At All Creatures Great and Small a lifelong bond with animals drives a mission to keep lifesaving care affordable for families
FOLSOM — For a growing number of families, an emergency visit to the veterinarian can quickly turn into an emotional and financial crossroads.
A seizure strikes at midnight. A beloved dog swallows something it shouldn’t. A cat struggles to breathe. Within minutes, pet owners can find themselves facing decisions measured not only in prognosis — but in thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of dollars. It is a reality reshaping modern veterinary medicine.
But inside All Creatures Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Folsom, Dr. Richard “Rick” Turner has built a hospital around a different guiding principle: when survival is medically possible, finances should not be the first determining factor. “I never want finances to be the reason an animal is put to sleep,” Turner said. “If there’s a reasonable chance we can help, we should try.”
For Turner, that belief is not a marketing message. It is the culmination of a life story that began long before Folsom, before emergency hospitals, and long before he ever called himself Richard Turner.
Turner was born Jesus Estrada and grew up in a rural setting surrounded by animals. One childhood moment permanently shaped his path. “I was six or seven,” he recalled. “A big rat came out, maybe going to bite me. My dog jumped in front of me and got him out of the way.” From that moment, he said, something changed. “That’s when I really started getting that bond with animals. From the beginning, I’ve been very close to them.”
His early years were marked by hardship. After suffering a serious burn injury while cooking as a child — a scar he still carries — his grandparents adopted him. Their last name was Turner. Because “Jesus” drew teasing at school at the time, they encouraged him to choose a new first name. Inspired by Ricky Nelson fromOzzie and Harriet, he chose Richard.
On his grandparents’ property, he raised chickens. When one broke its leg, a young Turner built a splint himself. “I was nine or ten years old,” he said. “I was trying to save its leg.” The instinct to intervene — to repair rather than surrender — would define his career.
“To this day, if they hurt, I hurt,” he said. He paused, then added, “Sometimes I like animals more than people. You treat animals right, they always treat you right. But people, sometimes you can treat them right and they can change their mind.”
Long before owning emergency hospitals, Turner would wake in the middle of the night worrying about a patient and drive back to check on them personally. “I’d wake up and think, ‘Is that animal okay?’” he said. He graduated from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1976 and has now spent more than 46 years practicing veterinary medicine. It was that same unwillingness to stand by when an animal was suffering that eventually pulled him into emergency medicine.
While operating daytime practices in Stockton and Lodi, Turner saw what he believed was inadequate after-hours coverage and inconsistent standards at an existing emergency clinic. “The medicine wasn’t good,” he said. “It wasn’t being run right.” After a holiday weekend when that facility failed to open and pet owners were left without care, he gathered roughly a dozen area veterinarians and proposed forming their own emergency clinic. They did.
Associated Veterinary Emergency Clinic operated successfully for years, and Turner eventually became its manager. Over time, as ownership and leadership changed, he grew concerned again about standards and pricing structures elsewhere. He and his wife ultimately opened their own independently operated emergency hospital under the All Creatures name.
Even the licensing process underscored his urgency. Just days before opening, he realized a separate hospital certificate was required — typically a six-to-eight-week approval process. With opening day looming, he contacted the veterinary board and described a case that had deeply troubled him. A cat struggling to breathe had spent the night on oxygen at another facility. When the animal was later brought to Turner, he performed a thoracocentesis and removed approximately 300 cubic centimeters of fluid from the chest cavity. The cat ultimately did not survive. “I told her that story,” he said of the board representative. “The next day, my license was approved.”
That hospital has now operated successfully for more than a decade. The Folsom clinic represents an extension of that same mission — bringing independent emergency care closer to local families.
Turner’s efforts also extended beyond private practice. For five years, he said, he treated shelter animals at no charge because he believed injured animals deserved care regardless of who brought them in. He spoke publicly when he learned of cases where injured animals would not be treated unless transported by law enforcement. Eventually, local city leadership approached him about taking on municipal shelter contracts. He agreed with one condition. “No matter who brings the animal in, it gets treated,” he said. That provision remains part of his agreements today.
In 2014, Turner founded the Delta Veterinary Medical Association and served as its president, working to strengthen professional standards and collaboration among veterinarians across the region.
Over time, what he saw happening in the broader industry only strengthened his resolve.
Turner speaks candidly about rising veterinary expenses across the field. “In my opinion, it’s gotten out of control,” he said. He described wide variation in procedure pricing. “If I can do a cystotomy for $2,000 or $3,000, and another place generally charges $9,000, that’s not right,” Turner said. He pointed to a recent foreign body surgery handled by his team. “Recently, we saw a foreign body quoted at $12,000 to $16,000 elsewhere. We did it for $6,000. That’s fair.”
He believes financial pressures weigh not only on families but also on veterinary professionals. At professional meetings, he said discussions have centered on the emotional toll of practicing in high-cost environments and national data showing elevated suicide rates among veterinarians, particularly women. “I think working in environments where costs are extremely high and pets are euthanized because families can’t afford treatment is emotionally devastating,” Turner said. “Most veterinarians go into this field because they love animals. When money becomes part of life-or-death decisions, that’s hard.”
One technician who now works with Turner left a previous emergency hospital because she struggled with the frequency of euthanasia discussions driven primarily by financial limitations. He said she told him she wanted to work somewhere where more options were explored before those decisions were made.
Turner still vividly remembers a night when a dog arrived around 12:30 a.m., seizing from snail bait poisoning. “I was alone,” he said. “The dog was seizing. I put in an IV. I put him on oxygen. I stayed with him all night.” By morning, the dog had recovered and ultimately lived five more years. “That was worth it,” he said.
In another case, a dog presented with swelling behind the eye that appeared to be a tumor. Surgical removal offered uncertain extension of life. Turner discussed the options candidly with the owner, who asked if it might provide even a year more. The surgery was successful and the dog lived several additional years. “I never like to lose,” Turner said. “Every hour a dog is alive and knows you, that’s precious.”
His experience extends far beyond traditional companion animals. Through his work with PAWS, Turner helped care for elephants and other large exotics, including repairing a 4,000-pound elephant’s trunk. He has treated zebras owned by fireworks suppliers for Disneyland and Disney World, cared for zoo animals, and worked on primates associated with film productions includingEvan Almighty,Tears of the Sun, andRock of Ages. His caseload over the decades has included koi fish, bats, tarantulas and numerous other species. “I’ve probably worked on more species than most veterinarians,” he said. The only animals he avoids treating are venomous snakes such as cobras. “But animals sense your intention,” he added. “If your intention is to help them, they know.”
At the Folsom clinic, Turner has invested heavily in on-site diagnostics designed to reduce delays and minimize additional costs for families. The hospital includes digital radiography, advanced in-house blood analyzers, oxygen concentrators, and custom-built oxygen cages he designed for both companion animals and exotics. By using oxygen concentrators rather than relying solely on larger tank systems, the clinic is able to provide respiratory support in a more cost-efficient manner.
The facility also includes a CAT scan machine, allowing immediate neurological and internal imaging without referral delays. “We do full-body CAT scans with anesthesia and dye for $2,500. Exotics around $1,000,” he said. “Most places charge $4,000 to $6,000.” He said having imaging available on-site allows immediate diagnosis rather than transferring critically ill animals to outside specialty centers.
Turner remains on call 24/7 and personally assists with complex or exotic cases when needed. “If someone can’t make a shift, I take it,” he said.
His granddaughter recently turned 14 and already shares his love of animals. When he eventually steps away — though he insists that day is far off — he hopes someone carries forward the same mission. “I don’t want someone taking this over just for money,” he said. “I want someone who continues this philosophy — emergency care for all God’s creatures at an affordable price.”
Because in his view, too many outcomes today are dictated by cost rather than capability. “Right now,” he said, “money is too often the reason animals lose their lives.” In Folsom, he is determined to keep writing different endings.
All Creatures Veterinary Emergency Clinic is located at 2210 E. Bidwell Street, Suite 100, in Folsom. The clinic can be reached at 916-984-8387, and additional information about services and emergency care is available atwww.allcreaturesveterfolsom.com.
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