Urgent Care and Emergency Services

What is the difference between urgent and emergency? Patients in need of urgent care are suffering from injuries or illnesses that are not life-threatening. Emergency care is needed for injuries and illnesses that could be life threatening. At Lakewood, we also consider conditions which are extremely painful, even if not life-threatening, an emergency. 

Does Lakewood offer both types of care? We offer both urgent and emergency care, however we are NOT a 24-hour facility and do not have specialists here at Lakewood. We can treat some emergency patients here and stabilize some for transport to a larger facility. We recommend other pets go straight to a larger facility. These 24-hour facilities are in Charlottesville, Richmond, or Northern Virginia so we encourage owners to call us so we can help triage your pet and direct you to the most appropriate facility for your pet’s needs.

URGENT SYMPTOMS - These patients should generally be seen in the next 1-2 days. If your pet is ever struggling to breathe, weak, not able to stand, or crying or yelping in pain, they should be seen immediately. 

• Shaking head or pawing at ears
• Licking feet or other body part frequently or intensely 
• Scratching excessively
• Sneezing 
• Coughing without any difficulty breathing
• Limping 
• Ocular symptoms including green/yellow discharge, but NOT holding the eye shut or pawing at it
• Vomiting and diarrhea, but still eating well, active, and able to keep food down
• Wounds which are small, not bleeding, and not bothering your pet

EMERGENCY SYMPTOMS - These pets should be seen immediately/today.

• Bite wounds from fighting
• Bleeding from anywhere including the nose, mouth, wounds, or anus
• Blindness which is sudden
• Breathing hard or fast, breathing with increased effort, difficulty breathing, or open mouth breathing (panting) in a cat
• Ingestion of foreign objects or possible toxic substances or medications
• Ocular symptoms including pawing at the eye, red eye, cloudy eye, blinking excessively, or holding an eye partially closed
• Pregnant animals straining to deliver puppies/kittens (we can help triage these pets but we refer out most of our dystocia patients and c-sections)
• Seizures, loss of balance, sudden mental changes
• Sudden swelling especially around the face, eyes, neck, feet, joints, or a swollen belly
• Vocalizing or yelping in pain 
• Coughing with difficulty breathing, lethargy, or not eating well
• Limping and not using the leg much, lethargic, or vocalizing in pain
• Urinary symptoms including straining to urinate, urinating frequently, urinating blood, vocalizing during urination
• Vomiting and diarrhea along with lethargy, not eating well, or not keeping food or water down
• Wounds which are large, bleeding, oozing discharge, or otherwise bothering your pet

Poison Control

If you think your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, please call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC)* at 888-426-4435 right away. The APCC is your best resource for any animal poison-related emergency and they are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

You may also contact the Pet Poison Hotline* at 855-764-7661.