The Vet Practice

Need a Vet after hours?

If you're local, you can call us.

If you're from another part of Melbourne - please contact your nearest 24 hour Animal Emergency Centre.

Unlike the 24 hr Animal Emergeny centres, our clinic is not open 24/7 but we do have a vet on call each night to see you should your pet become ill or is injured after hours.

We find that most of our clients will call us first in preference to travelling to an emergency clinic mainly because they know us and we know their pets.

You can rest assured that your pet will receive all the necessary care that's required even if it does mean around the clock monitoring.

Our intensive care facilities and equipment are not dissimialr to those you'll find in emergency centres which means we can mange most cases that come through our doors. If not, we'll certainly recommend an alternative option.

Please be aware however - any work performed after hours will be more expensive than work carried out during our normal opening hours. But this will be the case no matter where you go.

We make every effort to keep costs down for you so will perform only those procedures that we believe are necessary as deemed by your pet's condition. If we believe that further procedures such as blood tests or X-Rays can safely wait until morning, then we'll delay them until then - with your permission of course.

Naturally we can do these overnight if you prefer but - the charges will be higher.

When to call a Vet after hours?

Our after hours service is limited to urgent or emergency cases only. We have a single phone line to take these calls so we're sure you'll understand - we can't afford to spend time assisting with general enquiries.

These are much better handled during the day when all our staff are on board and have time to explain things in more detail.

If you have questions of a general nature then we ask you to please give us a call during our normal opening hours.

We know it's often difficult to know whether something is urgent or whether it can wait until morning so we've listed some symptoms of conditions which do require immediate attention.

These Need Immediate Veterinary Attention. Don't Delay.

Whelping difficulties	Your bitch has been straining for an hour with no results
A foaling mare	Your mare is straining and no foal is evident after 15 - 20 minutes. Call a vet immediately
A calving cow	Your cow has been straining for an hour with no evidence of a calf or the calf appears to be stuck or coming out the wrong way round
A laceration that won't stop bleeding	Bleeding that won't stop after applying a pressure bandage to the site. Especially if the blood is bright red, spurting or soaks up the bandage.
An animal hit by a car	Even if no external injuries are evident
Seizuring	Any seizure that is severs or doesn't stop within a minute or two or recurs more than once in a short space of time
Breathing difficulties	Choking, gasping, heaving chest, gums turning blue
Poisoning	Snail or rat bait, human medications, antifreeze, hosehold cleaners, batteries. (Bring container with you to identify active ingredient)
A male cat straining to urinate and no urine produced	A possible and potentially fatal blockage. Needs immediate attention
A pentrating wound	Stake wound - particularly to the chest or abdomen even if little or no bleeding
A prolapsed eyeball	The eyeball has been dislodged from its socket. Cover with a moist clean hankerchief, hold in place and take to your nearest vet
A loss of balance or control	Any sudden onset of loss of control of balance, collapse or unable to stand
A dog with a bloated abdomen	Sudden or developing bloat. Urgent - don't wait. This condition can kill.
Heatstroke	Cover with wet towel and take straight to vet
Swelling	Particularly around the face and throat area. May happen after an insect bite
Burns	Flush with cold water and head straight to the vet
Beeding post surgery	Any bleeding that occurs after your pet has been discharged from hospital
Vomiting	More than one vomit and particularly if accompanied by diarrhoea. Especially if diarrhoea is bloody.
Snakebite	Keep animal as quiet as possible and head to your nearest vet immediately
Your dog has swallowed a large or sharp object	Even if he looks comfortable for now
Shaking, wobbly, drooling	Best to be seen after hours to be safe
Dog eaten chocolate, grapes or macadamia nuts - these are toxic to dogs	Seek treatment a.s.a.p even if no symptoms apparent

Safe to leave till Morning

Lameness	Limping but still able to walk freely even if only on 3 legs
Difficulty urinating	Straining to urinate but still able to pass some
A single bout of vomiting and or diarrhoea	If occurs only once and pet settles down after event
Torn toenail	Apply a bandage and see your vet the next day
Broken tooth or beeding gums	Looks bad but safe to leave until the next day
Mismating	Contact your vet in the morning to discuss options
Holding head to one side, scratching at ear or shaking head	Possibly an ear infection or a foreign body. Attend to the next day
Excessive drinking or urinating	Needs attention the next day
Flat, listless, off food with no other symptoms	Seek attention the next day
Itching and scratching	Annoying to watch and uncomfortable for your pet  but safe to wait until morning
Hotspot	Infected patch of skin, may be oozing and smelly. Don't apply any ointments as they won't do much. See your vet the nest day
Unspeyed female dog with smelly vaginal disharge	Possible sign of a dangerous uterine infection. Needs urgent attention so straight to the vet first thing in the morning. If she's flat or listless then it's probably already at an urgent stage so see a vet sooner.

Please note - the infomation provided above is intended to be used as a guide only.

If you are concerned about your pet at any stage - at any time please seek veterinary advice.