cash / check. If you pay with cash we are unable to make change and will instead mail you a check for any difference.

When you call the hospital we will ask you to describe what is happening with your pet and will ask questions so we can help advise you on next steps. If we are very busy and your pet is stable, we may recommend that you check back in a couple of hours rather than wait here while we see more severe cases. Otherwise we will ask for an expected arrival time and/or try to coordinate that with you. While we do not take appointments, we do try to manage the flow of incoming cases to minimize your wait.

If we determine that your pet needs to be seen immediately, we can prep for that or possibly direct you to a closer emergency hospital near you. If we direct you to come in, you will complete a patient information form at checkin.AEC.vet after you have arrived. Once you are physically onsite, we ask that you please call to notify us that you are here so we can direct you to the lobby or an exam room or if necessary, to bring a team with a gurney to help bring your pet into the hospital. For some cases, we may provide special instructions to enter through an isolation entrance to protect other pets in the hospital.

Please keep in mind that as an emergency hospital, we could have a more severe or life and death situation appear at any time, or we could have that type of situation occur with an existing hospitalized patient, so we do ask for everyone's flexibility and patience (particularly during those critical situations).

AEC utilizes CareCredit and ScratchPay as our Payment Plan Partners. You can apply online anytime before or during your visit to explore your financing options through either provider. They have a variety of payment plan options available (plans vary, but typically include some low or no interest plan options). Please choose the link that corresponds to your AEC location:

	AEC Novi	AEC Rochester
	AEC Novi	AEC Rochester

Sometimes it is difficult for a pet owner to accurately describe what is going on with their pet. Your pet could be experiencing an emergency situation and you may not recognize it. Are their gums pale? Are they laterally recumbent? Are they drooling; lethargic; hyperactive; experiencing seizures, etc.?

Our patient intake staff will ask you many questions to help make an initial assessment of your pet's condition and attempt to guide you regarding the need for emergency care. Upon arrival, we are normally able to triage patients to prioritize which cases need to be seen from a medical standpoint.

In most situations if something has you worried, your instincts as a pet owner are probably very good and we will recommend that you bring your pet in to be seen. If there is a problem than you are in the right place to have your pet receive the care it needs, and if there isn't a problem than you will have the assurance of the doctor's examination and any recommendations they can offer.

If you have already completed your online check-in and called to notify us that you are here, than please continue to monitor your pet and alert us if there are any changes while you wait. You should have received a confirmation code after notifying us of your arrival, and you can use the link that accompanied your confirmation to monitor your position and see the overall number of patients currently being treated.

When a technician becomes available, they will call you and ask some additional questions about your pet's history and explain our process for evaluation. We prefer that you do not bring any personal belongings (toys, blankets, etc.) in with your pet. We will have you take your leash with you when you leave the hospital vestibule.

Once your pet is in our treatment area the technician will take their vital signs. If your pet is stable they may need to wait for a doctor to become available; the technician will monitor your pet. Once a doctor is ready they will perform a physical examination, discuss their findings and identify recommended diagnostics or treatments. A technician will help review those treatment choices and obtain your approval before proceeding. We will always present the recommended "standard of care", but we will also work within your budget to coordinate a treatment plan to address your pet's needs.

Unfortunately, wait times and delays are caused by a huge increase in case volume for emergency hospitals, and a general decrease in available staffing. During the Covid era this was a nationwide phenomenon and it has somewhat persisted to the present day.

We are truly sorry that you have to wait, but we don't have any control over the number of cases coming to see us, and we are doing all we can to help those in need. While some emergency hospitals have closed their doors when it gets too busy or choose to operate without an appropriate medical team, AEC has remained open and always has a veterinarian on hand. We believe that we need to be here and be open for that critical case that may have no other place to go.

You can complete the check-in at any time, however, you will not enter our digital patient queue until you have physically arrived in our parking lot and called to notify us that you are here. Once we have spoken with you and confirmed arrival, you will be texted a personal confirmation code, and that is when you will enter the patient queue. The queue allows you to view the number of current cases at our hospital, and your confirmation code shows your approximate position in the queue.

Checking in early does not change your position because you aren't entered in the queue until we have confirmed you are here. A benefit of checking in early is that we will see that you are coming (which helps us plan internally) and also, since your information is already entered you can be placed in the queue immediately after you arrive vs. someone that arrives but then still has to fill out the online form and check-in.

Keep in mind that priority is determined by case severity. If there is a life threatening case or an urgent, time sensitive case, we will see those patients as quickly as possible. If your pet is stable and already here waiting, we will see the life threatening or urgent case ahead of you, even though you have been waiting longer. We know this can be very frustrating, but we are all part of a community of pet lovers, and we can help each other by being patient.

We appreciate how valuable everyone's time is, and we do all we can to see patients in a logical and understandable order, but there are several scenarios where someone may appear to have "gone ahead of you" - and there are also times when someone must go ahead of you due to the condition of their pet.

Please consider the following:

a) In addition to AEC's 24/7 emergency service, there are also a few specialists that work at our hospital location on certain days of the week. Veterinary Cardiology Consultants, Veterinary Vision of Rochester and Animal Behavior Consultants all see cases by appointment, so it is quite possible that you may have observed a patient going into the building to be seen by a specialist rather than for an emergency visit.

b) Some seniors or other individuals either do not have a smart phone with internet access or are otherwise unable to complete an online form. Those cases will not appear in our digital queue, so it is possible that you observed someone coming in for an emergency visit after completing an "old school" paper check-in form or after providing their information over the phone.

c) You may have seen an "urgent" or "critical" emergency case being brought in ahead of other stable patients. As noted on your check-in acknowledgement, and as shown on our 'Current Cases' queue page, we will sequence patients based on the severity of their clinical signs.

e.g. We would likely see a vomiting and dehydrated dog ahead of a dog with a broken toenail - but if all patients are stable than we will see cases in order of arrival. When we have an "urgent" case (a case that is unstable or whose condition would worsen if left untreated) or a "critical" case (a case that is life threatening if left untreated) than we will bring those cases in ahead of other stable patients (even though you have been waiting longer).

We hope everyone can understand that if their pet was the one that needed immediate care, than they would be the one being treated first (but hopefully you don't find your pet in that situation).

The doctor will call you at least twice daily to provide you an update on your pet’s current condition, to communicate any proposed changes to the treatment plan, to coordinate potential visitation times and to coordinate a discharge time when your pet is ready to go home. Our doctors will normally try to call you between 6am - 8am and 4pm - 6pm. However, depending on the number of patients hospitalized and the nature of their care, these times are approximate (doctors will call as soon as they are able).

A technician or other staff member will communicate with you to report results of diagnostic testing, call after the completion of any surgical procedure, or if there are any significant changes to your pet’s overall condition.

Our number one goal is to provide the very best patient care. You may call for brief updates as our staff does answer the phone 24/7. However, the doctor or your technician handling your pet may not be available to speak with you at the time of your call based on the number of patients or any critical cases they are attending to. Remember, we will proactively call if there are any changes you need to be made aware of.

Please limit the number of family members that call for updates. We need to focus our attention on your pet and the other patients in our care. We request that you designate one family representative to communicate with our staff.

While AEC embraces the human animal bond, our primary concern lies in the overall health and comfort of our hospitalized patients. You and the doctor will discuss pet visitation information and will determine if your visit is in the best interest of your pet.
If visitation is approved, we ask that you always call the hospital before arriving to ensure that we can accommodate your visit. We want to provide a quality visit while maintaining the best care for all of our patients. As a critical care hospital, the number of clients and patients can change drastically. Please understand we may have to ask you to wait while we are taking care of other patients in our care.
Unfortunately, visitations are NOT allowed between the hours of 10:00pm and 9:00am, unless approved by the doctor.

Your pet is hospitalized with us to receive medical treatment and we need to limit the traffic in our treatment room to allow all our patients to rest and recover. Therefore, we limit all visits to 15 minutes. The doctor will be notified of your arrival and they will do their best to check in, but again realize that they may be attending to multiple needs of the hospital at that time. If your pet becomes too anxious or excited, during or after the visitation, the doctor may decide that visitation is not within the best interest of your pet. Visitation of pets in the isolation ward will be at the discretion of the doctor.

The doctor will develop a personalized treatment plan for your pet, which includes providing opportunities for our patients to relieve themselves. Each animal in our care has their vitals taken at least every four hours. Cats are provided a litterbox at all times. Dogs are leash walked outside by a staff member every four hours, and anytime they may indicate the need to relieve themselves.

Nutrition is extremely important in the recovery of all our patients. AEC has a small variety of foods to offer our patients. If your pet has any special dietary requirements (allergies or sensitivities) or has specific preferences, please inform our staff to make sure we can accommodate your pet’s needs.

Depending on the specific treatment plan for your pet, we may ask you to bring in a small supply of your pet’s regular diet. Note that AEC will not feed a RAW diet while your pet is in our care as it can pose safety concerns to our other patients and staff.

AEC will discharge a pet when we are confident they can be released and will do well on their own and/or with follow-up by your regular veterinarian. The treatment plan that you approve includes the anticipated length of a hospitalized stay for treatment. Each pet is a unique individual and therefore their response to a treatment plan can be equally unique. With regular communication, you will be kept aware of your pet’s current condition and of any proposed changes to the treatment plan, including length of your pet’s stay. When your pet is ready to be discharged from the hospital, you will be notified and a discharge time will be arranged that is convenient for you.

Communication is so important! Please let the attending doctor or a staff member know if you are unhappy or disappointed with any aspect of your visit. Alternately, please give me an opportunity to listen to your concern. I am Dr. Heather Robertson, the owner of Animal Emergency Center. I will take your feedback to heart, and gladly listen to you share your experience at AEC. I want every customer that comes here to feel they were treated like family, and for your pet to receive the very best patient care possible.

You can leave a voice message with me directly anytime at 248-654-5130, or call 248-348-1788 during daytime hours and let the receptionist know you would like to leave me a message. Please allow me 1-2 days to respond (in case I am working a shift / overnight as a doctor at the time you leave your message). Please also let me know a preferred time to reach you.

Please remember that Animal Emergency Center is a "Healing Environment" and we do expect everyone to treat each other with kindness and respect. We have a zero tolerance policy for any type of aggression directed towards anyone, under any circumstance. Any use of abusive language, verbal or sexual harassment, threats of harm or physical assault, or destruction of property may result in removal from the premises and/or prosecution.