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Jon Geller, DVM, co-owner of Fort Collins Veterinary Emergency Hospital and P.E.T.S. of Northern Colorado, with technician Corina Herron holding a couple of very cute patients.

Thankfully, pet owners in Northern Colorado have access to emergency veterinary care. Emergency veterinarians are dedicated emergency professionals who treat acutely ill or injured pets. They typically work in clinics that are either open 24 hours a day or open on nights and weekends when traditional veterinary practices are not. They are there when your pet gets sick or hurt – no matter what time of day it happens.

Pet owners can visit Ted Mika, DVM, or his partner Jon Geller, DVM, and their staff of emergency vets, assistants, and interns at the Fort Collins Veterinary Emergency Hospital (FCVEH) or at Pet Emergency Treatment Services of Northern Colorado (PETSNC), in Greeley. “There has been a shift in veterinary medicine towards supplementing traditional veterinary practices with after-hours emergency clinics,” says Dr. Mika. “It gives veterinarians their lives back. Emergency clinics allow vets to avoid being on-call 24/7, which makes for more consistent quality care for pets and peace of mind for pet owners. When there are veterinarians dedicated solely to emergency care, there’s always someone rested, ready, and available to help.”

Susan Wight, DVM, an emergency veterinarian with VCA Veterinary Specialists of Northern Colorado, echoes these sentiments. “Vets can refer their after-hours emergencies to us and rest assured their patients will be taken care of,” she says. “We try to communicate with our patients’ regular doctors, and keep them apprised of the situation. We handle crises and keep them from escalating further. We provide 24-hour care for patients that need it, with access to specialists if the situation requires it.”

Both FCVEH and VCA are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. “As of November of last year, we’re always open,” says Dr. Mika. “Our referring veterinarians around town were getting so busy they needed the option of daytime emergency care as well. Now trauma victims and severely ill pets can receive treatment right away, rather than making an appointment or waiting to see a doctor who’s booked up with surgeries or vaccinations. We’re also able to provide long-term critical care at the clinic in addition to emergency care.”

Emergency and Critical Care has been a specialty of veterinary medicine since 1989. Residencies and board certification are available, but are not prerequisites to the specialty. Many emergency vets are traditionally trained veterinarians who were drawn to emergency care. Long-time practicing veterinarians, Dr. Mika and Dr. Geller, founded PNC in 2001 after noting the need for such services in the Greeley area. FCVEH followed closely, along with a third clinic in Grand Junction.

Dr. Wight has been practicing veterinary medicine for 20 years but calls emergency care “her niche in veterinary medicine.” Dr. Wight was a traditional vet in Estes Park for eight years before coming on board with VCA in 1996. Dr. Wight works with one other full-time ER doctor, a part-time ER doctor, and two rotating interns.

FCVEH works closely with the CSU Vet Hospital to offer internships and education and remain up-to-date with the latest veterinary medicine advances. “We have continuing education allowances for our technicians and staff and we’re one of the only emergency clinics that has a board-certified anesthesiologist,” says Dr. Mika. “Dr. Bonnie Wright manages protocols for anesthesiology and also runs a pain-management clinic here. We have excellent pain-management protocols, including acupuncture.”

Emergency veterinarians deal with everything from vomiting and diarrhea, to pet poisonings, trauma, snakebites, and more. “We see about 4,000 to 5,000 cases a year, everything from lacerations to gunshot wounds to car accidents to intoxication from anti-freeze, rat poison, and chocolate,” says Dr. Mika. “We’ve had six snakebite cases so far this season.”

“There really isn’t a most common illness or injury we see,” says Dr. Wight. “I’ve seen just about everything in the past 20 years; it’s about equal between illness and injury. This time of year, we see an increase in snakebites (five so far), lacerations, animal bite trauma, and automobile trauma.”

What can pet owners do to prevent accidents from happening? Dr. Wight warns pet owners not to let dogs ride in the back of trucks, to remove metal lawn edging due to risk of laceration, to use mouse traps instead of rat poison, to keep current on all vaccinations, to keep all medication, foreign objects, and people food away from animals, and never to self-prescribe medication (even aspirin) to your pet. “Most of it is common sense,” says Dr. Wight. “But seemingly harmless things, like chocolate, candy, gum (Xylitol can be fatal to dogs), string, small kids’ toys, and bones can cause major problems.”

Dr. Wight stresses the need to bring your pet to an emergency clinic if they are displaying any of the following symptoms: difficulty breathing, vomiting or diarrhea, pale gums, bleeding, pain, lack of appetite (which often indicates pain), difficulty walking, or extreme lethargy (which indicates pain or illness). A bloated abdomen in a dog, or a snakebite in any pet, warrants an immediate trip to the ER because both can be fatal if not treated immediately. A pregnant pet in labor but progressing slowly should also see an emergency veterinarian.

“The best way to avoid snakebites is to keep pets leashed when walking or hiking, although dogs have been bitten on leashes and in backyards,” says Dr. Wight. “It was a mild winter and their food supply is abundant, so snakes will probably thrive this year.” If your dog is bitten, it will most likely need antivenin from an emergency veterinarian, who should have it on hand at the clinic. “Snakebites are treatable and we have a supply of antivenin, but fatalities do happen – we saw several last year unfortunately.”

In the summer, heat stroke is also a real threat for many pets, especially dogs. Never leave a dog in a parked car in the summer and limit exercise in the afternoon. “Avoid any kind of over-exertion (hiking or running; walking is okay with ample water) if the outside temperature is more than 75 degrees; keep bull dogs and other ‘short nosed, smashed face type’ dogs in air conditioning when it’s warm outside,” says Dr. Wight. “Dogs don’t sweat. They cool themselves by panting. That only goes so far before their compensatory mechanism is overwhelmed and their body temperature increases rapidly.”

“You should always call and ask if you have a question about a symptom or if you’re unsure whether or not a trip to the vet is warranted,” says Dr. Mika. “Something that may seem minor, like vomiting, could turn out to be a poisoning but we won’t know that unless you bring the pet in. Better safe than sorry – that’s what we’re here for.”

Pet ER: Cooperative Veterinary Care

The Fort Collins Veterinary Emergency Hospital (FCVEH) supplements traditional veterinary service by providing after-hours emergency care for pets. Inspired by a spirit of cooperation and a need to relieve veterinarians of around-the-clock duty, FCVEH “gives vets their lives back” by caring for pets who become ill or injured during nights and over weekends.

FCVEH, a cooperative emergency clinic, works closely with local veterinarians who refer patients for emergency care. The 21 veterinary members/owners of FCVEH treat the emergency clinic as an extension of their own practices. “These partnerships allow for a higher level of consistent care and let local veterinarians enjoy their time off without having to take emergency calls,” according to owner Ted Mika, DVM.

Now that FCVEH is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is able to provide critical care in addition to emergency care, these partnerships are evolving even further. FCVEH is now able to see emergency cases during the day, which makes it easier on both the patient and the referring veterinarian. (Because FCVEH is dedicated solely to emergency and critical care, they’re ready to treat an ill or injured pet at a moment’s notice.) The other benefit to the clinic being open 24 hours is that sick pets no longer have to leave the clinic in the morning. “This way, a critically ill or injured pet doesn’t have to be transported back and forth between the emergency clinic and the veterinarian’s office. We keep the vet apprised of the patient’s condition at all times,” says Dr. Mika.

FCVEH is a fully staffed and equipped clinic, complete with a broad range of diagnostic services, a well-stocked pharmacy, in-hospital surgery suite, in-house digital X-ray capabilities, and closely supervised hospitalization area.

The sister clinic of FCVEH, P.E.T.S. of Northern Colorado, was the first cooperative emergency clinic in Northern Colorado. Founded by Dr. Mika’s partner, Jon Geller, DVM, in 2001, PETS operates in the Greeley area and is similar to FCVEH. The only difference is that P.E.T.S. is only open on nights and weekends. P.E.T.S. of Northern Colorado has 12 veterinary owners.

Both FCVEH and P.E.T.S. provide an invaluable service to pet owners and veterinarians alike. “Before we had the emergency clinic, vets would be on call nights and weekends,” says Dr. Mika. “Having trusted emergency veterinarians to take those calls and see patients during the night has not only enhanced the quality of life for local vets but also the quality of care for local pets. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”