Most pet parents have a veterinarian or two that they know and trust to give their pet the care they need. However, it's just as important to learn about your options in local animal hospitals. While a veterinarian can provide your pet with excellent care in the fields of general check-ups, inoculations, and basic health care, there are a lot of reasons why you should know what animal hospitals are available to you. Here are three good reasons why you might need an animal hospital someday.
Surgery
Some veterinary offices offer surgical services to pets, but not all do. If your vet determines that your pet needs surgery, they may need to send you to an animal hospital to have the procedure performed. Surgery might be required to remove a tumor, fix an injury, or to treat a tissue infection.
Animal hospitals offer more in-depth facilities and have surgeons on their staff to treat animals that need surgery.
Emergency Care
If your pet has an emergency and needs care right away, there's a strong likelihood that your veterinarian won't be able to fit you into their schedule. Most veterinarians' offices book up ahead of time, leaving little to no space for emergencies. To make matters worse, emergencies generally require more attention and time, so your vet may not be able to squeeze you into their schedule.
In addition, if your pet has an emergency after your veterinarian is closed, you will need to go to an animal hospital instead. Thankfully, most animal hospitals keep extended hours, and many stay open 24 hours a day.
Specialized Medicine
While pet parents dread to think about it, sometimes pets develop conditions that need long-term, specialized care. For example, kidney failure is a very common problem for cats, and both cats and dogs can develop cancer. While these problems can typically be diagnosed by a standard veterinarian, they may not have the necessary tools, medicine, and facilities to care for your pet on a long-term basis.
Animal hospitals not only cater to emergencies, but they also offer specialized care for pets with ongoing conditions. For example, a cat with kidney failure might be hospitalized to treat dehydration and anemia, and the hospital would most likely run blood tests to determine how well the cat's kidneys are functioning. For cancer, an animal hospital would be able to perform surgery to remove a tumor or offer chemotherapy, depending on what variety of cancer it is and what the pet's specific needs are.
Before your pet has an emergency or a severe medical condition, know where your local animal hospitals are, what services they offer, and what hours they keep. If a time ever comes where you need emergency medical care, you'll already know where you can get the help your pet needs without adding more panic and fear to the situation. For more information on the services an emergency animal hospital can provide, talk to a veterinarian at the Animal Emergency Clinic.
