What to Expect from An Emergency Vet in Lakeland, FL

Have you ever used an emergency vet for your pets before? Do you find yourself wondering what to expect if you do need to use one?

Choosing to take your pet to an emergency vet can be challenging enough without the additional fear of the unknown, so it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the experience before you ever need to go.

In the article below, you’ll find information about the basics you can expect when you take your pet to the emergency vet.

You can use this information to help you understand more about the process from the very beginning. If your pet is in need of urgent care, call Parkway Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Lakeland at (863) 665-3199.

Plan to Call Ahead

Before you arrive, you’ll need to contact the emergency vet and let them know you’re coming. Most emergency vets should have a doctor and some staff on hand at all times of the day or night, but some may simply keep the vet on call instead.

When they get a call from someone who is bringing in a pet, the vet then receives a call to come in as well. This is not the most common method of going about the emergency vet process, but it can happen.

Even if your emergency vet always has staff on site 24/7, you still need to give them a courtesy call and let them know what’s going on. This is also a good chance for them to get prepared ahead of time if your pet needs immediate emergency veterinary care.

Check-In and Vitals

When you arrive, your pet will be checked in quickly. You will likely need to stay behind in the waiting room after your pet is taken back into an examination room by a veterinary technician.

This process will give you time to fill out necessary paperwork and provide information about your pet while the vet techs handle prepping your pet for the procedures required.

While your pet is with the techs, they will take vitals and check your pet over thoroughly. Depending on what the emergency is, they may go ahead and start administering anesthesia so the vet can perform the required procedure to help save your pet’s life.

If this is not necessary, they may wait for you before they move on to the next step.

While you are still in the waiting room, you’ll need to provide as much information as you can about your pet’s condition and situation.

Tests and Procedures

If you’re unsure what’s wrong with your pet—for example, if they’re clearly not well but you didn’t see what happened to them to cause this condition—then the vet will need to perform tests to diagnose your pet’s illness or problem before continuing.

However, if your pet is in a crisis, such as being unable to breathe, the emergency vet will treat the symptoms before figuring out what the underlying cause might be.

Next, the vet will perform procedures to help resolve the problem and get your pet back to good health again. Some of these procedures may involve removal of obstructions, administration of medication for allergic reactions and other conditions, surgery, setting broken bones, and much more.

Your pet might also need to receive blood, fluids, or medication through an IV depending on what happened and the condition of your pet as well.

Follow-Up

After the tests and procedures are complete, the vet will discuss with you what happened and what to expect moving forward. If there is nothing that can be done, the vet will recommend humanely euthanizing the pet and will be willing and able to help you deal with making this difficult decision as well.

If you prefer, the vet may also be able to help you keep your pet alive until your regular vet can perform the euthanizing instead, depending on the situation.

If your pet is able to return home following the emergency procedures, you’ll need to follow up with the emergency vet as well as your regular vet within the next couple of days.

You should plan to call the emergency vet with any updates—even if it’s all good news—the next day. You should also take your pet to your regular vet in a day or two for a full checkup.

It is also important to understand the difference between emergency care and urgent care. An urgent care vet is able to diagnose and treat conditions that are serious, but not life-threatening. This includes vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration or hair loss.

An emergency vet visit is necessary if your pet is experiencing seizures, choking, heatstroke or any other life-threatening condition. At Parkway Veterinary Emergency Clinic, we are equipped to handle these emergency situations with digital imaging, surgeries and pain relief methods.

Did you learn what you needed to know about emergency vets? It’s important to recognize what is normal and what might not be normal if you take your pet to the emergency vet, and it’s equally important to know what to expect before you ever arrive.

When you come to Parkway armed with knowledge and preparation, you can feel more confident and help your pet feel more at ease during a difficult situation, too. Give us a call today at (863) 665-3199..