Urgent Veterinary Care helps pet owners get medical care started without a long wait
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Just like humans, when a medical need arises for animals, a fast response and diagnosis is essential.
That's where the new Urgent Veterinary Care of Santa Barbara at 2821 De la Vina Street hopes to fill a need. The owners say long lines can be alleviated for the initial checkup.
The owners Dan and Dr. Addie Crawford say there are long delays reported at some vet clinics or pet hospitals because of the increase in pet ownership and the need for more vets.
Dr. Crawford is a graduate of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
In the first week, numerous pet owners have come in to Urgent Veterinary Care.
Crawford says, what's common is "everything from a torn nail to a bite wound, coughing and sneezing."
She says her staff assess the pet for the primary issue but they also take a look around.
"Just check their gums, make sure the gum color is ok. Check their lymph nodes and then listen to their heart," she said.
The urgent vet need may have boomed during COVID.
Crawford said, "too many pets and not enough vets is the big thing and also staffing comes into play. I really do think during COVID everyone's at home and they are like 'I should adopt a pet while I am at home.' The community adopted a lot of pets nationwide actually, breeders are breeding more pets."
A German Shepherd came in with a sore paw on Monday to start the week in what was thought to be a foxtail from a field.
"Dogs will get them in their paws, they will migrate places they will get them in their nose and their mouth everywhere. March is when they pop up until about October," said Crawford.
After calming the dog down with a sedative, the inspection showed it was another paw issue, there was some biting and some bleeding. The staff worked as a team to comfort the dog and the issue was stitched up. The paw was then wrapped up for what will end up being about a two week recovery.
In this care center they are expecting to see some frequent cases coming through the door and if more needs to be done to diagnose and treat the dog or cat, the equipment is on site, but longer stays or extended surgeries are referred out.
"We can do blood work, in house we get it in a half an hour, we can send out blood work, we can do X-rays, ultra sound. We can do abdominal surgeries if needed," said Crawford.
In the end, the goal is to have a healthy happy pet, and "pawsative" results for the pet owner.
For more information go to: Www.Urgentvetcaresb.com
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