Riverside County 24/7 Veterinary Emergency Critical Care

Food Poisoning or Toxic Substances

There are many substances, household items, food ingredients, and cleaning products that could cause severe problems to our pet’s health. Certainly, some are obviously bad, such as pest control chemicals or rat poison, but others are hidden in plain sight.

Please be careful about leaving garlic, onions, or some sweets, such as chocolate chunks, out in the open where a dog might eat them. Some animals are highly susceptible to these foods and could have a fatal reaction.

The key, as with any other emergency, is moving fast and deciding what to do quickly. Your pet may be undergoing an emergency of any of the following types:

• Kidney Failure. Some pets will suffer from kidney failure, and you will notice they are urinating much more than usual or losing their appetite.

• Internal Bleeding. Even though it’s internal, there are external signs you should keep an eye out for, such as weakness or lethargy, collapsing, vomiting blood, or a racing heart.

• Liver Failure. This is a situation that results in tarry stools, collapsing, and persistent vomiting.

• Gastrointestinal Complications. Please watch out for a lot of vomiting or diarrhea.

Open Wounds and Lacerations

Your pet might usually move around areas that you don’t know very well in your house. And even though pets are usually better at moving and maneuvering around tight and closed spaces than us humans, their curiosity could result in a regrettable accident.

Emergencies can arise from other pet bites, scrapes, deep cuts, and puncture wounds that endanger your pet’s health. Please don’t hesitate to perform constant checks on your pet’s physical integrity.

One telltale sign is when a dog constantly licks an area on their body they usually pay no attention to.

If your pet does have an open wound, please hold them carefully and check on the affected area to determine the level of damage.

You can contact us and receive more information about disinfecting and cleaning the wound, but please don’t let that distract you from making preparations to take your pet to an emergency animal hospital.

Seizures

These are probably the second most alarming veterinary emergency you can undergo as a pet parent.

Seizures in pets can be and are usually associated with neurological problems that require the intervention of a veterinary neurologist for proper evaluation and treatment.

Fortunately, our team includes a specialist in animal neurology you can contact for proper care.

Please note the type of seizure to know what to do:

• Focal Seizures: will only affect one area of your pet’s brain, and your pet will remain aware during the episode.

• Generalized Seizures: are far much more complex in nature and can start as a focal seizure that worsens as time progresses.

We recognize that it is challenging to spot seizures in animals, as some behavioral changes can be so minute we rarely notice them.

Still, you should watch out for:

• Dilated pupils

• Changes to your pet’s hearing or vision

• Balancing problems

• Involuntary muscle spasms.