ER Veterinary...where, and recs

[Anonymous]

There is a national shortage of ER services, and most other immediate care. In this DMV area, particularly Md, where are the recommended places to go? We had an emergency this week and we were told "no room" by 4 ERs. I do assume they triage, and our situation was serious, but was probably superseded by something more serious, and we get that. We ended up driving out of state.

Are there places to avoid?

[Anonymous]

I have had the best luck getting in at Blue Pearl in Rockville. The three ER trips we've had recently (late afternoon on a holiday weekend and two weekday evenings) we were seen right away. Their waiting room has been uncrowded and you can walk right in.

I have also heard very good things about the new Veterinary Emergency Group on M St., but I haven't tried it and am not sure what their wait times are like, or the parking logistics.

(For context, I was a Friendship-always person before the pandemic, because it's closest to me by far and I know so many of the staff, but the wait times have been so long it seemed better to drive farther out and be seen faster.)

[Anonymous]

We needed an emergency appointment for an eye injury and our vet had no same-day appointment for what wasn’t a true emergency (probably just a scrape) but should be seen same day (all pet eye injuries). Our vet recommended this place, I’m assuming it’s a chain? It’s like a pet doc-in-a-box and it suited our needs perfectly. I’m not sure what level of emergencies they can handle, like if they can handle a pet hit by a car or something…
https://emmavet.com/

[Anonymous]

It's been a couple years, but I have had a couple good experiences the The Emergency Hospital of Ellicott City with both a dog and cats.

[Anonymous]

We used South Paws in Fairfax, VA for a pet emergency. Our vet called ahead to make sure we could get our pet seen immediately. https://vcahospitals.com/southpaws

[Anonymous]

Not directly to OP's question, but a new chain of vet clinics with an urgent care model is opening soon all over the DMV: 2 DC locations (afaict), Bethesda, and Arlington: https://bondvet.com/ .

They seem to be focused on same-day appointment availability for situations that don't rise to the level of an ER visit. I hope that will take a little of the pressure off the area ERs. I know for myself I used to use the vet ER for things that worried me but weren't really hospital-worthy, and now I'm much more circumspect about not adding to the crush in ERs with more minor things.

[Anonymous]

Blue Pearl in Rockville is a good place. We have also gone a few times to the Metropolitan emergency clinic on Rockville Pike (they were formerly on Nebel St).

[Anonymous]

If you are up for a drive, Church Road Animal Hospital in Sterling VA is good. They open in the weekends.

[Anonymous]

My vet also recommends the Hope Center in Vienna. We haven't had an occasion to try them yet.

I have used Synergy Veterinary Imaging Partners, which shares space with them. They are specialist radiologists and I was able to get in for an ultrasound by them on an urgent basis earlier than I was able to get my dog seen by a specialty department early in the pandemic, so we knew what we were dealing with and could proceed appropriately. A good resource to know about. They were incredibly kind and efficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We needed an emergency appointment for an eye injury and our vet had no same-day appointment for what wasn’t a true emergency (probably just a scrape) but should be seen same day (all pet eye injuries). Our vet recommended this place, I’m assuming it’s a chain? It’s like a pet doc-in-a-box and it suited our needs perfectly. I’m not sure what level of emergencies they can handle, like if they can handle a pet hit by a car or something…
https://emmavet.com/

It isn't a chain. They are wonderful.

[Anonymous]

I'd stay away from south paws. The hope center is better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd stay away from south paws. The hope center is better.

I've used both, and both were fine. It was a matter of who had room when our regular vet said our dog needed a higher level of care right away

[Anonymous]

If you need a vet consult via video Hello Ralphie is wonderful. They can see your pet, advise you what to look for and prescribe medicine if needed. I used it for my senior dog when she had her first seizure at 6 am- it was so much better than loading her to an ER.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you need a vet consult via video Hello Ralphie is wonderful. They can see your pet, advise you what to look for and prescribe medicine if needed. I used it for my senior dog when she had her first seizure at 6 am- it was so much better than loading her to an ER.

Very cool. I had no idea!

[Anonymous]

Blue Pearl was good most of the time but one of their overnight vets misdiagnosed our cat with gastroenteritis when it was actually FIP and the cat died a sudden and horrible death on the floor of our house a few hours later while we were waiting for our emergency appointment with the regular vet. I don't blame them for the fact of his death, because with FIP that moved that quickly he was always doomed, but I do blame them for the manner of it. We would have opted to euthanize and spared him suffering if we'd known. Friends and family have had better luck with VRA in Gaithersburg.