Urgent Care Service

When there is an emergency—you want to be sure that you have a trusted friend waiting to help you. Friendship Hospital for Animals will care for any animal presented 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This “Urgent Care Service” is designed to meet pet health needs ranging from routine concerns such as ear infections to life threatening critical emergencies.

No appointment is necessary. Upon arrival, all patients are quickly assessed by our highly trained triage staff. This staff has completed in-hospital coursework, on the job training, and passed an exhaustive exam to assure that they can accurately assess your pet.
Urgent Care Service patients are seen in the order dictated by the emergency doctors on duty. Their first priority is always critical patients that need the immediate attention of the doctor. More routine or stable cases will then be seen in the order in which they arrive. We appreciate that clients with non-critical patients understand the need of our urgent care staff to treat critical patients first and may, depending upon case load, be required to wait until critically ill patients are stabilized and cared for.
The Urgent Care Service is staffed by a dedicated team that is selected for its motivation to intensive patient care. The emergency doctors on duty consist of senior emergency staff selected for their work ethic, compassion, and ability. They have received advanced training and are experienced in emergency medicine. The service is also staffed by veterinary interns who are fully licensed and capable new doctors. They are the best new doctors in the country, and have immediate access to consults with senior staff doctors 24 hours a day. A senior staff surgeon is on call at all times.
We understand the concern and love you have for your pet. We will treat your pets like they are our own and we will also communicate with you as thoroughly as possible, so that you can understand your pet’s status and progress. We strive to keep you involved in the care of your critically ill dog or cat.
Our Urgent Care Service offers:

• 24 hour intensive nursing care
• 24 hour lab
• Digital radiography and emergency ultrasound
• Emergency Surgery services
• Crystalloid and colloid fluid support
• Blood and plasma transfusion
• Continuous ECG, blood pressure, CVP, and blood oxygen and gas monitoring
• State of the art pain management and thermal support
• Short term ventilator support

Your pet should be seen urgently if he/she is:

• Having difficulty breathing
• Is unconscious
• Has not urinated
• Is having difficulty walking
• Has a distended belly
• Has significant uncontrolled bleeding
• Is in significant pain

For more information about what constitutes and emergency go to the American Animal Hospital site.
If you have any question about whether or not your pet should be seen, please call us (202-363-7300). If you have any concerns at all, we encourage you to bring your pet in and have us evaluate him.