PET TIPS
After hours vet centres may admit several cases simultaneously. As such, our treatment room is open plan, allowing us to observe multiple patients as a time. The treatment room is equipped with modern, comprehensive facilities to stabilise, treat, manage and monitor your pet.
AAE opened in 2005 as a vet clinic Melbourne pet owners of all descriptions can visit when emergency vet services are needed. The clinic is serviced around the clock by eight vets, many of whom have completed post graduate training in critical and emergency vet care.
AAE is a Melbourne animal hospital and after hours vet located at Essendon Airport, located just off the Tullamarine Freeway. As a Melbourne veterinary emergency centre, our centre is permanently staffed with highly-trained emergency vets.
What To Do In A Emergency
Contacting a Melbourne animal hospital
If an animal needs an emergency vet, Melbourne pet owners should:
- Keep calm
- Make sure you and your pet is at no further risk of injury
- Call AAE’s 24 hour vet clinic for advice on how to provide first aid treatment
- On the way to the animal emergency centre, cover your pet’s head with a thick blanket to help reduce stress for him/her and injury to you
- Bring all of your pet’s current medications, and a log of veterinary visits if it has a critical illness
What to expect on arrival at the 24 hour vet clinic
Upon arrival at the animal emergency centreLink to what to do in an emergency, a triage nurse will briefly examine your pet to determine the level of urgency of the situation.
If your pet is found to be stable after triage, you may be asked to take a seat in the waiting room of the animal emergency centre until a vet is free.
Sometimes other pets may be treated before yours. Please appreciate that as an emergency vet, Melbourne’s AAE needs to treat the most seriously ill patients first.
Once the examination is complete, your pet may be treated at the animal emergency centre and sent home or may be required to stay at the Melbourne animal hospital for further treatment.
Dealing with common vet emergency situations
Snake Bite
Symptoms of snake bite vary widely, and the degree of vet emergency can depend on the dose of venom the snake injected, the time since the animal was bitten and the type of snake.
Symptoms include:
- Sudden collapse and then apparent recovery
- Vomiting
- Dilated or uneven pupil size
- Wobbly legs which may progress to paralysis
- Reluctance to move, loss of appetite
- Dark red or brown coloured urine
If you suspect your animal has been bitten, bring it to our 24 hour vet clinic as soon as possible. The sooner the animal is seen at a Melbourne animal hospital, the better its chances of surviving.
Gastroenteritis
A wide range of illnesses can cause vomiting and diarrhoea. Although treatment is not usually needed at a Melbourne animal hospital, pets can sometimes become seriously ill and even die.
In considering whether to visit an emergency vet, Melbourne pet owners should consider if their cat or dog:
- Is less than 6 months of age or older than 10 years
- Has blood in vomit or diarrhoea
- Has another medical condition
- Is on any medication
- May have eaten a foreign object
- Has been vomiting for longer than 24 hours or has had diarrhoea for longer than two days
- Seems unwell: lethargic, reluctant to play or go out, not interested in food
- Is trying to vomit but unable to bring anything up
Bloat (GDV, Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus)
Bloat is a true vet emergency situation requiring immediate attention by an emergency vet. Melbourne pets most at risk are large, deep-chested dog breeds.
The stomach and then abdomen will appear swollen. Other symptoms may include:
- Attempting to vomit or retch
- Salivating
- Appearing unsettled or distressed
If left untreated your dog can collapse and die, so it is critical that you rush your dog to the animal emergency centre immediately.
Seizures
Symptoms of a generalised seizure are:
- Paddling or thrashing legs
- Violent tremors
- Salivation
- Mouth champing
- Urination and defecation
- Disorientation post seizure
Seizures are not necessarily dangerous to the animal. If your dog or cat has more than three seizures in a 24-hour period, if they do not return to completely normal behaviour within 15 minutes of a seizure or if the seizure lasts for longer than 5 minutes, it will need to be seen at our 24 hour vet clinic immediately.
If your pet has a seizure, move it to a safe area where it cannot hurt itself. Do not place your hands near its mouth – a dog cannot swallow its own tongue, but it may accidentally bite you.