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Emergency Services for Fieldstone Animal Hospital PetsEmergency Care & Referrals

At Fieldstone Animal Hospital, our veterinarians and staff understand that medical emergencies for a beloved pet can, and often do, happen outside of normal business hours. The information provided here should help you determine the best course of action.

For poison-related emergencies, our preferred poison control helpline is PetPoison Helpline.

For exotic pet emergencies, we refer patients to Hopkinton Animal Hospiotal in Hopkinton NH.

For all outside hours emergencies, please call one of the following emergency or urgent care hospitals.

 

Convenient Care/Urgent Care veterinary practices

Convenient Care/Urgent Care veterinary practices are a new and needed option that has emerged in veterinary medicine. Urgent care practices can provide something between appointment-based primary care practices and emergency/specialty veterinary practices,

Modeled after the walk-in clinics common within human medicine, veterinary urgent care clinics offer a great option when your pet has a condition that causes pain or discomfort on a same-day/evening/weekend/holiday basis that doesn’t rise to the level of requiring intensive diagnostics, hospitalization or other major interventions.

Urgent care is not a replacement for regular veterinary visits. You won’t find an urgent care practice providing vaccines, prevention, and routine care for chronic disease. After a visit to an urgent care practice, staff members will contact your pet’s primary veterinarian, who is responsible for any follow-up needs.

Cases requiring medical intervention beyond what an urgent care practice can treat are referred to an emergency or specialty practice.

“Having a dedicated urgent care practice can provide better efficiency and, hopefully, deliver better care than having these minor cases pile up at the emergency clinic or overwhelm primary care veterinarians,” 

  • minor injuries such as bite wounds and lacerations
  • quills
  • blood in urine with urine production
  • diarrhea and minor vomiting (less than 3 times/24 hours)
  • coughing without difficulty breathing
  • sudden lameness without obvious fracture
  • ingestion of a toxin such as rodenticides
Go to a Veterinary Urgent Care Facility if your PCP Is not available

Emergency Hospitals

The role of an emergency veterinary hospital is to provide care for sudden and serious illnesses or injuries that require immediate, life-saving care regardless of the time of day. Your PCP veterinarian is concerned about your pet’s health all the time, even if he or she is not available. Our veterinary ERs provide care for your pet that extends beyond the availability or capability of a general veterinary practice. Think about the differences between your human primary care physician and the emergency room at the hospital. Calling your doctor vs. calling 911.

Veterinary emergency hospitals are specifically staffed and equipped for critical cases. This specialization includes extended 24-hour availability of veterinarians and certified veterinary technicians who have extended speciality training in emergency, critical care medicine and surgery.  In addition, veterinary emergency hospitals have specialized diagnostic equipment such as ultrasound, possibly CT/MRI, ability to have ICU hospitalization and monitoring, specialized surgical equipment and ability to perform such emergency procedures such as blood transfusions.

  • Unconsciousness, collapse, pale gum color
  • Heatstroke
  • Choking, difficulty breathing, non-stop coughing or gagging
  • Severe bleeding or bleeding that does not stop in 5 minutes
  • Inability to pass urine or stool. Straining or obvious pain trying to pass urine or stool
  • Unproductive retching/vomiting, distended abdomen
  • Blood in vomit or stool or respiratory secretions
  • Severe persistent vomiting and/or diarrhea
  • Known ingestion of non-food abject or toxin
  • Severe trauma, obvious broken bones
  • Difficulty giving birth
  • Seizure that lasts over a couple minutes, or having 2-3 in a 24 hour period
  • Squinting,discolored, bulging or painful eyes 
  • Anything causing excessive pain 
Go to a Dedicated 24 hour Emergency/Specialty Hospital

What to Bring to an Emergency Veterinary Clinic Visit

  • Medications. Always have that list (or photos) of your pet’s medications and supplements readily available. …
  • Medical records. It’s always a good idea to keep a file of your pet’s medical records at home for situations just like this. …
  • Pet insurance information.