Urgent Care at Neighborhood Veterinary Clinic (NVC)
Pet emergencies can be stressful and worrisome. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether or not your pet needs immediate veterinary care. Animals may be sick, injured or not behaving normally. Clinical signs may include open wounds, bleeding, diarrhea, vomiting, inappetence, etc. Regardless, not all medical problems are considered an emergency. If you are
concerned about your pet, it never hurts to call ahead with our team at Neighborhood Vet Clinic to discuss your concerns and whether or not you should bring your pet in to be seen right away.
What is the difference between a general appointment and urgent care appointment at NVC?
Urgent care is typically an outpatient service where we provide treatment to sick pets that require immediate veterinary care but that do not require emergency critical care. This is a walk-in service where an appointment is not needed. Urgent care is recommended when:
- Your pet’s problem is affecting his / her quality of life but is not life-threatening.
- When initial diagnostic testing is needed
- Your pet requires straightforward surgical care (i.e. wound / laceration repair, abdominal exploratory, urinary unblocking, etc.)
- You cannot get in to see your regular veterinarian and they do not see work-in urgent care appointments.
Calling before you come in is not necessary (although it does help facilitate the process). Show up and one of our experienced technicians will triage your pet to ensure he / she is stable prior to putting you and your pet in an exam room.
Wait times for emergency hospitals have skyrocketed over the past few years averaging 4-6 hours for patients that have been deemed stable before a veterinarian sees the pet. We are here (during business hours) to help you avoid these long wait times. On average, we typically see our urgent care patients within the hour after being triaged and placed in an exam room. We strive to eliminate long wait times for problems that do not need to be seen at an emergency care clinic. This is better for the patient (less stress) and your time. We want this to be as smooth of an experience as possible while also providing
the best in veterinary care.
What constitutes emergency critical care vs. urgent care?
We here at NVC are able to handle the majority of medical problems considered an emergency. There are a select few that we are not equipped to handle and if the patient needs to be hospitalized for further care we are unable to do so as we are not equipped as a 24-hour facility. We always ask that you call ahead so that we can direct you to an emergency critical care facility or not depending on the problem. Here are some common problems that we are able to triage and treat at NVC:
- Difficulty breathing
- Excessive bleeding
- Poisoning
- Traffic accidents
- Active seizures (emergency care if the seizures are not stopping)
- Abdominal bloat
- Anaphylactic / allergic reactions
- Heatstroke
- Snakebites
- Eye trauma
- GI upset (vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite)
- Lethargy
- Foreign body ingestion
- Broken bones
- Exposure to toads
- Difficulty urinating / inability to urinate
- Ear infections
- Broken toe nails
- Chronic lameness
- Urinary tract infections
- Hot spots
- Allergies
- Coughing and / or sneezing
- Skin conditions
- Broken teeth and severe dental disease (dentistry is one of our main areas of focus here at NVC)
If your pet is experiencing something not on the above list (as the list does not cover all problems we see) and you are unsure whether or not to go to an emergency hospital, please do not hesitate to call us first to discuss at 480-831-3031. This way we can guide you in the right direction. We also work with multiple emergency hospitals around the area and can help provide the necessary information to you in order to get your pet in to be seen at an emergency hospital if needed.
Emergency Clinics
The Scottsdale Veterinary Clinic
7311 E. Thomas Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ
480-945-8484
1st Pet Veterinary Center (Mesa)
5404 E. Southern Ave.
Mesa, AZ
480-924-1123
Gilbert Queen Creek Emergency Veterinarian
18610 E. Rittenhouse Rd Building B
Queen Creek, AZ
480-674-3200
Arizona Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Center
86 W. Juniper Ave. Suite 1
Gilbert, AZ
480-497-0222
