Urgent Care

Urgent Care Vet Services In Birmingham, AL

Double Oak Mountain Animal Hospital offers both emergency & urgent care veterinary services for your pet. As a pet parent we understand that it can be difficult to know which service your pet needs. Knowing the difference between between these two services can be a life saver for you & your pet.

What Is Urgent Care?

Urgent Care is typically an out-patient, walk-in service that provides treatment to sick pets who are in need of prompt access to a veterinarian, but are not in a life threatening situation.

Here at Double Oak Mountain Animal Hospital we see urgent care appointments primarily during the hours of Saturday & Sunday- 12:00 pm-10:00 pm

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Our Urgent Care Service Provides Help When:

• Conditions Are Non-critical
• No Hospitalization Is Required
• No Surgery Is Required
• Only Basic Diagnostics Are Needed

Although we offer urgent care walk-in service, we require calling ahead to check in with our team so that we may be able to prepare prior to your arrival. It is for the benefit of you and your pet that we are prepared upon your arrival at our practice.

When Should I Take My Pet To Urgent Care?

The following conditions are typical situations that warrant a visit to an urgent care visit to our hospital. 

• Skin or Ear Infections - If you notice any redness, inflammation, puss, or abnormal coloring on your pet’s skin, around their feet or inside their ears, it is best to have them checked out as soon as you can. Delaying care for infections typically makes them more difficult to treat and can lead to more serious health problems if the infection spreads.  

• Wounds - We understand that pets are curious & active beings. This can commonly lead to occasional scratches, cuts, and puncture wounds. If your pet does have shallow cuts or grazes, these need to be cleaned fully & bandaged to help prevent infection and ensure healthy healing. If these wounds are deep, if your pet is experiencing significant blood loss, they are continuing to bleed after 5 minutes, or was caused by another animal bite, we need to see them right away.

• Vomiting - This is common in pets who may eat something that upsets their tummy. However, it’s important to keep track of frequency. If your pet begins to vomit & the frequency of vomiting increases they may have ingested some unknown food that could be poisonous to them. This would be good grounds to seek an urgent care appointment with us.

• Limping - Due to their active lifestyle, there could be many factors causing your pet to limp. If you notice your pet is limping, not able to put weight on the injury or yelping we would definitely recommend a visit. 

• Unexplained Lethargy - all pets get sleepy after a long day or playing & entertaining their pet parents. The older your pet is the more lethargic they tend to be. However, if you feel your pet is unusually tired, hiding away in quiet corners when they are typically social, or lack energy after minimal exercise they may be sick. This would all be signs that an urgent care visit should occur.

• Fever - With fur it’s hard to notice whether your pet has a fever or not. Common signs of a fever can include an increased heart rate, panting, a runny nose, shivering, and coughing. If you catch these symptoms our urgent care team can diagnose & begin a treatment plan.