Emergencies

When to call us immediately

• Poisoning – Contact the surgery especially if your pet is unwell. – Be ready to provide information on WHEN, WHERE, HOW poisoning occurred and QUANTITY consumed. Keep any packaging.
• Road traffic accidents or severe trauma/bleeding.
• Unconscious/collapsed animal
• Eye injuries – Eye injuries are generally very painful. Do not touch eye injuries or investigate yourself further.
• Bloat or gastric dilation/torsion – an enlarged tummy can be a sign of gastric dilatation/torsion. It is usually a problem in large dogs with deep chests such as Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds etc. An excessive amount of gas builds up in the stomach and without release of the gas the condition is quickly fatal so urgent and immediate veterinary attention is needed. Affected dogs will often salivate or try to be sick.
• Burns and scalds

What is a genuine emergency?

• Heat stroke
• Eclampsia – seen in pregnant or feeding bitches or queens. A low blood calcium level causes the mother to present with weakness and lethargy, trembling, twitchy muscles, fits and coma. Calcium treatment is needed and immediate veterinary attention should be sought.
• Difficult labour (dystocia) – Prolonged straining to deliver a puppy, kitten. A green/brown vaginal discharge (a clear blood-coloured discharge is normal) without a puppy/kitten arriving are indicators of problems and veterinary advice should be sought.
• Severe Diarrhoea with blood – Bloody diarrhoea or bloody diarrhoea with vomiting is an emergency because haemorrhagic diarrhoea often occurs with severe and fatal diseases such as parvovirus infection and enteritis often leads to severe dehydration.
• Fitting – Most fits last just a few minutes but some can last longer.