Introduction
According to Matt Davies Harmony Communities, pet owners should be prepared for animal emergencies since they can happen at any time. If you have a small pet animal such as mice, hedgehog, rat, sugar glider, ferret, rabbit, or hamster, witnessing them in a critical condition can feel alarming. However, you shouldn’t lose hope since emergency vet services can also treat small animals.
The Details
Here are a few things to keep in mind when selecting animal emergency vet service for small pets:
- Consider the type of emergency vet clinic – There are several types of emergency vet facilities, and their service and work hours vary. That’s why it is important to learn about how they differ so that you can choose correctly.
- 24-hour emergency vet clinics – These vet clinics offer round-the-clock emergency care and are the most dependable since they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Generally, 24-hour emergency vet clinics only hire specialist vets who are experienced in injuring severely injured or critically ill pets. These also offer long-term hospitalization for small animals that require intensive care.
- After-hours veterinary hospitals – These emergency vet hospitals only operate when regular vet clinics are closed and are often available 24 hours on weekends and holidays. After-hours vet hospitals don’t provide routine care and only accept urgent cases.
- Full-service veterinary clinics – These vet clinics provide a full range of routine care including vaccinations, wellness exams, minor surgeries, emergency care, and more. Generally, full-service vet clinics operate during normal business hours. However, they also have on-call vets for after-hours emergencies.
- Consider the cost – Emergency vet services cost more than routine vet services since they require specialized care and treatment. The requirement for staff availability and treatment outside of normal working hours and advanced diagnostics that don’t need to rely on laboratories also raise the cost.
Thus, if you don’t have suitable pet insurance, it is important to research the local emergency vet facilities and inquire about the cost.
- Consider the type of emergency – Pet emergencies can include gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea and repeated vomiting with blood, bone fractures, poisoning, eye injuries, difficulty breathing, bite wounds, high fever, and more.
Generally, emergency vet clinic staff members hire specialist staff who are trained to handle and treat various types of pet emergencies that can threaten their lives. Still, if you have the time to do some quick research, you can browse the patient reviews and ratings of the clinics to get a better idea about their experience. It can reveal a ton of information including their service and treatment quality.
Conclusion
Matt Davies Harmony Communities suggest you do a quick Google search of the emergency vet clinics in your locality to stay prepared. There is no sense in waiting for a pet emergency to strike when you can prepare beforehand. Also, keep your pet’s medical records in a safe and accessible place so that you can easily find them during a pet emergency for your small animal.