What an emergency vet needs to know about your pet
An out-of-hours clinic has never met your animal. Everything they would normally read in a file, they have to get from you, standing at a counter, at the worst hour of your week.
The eight things they ask first
1. Species, breed, age and sex
Breed matters more than people expect. Some conditions and some anaesthetic risks are strongly breed-associated, and whether an animal is neutered changes what is on the list of possibilities.
2. An accurate current weight
Nearly every drug dose is per kilogram. A guessed weight is a guessed dose. A weight from two weeks ago beats an estimate made under stress — and if you have several, the trend is itself worth showing them.
3. Every medication, with doses
Name, strength, how much, how often, and when the last dose was given. This is the one people get wrong most often, usually as “a small white tablet, twice a day”. It matters because of interactions: what they can safely give depends on what is already in the animal.
4. Allergies and previous reactions
Including anything that has previously caused a reaction to a drug, a vaccine or an anaesthetic. This is a safety question, and the only source is you.
5. Ongoing conditions
Kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, anything long-term. These change both the likely diagnosis and what is safe to give.
6. Vaccination history
Relevant to some presentations, and relevant to whether they will admit your animal into a ward alongside others.
7. The microchip number
Identification, and the fastest route to your details if you and the animal become separated.
8. Your usual practice
So the emergency clinic can send the notes back afterwards and your own vet picks up the follow-up knowing what happened.
What they will also ask
- What happened, and when it started. A time, not “earlier”. Onset matters.
- Whether it is getting worse, and how quickly.
- Whether the animal has eaten, drunk, urinated or vomited, and when.
- Whether it might have swallowed something. If you have the packet, take the packet.
Before you go
- Phone ahead if you safely can. They will tell you whether to come, and be ready when you arrive.
- Take the medication, in its original packaging.
- Take the packet of anything swallowed, however unpleasant.
- Ask about cost early. Emergency care is expensive and most clinics will discuss it up front. It is a much worse conversation later.
Get this ready before you need it
All of the above is knowable on a calm afternoon and almost none of it is recallable at 2am. Whatever you use, the test is that somebody else could find it: the person who ends up taking your animal in may not be you.
- Write down your practice’s number and the out-of-hours number it diverts to. They are usually different providers.
- Keep the current medication list somewhere that updates when the medication does.
- Keep the microchip number with it, not in a drawer.
- Make sure it is reachable without your phone being unlocked by you specifically.
How PetHealth Pro does it
There is an emergency card per animal: the essentials, current medications, allergies, the microchip number, your practice’s number and the out-of-hours clinic, on one screen. It is reachable without going through the rest of the app, and it can be shown to somebody at a counter. Anybody you have shared the animal with can reach it too, which matters when the person at the clinic is the sitter rather than you.
Free for two animals, no card required. Open an account, or see what it looks like.