By Emma Dylan
Sometimes a pet emergency strikes. It’s a scary time, whether it’s an injury, the sudden onset of worrying symptoms or simply strange behaviour you can’t explain that seems harmful. What you need to do is get your pet the right help and fast, and today we’re looking at how you can do that.
Registering at a Vet
The first thing you should be planning to do when you get a pet is register them at a vet. Doing a search for “veterinarian near me” and then comparing reviews until you find the right vet for your needs.
It might be inconvenient to find a vet and get your pet there to be registered (especially if they had a traumatic history prior to your adoption of them, or you’re simply not confident getting them into a carrier), but it’s well worth doing in order to establish a relationship with the people who’ll be helping your pet when they really need it!
Knowing who your vet is and being confident you can get there with an anxious animal in tow is a great boost to your confidence when you’re in the midst of a pet emergency. On top of that, registering at the vet is one of your responsibilities under the UK’s 2006 Animal Welfare Act – in order to meet your obligation to protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
Out of Hours
Unfortunately pet health emergencies can’t be relied upon to occur during your vet’s regular hours. This means it’s important for you to know where your local emergency vet is, and have their contact details and location stored somewhere convenient.
You don’t want to have to research 24 hour vets when you’re panicking about your pet in the middle of the night, so check those details early on and you’ll know exactly what to do if a crisis strikes at an inconvenient time – though beware the increased costs you might pay for this service!
Getting Help Online
One way to get advice in a hurry is to use an online vet’s service. They have some obvious limitations: a vet can’t reach out through your phone or computer screen to take a blood test or feel along your ailing pet’s limbs. Nonetheless, an online vet can a very useful asset, especially in an emergency.
They can conduct a preliminary examination over video call and let you know how serious the situation you’re facing could be, what you can do to help make your pet more comfortable, and how urgently you need to get them to a vet: do you need to make the longer trip an out of hours vet’s office or can it wait for the next morning? If you’re able to spare your pet a stressful trip to the vet, then that’s a big win!
