Any pet that is seriously ill might benefit from this type of care. The following is a sampling of the types of patients that routinely benefit from care by an Emergency and Critical Care Specialist.
- Trauma patients, including those who have been hit by a car, bite wounds, bullet wounds, knife or burn injuries.
- Any animal that is having troubles breathing
- Patients who may be in need of assisted breathing/ventilation
- Any patient that is in shock (signs of shock can include weakness, pale mucous membranes in their mouth, cold extremities, and an abnormal heart rate)
- Animals that are having trouble urinating or are not producing urine
- Dogs or cats that need specialized nutritional support because they are unwilling of unable to eat on their own
- Animals in which abnormal heart rhythm is causing problems
- Animals with life threatening neurologic disease such as coma or severe seizures that are not responding to medications
- Patients that have had surgery and are not recovering well from anesthesia or are having trouble in the first few post-operative days.