03/18/2026
Let's Talk About Animal Emergency Care š¾
UPDATE: CONTACTS FOR CEDAR SPRINGS AND BYRON CENTER ADDED!
Last week we had someone stop in, understandably upset after visiting five clinics that could not see his pet.
We know how frustrating that must feel when your pet needs help.
This day, our clinic had one veterinarian working, who was not a surgeon, and we had a full schedule of patients already in our exam rooms. Without canceling appointments for other sick pets, we did not have the ability to safely take on an emergency that day, or most days.
This kind of situation happens a few times a week for us and while we are grateful when we can fit in a walk-in, unfortunately, it is not often possible. We know this is frustrating, as we see owners get upset and hear that we donāt care about animals or only care about money - weāve heard it all.
When a pet is experiencing an emergency, we understand it can feel overwhelming and scary. In those moments, people often start calling or going to local veterinary clinics looking for immediate help.
But veterinary clinics operate much like human healthcare: when you have a medical emergency, you donāt go to your primary care doctor - you go to the emergency room.
The same is true for pets.
Primary veterinary clinics operate on scheduled appointments, scheduled staff, limited exam rooms, and doctors that are scheduled specifically to care for the patients already scheduled for that day. Primary veterinary clinics do not schedule extra veterinarians, surgeons, or technicians to triage walk-in emergencies.
That is exactly why Emergency Animal Hospitals exist.
š¬ āYou only care about money.ā
If we got a dollar every time we heard this, we would actually be rich!
This is something veterinary teams hear far too often, but we can only address it from our perspective.
We understand that these words usually come from a place of frustration when a pet is sick and care is needed. Veterinary care can be expensive - we feel it too, and our clinic is literally a non-profit organization.
As a nonprofit organization, our financial records are public. Opening our clinic required a major investment, and we have continued to invest year after year to keep these services available while searching for full-time veterinarians. In the three years since opening, our organization has operated at a combined loss of $389,000 in order to continue serving pets and families in our community.
Veterinary medicine is not a field people enter to make money.
It is a field people enter because they love animals and want to help them, but without payments for services, providers won't be here to help. ā¤ļø
Attached are emergency veterinary hospitals serving West Michigan.
