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What to do in the event of an emergency:
| Keep Calm. |
Contact your nearest
veterinary hospital [(902)893-4331 for Central Nova
Animal Hospital] appraise them of the situation, get first
aid advice and arrange a time and place to meet the veterinarian
on call. |
| Keep your pet
warm, and as quiet as possible. Keep movement to a minimum
if there is possible trauma, broken limbs, etc. |
| Carefully place the animal
into your car, wrap in a blanket or thick towel. |
| Get to the veterinary hospital
as soon as possible. Drive Carefully! |
What is
an emergency?
Things that are ALWAYS
Emergencies:
There are many possible emergencies from automobile
injury to internal problems but the following are some of
the most serious that require immediate attention:
| My pet can't urinate
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| My pet's leg is dangling and
he can't walk on it |
| Continuous vomiting and/or
diarrhea (especially with blood) for 24 hours |
| Any severe difficulty in breathing
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| Massive hemorrhage |
| Penetrating wounds of the
chest or abdomen |
| Collapse, Coma or loss of
consciousness |
| Poisoning |
| Seizures that go on for more
than 20 minutes |
| Burns and scalds |
| Heat stroke |
| Bloat (gastric dilation) |
| Porcupine quills that can't
be pulled at home - especially in the mouth |
| An eye that can't open or
looks markedly abnormal. |
Emergencies that really are not:
| A toenail was
cut too short and is bleeding! ... This is messy, but
it won't result in significant blood loss and will eventually
stop bleeding. Home remedies include applying flour or
cornstarch or bandaging for a short time. |
| My pet is vomiting worms!
... Deworm him as soon as possible, and the vomiting will
usually stop. |
| My pet had a seizure...Most
seizures last under a minute and the animal is normal
shortly thereafter. Those animals can wait for regular
office hours. |
| My pet is gagging so he must
be choking or have something stuck in his throat! ...
This complaint usually results from swallowing something
that really irritates the throat. Some ice water usually
helps. (If a pet is truly choking, they will be having
trouble breathing, unable to drink or swallow, pawing
at the face and often drooling. This is an emergency.)
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| My pet is limping, I think
his leg is broken! ... If he can put weight on the leg
then odds are there is no fracture. Most limping cats
actually have infected bite wounds. |
| My pet was sprayed in the
eyes by a skunk! ... Yes, his eyes are probably sore,
but he won't be blinded. Rinse them out with water or
saline, and start bathing! |
Emergency services rotate between the
3 veterinary clinics in the Truro area. Central Nova Animal
Hospital covers 50% of the emergency hours (this includes
nights, weekends and holidays) The other 2 clinics cover 25%
of the hours each.
You can easily reach the "on call"
veterinarian by phoning the clinic number. After hours a central
answering service answers the phone for all 3 clinics. The
answering service will take your number and message, they
will then relay your message to the veterinarian and the veterinarian
will phone you back.
You can expect to hear from the veterinarian
within a few minutes, so ! A delay in the return call may happen
if the veterinarian is tied up with another emergency, or
talking to another client, so !
After discussing the problem with the veterinarian,
if you choose to have your animal examined, a time will be
arranged for you to meet the veterinarian at the clinic. The
veterinarian is not at the clinic 24 hours a day!
Regardless of your "regular" clinic,
you will be asked to meet the veterinarian at the clinic that
he or she normally works at. So, if a veterianarian from Central
Nova Animal Hospital is on call you will meet them there,
but if a veterinarian from Truro Veterinary Hopspital or Fundy
Veterinarians is on call you will be asked to meet them at
their respective clinic. A map of all the clinics in the Truro
area is included at the bottom of this page.
For after hours emergency visits there is an
extra emergency fee in addition to the regular exam fee. The
charge varies according to time of day or night, if you have
any concerns about cost they should be discussed with the
on call veterinarian.
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