After Hours Emergencies | In the Event of an Emergency | Emergencies During Office Hours
After Hours Emergency
In the event of an after hours emergency, please take your pet to the nearest emergency clinic listed below.
The emergency veterinarian will be in touch with our doctors on the next business day.
In Carlsbad & Encinitas, call
California Veterinary Specialists
(760) 431-2273
In Encinitas, call
North Coast Veterinary Emergency
(760) 632-1072
In Sorrento Valley, call
Veterinary Specialty Hospital
(858) 875-7500
In San Marcos, call
Veterinary Specialty Hospital, North
(760) 466-0600
Avian & Exotic Emergencies (La Mesa)
Pet Emergency & Specialty Center
(619) 462-4800
Avian & Exotic Emergencies (Oceanside)
Mission Animal And Bird Hospital
(760) 433-3763
In the Event of an Emergency
In the event of a medical emergency, keep the following in mind:
- Remain Calm! Emergencies are very scary, but you cannot help your pet if you are panicking
- Be Careful That YOU Do Not Get Hurt! Pets in pain may be scared and lash out. Certain medical conditions, such as some poisonings and seizures may also cause the pet to involuntarily bite. Be careful to protect yourself from injury when attempting to help your pet.
- Bleeding: Apply direct pressure to areas that are actively bleeding.
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Poisoning: If you saw your pet ingest a poison, call us immediately or call your local emergency clinic (if after hours). If possible, bring the packaging with
you to the veterinarian.
- If you are uncertain that what your pet ingested was toxic, please call Animal Poison Control at:(888) 426-4435.
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General Emergencies: If you have a life-threatening emergency, or you feel your pet is unwell or in pain, please call us! During our business hours, we will
make every effort to see you. If the emergency occurs after our business hours, please call one of your local emergency clinics.
Emergencies During Office Hours
If possible, we encourage clients to schedule appointments if their pet needs to see a veterinarian. Of course, we also understand that sometimes medical concerns come on suddenly and your pet may need to be seen right away.
In the event of an emergency during business hours, we will make every attempt to see you as soon as possible. If this occurs during a fully booked schedule, we may need to make special arrangements to make sure that your pet gets seen as soon as possible. We offer a few options for emergency care*:
Critical Emergencies*: These are cases where your pet's life is at stake. In these situations, our staff will "drop everything" to deal with your pet's emergency.
Walk In/Squeeze In Appointments*: These are appointments where the client either walks in without an appointment, or calls and comes in during a fully-booked day and waits to be squeezed in to the schedule. In these cases, we cannot guarantee the client's wait time, as we attempt to see scheduled appointments first. Of course, if your pet is in distress or in severe pain, we drop everything to see your pet!
Drop Off Appointments*: This is a very convenient option for many clients. The pet stays the day with us, allowing the doctor to see the patient conveniently between appointments while giving us time to perform any necessary procedures. For Walk Ins, a good contact number is very important, so that we can review the exam with the client and go over any treatment recommendations.
*Emergencies, drop offs and non-scheduled appointments usually incur additional care fees. These vary with the type and nature of the squeeze-in. Our receptionist will attempt to make you aware of the fee when the case is brought or called in.
