(Photo Credit: Roger, via Flickr)
Having a furry friend is one of the best feelings ever. They can truly bring joy to your lives. However, life seldom goes by as we plan. One small emergency situation, including your furry partner, can make you feel helpless.
Therefore, you need to have a clear-cut plan for dealing with such emergencies. Here, we will look at two ways of handling these emergencies correctly. Stick around as we discuss which is better: a professional pet hospital for emergencies or Urgent pet care.
So, let us dive right in.
What Entails A Pet Emergency?
Pet emergencies come in various forms. The effective way of handling them is to understand the emergencies and how they can be tackled. Here are some of the most common pet emergencies you might encounter:
- Severe bleeding that does not stop within five to 10 minutes.
- Difficulty in breathing, choking, severe coughing or gagging.
- Blood in cough, urine or vomit. Blood from nose or rectum.
- Inability to pass faecal matter or urinate.
- Problem with the vision of your pet.
- Ingesting toxic substances like ratkill, antifreeze, xylitol, or chocolate.
- Staggering or seizures.
- Fractured bones or other similar injuries.
- Stress or heatstrokes
- Signs of pain and anxiety
- Refusal to drink water for over 24 hours
- Unconscious
- Diarrhea or severe vomiting that lasts over 24 hours.
While there are other emergencies as well, these are some of the most prominent problems that pet parents complain about. Therefore, if your pet is showing any of the aforementioned signs, you need to take action ASAP.
Which Is Better: Urgent Care v/s Pet Hospital For Emergencies.
In an emergency, people tend to lose sight of what needs to be done and make mistakes. Therefore, it is always better to have a preemptive plan. There is a fine line of difference between an urgent pet care and a pet hospital for emergencies. The former is for grave symptoms, but the latter is better suited to take care of life-threatening situations. Here is a small chart that will help you understand which is better for what:
Emergency Issues
- Trauma or accident
- Severe bloating or GDV
- Toxin ingestion
- Heatstroke or dehydration
- Unable to pass waste
- Major wounds causing bleeding
- Seizures
- Uncounsconscious
Urgent Issues
- Skin condition including rashes or itching
- Irritated eyes or ears
- Minor wounds or bleeding
- Abcesses
- Limping
- Overgrown or broken nails
- Fleas, worms, or mites
- Diarrhea (controlled)
This list should help you understand whether you need to take your dog to urgent care or a professional pet hospital for emergencies. In the following section, we will highlight some of the basic differences between the two variants.
Types Of Treatment Offered
The biggest difference between an urgent pet care and an emergency hospital is the types of treatment they provide. Emergency pet hospitals are best suited to take care of life-threatening situations where your pet might lose their lives. Meanwhile, an urgent poet care will provide solutions to moderately serious concerns.
Operating hours
Hours of operating wildly differ from one organization to another. Emergency pet hospitals tend to run 24/7. Meanwhile, urgent pet clinics tend to operate between a stipulated timeline. There are urgent pet clinics that run 24/7, but they are hard to come by.
Equipment & Facility
An urgent pet clinic will generally have all the basic facilities and equipment. Meanwhile, an emergency pet clinic will have all the necessary equipment, such as gurneys, ICUs, Advanced Diagnostics, and other important devices. Hence, emergency pet services are better equipped to handle life-threatening situations.
Ancillary Care Pet Hospitals For Emergencies Offer
A professional pet hospital for emergencies also offers two key services that pet clinics do not. This makes a huge difference for the well-being of your pet. Here we go:
- Specialists: Almost all pet hospitals have specialists who can help your dog with their specific needs. Therefore, this has an added advantage that can help your dog with more focus and specialization.
- End-of-Life Primary Care: Hospitals are well-equipped to provide end-of-life care for pets. This necessary service can help senior pets pass on with the least resistance. However, some specialized clinics have also started this service.
The Final Thought
With that, we have reached the very end of our article. It can be quite difficult to see your fur or scale-babies struggling. Then again, instead of panicking, you must rise up to the challenge and strive to provide the best care that they need. Hopefully, we were able to help you with that endeavor. Thank you, and have a great day ahead.