Differences in Emergency Care Over A Weekend Can Be Critical

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

I just wanted to post something I learned recently. Maybe most of you know this already and if so, well done! If not, maybe this can make a difference for you:
Before your pet becomes ill, please research the emergency vet care facility that will have SPECIALISTS available over the weekend. If you have a choice in facilities, and can make the distance, get there. If not, consider having your pet transferred there if possible.
I can't tell you how torturous it was for us to wait ("we can't do that procedure until Monday when your pet will transfer from emergency to internal medicine...") and go through red tape, delaying diagnosis and treatment. Though in our case treatment would only have been palliative at best, you always want options and to keep options open...
Lastly, I was really thankful we had pet insurance. None of our decisions were concerned with cost, thank goodness. I was especially glad that ours had no limit, or cap, per incident. It is a good thing.
Best,

[Amy and Annabelle]

Yes, we would be going to the state university they have everything available 24/7, even on major holidays. It is a drive for us, but would be worth it for the critical care and quick diagnosis we would receive. It is good to plan ahead and not when you are the under the stress of an injured or ill pet.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

How kind and generous of you, Cindy, to think of others and take the time to post this advice in the midst of your grief. You are really someone special.

I've experienced both kinds of 24 hour emergency vet facilities and I can vouch for what you are saying. In some areas, there may be no choice, but for those who do have more than one option, do your research now before you need it. 

In my area, we have a Veterinary Specialty Center, where veterinary specialists of every kind have practices, and there is also a 24 hour emergency center in the same building. There is an Internal Medicine practice there with 6 internists, and one of them is always on call for the ER. It makes a big difference. They also have access to all of the other specialists. 

I wasn't aware of this place the first time we needed an ER on a weekend, fortunately for something relatively minor. (JD tore both of his front paw pads clean off.)  I went to another ER where they really didn;t seem to know what they were doing. (I've since learned that many (not all, but many) ER vets are new grads without much experience, either in caring for the animals or in dealing with their worried parents.) I had a $400 bill, and when I took JD to my own vet for followup, he disagreed with most of the treatment they'd given, and had to re-wrap his feet.  

Believe it or not, the same thing happened again several months later, and this time I knew about the specialty clinic; the frosting on the cake was that the bill was $150 less, and JD got better care. 

In this case, it wasn't a matter of life or death, but another time, it could be. 

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

I'm just so hoping something positive can turn from the doldrums...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thank you for taking the time to share this with us.  I really hadn't thought that there might be choices in my area for emergency treatment.  Now I am going to find out!  Something I did find out with Gordie's surgery was that the vet we took him to doesn't have anyone present during the night and if Gordie had survived the surgery we would have had to transfer him to the emergency clinic ourselves for night care.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's another nice thing about my specialty clinic. There are techs there all night with them, and at least one ER vet on duty. If your dog is there overnight, you can call at 3 a.m. and talk to your dog's "nurse". When JD was there overnight following his endoscopy, that helped me a lot.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Now I am depressed.  Both emergency vet clinics in my area have terrible reviews and neither seems to have any specialists.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

 Are any of these places near you: http://www.californiaveterinaryspecialists.com/

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Murrietta and Ontario  are each about 30 miles away - way too far for true emergency like bloat, but definitely okay if treatment was needed and the vet was closed.  We feel so lucky that we were only 5 - 10 minutes from the Vet when Gordie had bloat and they treated him immediately - we didn't have a good outcome, but Gordie had the best shot at one.  If it had happened at home we would have been at least 20 minutes from our vet. 

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

I'm glad you're sorting through it now Nancy, rather than when you may feel pressure under emotional and/or time constraints.

[Tracey & Spike]

How wonderful that you'd take the time to post this in the midst of your heartache. I can't even put into words how sorry I am that you are going through this.
As much as we all love and care for our pets how many people would even consider putting an "emergency plan" together? Something so simple. Many people (until a few years ago.... Myself included) would blindly drive to the nearest 24 hour vet assuming the care would be equal. It's sadly not the case. It should be but its just not. The overnight vets might be students or recent grads with little to no experience. The office might not have the essential equipment such as X-rays and labs. They may not have anyone on staff that is an expert on your particular animal (dog, cat, avian, exotic) They could just exist (as I now know many around me do) just to limp you along until the next business day. A luxury many in emergency situations just don't have.
My emergency vet for my birds is an hours drive away at a university that specializes in avian care. They are the top in the province. My emergency vet for Spike is 20 mins away. Even thought there are two 24 hr vets closer. It's one of those things where you hope you never need the info. However the peace of mind in knowing where to go is worth the homework.
I also whole heartedly agree with pet insurance. Something I've already used with Spike. Both in country and out. I never ever want to be in a situation where cost is a factor in getting care for him. I've seen that happen to many friends and their pets. I vowed it would never happen to me.
The only thing I would add for people thinking of getting insurance is to shop around. There are a lot of sham type companies who exclude the serious stuff. Like cancer treatments. They aren't all equal. Just like emergency vets.
Do the homework. Get referrals. Talk to your training schools. Your vets. Your friends. Just do your homework on both. Vet and insurance.
Thank you so much for posting this. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks for sharing this insight, Cindy.  We have two local Emergency clinics and another one about 45 minutes away.  My Vet advised us to totally avoid the local clinics and always use the one that is not local.  She said the quality of the Vets staffing the local clinics was nowhere near that of the other one....and the local ones do not have Specialists there or on call.  I always appreciated her giving us this advice....we have had to use the Emergency Clinic a few times and the care was always wonderful.  So it's probably also a good idea to talk to your regular Vet about their recommendations.  Also, thanks for the reminder about pet insurance....I'm so thankful that we got it when we did.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would add here, though, that in cases where time is critical, like bloat, when every minute can make a life or death difference, you need to get to any ER as fast as is humanly possible.