Emergency Pet Services

Sunday, March 30, 2008 04:34 AM

by Kathi Travers

Emergencies do happen, even in the middle of the night and on holidays. You, as pet owners, need to know it is ok to call your veterinarian. They do not mind being “bothered” for an emergency.

Situations that should be considered as an emergency would be when your pet:

· is having a seizure,

· has difficulty breathing,

· is non-responsive or comatose,

· has excessive bleeding,

· is in pain,

· has bloody stools,

· has continued vomiting particularly associated with blood.

If your pet was struck by a car, call your vet right away. Even if your pet appears to be ok, it could still be in shock.

A common cause of distress is poisoning. If you suspect that, try to identify what the poison is so that you can advise your veterinarian. Pets are curious, so watch where you store detergents, plant pesticides, antifreeze and similar products.

Three of the four veterinary offices here in Prince George have amalgamated for off hour emergencies. There is one doctor on call for small animals and one for large animals. Just call your veterinarians office and you will be directed to an answering service who will contact the doctor on call. Be ready to identify the type of pet. The gals at this service cannot quote prices for services as all are different but they can connect you with a veterinarian.

Keep your invoices from past visits to your veterinarian handy. This way, if you do run into a situation and end up at a hospital that doesn’t house your records, you have them on hand for the attending veterinarian especially if your pet has a chronic illness or perhaps recently been treated. This will allow the vet on call to get a clearer picture of any past history and treat the emergency appropriately.

It is very important for you to try and stay cool and calm. Your emotions can be transferred to your pet. Your pet, on the other hand, may panic and show signs of aggressiveness because of pain or fear.

Wrapping the animal in a big towel or blanket should help. If you are alone, now is the time to call on a friendly neighbour for some assistance.

When in doubt please call the veterinarian and do not be afraid to be persistent. It just might save your pet’s life. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and even for another opinion. You would do it if it was for yourself. You can also do it for your pet.

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Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 04:34 AM in Pets by Submitted Article

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Comments

Posted by: whitewater on March 30 2008 6:53 AM

This is the same treatment given to drug addicts in town, but the taxes cover the vet bill for druggies....I would rather save the pets.

Posted by: robichal on March 30 2008 8:15 AM

You are such a great gift to animals!! PG is lucky to have you! I wonder what the chances are that spaying and neuturing your pet(s) to become a law (unless of course you are a professional breeder). I cringe and bite my tongue when people get a new pet and I always ask "at what age is it ok to spay your pet" (thinking this is a diplomatic way to bring it up) and often they say "oh,we want her to have a litter", oh how cute, oh how stupid and naive!!! I think the laws need to be changed and if people's argument is that not everyone can afford it, then geez, I guess those people can't afford a pet. I would love a new bathroom, but geez, I can't afford it!!! I'm sick of stupid people owning pets!

Posted by: heidi1555 on March 30 2008 9:57 AM

We took our pup a couple of years ago to the SPCA spay and neuter clinic..cheaper and I found every person in that building excellent.

Posted by: ShannanigansB on March 30 2008 9:15 PM

My friends dog came home from the SPCA spay/neuter clinic with kennel cough....that said they do provide services at reasonable rates, but when you take them to get vaccinated, pay the extra for kennel cough vaccine, it runs rampant in some places.

Posted by: BCRacer on March 31 2008 8:47 AM

I have been saying for a long time that I think the SPCA needs to clean up their own back yard first...
Shelter was so overcrowded when I went through last time it wasn't even funny...
so I won't go there or help out any more.
my opinion....

Posted by: caranmacil on March 31 2008 9:49 AM

I wonder why some people think that EVERY cat and dog in BC should be spayed or neutered? Really people, for the vast majority of pets, the offspring of the occasional breeding are readily adopted. There are a good nimber of unwanted pets at the SPCA but this is due in large part to people who abandon them. I am a landlord who inherits a cat or two every year from people who just move away from them. I NEVER bring themto the SPCA and i have never had a problem finding them homes. True, they might not eat out of sterilized stainless steel bowls (much to the chagrin of Ms Travers, who worries that plastic might harbour bacteria) or see the vet threee times a year, but the do lead healthy, active lives.
People: if you want pets to remain a part of our lives then you have to allow for common people to keep , own, and yes breed pets. Stop buying all the horror stories put out by the SPCA and others as being the norm and use your own common sense. While animal abuses do occur, there are a lot of people out there trying to use these trajedies to, amoung other things, expand the definition of abuse (perhaps beyond those used for humans ) ,increase the powers of the SPCA ( a poorly trained, unelected special interest group) and maybe to remove pet dogs and cats from the hands of poor people in canada (through higher pet costs, mandatory vet visits , etc). I grew up with family pets, including kittens and puppies. I hope my own kids can enjoy the same. It is sad to hear kids talk about a litter of kittens like it is something bad.
On a side note : SHAME on Kathi Travers for using the death of a human being to forward her cause! Her article in the paper this morning is, i hope not fooling anyone. I think it is particularly low to use the death of someone to forward your own agenda. Especially when the person being used would not, when alive have supported Ms Travers cause.

Posted by: owl on April 1 2008 9:58 AM

"I wonder why some people think that EVERY cat and dog in BC should be spayed or neutered?"

I am not sure, but could it be that some people put two and two together ... too many strays, too many animals being given over to humane associations ... and too many humane associations having to kill them. Recycling of animals only works if the number in = to the number out. It is not as if these are inanimate objects like cars and other things that we eventually throw away and are kept in roadside junkyard after roadside junkyard.

Posted by: owl on April 1 2008 10:16 AM

"SHAME on Kathi Travers for using the death of a human being to forward her cause!"

I am not sure I grasp this. Are you saying that if I were to promote pedestrians to use crosswalks in order to cross roads safely, that it would be unfair for me to use an example of a person or two or three who got killed or seriously injured by jaywalking to further not MY cause, but the cause of HUMANS in general to protect others? Is it not reasonable for a human to protect a population in general? Is that not what safety laws are all about? Is that not what MADD is all about? Is that not what the RCMP programs to educate the young drivers is all about, the programs that show graphic images of deathly car accidents?

While I can appreciate that you may not like the SPCA, it does seem to taint your ability to look at some other matters in an objective fashion.

SPCA or not, the death and serious injuries to people who do unsafe things are a matter for society as a whole to be concerned about. Whether it is the SPCA who raises concerns or the government, I think someone ought to.

How many lives do you think it takes before something should be done to better protect the general public?

The woman who got killed happend to be close to the animal. It could just as easily have been one of the children that frequented shows put on by the owner.

Would you want that? Or would you want someone to look into the protection we afford to people working around such animals? Actually, since this was/is a business, the business owners should technically have been covered by WCB. I wonder what WCB says about worker protection. Maybe the SPCA is the wrong group to look at this.

And, since it is a business and the general public has access to that business, consumer protection groups should be looking at this. What do you think?

I agree with you. Let's keep the SPCA out of this becuase what the heck do they know, and lets get WCB and the Minister of Labour as well as Health in here and regulate such businesses from the public protection and worker protection point of view.