Emergency and after-hours vets for Langley pets

Save the two 24-hour numbers in your phone today. You don’t want to be searching for them at 2 a.m. with a dog that won’t stop shaking.

It’s the middle of the night: where do I go?

Animal Emergency Clinic of the Fraser Valley, on 204 Street in Willowbrook, is open around the clock, every day of the year. There’s a vet and support staff on duty all night. You don’t need an appointment or a referral; just go. The clinic asks you to call on the way (604-514-1711) so they can get ready for you.

Boundary Bay Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Surrey also takes emergencies 24 hours a day, all year, with no appointment or referral. For a life-threatening emergency, its advice is to come straight in and call ahead only if it’s safe and you have time. The public entrance is up the ramp off 104A Avenue, with parking out front and more on 104A Avenue and 173rd Street. Don’t use its online contact form for an emergency.

It’s 8 p.m. and my vet is closed

Two Langley clinics stay open late and take walk-in urgent cases:

• Langley Meadows Animal Hospital, #7 – 6233 200 Street. Open weekdays 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It takes walk-in urgent and emergency cases during those hours. Its price list shows a $45 exam, and says the same fee applies to walk-in and urgent visits. Its pages list different statutory-holiday hours, so call 236-706-0019 first on a holiday.
• Willowbrook Animal Hospital, Unit 111, 6375 202 Street. It offers emergency appointments, including walk-ins, for dogs and cats, with X-ray, ultrasound and endoscopy on site. Its own pages give different closing times (the home page says daily until midnight; the location page lists earlier evening and Sunday hours), so call 604-532-1889 before you head over.

I’m not sure it’s an emergency

If you’re a client of Central Langley Pet Hospital on the Langley Bypass, call its regular number, 604-514-1225, after hours and follow the prompts. You’ll reach a Registered Veterinary Technologist through Animal HealthLink, evenings, weekends and holidays. The clinic describes the service as included for its clients. The building itself is open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The emergency clinic lists these as signs to get help right away:

• trouble breathing
• collapse or passing out
• straining but unable to pee
• a belly that suddenly swells
• swallowing something toxic, or a foreign object
• seizures that repeat or go on

Rabbits, birds and other small pets: the emergency clinic can give limited care depending on the species and which vet is on, so call before you go.

My pet ate something it shouldn’t have

Call the emergency clinic or the Pet Poison Helpline at 855-764-7661. The helpline serves Canada around the clock and charges US$99 per incident, follow-up calls included. It gives you a case number your vet can use for more advice. Two things it says not to do: don’t make your pet vomit unless it or a vet tells you to, and don’t give home remedies. Bring the packaging with you if you go in.

Getting there safely

A hurt animal can bite or scratch, even a pet that’s normally gentle. The emergency clinic says to handle them slowly and gently, and to stop checking them over if they get upset. Willowbrook suggests bringing current medications, medical history, a note of the symptoms and the packaging of anything they might have eaten, and keeping a leash or carrier and basic first-aid supplies ready.

What happens when you get there

At the emergency clinic, the most urgent animals are seen first, not whoever arrived first, so a wait doesn’t mean you’ve been forgotten. After the first check you get a written estimate. If your pet is admitted, the clinic asks for a 50% deposit, with the balance due at discharge. It takes cash, Interac, Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Pets kept in hospital are watched continuously, and you’ll go home with instructions and any medication they need.

Boundary Bay publishes its emergency exam at $300.30, tax in, which covers blood pressure and a quick ultrasound scan when needed. Treatment is extra, and it asks for a 75% deposit before going ahead with recommended treatment.

If money is the worry

The Langley Animal Protection Society’s Major’s Legacy Fund offers one-time help of up to $1,500 for vet care for a dog or cat. You need to live in the City or Township, show financial need (people without a home can use a social-service reference) and be approved; LAPS says it answers within seven days, so it isn’t a same-night payment. If your pet isn’t spayed or neutered, the fund covers that too and you agree to the procedure. Apply at lapsbc.ca/vet-care, or call the shelter on 56 Avenue at 604-857-5055.

Also on Hey Langley

• Animal control, lost pets and the LAPS shelter
• Langley Animal Protection Society
• Emergency preparedness, including planning for pets
• Off-leash dog parks

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