It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has tried to schedule an appointment or visited their veterinarian within the last year that wait times are long and appointments are difficult to come by. The veterinary industry has been hit with a tidal wave of unforeseen circumstances such as skyrocketing pet ownership, staffing shortages, lengthy curbside procedures, and COVID shutdowns. This has resulted in an astronomical demand for veterinary care and an entire industry in a crisis. General practices are solidly booked out 4-6 weeks, and pet owners at emergency clinics are facing wait times of 8-10 hours (or more). As veterinary teams try their hardest to care for our furry friends, they’ve had to become experts in the art of triaging.
What does it mean to triage?
Every day, our receptionists are fielding dozens of calls from frantic pet parents hoping to get in for same-day appointments. Unfortunately, we’re just not able to say yes to every pet that needs care. This is where triaging comes into place!
Triaging, simply put, is to sort appointments in order of severity or urgency. We often triage cases the same way a human emergency room would - more severe cases will be seen first, and minor issues may be waiting upwards of a week or more for an appointment.
Since appointments are scarce and remain high in demand, clinics everywhere are using a triage system that breaks down health issues by priority. This list breaks down symptoms that are true emergency situations and others that are concerning, but can wait to be seen.
What is an emergency situation?
A true emergency is a condition that requires immediate intervention from a veterinary team. Waiting or putting off these situations can potentially pose a serious threat to the pet’s life.
Seizures
3-4 seizures or more within the last 24-48 hours
Hit by car (or other road accidents)
Excessive bleeding
Difficult or impossible to stop with pressure, “spurting” with every heartbeat
Heat stroke
Paralysis (especially partial or full hind-end paralysis in cats)
Difficulty defecating or urinating
Inability to urinate or only able to produce dribbles of urine in male cats is a life-threatening situation
Allergic reactions (especially in the face/throat areas)
Bite wounds from altercations with other animals
Bite wounds from wildlife need to be addressed immediately due to potential rabies exposure
Acute neurological symptoms
Staggering, disorientation, inability to stand up on their own
Toxin ingestion
Always contact poison control first (Pet Poison Helpline) for assistance.
Ingestion of rodenticide, anti-freeze, xylitol, human medications, and lilies (for cats) require immediate attention
Difficulty or inability to breathe (requires extreme effort)
Open-mouth breathing in cats is always an emergency
Birthing difficulties (especially if it’s been an hour or more since the last puppy/kitten was born)
What is an urgent care situation?
Urgent care situations are for symptoms that are concerning and should be addressed soon. They aren’t considered life threatening and can afford to wait if symptoms don’t persist, get worse, or are accompanied by other symptoms. Although they are not life-threatening, it’s best contact your veterinarian if your pet is experiencing these symptoms.
Vomiting (for 24 hours or less and pet is otherwise acting themselves)
Urinary tract infections (unless the pet cannot urinate)
Coughing
Diarrhea (for 24 hours or less and pet is otherwise acting themselves)
Minor cuts/scrapes
Eye injuries/infection
What types of situations can wait?
Since veterinary clinics are seeing an abnormal amount of emergency/urgent care situations, appointments for minor symptoms or conditions aren’t always able to be addressed immediately. These symptoms still need to be addressed, but the life or overall health of the animal will not be severely impacted if not seen immediately.
Ear infections
Abscesses
New lumps/bumps
Skin issues/hair loss
Intestinal parasites
Torn or split toenail
Annual exams/vaccine appointments
Should I wait, or should I call?
Our motto with any sort of issue with your pet is “If you’re concerned, we’re concerned.” In other words, if you have any questions or concerns about your pet’s health at any time, we’re always just a phone call or email away. Some of these minor symptoms could be signs of a bigger health issue, especially if your pet is displaying one or more symptoms, and it’s always best to consult your veterinarian if something doesn’t seem right.
What your veterinary team needs from you:
The BVC team has worked hard to see as many pets as we can without overwhelming the staff and taking away from the patients already in our care. We triage patients all day long, both the pets in our care and the pets hoping to receive care. It’s never easy on our staff to turn away a pet parent who is concerned for their pet’s well-being. We can say with 100% certainty turning anyone away isn’t because we don’t care about your concerns or your pet. It also doesn’t mean that we don’t value the clients who have been loyal to our practice for a number of years. It means that we’re addressing more severe cases and our staff can’t possibly add on one more pet without compromising care for the other animals in the building or running our staff into the ground.
We please ask that you be kind and courteous to our staff during your vet visits and on the phones. If there’s a long wait time or we can’t fit your pet in for a same-day appointment, it’s due to the amount of animals needing urgent or critical care appointments here or on their way. The amount of hours in the day and staff we have available is very small compared to the profound amount of pets who are needing our help these days. We ask for your understanding when we can’t fit you in as easily as we have in the past, and please plan ahead and call if you know your pet will be due for their annual appointments within 4-6 weeks. As of September 1st, we are fully booked into mid-October already!
Veterinary medicine is a tough industry to be in right now, but none of us would get up and do what we do every day if we didn’t have an immense passion for caring for animals! We are so grateful for our wonderful clients and our happy patients who remind us day after day why we are in this field. With your kindness and support of your veterinary staff and everyone else you meet, we can get through these trying times together!