After Hours Care Options
You love your pets. They're family and you treat them as such. You tell your parents when their grand-dogger tried her first ice cream cone. Your cat isn't your pet, you are your cat's person. He has claimed you and meets you at the door and rubs your face as soon as you sit down. They only get the best from you. The best food, the best treats, the best toys, the best bedding, and the best vet that you spent a month and a half researching before deciding this was THE vet for your furbabies. Now something has happened and your wonderful vet is closed for the weekend. What do you do? If your vet has an emergency number, that's great. You're all set. All you need to do is call the emergency number and do what it tells you to do. But what if your vet doesn't have an emergency number for you to call? Do they have a recommended clinic for emergency situations or after hours? This may have been something you overlooked when you chose your vet and asked him or her all those questions during the first visit. It's okay. It happens. "Oh, my...How did I not think to ask what to do after hours?!" Because, like most pet owners, you don't want to think that accidents or emergencies are going to happen. I mean, we don't even want to think about them happening to ourselves or our human family members, but they do. That's why they're called accidents and emergencies.
Okay, your vet is closed for the weekend or holiday and there is no emergency number. Is there a 24 hour clinic they recommended in your paperwork that you just overlooked? If not, chances are you have Google, Bing, Siri, or something at your fingertips to look for an after hours clinic. With this option, you can see who is closest and sometimes, the price ranges with those little $$ next to the names of the clinic. Just keep in mind that in an emergency, the prices are going to be a little more than what you'd pay going to your regular vet, just as you'd expect to pay more going to the emergency room for yourself than your primary care doctor. Dealing with a pet emergency is not the same as dealing with a human emergency where you can just pick up the phone, dial 911 and an ambulance shows up taking care of everything. You need to know what number to call and where you are going. You are you're pet's ambulance.
Okay, your vet is closed for the weekend or holiday and there is no emergency number. Is there a 24 hour clinic they recommended in your paperwork that you just overlooked? If not, chances are you have Google, Bing, Siri, or something at your fingertips to look for an after hours clinic. With this option, you can see who is closest and sometimes, the price ranges with those little $$ next to the names of the clinic. Just keep in mind that in an emergency, the prices are going to be a little more than what you'd pay going to your regular vet, just as you'd expect to pay more going to the emergency room for yourself than your primary care doctor. Dealing with a pet emergency is not the same as dealing with a human emergency where you can just pick up the phone, dial 911 and an ambulance shows up taking care of everything. You need to know what number to call and where you are going. You are you're pet's ambulance.
What is an Emergency?
You have to ask yourself, is this an emergency or can it wait until Monday when I can call my regular vet? Well, that depends on a few things. If you feel it is an emergency, then it is. If you're not sure, then here's a list for you to go by.
1. Trauma of any kind. This can be from getting hit by car, falling from a few feet, or a dog fight.
2. Seizures. Especially if you're pet has never had a seizure before.
3. They have extreme bleeding. You can't get the bleeding to stop or slow down.
4. Having troubles breathing or are choking.
5. Pale gums or a weak or rapid pulse.
6. They have become unresponsive, disoriented, or paralyzed.
7. Vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours.
8. They have bright red blood or tarry looking stools or vomit.
9. Extremely high or low temperature.
10. Inability to urinate or defecate.
11. They are in extreme pain.
What to do in an Emergency
First things first, remain calm. You won't do your pet, or yourself, any good if you can't keep yourself calm. You're going to have to answer a lot of questions when you get there, like what happened and when did it happen? Did your pet ingest something? What time did the seizure occur? When did you notice your pet having problems urinating? When is the last time your pet ate or drank anything? How much did they eat/drink? Is that normal for them? What did you try at home to fix the problem before bringing them into the clinic? Is your pet on any medications? Does your pet have any kind of illnesses, like Cushing's disease, diabetes, kidney disease, or something else they should know? Be patient. It's going to take awhile to assess your pet. The team will also do x-rays and lab work as well as anything else they need to do to help your pet. This can all take awhile. Make sure you follow up with your primary vet. Have the emergency clinic send the records to your regular vet if they don't give them to you, and call the following business day to schedule a follow up appointment. Your regular vet needs to know what happened to your pet so they can help with the follow up care and keep your pet healthy.
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