Call Ahead for Your Emergency!!

ER services affected by spike in pets presenting for care. 

What's the problem?

Veterinary hospitals across the country are overwhelmed due to this surge in pets presenting for care. Whether the uptick is from new adoptions surrounding COVID, staff shortages, or simply an increased awareness of issues, the results are longer wait times, staff fatigue and frustrated clients. Practices like ours, are finding six- to eight-hour wait times not unusual, and occasionally, when our emergency room is full we have had to stop accepting new patients.

What are we doing? 

 A strong focus for us has been to communicate with clients alternative ways to help their pets. For example, our free  24/7 Live Chat,* where licensed veterinary professionals are ready to answer your pet related questions. Additionally, we have sought to provide education about emergency room triage levels and "When being the worst makes you first!"  Ultimately, this holiday we expect to see service hour effected and we will do our best to communicate with you about these changes. 

What can you do? 

1. Call ahead if you are walking in for services or an emergency.

2. Chat on the myVCA App Free Live Chat* .

3. Understand emergencies & triage .

4. Be patient.

We are all pet people and the sentiment, that we are all in this together still rings true. Therefore, as the holiday season approaches, we are grateful to be here for you and your pet. 

24 Hour Emergency Care is Seeing an Increase in Pet Care

By now, we have all experienced the surge in emergency patient care that the veterinary has seen. Our clients have had to learn new standards for scheduling appointments and procedures for their pets and we have had to revise communication to ensure current expectations are set. With that said, our Emergency/Walk-in service has felt the effects of these measures and therefore we have made some temporary adjustments to our availability. It is our hope to keep you well informed about these changes so that you continue to feel comfortable when referring your patient to us for care.  

 

While we make every effort to provide 24/7/365  Emergency Service to our community, the following days & times we will have a modified ER/Walk-in schedule. Specialty pet services are Monday-Saturday: 7:30am-7pm by appointment only.

Modified Emergency Hours:

Friday, Dec 17th

Emergency/ walk-in service begins at 11am.

Appointments only 7am-11am

Tuesday, Dec 21st

Emergency/ walk-in service begins at 4pm.

Appointments only 7am-4pm. 

Saturday, Dec 25th

Emergency/ walk-in service only until 10pm.

There will be no new patients admitted after 10pm on Christmas Day. 

Tuesday, Dec 28th

Emergency/ walk-in service begins at 11am.

Appointments only 7am-11am

Saturday, Jan 1st

No Emergency/ walk-in service on New Year's Day. 

Closed for Emergencies.

Only existing hospitalized patients will be seen on New Year's Day.  

 

We are grateful for your continued partnership in pet care and we appreciate your patients as we adjust to new challenges. We are proud of the role our 24/7/365 emergency service plays in our community. It is our goal to resume the 24/7/365 services that you have come to reply on.

Please contact us on our dedicated referral line to reach our doctors and staff 24/7/365.