Desperate pet owners in San Diego are ditching high-priced American animal hospitals and sending their furry friends on a medical vacation across the border to Tijuana, where veterinary services can cost a fraction of the price.
And they don’t even have to leave their living rooms to do it.
Companies like MexiVet Express have turned medical tourism for pets into a door-to-door concierge service. For a fee, the company picks up pets in Southern California, navigates the notoriously long border wait times, translates for the Mexican veterinarians, and brings the animals back home the same day.
The company, founded in 2018 by Anna Ginsky after she was quoted more than $2,000 for her own dog’s dental work, has since grown into a full-fledged operation connecting hundreds of pet owners each year with cheaper care south of the border.
MexiVet doesn’t just play chauffeur — it acts as a full-service middleman, lining up appointments, translating between vets and owners, organizing paperwork and even helping choose the right clinic in Mexico.
On the day of the visit, drivers scoop up pets, shuttle them to Tijuana, stay in contact during the appointment and return them home — sometimes the very same afternoon.
The savings can be massive. The company claims pet owners can slash vet bills by 50% to 90% compared to San Diego prices, a jaw-dropping discount that’s fueling the trend.
After Coco the dog ate a rock in San Diego, its owners were quoted $10,000 to get the care she needed. Across the border, she received an exploratory surgery for roughly $2,000.
One dog owner, Wes Daniel, told NBC 7 San Diego that he expects to pay about $2,000 in Mexico for multiple procedures — roughly half of what he’d be charged stateside.
With pet insurance premiums soaring and routine care costs ballooning, more owners are willing to let their furry companions take an international detour.
But not everyone is wagging their tails.
A local veterinarian warned Daniel that bargain care can sometimes come back to bite, citing cases where pets needed expensive follow-up treatment once back in the US.
MexiVet, for its part, stresses that it’s not a medical provider — just the middleman — working with what it calls a network of experienced, reputable clinics in Tijuana. Ginsky told NBC that “price transparency, easy communication with pet owners, private parking and follow-up services” are key.
“Ideally, they have a U.S. phone number, ideally they’re on WhatsApp, ideally owners can get through to them and vice versa,” Ginsky told the outlet.
