After Hours Care

Call (226) 407-9127 when our office is closed to speak to a registered veterinary technician (RVT) about your pet's condition.

In an effort to improve access to veterinary care for all patients, we have arrange for our clients to be able to talk to a Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVT) over the phone when our hospital is not open.  A caring RVT will speak with you to ascertain the level of care that your pet requires. If your pet requires critical in-person intervention, the RVT will be able to determine this over the phone with you and will assist you by making arrangements for your pet to be transferred for physical care.  If your pet can be helped with a telephone or video consultation instead, the RVT will help you schedule an appointment with one of their licensed Ontario-based veterinarians. You can then get advice about what to do at home until our office opens, or they can script medication from a pharmacy for you to pick up for your pet.

The phone number you will use to access the RVT After Hours Line is (226) 407-9127. There is no cost for this call or any assistance provided by the RVT.  If you are booked for a virtual consultation with a veterinarian, there will be a cost of $105 plus HST for the consultation, with an additional $30 service fee if medication is prescribed.

You also have the ability to book a virtual consultation directly with a Smart.Vet veterinarian by visiting http://smart.vet, and clicking on Register.  Once you’ve created an account, you can decide to send in a message or request a phone / video call. Please note that messages are meant for non-urgent cases and will be responded to within 8 hours of submission. When you submit a phone / video request, a veterinarian will reach out to you as soon as they’re available. Please just wait for a call from 289-768-8784 - this may take more than 20 minutes if they are experiencing high call volumes. Once a request has been submitted, you can add additional notes or add images/videos to the consultation for the veterinarian’s reference.

The closest emergency clinic is London Regional Veterinary Emergency and Referral Hospital, located at 41 Adelaide St N, London, ON N6B 3P4. The phone number is 519-432-3300. Unfortunately there are often very long wait times in London and they are currently closed altogether on Fri and Sat.  Please call our RVT After Hours Line first and only head to LRVERH if you are directed to do so.

Does my pet have an emergency?

When to seek veterinary care:

Emergency Situations – seek veterinary care as soon as possible.
unconsciousness, severe trauma, excessive blood loss, blue or white gums, severe pain, extremely bloated belly with unproductive retching, severe seizures, known poison ingestion and unable to induce vomiting at home.

Urgent Care – seek veterinary care within the next 4 - 8 hours.
unable to urinate, delayed labour/trouble giving birth, back to back vomiting, copious bloody or black tarry material in vomit or stool, deep laceration or bite wounds, unable to stand on one or more leg, allergic reaction or insect sting with excessive facial swelling, red sore eye (won’t hold eye open).

Worrisome – seek veterinary care within the next 12 - 36 hours.
weakness/lethargy, blood in urine, frequent urination, excessive thirst, intermittent vomiting, diarrhea, refusal to eat, 1 seizure that stops on it’s own, sore paw or leg, abscess, rash, itching, sore ear, coughing or sneezing, runny nose, new or growing lumps/bumps/swellings, loose tooth, painful mouth or painful area somewhere on the body.