New Bedford Pet Owners: How to Prepare for Emergency Vet Care

One of the best things that you can do as a pet owner is to prepare for an experience at your local Dartmouth emergency vet. Even if your pet is healthy as can be, it still pays to prepare for what might happen if you ever need to take him to an emergency veterinary hospital in the middle of the night. How will you get your pet to the veterinary clinic in Dartmouth? What would you do if your pet were bleeding or unconscious? How would you pay for emergency vet services? Do you know a veterinarian that treats your exotic pet? These are all things that you need to consider ahead of time before you are ever in an emergency situation.

Step One: Choose a Good Vet
The first step for New Bedford pet owners and pet owners in the South Coast region, is to choose a good vet that you know you can count on for non-emergency and emergency veterinary care. Anchor Animal Hospital in Dartmouth is open seven days a week and can treat a wide range of emergency situations and conditions in cats, dogs, pocket and exotic pets. Give us a call to schedule a regular check-up so we can have a baseline of your pet’s health on-record in the event of an emergency. Get to know us and let us get to know your pet. We sincerely hope that you never need our emergency veterinary hospital services, but it is a good idea to be prepared and know what to do in case an emergency situation presents itself.

A visit will help you and your pet to:

• become familiar with our facility and our staff
• know how to get to our office quickly from your location
• learn what to expect from the care that you will receive
• help us create a baseline of health for your pet for future reference
• understand more about preventive health care to avoid an emergency situation

Step Two: Transportation
Another thing that you need to consider is how you will transport your pet to the veterinary clinic in Dartmouth. You should have a pet carrier of the right size for your pet and keep it clean and handy for emergency use. Test out the carrier and train your pet to go in it without hesitation. This will make it easier to get a nervous or scared pet inside the carrier when necessary. For dogs and other larger animals, make sure to have a leash or harness handy as well if it is too difficult to lift the carrier or crate into your vehicle. Even if the animal seems unconscious or too “out of it” to try and get away, it is a good idea to keep your pet leashed just in case they startle, sit up or try to run out of fear.

Keep blankets and other comforting items handy in a to-go bag near your front door, along with an extra leash, play toy and anything else that you think might make the trip to the emergency veterinary hospital any easier. New Bedford pet owners should check the to-go bag regularly to make sure that it has everything in it that you would need to transport your pet, just as you would check a first-aid kit or emergency kit for your human family members.

Step Three: At-Home Emergency Care
You should always leave the veterinary care up to a professional veterinarian, however there are some situations when you need to provide some at-home emergency care. When you visit the veterinary clinic in Dartmouth, make sure to ask for tips that you can use if your dog becomes injured, such as lifting a pet with an injured paw or leg, how to stop bleeding in a pet that has been cut, what do to if your pet becomes unconscious or incapacitated in some way, and even some information on symptoms or signs to look for that would indicate a trip to the emergency veterinary hospital.

Know your pet and his normal behavior patterns. Sometimes, especially in cats, there are subtle indications that something is wrong that must be recognized in order to save your pet from a serious health situation. Regular check-ups at your local Dartmouth emergency vet can help to ensure that your pet is healthy, happy and well cared for to prevent many issues from becoming an emergency situation in the first place. Ask your veterinarian about creating a first-aid emergency kit for your pet and what type of tools and materials you should keep stocked to keep your pet safe.

Step Four: Payment of Emergency Services
Just like with people, the cost for care at the local emergency veterinary hospital can sometimes be overwhelming, especially if your pet needs urgent surgery or treatment for his condition. Be prepared ahead of time and consider ways that you will pay for emergency services at the veterinary clinic in Dartmouth. Some pet owners create a special savings account for veterinary services, while others dedicate a credit card to pet needs. Another option is to consider a veterinary services payment plan. Anchor Animal Hospital accepts CareCredit to help New Bedford pet owners and clients from all over the South Coast area to pay for their veterinary bills. To learn more about CareCredit as a payment plan for your pet at your local emergency veterinary hospital, you can apply online at www.CareCredit.com or can contact CareCredit direct by calling 1-800-677-0718.

Call Anchor Animal Hospital in Dartmouth
If you would like to get started preparing for emergency services for your pet at Anchor Animal Hospital, please give us a call at 508-996-3731. Our team can answer any questions that you might have about our emergency veterinary hospital and can schedule you for a start-up appointment and check-up. Call today to do everything you can to keep your pet safe, healthy and happy.