Emerson Animal Hospital - Is It An Emergency?

If your pet has any of these symptoms, bring it in IMMEDIATELY
Symptom:	With:
Inability to Breathe	Noisy respiration, blue tongue, gasping for breath
Bleeding That Won't Stop	From any part of the body. Apply pressure and come now!
Inability to Urinate or Appears Constipated	But continues to try.
Inability to Deliver Puppies or kittens	Keeps trying or has stopped trying
Pain	Severe. Continuous with no relief
Vomiting, Diarrhea	Continuous or with the Appearance of Blood
Loss of Balance or Consciousness	Includes tremors, coma, staggering, blindness, fainting
Itching	Continuous scratching, biting, self-mutilation
Penetrating Wounds	Any place, but especially chest or abdomen
Poisoning	Bring the container or commercial name and chemical name
Injury	Continuous pain and/or total lameness
Hit by car
Bloat
Any other sign that looks serious!

If your pet has any of these symptoms, bring it in TODAY
Symptom	With
Difficult Breathing	With or Without Cough. Eats and Drinks. Not Frantic
Vomiting / Diarrhea	Without Blood; No Pain; No Unusual Contents
Sudden Lameness	No apparent cause
Swallowed Object	Even if you THINK pet swallowed it.
Severe Itching	With possible self-mutilation
Strange Odor	Usually disagreeable, from any part of the body
Burns	Heat, Chemicals. Go Immediately if Extensive
Injuries	Not severe emergency but will worsen with delay- lacerations

If your pet has any of these symptoms, it is safe to wait OVERNIGHT
Symptom	With
Vomiting / Diarrhea	No blood, no foreign material, no pain, not continuous
Itching	Mild to moderate; no skin damage; not continuous, no bleeding
Lameness	Little or no pain; no discomfort in walking; not continuous
Thirst / Urination	Excessive drinking and/or elimination of urine with no blood, no pain, no straining or discomfort, or bloody appearance to the urine
Loss of Appetite	Skipped one main meal, but no other signs of illness
Most Skin Problems