Emergencies

Emergencies that require urgent veterinary care:

• Severe bleeding or bleeding that doesn’t stop within five minutes
• Choking, difficulty breathing or nonstop coughing and gagging
• Inability to urinate or pass faeces (stool), or obvious pain associated with urinating or passing stool
• Injuries to your pet’s eye(s)
• You suspect or know your pet has eaten something poisonous (such as antifreeze, xylitol, chocolate, rodent poison, etc.)
• Seizures and/or staggering
• Fractured bones, severe lameness or inability to move leg(s)
• Obvious signs of pain or extreme anxiety
• Heat stress or heatstroke
• Unconsciousness.

In the event of an emergency, we will endeavour to see your pet as fast as possible. Here are some things you can do to help this process and some tips to make a stressful situation easier.

Call ahead

This helps us plan for your arrival and ensures we have a vet available to help your animal. It also saves time when you get here.
Remember animals in pain may lash out. Placing a blanket over the animal to lift it can protect you from getting bitten.

Poisonings

When calling please let us know what your pet has eaten and if it is a chemical bring the packaging with you. This helps us to know exactly what your pet has ingested and therefore the best way to treat it.

Bleeding

if your animal is bleeding from a wound the best thing is to try and bandage it. This keeps it clean while applying a bit of pressure to help stop the bleeding. Ideally, a sterile wound pad is placed on the wound first, a sanitary pad works well for this if you don’t have pads in your first aid kit. Then wrap the area in what you have available.

Seizures

Most seizures don’t last too long but if lasting more than 10 minutes the animal needs to be seen immediately. In the event of short seizures ensure the animal is in a safe place and ensure no one can get accidentally bitten.

Heatstroke

Early cooling helps survival. If possible, quickly hose down the dog then get them in the car to get to the vet. Do not put wet towels on them as the air trapped between the dog and the towel and heats up.