Love Your Pet. Take Them to The Vet.

Your pet may be an animal but they make up an important part of your family, therefore their health and well-being are one of your highest priorities. When your pet becomes ill or sustains an injury, you will want to take care of them with emergency services as soon as possible. Here are some recommendations to help you protect your pet's health with good vet care and timely emergency services. 

Recognize an Emergency

There are many situations in which you are worried about your pet's health, especially if they are acting abnormal or are presenting symptoms that you know are not a good sign for health. Looking for the right indications in your pet's behavior and health is key to being able to keep them healthy. You want to be able to provide them good healthcare and treatment, but knowing when you can take them to see their regular vet in a few days or if you need to find emergency services can make the difference of life or death. 

If you see signs of a medical emergency in your pet, call your vet to see if there are any available openings for them to be seen by their vet. If there are no appointments available that same day, you should look to take them to an emergency vet. Some types of emergencies can include if they have not eaten food or water for a day, or if they are vomiting, productive or not, or having diarrhea, especially if there is blood in it. An emergency situation may also be if they are having seizures, are lethargic, have collapsed, or have gotten into an accident or attacked by another animal and they are injured or bleeding. Other signs may be less noticeable and can include having a high fever or if their abdomen is distended, they cannot breathe, or are panting constantly. 

Care for Your Pet

When it is time to take your pet to a local emergency vet, be prepared with some basic documentation or information to provide to the emergency service. This is helpful if you are on vacation or out of town and you don't have access to visit your regular vet. The vet that treats your pet will need to know information, such as when they last had their vaccinations or any other past health information.

Also plan to pay for the emergency services. You can do so with pet insurance or have an emergency fund set aside for such situations, or you can also keep a credit card on hand to pay for extra unexpected expenses.

Be sure to reach out to an emergency vet like South Seattle Veterinary Hospital if your pet is displaying any distressing symptoms.