Urgent vs. Emergency Care: How to Tell the Difference
Urgent Care
We save multiple appointments each day for your pets’ urgent needs. These appointments are reserved for day of, or next day urgent needs. This allows us to see your pet the same day they decide to prod a porcupine, eat something they shouldn’t have, or anything else urgent enough to be seen immediately. These appointments are an additional $50 for current clients, and an additional $100 for new clients. Please note we reserve the right to prioritize our current clients for these appointments.
There are many other conditions that can be worrisome for our pets to experience (diarrhea, ear/skin infections, limping, etc.). Many of these conditions may not be urgent and can be treated at our hospital during appointment hours rather than at the emergency hospital. If your pet is experiencing any of these symptoms, please do the following:
- You may also visit Petriage.com, download the free Petriage app and use the Pet Symptom Checker to determine whether your pet is experiencing symptoms that require immediate care or whether treatment can be delayed until the next day (or later) when your pet can be seen by your regular veterinary provider.
- For any non-serious after-hours concerns regarding your pet, please wait and contact us or your regular veterinarian first thing in the morning (218) 525-1937 on the next business day to book an appointment or to get medical advice for your pet.
Emergency Care
If you have an emergency during our normal working hours and all our appointments are full for the day, we MAY still be able to treat your pet in the hospital. These emergency visits are seen on an “as able” basis and will incur an additional $100 fee.
Blue Pearl Pet Hospital has some day time hours available, and are open all nights and weekends when we are closed. For their availability, click this link.
We have additional resources from Blue Pearl Emergency Service on pet emergencies for your reference.
Not sure if it is an emergency?
To provide the best care for all patients, we treat the most serious cases first.
With Petriage, you can quickly determine the urgency of your pet health concerns, any time, day, or night.Within seconds, you and your vet will receive a next-steps recommendation generated by a sophisticated algorithm.When the Symptom Checker provides a non-urgent outcome, Petriage allows you to request an eConsult (virtual consultation) with one of our veterinarians.
Your Petriage benefits may include
- A Direct Line of Communication with North Shore Veterinary Hospital
- Petriage Analysis 24/7 – Assess your pet’s needs any time with our AI-Driven Triage Tool and receive a clear recommendation of what to do next.
- Petriage Live – After hours nurse line that provides quick, professional advice at any hour.
