Pet Ambulances

[clw1981]

I was recently involved in a situation when a friends pet died whilst I was looking after it, she was away abroad for a few more days. When trying to get said animal to vet I noticed there was a distinct lack of pet ambulances offering 24/7 service. Has anyone else encountered this issue before?

[woozer]

It would never have occured to me that there would be such a thing as a pet ambulance. All my furry tribe have gone to the vets in our car (or once it was by taxi when they got ill on boxing day and I was a bit too merry to drive - mind you the taxi firm wasnt too keen and I had to negotiate quite hard ) - I would think an ambulance would be everso expensive if they existed in your area.

[loonytunes]

A "pet ambulance" is possible but, because of the fact that owners would often want to accompany the animal, the law requires that the vehicle, driver and operator would all have to obtain licences as taxis. As there is a limited call for such specialist services it would not be viable. So a taxi is a pet ambulance and the other way round

[jules77]

Our practice has a pet ambulance, and they also have a veterinary hospital offering 24/7 care for inhouse patients.

[LoftyLottie]

It would surely be cheaper to call a vet out to your home if there was a transport problem. They will come out quickly if necessary. It costs more but probably no more than the ambulance service. A lot of practices have ambulance services, but I think they may be for emergencies and are more often used for road casualties etc.

[woofgang]

our practice has a pet ambulance but not 24/7. The problem arises when the animal MUST be taken to the surgery and the normal way that it is transported insn't appropriate. eg can't jump into car, needs to be restrained etc. I guess there just isn't enough call for the service although I for one would have been very grateful for it on more than one occasion

[mandimoo]

hmmm, a pet ambulance?....... are they cute?

[kita1]

They are becoming more available.

The problem is that many ordinary taxi's will not carry animals as they then have to have the car totally cleaned inside in case the next fare is allergic to pet hairs/dust.

Vets are often reluctant to come out to your house because most of the 'tools' they need are at the surgery (eg if the pet needs to go on a drip etc.).

This is one example of a pet ambulance:

http://merseysidepeta...ce.co.uk/default.aspx

If you do a search for pet ambulance and your area you will almost certainly find one.

[clw1981]

I would have taken the animal to the vets myself but as I have epilepsy I do not have a car. In the end I had to get help from a neighbour. The animal had died and did not, therefore, require treatment from a vet so with it being a great dane and too heavy for me to lift alone it was a major crisis for all concerned.