Emergency Vet Service Not Always Available – Dog Dies Due to Lack Of

By Admin - Deanna, on June 14th, 2007 |

Most of us tend to take for granted that if our dog or pet gets sick any time of the day or nite that we can call a vet and take our beloved furbaby in to be taken care of. Unfortunately this is not always the case especially if you live in a more rural area or even a very small community. Read the story and see the tips and advise at the bottom.

Sadly one woman in the remote Tombstone area of Arizona found this out with dire consequences.

Jeanne Patera is loves her dogs. She’s constantly surrounded by her four best friends. Just a few days ago she had five best friends, but Chase, her first love, died after a rattlesnake attacked on Saturday.

Chase was Jeanne’s first dog and she held a special place in Jeanne’s heart. “I always said he was who I aspired to be.” Jeanne said with tears in her eyes.

Jeanne and her husband moved from Phoenix to a remote area in Tombstone to get away from the big city violence.

Now she won’t leave the house without her guns because she’s afraid of the snakes. And so is Uno, Chase’s son, who was bit by the snake. Uno survived but he won’t go near the area of the attack. “He’s scared” said Jeanne.

On Saturday four of Jeanne’s dogs cornered the snake near a shed in back of her house. Jeanne heard the commotion, grabbed her gun and came running, “I started shooting the snake, it elongated and went under the shed. We eventually found it, it’s dead.”

By then it was too late for Chase. “Chase was becoming comatose at that point. Uno was still throwing up bile or yellow stuff and I think it was the poison.” Jeanne said.

Jeanne tried to call veterinarians all over Cochise County to save her precious pug but she couldn’t find anyone available on the weekend. She learned the hard way there are no emergency pet services for pets for miles around. “That was a total shock to me, I never expected them to have nobody anywhere in this area.”

Jeanne knows she can’t bring Chase back but she hopes to spread the word that emergency services are needed in Cochise County so other pet owners don’t have to go through the heart ache she’s going through. (KVOA.com)

Always make sure you have an emergency plan to put into action. Many people do for themselves and their families but too often pets are overlooked.

If you have no vet emergency service available to you, make sure that you have a Pet First Aid Kit on hand. Talk to your vet and ask what they advise in the case of an emergency. If your pet is liable to face any natural dangers ie. rattlesnakes, try to be aware of them and prepared, ie. a snake bite kit.

See if your vet will avail to you anything that could be deemed lifesaving emergency preparations, ie. an epipen in the case of a severe allergic reaction.