Eastern Maine Emergency Veterinary Clinic

12/26/2024

We posted about this before the holidays but we wanted to remind you today as well! Make sure all the ribbons and twine are picked up and not accessible to your pets!

12/26/2024

We hope you all had a safe and merry holiday yesterday! Please share who was on the nice or naughty list with us! Thank you to the team who worked through the holiday and we are gearing up and restocking for the New Year celebration.

12/25/2024

12/23/2024

Hanukkah is approaching and we wanted to make sure your pets were able to celebrate safely with you!

12/22/2024

As we are getting ready for the holiday season, it can be tough to remember the people and pets who were here with us last year.

We actually do our highest number of euthanasias and end of life care during this time of year. People want “one last holiday” or it takes kids or extended family coming to visit to realize how poorly our pet is doing. It’s hard to see the small changes on a daily or weekly time frame but if your kids haven’t been home since fall… they might be able to point out your pet’s decline.

It’s hard to lose the only family member who loves you unconditionally and never complains when you leave a mess in the kitchen etc.

On a personal note,our family, we lost an old dog two years ago. We still talk about his favorite holiday collar or the way he loved to open his gift and prance around the tree. He really wasn’t the best dog ( super anxious and nervous and scared of his own shadow) but he was our special boy. We just hung up his ornament and plan to swing by the animal shelter with his favorite treats and toys this afternoon. We still miss him but talking about him still brings love back into our family.

12/22/2024

Its a chilly weekend and our staff has been hit with the plague. We are currently seeing ONLY RED or Priority 1 patients due to limited staffing. Please call ahead so that we can help trouble shoot and phone triage your needs. We hope to be healthy and back at full staff for holidays!

12/22/2024

Are you planning on a festive holiday feast this week? Just make sure you clean up the kitchen and the trash is pet proof to avoid a visit to our clinic. Lobster shells and clam shells can lead to an obstruction and although most chicken and turkey bones ( when cooked and chewed up) can potentially pass without incident, things like pancreatitis can be triggered.

Having a plan to keep your cat and dog safe from "themselves" during dinner time or while you are sharing that fancy new charcuterie board with family. Having to deal with a pet emergency is never fun but it always feels worse on a holiday. A little bit of prevention might keep you out of our clinic this week and help keep your pet off the naughty list!

12/21/2024

Did you receive chocolate as a gift or are you planning on giving chocolate as a gift? Just remember that chocolate is toxic to cats and dogs. A small piece of dark chocolate can be enough to cause issues in a big dog while white chocolate is not really chocolate from a toxicity perspective.

Knowing the type of chocolate and round about amount of chocolate is very helpful in figuring out if your pet is in danger. Chocolate toxicity can cause anything from just vomiting and diarrhea ( still quite terrible especially when it's on a rug!) to high heart rate, changes in blood pressure, and even seizures.

If you are gifting foods ( anything especially that is sugar free, has raisins, or chocolate) remember to tell the person NOT to put it under the tree! If you leave an edible gift on the porch for your neighbor, send a text or call them so the family pet isn't the first one to open it!

12/21/2024

We received a hefty donation of dog goodies from R & R Automotive just in time for the holidays!
Thank you for thinking of us! 😄

We’ve posted previously that we are trying to raise funds to help support our Giving Tree!

🎄 There are photos posted below of 2 baskets filled with miscellaneous dog items

**First 2 photos are of the smaller basket
**Next 2 photos are of the larger basket

🎄 All you have to do is comment how much you would be willing to donate (for which basket) and the highest bidder takes the goodies!

🐾Then YOUR donation goes to help pets in need!

🎄Sunday evening at 8p we will post the winner!

Thanks for participating! 😀

12/20/2024

Will you be traveling with your pet next week for the holidays? or the following week for the New Year? Make sure you have all your items ready for your pet. Do you need a copy of their medical records, especially if your pet has a chronic condition that is being managed? Do you need any medications refilled? Is a monthly injection going to be slightly off schedule due to the up coming holidays? Will they be itchier because of this? or more painful if your pet is on Librella or Solensia? Do you have a plan for your senior pet if they get sore from riding in the car all day? Are all their ID tags up to date? Now is the time to take care of these things to allow your veterinary practice enough time to process all the requests!

12/20/2024

We are currently at capacity for the night with a high in-patient load and 3 surgical procedures for our skeleton team. We have no front desk staff and may have limited ability to answer the phones AND provide medical and surgical care. Please call Maine Veterinary Medical Center and Portland Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care for any urgent or emergency care.

12/19/2024

Reminder: We will be opening late at 6pm with a small volunteer crew!!

12/19/2024

It might seem like New Year's Eve is far away but if you want to get an appointment to talk about fireworks medications OR you need a refill on your pet's fireworks medications... make that phone call to your vet's office. Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year will have a bigger impact on your vet's appointment schedule.

12/18/2024

REMINDER: we will be opening LATE Thursday at 6pm. We will have a skeleton crew of volunteer staff from 6pm to 10pm. Based on volume, we may only be able to handle MEDICAL TRANSFER CASES until 10pm.

You may be asked to go to Maine Veterinary Medical Center or Portland Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Care .

12/18/2024

Glamour Shots at EMEVC:
Today's x-rays are to help show the difference between normal vs abnormal x-rays. Sometimes it feels like we are just looking at a black and white crystal ball and what ARE we actually looking at!? When an animal is vomiting and we worry about something being stuck, many times, we are looking for an abnormal gas pattern. Socks, carpet, blanket pieces, cushion stuffing, can all be in the GI tract and NOT directly visible. Rocks and bones and metal objects can be seen easily but dogs and cats like to eat all sorts of things!

The first image is of a dog with gas in the stomach but relatively normal small intestinal loops. The small intestines look like the white small balls in the back half of the x-ray. The second x-rays is of a dog that has somethings stuck. You can see little bits of bright white dots and then large black gas filled sausages... those sausages are this dog's small intestines! Although we can't SEE the actual object that is causing the blockage, we can SEE the gas build up it is causing. Although x-rays seem like they should have a definite answer, sometimes we can't tell if something is truly stuck. That's when we recommend repeat x-rays. We might say the gut is at the high end of normal so we want to see that it is getting better. Or we might say the gas pattern looks worrisome. Although it can be very frustrating to have to repeat x-rays later, we often feel it's better to be safe than sorry. The small intestines can leak or start to rupture based on what is stuck. String or floss can saw through the cut quickly vs cloth material might be able to sit there longer before it causes damage.

12/17/2024

We will be opening LATE at 6pm instead of 5:30p on Thursday 12/19. Depending on the volume of patients, we may be only to take transfers and stable patients at opening. We have a wonderful group of relief staff and a doctor who are allowing our staff to have a well deserved holiday party!

Some of our staff have volunteered to come in at 10pm so that we do not need to be closed for the night. This is the only day our staff ALL of the same time off to get together to celebrate all year. We thank you for your understanding!

Please be kind to the amazing staff from Penobscot Veterinary Services, LLC , Brewer Veterinary Clinic , and Ridge Runner Veterinary Services for supporting us! We appreciate you! We will be here every holiday, every weekend for you and are gearing up for the back to back Christmas and New years shifts coming up. Thank you again for your understanding.

12/17/2024

December is flying by! Remember to refill your pet's medications and prescription diets with plenty of time for travel. Check their vaccine status so that their immune system has time to process the vaccine and is primed for the kennel visit! Did something happen over Thanksgiving break, like stress diarrhea with your pet? Want to avoid it next week? call your vet and figure it out this week!