Animal Urgent Care of Hernando County

21/06/2025

It’s only the middle of June and we’ve seen so many cases of heat stroke this year. Know the signs and save a life 💜

The best ways to avoid heat stroke:
1. keep pets in air-conditioned, indoor spaces throughout the day with access to water.

2. Limit your pet to short 2-3 minute potty breaks during the hottest part of the day.

3. Exercise your pet in the early morning hours at dawn when temperatures are at their lowest, before the sun is fully up.

4. If you have a snub nose dog (brachycephalic breed) such as a French bull dog, your pet is severely at risk of heat stroke even with the above guidelines. Treat these dogs like an ice cream cone: keep them cool or they will melt.

10/06/2025

DOH-Hernando County Issues Rabies Alert ‼

Hernando County, Fla.—The Florida Department of Health in Hernando County (DOH-Hernando) is issuing a rabies alert in Hernando County in response to a confirmed case of rabies in a racoon that was killed in the Spring Lake Highway/Neff Lake area off Frog Lane in Hernando County on June 9, 2025. DOH-Hernando is monitoring rabies among wild animals in the area. All residents and visitors should be aware that rabies is currently present in the wild animal population.

People and domestic animals should always avoid physical contact with wild animals (e.g., raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats, coyotes), which carry a higher risk of human exposure and a need for rabies post-exposure treatment. If you are exposed to rabies, receiving appropriate treatment after exposure will protect you from the risk of rabies.

This rabies alert is for 60 days and includes the following boundaries in Hernando County:

🔹 Northern boundary: Kenova Street
🔹 Southern boundary: Hayman Road
🔹 Eastern boundary: Spring Lake Highway
🔹 Western boundary: Cobb Road

Take the following precautions to prevent rabies exposure:
🔸 Immunize your pets and livestock based on your veterinarian’s recommended schedule.
🔸 Keep pets under direct supervision and on a leash, and keep livestock secured on your property. If an animal bites your pet or livestock, seek veterinary assistance for the animal immediately and contact Hernando County Animal Services at 352-796-5062
🔸 Avoid contact with wild or stray animals. Do not handle, feed, or unintentionally attract them with outdoor pet food, open garbage cans, or other sources of food. If you have been bitten or scratched by a wild or domestic animal, seek medical attention, and report the injury to DOH-Hernando by calling 352-540-6812.
🔸 Never adopt wild animals or bring them into your home; instead, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
🔸 Call your local animal control agency to remove any stray animals from your neighborhood. Contact Hernando County Animal Services at 352-796-5062.
🔸 Prevent wildlife, including bats, from entering living quarters or occupied spaces in homes, schools, and other similar areas where they might come in contact with people and pets.

For more information on rabies, please visit FloridaHealth.gov/Rabies or contact DOH-Hernando at 352-540-6812.

20/04/2025

Animal Urgent Care of Hernando County will be closed today, Sunday, April 20th.

If your pet needs to be see today, please contact Veterinary Emergency Group at 813-265-4043 or your nearest 24-hour veterinary hospital.

Thank you for your continued support and we hope your pets stay safe and healthy this holiday.

26/03/2025

"The most important thing is this is what we call a zoonotic disease meaning it affects dogs and people so if your dog gets it, you’re much more likely to get it yourself," said Dr. Melanie Bizzarro of Harmony Vet Care. Full story >> https://wfts.tv/4j0EXt9

05/03/2025

With cases popping up around the country, we thought it would be wise to put out a public service announcement regarding Avian Influenza (H5N1), as cats are known to contract it and die.

Here are ways to prevent the spread of this deadly disease to the kitties in your life:
1. Do not eat raw meat/milk, or feed it to your pets. This includes commercially available/packaged raw diets.
2. Sanitize surfaces where you prepare raw meat (especially poultry).
3. We know a lot of people in our county have their own chickens or livestock so this is a big one: after tending to your birds, make sure you change clothes/shoes and wash up thoroughly before entering your home and interacting with pets.
4. Keep cats indoors if possible. Especially those who enjoy hunting birds or other wildlife.

Symptoms of (H5N1) in cats include:
- Neurological signs (loss of coordination, circling, tremors, seizures, or sudden blindness)
- Severe depression
- Heavy discharge from the nose and eyes
- Other respiratory signs such as rapid/difficulty breathing and sometimes sneezing/coughing.
- Death following the above symptoms

If you suspect your cat may have (H5N1), please give us a call at 352-600-2019 ahead of arrival so we can make sure that we coordinate a safe visit for all of the animals in our care, as well as your feline friend.

Sources:
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/animal-health/avian-influenza/avian-influenza-h5n1-cats

https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/h5n1-avian-influenza-and-your-cat

12/02/2025

We have recently learned that the microchip company called "Save This Life" has just gone out of business. This was a popular microchip manufacturer used by many non-profit clinics and rescue organizations. It is very important that you double check your pet's microchip information to make sure that they are registered, and not with this company, as they are no longer operational or sharing their database with the national database.

The AAHA Microchip Registry Database that clinics, like ours, use to look up the chip numbers of found pets can be found here: https://www.aaha.org/for-veterinary-professionals/microchip-search/
Anyone can look up their pet's microchip number on this database to see which company it's registered with. For privacy reasons, owner and specific pet info is not listed on this public database.

If you're not sure what your pet's chip number is, drop by our clinic during business hours with your pet, and we'd be happy to scan them and give you the chip number.

Lastly, if you need the most affordable option for registering your pet's chip, Petlink Datamars is only $9.99 with promo code: VEDCO

Link to national news article source: https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/microchip-company-closes-pet-owner-next-steps/

12/01/2025

One year ago, today, we announced the official start of construction on our clinic.
It definitely took a bit longer than a few months, but we’re happy to have helped hundreds of pets since we opened in August. 💜

We are so excited to start serving the pets of Hernando County in just a few months! Keep following us for more updates. ♥️

26/12/2024

Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate!
We are open today 3pm-10pm, if you need us. 💜

25/12/2024

Merry Christmas from Animal Urgent Care of Hernando County! Here is our entire twelve hazards of Christmas countdown for your viewing pleasure. We are closed today, 12/25 but will reopen tomorrow and through the weekend following our regular schedule, 3pm-10pm.

25/12/2024

Merry Christmas from Animal Urgent Care of Hernando County!
We will be closed today to spend time with our families, but will be open again tomorrow and through the weekend following our regular schedule. If your pet needs care, please contact a 24/hour emergency hospital.

24/12/2024

🎶🎵On the twelfth day of Christmas, you should never allow your pets to be... able to reach Santa's milk and cookies.🎶🎵

Did you know that cats are lactose intolerant and that most dogs are, too? Or that the semi-sweet chocolate chips in your cookies for Santa can be toxic to your pets? It's best if these things are left out for Santa in an area that's out of reach of your pets.

23/12/2024

🎶🎵On the eleventh day of Christmas, you should never allow your pets to be... around hazardous or toxic plants.🎶🎵

Most of the holiday plants you'll see at the store are toxic to pets. Period. Mistletoe, Holly, Yew, Amaryllis, Lillies....TOXIC. Poinsetta sap is irritating and can cause GI upset. Pinecones can cause foreign body obstructions, and real Christmas trees are often sprayed with flame retardant chemicals before they're sold, which is poison to pets. Stagnant Christmas tree water can contain bacteria and mold which can also make pets sick.

If your pet accidentally ingests one of these plants, please call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center Phone Number: (888) 426-4435. They can direct you on what to do based on what was ingested and how much, before coming in to the clinic.