Are you prepared for a pet emergency?
Do you feel confident that you can safely and efficiently get your pet to emergency services at a moment’s notice if you need to?
Adrenaline can be a lifesaver, but it can also highjack your brainpower. The moment you realize your pet has an emergency, your body will kick you into high gear, giving you power to move faster and quicker than you would normally be able to, which can save your life and the lives of others. However, recruiting most of the body’s blood supply, including what the brain needs to think, is what creates that strength. So, while the body is empowered, the brain is left drained.
For this reason, it is essential to develop an emergency plan ahead of time, when you’re not in a fight-or-flight state and your brain can play a lead role in saving your pet’s life.
When should I seek emergency care?
While not every emergency is on this list, here are many symptoms we consider to require emergency care:
- Acute blindness
- Allergic reactions
- Bleeding from the eyes, nose or mouth
- Blood in urine or straining or unable to urinate
- Difficulty breathing
- Disorientation or collapse
- Distended/swollen abdomen
- Ingestion of (or suspicion of swallowing) poisons, antifreeze, medications or household cleaners
- Massive bleeding from a wound
- Non bearing weight on an individual limb
- Physical trauma or animal attack
- Seizures
- Signs of extreme pain such as whining or shaking
- Squinting or painful eyes
- Unconsciousness
- Vehicular trauma
- Vomiting and/or diarrhea
- Weak or unable to use hind limbs
If you are concerned about your pet at any time, call us at 608-274-7772 and a nurse can discuss your pet’s symptoms.
What you can do to prepare:
- 608-274-7772. Have our number in your phone as “Emergency Veterinarian”. When you have an emergency, you don’t want to spend time searching the internet for a highly recommended, American Animal Hospital Association accredited 24-hour emergency clinic. Do your research ahead of time and be prepared! It is also a good idea to save the ASPCA poison control hotline number as well. (888-426-4435).
- Save our location on your map. If you save our address in the contact, many phones have the ability to give you directions by simply asking! Our address is 2704 Royal Avenue, Madison, WI 53713.
- Keep your pets medical records organized and handy! It’s very helpful to the emergency veterinarians to have the medical records for your pet when we see them. Typically, we can get them from your family veterinarians. Unfortunately, many emergencies happen when they are not open.
- Fill out the below form. We can then get you and your pet into our computer system. Hopefully you will never need our services, but in the event that you do, we will be as ready as you now are. After filling out the form, we will also mail you a magnet for your fridge with our contact information.
Register your pet with MVS in case of an emergency:
Some of this information was extracted from www.AAHA.org. Visit their website for more information on what it means to be an accredited hospital.
