Animal Emergency Hospital of Grand Rapids
Emergency & Critical Care
24/7 emergency services offered at our Grand Rapids and Byron Center locations.
If you have a veterinary emergency, please call us right away at our Grand Rapids or Byron Center location, register online (see button below), or head to one of our hospitals.
Please do not email us for emergency care. The resources on this page are only for animals experiencing a veterinary emergency.
How to Tell if Your Pet is Having an Emergency
Not all pet injuries and illnesses require life-saving immediate medical attention. However, if your pet is experiencing any one of the below pet health emergency symptoms, please contact us right away:
Not breathing or visibly struggling to breathe
Unresponsive or unable to rouse
Obvious broken bone
Open wounds or active bleeding
Anaphylactic shock
Severe abdominal distension
Heatstroke
Collapse
Gums or tongue are pale (white) or blue
Vomiting without production
Straining to urinate without producing urine
Bite or sting from a venomous snake or insect or that is causing a severe reaction
Bite wounds
Sudden paralysis of the back legs
Seizures that last longer than five minutes, multiple seizures in a row, or the first seizure in your pet
This list is not exhaustive and does not cover all possible emergency symptoms. If you have questions about your pet’s symptoms or are concerned that they may be experiencing an emergency, please give us a call. The emergency care team at Animal Emergency and Specialty Hospitals are available to assist you 24/7. We have many highly skilled veterinarians on staff to make sure your pet gets the best possible critical care in the West Michigan area.
What to do in a Pet Emergency
If your pet is currently experiencing an emergency, follow these steps to keep your pet safe and give them the best possible chance at a full recovery:
Remain as calm as possible. If you panic, you may forget something or even cause your pet to feel more stressed and scared than they probably already are.
If your pet is in an unsafe location, such as in the road or near a dangerous animal, carefully move them to a safe spot. Try not to move your pet more than is absolutely necessary, as too much movement may worsen their injuries.
Contact us right away. Let us know what is happening so we can provide more specific advice and prepare for your arrival.
Load your pet into your vehicle as carefully as possible. If necessary, use towels as a makeshift stretcher. Animals in severe pain may become aggressive, so you may need to loosely drape a soft cloth over your pet’s eyes to help them calm down.
Drive quickly and carefully to us and follow all instructions upon arrival.
If you are concerned your pet is in a life-threatening situation, come directly to the hospital. We can help you assess the situation and make sure that your pet gets the care they need.
