Emergency Care

On-Call Emergency Care
(during business hours)

Although no one wants to see their animal companion go through a medical emergency, it is always good to have a plan in case one occurs. A large part of responsible pet ownership is learning to recognize when your pet is having a medical emergency and having a plan in place to access emergency veterinary care when your pet needs it most.

Capital Home Veterinary Care’s mobile clinic is equipped to manage most pet emergencies by stabilizing your pet’s condition, using diagnostic tests to determine the problem and providing quick treatment to preserve your pet’s health.

How to Recognize a Pet Emergency

Not every medical problem is an emergency. Pet emergencies include situations in which your pet needs immediate medical attention. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between an emergency and a medical problem that can wait. Some situations which typically constitute a pet emergency include:

Extreme weakness or collapsing
Difficulty breathing
Severe cough
Persistent vomitting and/or diarrhea
No bowel movements
Uncontrolled bleeding
Trauma or serious injury
Appetite loss or lethargy for more than 24 hours
Lengthy or repetitve seizures
Heat exhaustion
Poison ingestion (Animal SPCA Helpline Poison Control: $60.00; 888-426-4435)

If you are not sure whether your pet’s symptoms or behavior constitutes an emergency, we always recommend erring on the side of caution and seeking professional veterinary assistance or advice right away.

What to Do if Your Pet Has an Emergency

If your pet requires immediate medical attention during business hours, contact our office at 804-432-2534, and we will come to you as soon as possible. If your pet’s emergency occurs after normal business hours, we welcome you to email us. We check messages regularly and can assist you over the phone or direct you to a nearby emergency clinic.

If we are unable to accommodate the emergency appointment, we will refer you to your closest veterinary emergency hospital.