The exterior of Red River Animal Emergency Hospital & Referral Center

Emergency Care: Why We Refer to Red River Animal Emergency Hospital

At Grand Valley Animal Hospital, our first priority is the health and wellness of your pet. In the event that your pet has a late-night or extensive emergency, our protocol is to refer you to our highly trusted resource, Red River Animal Emergency Hospital & Referral Center located in Fargo, ND.

Why travel to Fargo for emergency services?

While we have an excellent and fully trained staff of pet care experts and our facility has cutting edge equipment that allows us to provide exceptional care and capabilities to handle some emergency services, sometimes pet emergencies require extremely specialized care and equipment.

It is similar to if you needed to go to the emergency room where they are fully staffed and equipped to handle your emergency right there. Rather than going to your general care practitioner at that moment, you would visit the ER and then work with your regular doctor for recovery and wellness afterwards.

What is special about Red River Animal Emergency Hospital & Referral Center?

The Red River Animal Emergency Hospital is the leading pet emergency center in North Dakota and Western Minnesota. They specialize in pet emergencies and have 24/7/365 with a full staff specially trained for emergency medicine and state-of-the-art equipment geared towards emergencies. Additionally, Red River Animal Emergency Hospital also has North Dakota’s only board-certified emergency and critical care specialist on staff for complex and severely critical cases.

“The advanced emergency equipment and facility Red River Animal Emergency Hospital has is truly exceptional,” states Dr. Darin Meulebroeck, DVM and owner of Grand Valley Animal Hospital. “This includes the only multi-site CT scanner in the region available for pets, along with their very own blood bank, and an entire staff of doctors and techs who specialize in emergency care.”

Vet and assistant performing an exam on a small dog.
Person holding a small dog.

Some critical care services Red River Animal Emergency Hospital offers include:

  • Acute Kidney Injury/Failure
  • Auto-immune Blood Disorders and Hematology Cases*
  • Basic Echocardiograms (heart ultrasound)
  • Bone Marrow Biopsies*
  • Congestive Heart Failure*
  • CPR
  • Full Diagnostic Abdominal Ultrasounds
  • Hemodialysis for Kidney Failure and Toxins*
  • ICU Ventilator Therapy*
  • Sepsis
  • Severe Toxicities
  • Severe Trauma
  • Ultrasound-guided Organ Biopsies*

*Indicates services performed at RRAEH that are not available at GVAH.

What do I do if I have a pet emergency?

If you notice any of the symptoms below in your pet, you should first try to give your regular veterinarian a call to see if they can help or get you into their clinic right away. However, if your emergency happens in the middle of the night and requires a fully staffed clinic and specialized equipment, you may need to travel to the Red River Animal Emergency Hospital to seek immediate specialty care. “We do everything we can for our clients and their beloved pets, but some cases that require extensive emergency equipment and specialized critical care we know it is in their best interest to seek help from RRAEH,” says Dr. Meulebroeck. ”We fully trust their capabilities and feel very confident referring our clients to their emergency services.”

Symptoms That May Indicate an Emergency

How do I know if it's an emergency?

When your pet is not feeling well or being themselves, we understand that it can be scary and overwhelming. It is important to closely monitor your pet when you notice something is off and watch for signs of an emergency situation:

  • Active Bleeding
  • Acute Trauma
  • Bloated or Painful Abdomen
  • Bloody Vomiting/Diarrhea or Prolonged GI Symptoms
  • Collapse or Weakness
  • Difficulty Breathing
  • Inability to Urinate or Defecate
  • Lacerations or Wounds
  • Pain or Limping
  • Seizures, Staggering, or Stumbling
If you have any questions about potential emergency situations or services for your pet, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 701.757.3500 or email us so we can walk you through everything you need to know.
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