AFTER-HOURS VETERINARY SERVICES HAVE CHANGED IN REGINA AND THE SURROUNDING AREA EFFECTIVE MARCH 1ST, 2024.

From October 1, 2023 to March 1, 2024, there has been a veterinary clinic on call every night for life-threatening emergencies. Effective March 1, 2024, the South Saskatchewan Animal Hospital (formerly 24 HR Animal Care Center) has resumed overnight emergent and urgent care services and there will no longer be a rotation of veterinary clinics on call.

When you call our hospital when we are closed, you will have an option to be transferred to an emergency triage service. Your call will be taken by a veterinary technologist who will help determine the level of urgency of your pet’s condition and determine if you require an after-hours appointment with the South Saskatchewan Animal Hospital (formerly 24 HR Animal Care Centre).

Throughout the past few years the community has lost a number of veterinary professionals. This is compounded with the fact that we do not have enough veterinarians to service all the pets in Regina. In today's climate almost every industry is battling a shortfall of workers and this industry is no exception. The numbers are now hitting a critical level and in order to continue to provide quality care during the day, there is an immediate need to limit after-hours availability to emergencies only.

Why is the after-hours service limited to urgent and emergent cases? A high percentage of emergency calls are not true emergency cases, much like what has been happening in the human ERs for many years. While many situations can be very distressing to pet owners, they are not so urgent that they need to be seen outside regular office hours. Our hospital has adapted our scheduling to allow for more urgent care spots during the day. As much as possible, please call our hospital as soon as you are aware of any changes with your pet’s condition so that we can book them an appointment.

What are we asking of our clients? For understanding and compassion as we traverse this challenging time. You may need to wait longer than typical for non-urgent appointments and wellness exams so please book them in advance whenever possible. There is no short-term fix to this shortfall of available veterinarians. We are all doing our best to provide care to our patients with the limited resources we have.

If you are unsure about your pet’s condition, utilize the following information to help determine if your pet is in a true emergency crisis. You may also use the teletriage service through the after-hours service and the technologist will help you determine if your pet can wait to be seen during regular daytime clinic hours, or if it is an emergency.

Life-Threatening Emergencies that should be seen as soon as possible

• Severe trauma (ie. hit by car, severe bite wounds, kicked by a horse)

• Poison or Toxin ingestion

• Unresponsive or comatose

• Paralysis and complete inability to move

• A male cat or dog that has not been able to pass urine for >8 hours

• Seizing pet that is having multiple seizures in an hour or has been actively seizing for > 5 minutes

Urgent = call your veterinary clinic as soon as they open the next day to make an appointment

• Continuous coughing or gagging or coughing up blood

• Seizing pet that has had multiple seizures but is not actively seizing

• Straining to pass urine or bloody urine

• Severe bloody diarrhea

• Suspected foreign body ingestion

• Severe vomiting and lethargy

• Non-severe trauma with open wound