Animals – Animal emergencies – be prepared

There are a plethora of animals in the Mahurangi region, be they household pets or the larger animals belonging to small block holders. It is an unfortunate fact of life (and animal ownership) that at some point or other these animals will become sick or injured and require emergency veterinary care. Such situations can be highly stressful and emotionally tough for both the animal and owner and, more recently, this is compounded by shifting veterinary after-hours services, due to the ongoing vet shortage and post-covid effects. This article aims to educate and help preparedness for animal emergencies so that this stress might be somewhat reduced.

So what constitutes an emergency? Actively bleeding wounds and those that split the skin, laboured breathing or choking, collapse or loss of consciousness, convulsions or sudden unexplained lethargy are all an emergency. Lameness, where the animal is holding the leg up and unable to bear any weight on the limb, or where it is vocalising if the limb is touched, is serious. Persistent, severe vomiting or diarrhoea, particularly where blood is present are significant and should be seen promptly, as should any kind of toxin ingestion. When it comes to animals giving birth, active straining of 15 minutes in any species should result in some progress, so if you do not observe this, contact the vet promptly.

In any case, when you contact the veterinary clinics after hours you will either speak directly to or be contacted by a veterinarian who will triage your animal based on the information you provide, and decide if and when your animal should be seen. Know that the vet on-call is usually working on their own and is responsible for all the clients in their region (including large animals), so may not be able to attend your animal straight away. Depending on the emergency, and the time of the night, you may be asked to take your pet to an emergency centre on the North Shore instead. Note that in most circumstances, veterinarians will only see your animals if you are a client of their practice, so it is very important to ensure that you sign yourself up when you become an owner or move to the region and before any emergency happens.

Beware that the cost of emergency veterinary care, whether provided by your regular veterinarian after hours, or in attending the available 24-hour emergency centres on the North Shore, is much higher than regular veterinary services, and clinics do not provide finance so payment ‘on the day’ needs to be made. Try to financially plan for a veterinary emergency when you become an animal owner. Obtaining pet insurance is one way to do this, or you can set aside a small amount regularly toward an emergency pet fund. We have several clients who have an automatic payment into their clinic account so they build an emergency fund directly with us.