The standard of veterinary care in Thailand varies wildly across the country. Generally there is reasonably good veterinary care in the larger cities such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai, but those who are in rural areas will normally need to travel to find a veterinary surgery. Most vets that practice in Thailand are English speaking as many have trained and studied in western countries such as the UK and the US.

The cost of a consultation with a vet in Thailand is generally far cheaper than it is in the UK or the US. There is a veterinary service which is run by the university in Chiang Mai where they operate clinics for both household pets and larger animals. This clinic runs an out of hours emergency service, although this is not the same for all veterinary practices in the country. The clinic has English speaking staff. Chiang Mai also has a number of other clinics with English speaking staff that offer a good service.

In Phuket the animal hospital is called Ao Chalong which is open 7 days a week and offers a wide range of veterinary care services including blood testing, x-rays and surgical procedures.

However, there are also several clinics where the care is very basic. There are expats in Thailand who have been to vet clinics where antibiotics are prescribed instantly for every problem, where the veterinary nurses are simply helpers rather than trained staff and where hygiene is not high on the list of priorities. Unless you have a personal recommendation of a vet then it is a case of trial and error when trying to find one that has standards to suit you.

There are a number of animal welfare charities in different areas that have vets or visiting vets, but the service may not be regular so you would be taking a chance. Many of these charities have been established to deal with stray dogs and other abandoned animals so this is the priority, although it is unlikely that anyone would be turned away in an emergency. It is worth noting that many of these charities have been set up by expats so are normally English speakers.

Some of the veterinary clinics which are established in Thailand do stock some of the branded medications such as flea and tick treatments and antibiotics. In addition they sell specialist pet foods, toys and other accessories.

There is currently no regulation of vets in Thailand and no governing body for vets to join. Finding a vet in your area is simply a case of getting a personal recommendation or finding one in the yellow pages.