In the midst of the adrenaline rush of an emergency is not the time to find out that your veterinarian doesn't have a twenty-four-hour referral number of some kind. Before anything bad ever happens, be sure you know what options exist if an emergency crops up in the middle of the night or on a Sunday afternoon.

After-Hours Care

Many veterinarians who don't have office hours around the clock or through the weekend do have some method for responding to emergencies. Find out beforehand if your veterinary clinic provides an emergency number for all hours when the office is closed. Also ask what happens when the veterinarian knows he won't be at that emergency number.

Veterinary practices often cover for each other, so that one or the other is always available. If your own veterinarian will be away, your emergency call will automatically be connected with the cover vet, or the answering service will contact the other vet. Find out who your vet's cover vet is, and visit that practice so you know where it is and how to get there. If an emergency ever arises, you'll be glad you did.

Emergency Clinics

Some areas are served by an animal hospital emergency clinic. This can be a clinic in its own right, or it can share space with a regular veterinary clinic. Whichever position this clinic assumes, it is open when normal clinics are closed. It operates on the same principles as a hospital emergency room, seeing patients without appointments and, when necessary, taking the most serious cases first.

Make it a priority to find out if an emergency clinic operates in your area. If there is a clinic nearby, be sure to find out its hours, its location, and directions on how to get there. Prominently display this information (on the refrigerator, perhaps) or keep it with the canine first-aid kit. Be sure everyone in the household knows where to find this information.