Urgent Care vs. Routine Check-ups: What Every Pet Owner Should Know
You know that Bayside Animal Hospital is your go-to for your pet’s wellness care, but did you know we also offer urgent care options for your pet when something is wrong? How can you tell when your pet needs urgent attention, though. Keep reading to find out:
Wellness, Urgent, or Emergent?
Sometimes it can be hard to tell what needs veterinary attention at a wellness appointment and what needs immediate care. At Bayside Animal Hospital, we define care the following ways:
- Wellness care: Wellness care is focused on preventing disease and catching problems before they are problems. A wellness visit typically involves a physical examination, recommended vaccinations, parasite and organ function screening tests, nutritional assessment, and a check in about behavior. Recommendations for dental care or other procedures may also be made. Most minor questions can be addressed here.
- Urgent care: Urgent care often involves a sudden change in your pet’s well being that is not immediately life threatening. Obvious illness or injury or an abrupt change in habits might signal a need for an urgent care visit. A skin or ear concern, changes in bathroom habits, or a minor wound often are urgent care visits.
- Pet emergencies: Life threatening pet emergencies should be treated as such. These include seizures, bleeding, trauma, broken bones, shortness of breath, vomiting and diarrhea, and heat stroke. If in doubt, call our staff to find out.
Why Urgent Care?
When your pet is sick or injured, you want to know that care is available. The staff at Bayside Animal Hospital is prepared to make that happen for you and your four-legged family.
Our facility is able to offer options such as:
- Same-day appointments for things that just can’t wait
- Drop-off appointments to help accommodate scheduling challenges
- An expert and caring staff to guide you through a stressful experience
- Modern diagnostic capabilities
Time is often very important when something is wrong with our pets, and you don’t want to wait for care. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is crucial for the best possible outcome, and both you and our staff want that for your pet.
If you aren’t sure if your pet needs urgent care or something can wait for a wellness visit, don’t be afraid to contact us. We are honored to help and will offer an option with your pet’s best interest at heart, be that a same day appointment, referral to an emergency provider, or a drop-off visit.