Should I call first or just drive straight to the clinic?

Call, almost always. The call lets them prepare the room and the equipment, tells you whether the practice is open and suited to this problem, and sometimes yields instructions that improve the journey. The exception covers pictures where transport time is everything: there one person drives and another calls on the way.

Nobody is answering the phone: what now?

Move to the second facility on your list after a couple of attempts, and set off towards the open one anyway if the picture is serious. This is why the contact list is written in advance and holds at least two facilities, with full addresses and opening hours. A single alternative is not a list.

Should I call at night for something that may be minor?

Yes, if the doubt involves breathing, consciousness, absent urination, repeated vomiting or a swallowed substance. Out of hours services exist partly to filter: a short call that ends with an appointment next morning is a good outcome, not a nuisance. Always ask which signs should make you call back sooner.

Can I send photos or video instead of describing?

Only if they ask and only on the channel they name. Ten seconds of video showing the breathing pattern or a seizure beats a long description, but it goes after the basic information and never instead of the call. Do not send material to channels the practice does not monitor.

What should I write down after the call?

Time of the call, name of the person who answered, the instructions word for word, the signs they told you to watch and when to call back. That note becomes part of the animal's record and serves the follow up, especially when the visit happens at a practice other than your usual one.

Emergency procedures10 minLevel: BeginnerUpdated on August 4, 2026

Preparing the emergency call to the veterinary clinic

What to say on the phone and in what order, the card to read from, the questions you will be asked and the three things to settle before hanging up.

Audience: Pet owners
Species: Dog, Cat
Scope: Valid everywhere

What you need before you start

Il numero della tua clinica e quello della struttura aperta di notte più vicina, salvati in rubrica e scritti anche su carta
La scheda dell'animale con specie, età, peso datato, terapie in corso e numero di microchip
L'altoparlante attivo o un secondo telefono, perché durante la chiamata servono le mani libere
Se il tempo lo consente, i parametri vitali raccolti pochi minuti prima con l'ora accanto a ciascuno

The phone call is the first first aid manoeuvre, and the most underrated one. Whoever answers has to work out in under a minute whether your animal can wait, whether it must leave now, and whether that practice is the right one for this problem. Calls usually fail not because the case is severe but because of the order things are said: people start with the story and hang up without ever mentioning species, age or how long it has been going on. This guide puts the conversation into a fixed sequence. Neither first aid nor the call replaces an examination: they get you there sooner and with the right information.

Before you dial

Thirty seconds of preparation save two minutes of conversation. If a second person is at home, split the roles immediately: one stays with the animal and watches it, the other calls. Whoever calls needs both hands free, so switch the speaker on before dialling rather than halfway through a sentence.

The animal's data sheet, on paper or on screen, already open.
The vital signs you collected a moment ago, each with its time.
The packaging or a photo of anything the animal may have swallowed.
Paper and pen for the instructions you are about to receive.
Car keys and carrier already by the door.

The call in seven steps

Open with a single sentence that states the reason
The first sentence carries species, approximate age, problem and duration. For example: adult medium sized dog, vomited six times in two hours and now cannot stand. That one sentence lets the listener decide which track the conversation belongs on.
Give your name and a number they can call back
Straight after that, before any narrative, give your name and the number they can reach you on if the line drops. If you are calling from an unusual phone or from abroad, say so explicitly: a callback that never lands is a serious problem while they are arranging your arrival.
Give the timeline with actual times
A complete story is not needed, three moments are: when the animal was still well, when the first sign appeared, how it has changed since. Times beat adjectives, because they describe the speed of deterioration, which is the variable that sets urgency.
Report the measurements and how you took them
Read out the values along with the method: breathing counted for thirty seconds and doubled, gum colour seen by torchlight, temperature taken rectally or not taken at all. Saying that a measurement was impossible is useful information, not a gap to hide.
State known conditions, current treatments and reactions
Every product the animal is receiving, including today's doses with their times, every diagnosed chronic condition and every known adverse reaction. If you cannot recall a product name, read it from the box rather than improvising: a wrong name is worse than an honest I do not know.
Ask the three things you need before hanging up
Whether to leave now or wait and which signs should make you call back, what to do and above all what not to do in the meantime, exactly where to go and what to bring. Three questions, asked before the goodbyes, because you will not call back afterwards.
Repeat the instructions aloud and write them down
Say back what you understood and let them correct you. Two sentences remove the most expensive misunderstanding of the call, the one nobody notices they are having. Then write the instructions down with the time of the call and the name of the person who answered.

The card to keep next to the phone

This card is filled in when there is no emergency and printed together with the first aid kit. In an emergency you read it, you do not reconstruct it. The fields are ordered by usefulness to the listener, not by emotional importance.

Card fields, example and reason
Field	Example	Why it matters
Caller and callback number	the owner, with the number of the phone in use	Lets them reach you if the line drops or a detail is missing
Species, breed, sex, neutered or not	domestic shorthair cat, female, neutered	Points immediately at the problems most likely in that profile
Age and weight with the date it was taken	seven years old, weighed last month	Helps judge severity and prepare what will be needed
The problem in one sentence	has not passed urine since last night and strains in the tray	This is the sentence that sets your place in the queue
Start time and progression	well at eight, first sign at eleven, worse since one	Shows how fast things are deteriorating
Measurements taken	breathing, gum colour, temperature, each with its time	Turns impressions into comparable data
Current treatments and known conditions	long term treatment in progress, last dose this morning	Changes the clinic's choices and prevents interactions
Suspected exposure to a substance	packaging in hand, approximate time	Lets them check the active ingredient while you talk
Travel time to the clinic	about twenty five minutes by car	Determines what is set up before you arrive

The questions you will almost certainly be asked

The person answering follows their own screening sequence and will ask questions that sound tangential. They are not curiosity: each one rules a family of problems in or out. Having answers ready for these eight questions shortens the call considerably.

Is it conscious and responding to its name, or flat and unreactive?
Is breathing normal, laboured, or open mouthed if it is a cat?
What colour are the gums right now?
Has it vomited or had diarrhoea, how many times and what did it look like?
Has it passed urine in the last twelve hours, and how much?
Has it eaten or drunk anything unusual, and when?
Does it have access to medicines, household products, plants or bait outdoors?
Is it already on treatment for something, and did it get a dose today?

What to do on the way to the clinic

The instructions you were given on the phone outrank any general list and should be followed to the letter. Where no other instruction was given, these rules hold in almost every journey.

Do not offer food, water or medicines on your own initiative: many procedures need an empty stomach and some substances make things worse.
Do not induce vomiting unless the vet explicitly told you to during the call.
Let someone else drive if possible, so one person stays beside the animal for the whole journey.
Carry the animal contained, in a carrier or wrapped in a blanket, avoiding any lift from the painful area.
Bring the packaging of the suspected substance, any vomited material in a sealed bag, and the health records.
Call the clinic again if something changes visibly during the journey, for instance if the animal loses consciousness.
Note the time of every change: in the consulting room nobody will remember them for you.

Mistakes that cost precious minutes

Mistake, effect on the call and correction
Mistake	Effect	Correction
Starting with the story instead of the reason	The listener cannot assign a priority	First sentence with species, age, problem and duration
Describing with adjectives instead of times	The speed of deterioration stays invisible	Say when it was well and when it changed
Offering a diagnosis heard from someone else	The conversation shifts onto a wrong track	Report direct observations only
Hanging up without asking what not to do	Avoidable mistakes happen during the journey	Always ask the three closing questions
Calling from a number they cannot ring back	If the line drops everything restarts from zero	Give a working contact and keep the line free
Hunting for records during the call	Long silences while the animal deteriorates	Keep the card ready next to the phone
Not saying you are travelling from far away	The clinic plans a timing you cannot meet	Always state your estimated travel time

Special calls: poisons, unusual species, travel

Suspected ingestion: hold the packaging and read the full name, how much was there to begin with, how much is missing and the approximate time. If your country has a poison control service, ask the clinic whether it is worth contacting it in parallel.
Rabbits, rodents, ferrets, birds and reptiles: ask explicitly whether the practice routinely sees that species. A no on the phone is far more valuable than the same no after a thirty minute drive.
Emergency away from home or abroad: find the nearest facility first, then call your usual practice only to have the records sent over. The two calls serve different purposes and belong in that order.
An animal found in the street that is not yours: say so at once, because it changes the administrative steps and scanning for a microchip becomes the first thing done.
Suspected zoonosis or a bite to a person: declare it on the phone, because it triggers reporting duties and precautions for the team receiving you.

Frequently asked questions

Should I call first or just drive straight to the clinic?: Call, almost always. The call lets them prepare the room and the equipment, tells you whether the practice is open and suited to this problem, and sometimes yields instructions that improve the journey. The exception covers pictures where transport time is everything: there one person drives and another calls on the way.
Nobody is answering the phone: what now?: Move to the second facility on your list after a couple of attempts, and set off towards the open one anyway if the picture is serious. This is why the contact list is written in advance and holds at least two facilities, with full addresses and opening hours. A single alternative is not a list.
Should I call at night for something that may be minor?: Yes, if the doubt involves breathing, consciousness, absent urination, repeated vomiting or a swallowed substance. Out of hours services exist partly to filter: a short call that ends with an appointment next morning is a good outcome, not a nuisance. Always ask which signs should make you call back sooner.
Can I send photos or video instead of describing?: Only if they ask and only on the channel they name. Ten seconds of video showing the breathing pattern or a seizure beats a long description, but it goes after the basic information and never instead of the call. Do not send material to channels the practice does not monitor.
What should I write down after the call?: Time of the call, name of the person who answered, the instructions word for word, the signs they told you to watch and when to call back. That note becomes part of the animal's record and serves the follow up, especially when the visit happens at a practice other than your usual one.

What to do next

Keep a printed card by the phone and open the call with a single sentence giving species, age, problem and duration. Then the timeline with times, the measurements with their method, and current treatments. Before hanging up always ask whether to leave, what not to do meanwhile and what to bring, repeat the instructions aloud and write them down with the time.