Covington Creek Veterinary Hospital is a small animal hospital for dogs and cats only. We currently have one doctor. We are a general medicine practice. We are not an emergency practice.

For current clients with an emergency, we will make our best effort to see you. Please call us first. Current clients are those people that bring their pets to our hospital for regular care, annual visits, vaccines, etc.

There are certain situations where we may not be able to see emergencies. Our doctor can not typically step away from performing surgery or working on an existing emergency patient, for example. There are also certain situations where an emergency practice may be a better choice for your pet, but clients should call us first.

As a courtesy to our clients, you are able to call us when we are closed. The contact number for emergencies is our main phone number, 707-964-6109. Due to having one doctor who is on call 365 days a year, we limit after-hours emergency calls to current clients only.

Keep in mind that you are responsible for transporting your pet. You should have transportation planned in advance, including the possibility that you may have to carry your pet if they can’t walk on their own.

For optimal care for your pet, you may be referred to a 24-hour facility, most commonly PetCare in Santa Rosa, 707-579-3900. If you are not a current client , you should call PetCare and/or your regular veterinarian.

WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY?

While it is impossible to list every single type of emergency you might encounter with your pet this list covers the most common ones.

Our clients should call us right away if they note any of the following things with their dogs or cats.

If you are in doubt as to whether something is an emergency or not, it is best to call.

  • Significant trauma, such as being hit by a car, an object or a large fall.
  • No breathing or you can’t feel a heartbeat.
  • More than mild trouble breathing.
  • Choking.
  • Unconsciousness.
  • Vomiting any more than 2 times within 12 hours or any amount of blood in vomit.
  • Broken bones.
  • Seizures – unless only a single seizure that is brief with rapid and complete recovery (call when we are open for this).
  • More than mild bleeding from any area of the body.
  • Possible ingestion of any sort of poison or medication not prescribed for your pet (or an overdose of medication prescribed for your pet).
  • Poisonous bites (insect, snake, scorpion, etc.).
  • Straining to urinate, or inability to urinate, particularly in male cats.
  • Signs of extreme pain, such as whining, yelping or shaking.
  • Collapse or suddenly can’t get up.
  • Paralysis.
  • Irritation or injury to the eyes.
  • Abdomen is swollen or bloated and hard to the touch.
  • Heatstroke – Click for more info
  • Pregnant dog or cat is in labor (abdominal contractions) more than four hours between delivering puppies or kittens.
  • Electric shock.