Do you know which emergencies require immediate veterinary care?

Often times, pet owners may dismiss symptoms or incidents that require immediate veterinary attention.  Here is a quick list to help your determine when to seek immediate veterinary care.  Hope your pets are always safe, but in case you need help – remember we are here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.

• Severe bleeding or bleeding that doesn’t stop within 5 minutes
• Choking, difficulty breathing or nonstop coughing and gagging
• Bleeding from nose, mouth, rectum, coughing up blood, or blood in urine
• Inability to urinate or pass feces (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
• Severe vomiting or diarrhea – more than 2 episodes in a 24-hour period, or either of these combined with obvious illness or any of the other problems listed here
• Refusal to drink for 24 hours or more
• Unconsciousness

The bottom line is that ANY concern about your pet’s health warrants, at minimum, a call to your veterinarian.

SOURCE: American Veterinary Medical Association