ArkVets (Formerly Desert Ark)

3.9 (159)
6107 N 7th St, Phoenix, AZ 85014, USA

Hours:

Monday: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Thursday: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Friday: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Saturday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Sunday: Closed

How to Save Money at ArkVets (Formerly Desert Ark)

Schedule Regular Vet Visits

One of the best ways to save on vet bills is to prevent expensive health issues before they develop. By scheduling regular wellness checkups, your vet can detect health issues early, helping you to avoid costly treatments and surgeries down the road.

Price Shop for Pet Prescriptions

Oftentimes our fur babies are prescribed human drugs off-label. Your vet is apt to charge more for these medications than you would pay at your local pharmacy. In fact, big-box or chain pharmacies can offer steep discounts. So it’s best to price shop.

Pet Insurance

Most pet insurance providers will pay between 80% and 90% of the vet bill. You can even get coverage for routine care and things like vaccinations and dental cleanings. If you do the math, you’ll most likely find that pet insurance makes financial sense in the long run as well as gives you peace of mind.

How Do You Choose the Right Pet Insurance Provider?

Pet Insurance Review makes it incredibly easy for pet parents to select an insurance provider they feel good about. You can use our handy comparison tool to get the gist of what a company offers. We’ve also collected over 150,000 reviews of insurance companies from real pet parents like you to rank the top providers in the market. Here is the current ranking of each:

Top Pet Insurance Providers of 2025
Rating Provider Total Review
4.4 AKC 893
4.5 ASPCA 11,869
4.9 Embrace 18,347
4.9 Fetch 26,289
4.2 Figo 2,615
4.6 Hartville 169
4.9 Healthy Paws 10,168
4.9 Lemonade 809
4.6 ManyPets 2,381
3.9 MetLife 730
4.8 Nationwide 21,410
4.0 Pet Assure 13
4.5 PetPartners 115
4.3 Pets Best 12,845
4.7 Pumpkin 1,680
4.6 Spot 7,945
4.9 Trupanion 60,888
4.8 Prudent Pet 1,759

Or, you can simply get a fast quote from multiple providers and go from there.

Thinking of insuring your pet?

Get Quotes & Compare

Getting to Know Your New Vet: Essential Questions to Ask

Choosing a new veterinarian is an important decision for any pet owner. You want to find someone who is competent, compassionate, and a good fit for you and your fur baby. To help you get the most out of your first appointment, here's a list of essential questions to ask your new vet:

Tell me about your experience with [pet type].

Different vets have different areas of specialization. Some are experts with cats, some dogs, some pocket pets, and some horses. Knowing that your vet has vast experience treating your specific type of pet can bring you peace of mind.

How do you handle emergencies?

You must know what to do in case of a pet medical emergency. Inquire what after-hours policy the clinic has, whether they have on-site emergency care available, and if they have a relationship with any nearby emergency animal hospitals.

How do you communicate with pet owners?

Good communication is key to building a trusting relationship with your vet. Ask how they prefer to communicate (phone calls, emails, online portal) and how often you can expect to hear from them.

Are there any breed-specific health concerns I should be aware of?

Some breeds are predisposed to certain health conditions. Knowing what to watch out for can help you catch problems early and get your pet the treatment they need.

Do you have any questions for me about my pet?

This is a great question to ask because the answer will show that the vet is interested in getting to know your pet as an individual and is willing to listen to your concerns.

Bonus question: Can I take a tour of your facility?

Getting a feel for the clinic's environment can help you and your pet feel more comfortable during your visits. Remember, you’re not just looking for a veterinarian, you’re looking for a partnership. Do not be afraid to ask these questions and any others you can think of. Any vet worth their salt will be happy to answer them. Because the more informed you are, the better equipped you'll be to make decisions about your pet's care! And that should be every vet’s top priority.

Reviews from Google

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Michelle Thompson

Love this place. Thank you for taking care of Bella, AND NOW thank you for taking care of my new pupper. God bless you for being here for us in our time of need. Our most recent visit was our best yet. Very sweet doctor and her happy assistant! We will be recommending you to everyone we know. 🙏🏻❤️

posted: 11/23/2024

David Holm

Dr Cal is the best we have in trusted him with the health of pups over the years and would not go to anyone else. The staff also do a great job. We drive by many vets a long the way to take our babies to Dr Cal. He has become a part of the family. Thanks Dr Cal and staff DH

posted: 12/03/2024

Alena Fiori

*In response to the clinic’s response: I understand that your vets provide a comprehensive treatment plan, however, I expressed wanting to begin with reasonable solutions and that turned into an argument instead of basic customer service, and the way I was asked to leave verbatim is because of my “bad behavior” and Kim’s position only added to the conflict as she was essentially defending the vet. Also, I asked to speak to a manager and Kim pretended to be the manager instead of providing me with Nina/Christina’s contact, and lastly, if your team was open to discussing my experience directly, you would have responded to the review email I submitted 9/21/2024 but that never happened. Ultimately, this is in fact about me being labeled a Karen because nothing I said to the vet during the confrontation was about anything other than being oversold and not listened to when I wanted basic care for my dog to begin with. Why spend $1000* on care when I’m essentially seeking first aid and antibiotics? Read the room folks. The vet assigned to my appointment was overselling me. When I confronted her about it, she was too vulnerable of an individual to handle the confrontation and provide a reasonable amount of customer service. Then, her coworker aggressively came to her defense claiming that because of my "bad behavior," my pet was being refused service. Attached is a photo of the injury that resulted in my pet needing an emergency vet visit. The vet recommended the following services: a biopsy, liver and kidney tests, and also said the abrasion could be an abscess or, even worse, cystic, and recommended pain medication, saying that unless my dog has had her blood work in the last 30-days, we would need to run that test as well. I explained to the vet that I believed the injury occurred during a battle between the dog and the cat, and because of my dog's hair, I was unable to identify the injury before it became infected. She did not acknowledge that information as a reasonable explanation of the injury, so I confronted the vet about overselling me, to then her doubling down and using medical terminology to justify her recommendations instead of being a normal provider and saying, okay, so you know, there are other potential diagnoses, but we'll perform wound cleaning and send you and your dog on your way with antibiotics, and you can reach back out should her conditions worsen. Nope, that didn't happen. Instead, she couldn't handle the confrontation, began shaking and raising her voice at me, and continued not to listen to me. Then her coworker came in and told me I had to leave because of my "bad behavior" and initially did not offer alternative care at another facility until I called her out on the ethics of that. I believe that the vet is a member of an alternative community, and because of that, I was labeled as not being tolerant even though my visit and our conversation had nothing to do with that, and that's why the coworker came at me-she felt like she needed to stick up for her coworker even though I was there for a service and the vet's interactions with me were not professional and customer service oriented. I ended up going to the location off of Bell (which I'm certain the vet and her coworker (Kim) set the tone for that clinic that I was somehow wrong/"bad behavior." The entire experience was uncomfortable, and I followed up with an email sent from the clinic asking how my service was with no response from the clinic. My service for wound cleaning and meds was $250. Can you imagine what the total would have been with all those unnecessary add-ons? Also attached is my dog's injury today, and as you can see, she didn't need any of those other services to address the emergency visit we were there for. I believe that I got labeled a Karen because the vet chose to be a member of a community that doesn't feel comfortable being professionally confronted by a customer who may be different from her. My "behavior" was advocating for my wallet and dog's care and nothing more.

posted: 09/27/2024

Julius Isoa

I took my Frenchie to this clinic due to a concerning issue with something stuck in his throat. While the staff was friendly and helpful, my experience with the doctor was terrible!!!!. He was unreasonably rude, condescending, and showed no willingness to properly assess my dog. He frequently interrupted me, refused to let me explain the situation fully, and cut the appointment short without performing a proper examination. Despite this, I was still charged $80 for what amounted to no service at all. It feels unfair that they would exploit the anxiety of concerned pet owners in this way!

posted: 08/25/2024

Katie Walsh

Thank you for helping us while I am out of state and losing my mind about the new cough. My husband had a great experience and speaks highly about your team and all care options that were provided. It was great to be on speaker with you as you described what you were looking at and hearing in our dog’s lungs. Since Lo-lo is an only child we are thankful she got so much care and attention, and although you made it clear that X-rays weren’t necessary, I’m glad you allowed me to choose my baby’s care. Thank you so much for everything. You made the distance so much easier on my heart 💓

posted: 11/23/2024