Urgent Care

Cleveland Road Animal Hospital is excited to offer Urgent Care services for pets in need! We take care of any sick pet or injured pet that cannot wait until the next day for care.

Urgent Care hours:

Monday – Friday: 7:00am – 10:00pm
Saturday: 8:00am – 10:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am – 7:00pm

If your pet is experiencing an emergency after hours, please visit the list of nearby emergency hospitals.

Cleveland Road Animal Hospital Urgent Care provides veterinary services for a variety of conditions, illness and injuries found in our pet patients. We have emergency trained and dedicated veterinarians and nurses on staff.   We have onsite diagnostic equipment to perform blood work, x-rays, ultrasound, and an in-house pharmacy allowing timely results and treatment of our patients. Cases that require 24-hour critical nursing care or more advanced diagnostics and treatments will be first stabilized and then referred to the specialty hospitals if necessary. 

We are not currently a 24-hour facility, and we may need pet parents to transfer their pet to the Akron, Cleveland, or Columbus area. We do not have the capability to perform MRI, CT scans, or blood transfusions. We do not do routine dental work during urgent care hours but can get you scheduled with our dentist in the following days. We will provide humane euthanasia in a caring and compassionate manner when needed. However, we will not perform convenience euthanasia on patients that do not have a medical or behavioral problem.

Outpatient cases will be instructed to schedule any rechecks or follow up care with their primary care veterinarian. All patient exam notes, and diagnostic test results will be sent back to the primary care veterinarian in a timely fashion.  

Our urgent care services aim at complementing the healthcare services available in our community and providing support to our local emergency and specialty hospitals.

What to Expect on Arrival

You will be greeted by our patient care coordinator in the lobby.  If your pet is unstable or critical, a nurse will be called to triage and assess your pet. We will obtain personal information, and patient information.  A treatment authorization form will need to be signed to proceed.  A deposit for exam fee will be taken.    

In the event your pet is critical or needs resuscitation, the nurse will take your pet directly to the treatment area to start life-saving measures.  This may include, starting oxygen, placing an IV catheter, starting fluid therapy or warming support. You will be escorted to an exam room to gather more information by our staff, and you will be unable to accompany your pet to the treatment room.   If the patient is in cardiac arrest, you will need to sign off on a CPR form and commit to a $500 stabilization charge.   The doctor will be notified immediately and begin their assessment.   Once the doctor has examined the patient, they will meet you in the exam room to discuss next steps.   

If your pet is stable, and has non-life-threatening condition, you will be added to the waitlist in the order you have arrived.  Our staff will work diligently to see your pet in a timely manner, as we understand the stress a sick pet can cause.

What Cases Will We See?

Emergency cases such as hit by car, difficulty breathing, or choking, repeated seizures, possible bloating and collapse may be seen and stabilized to transfer to 24-Hour care facility.  

Emergency veterinary hospitals prioritize and treat patients based on their symptoms or condition severity. Any patient needing medical attention but not in a life-threatening situation may be asked to wait. 

An urgent care situation involves issues that need medical attention but are not life-threatening. These patients might be uncomfortable, but they are stable and can be seen at regular appointments.

Triage Categories

Doctors in emergency hospitals use the patient severity index to decipher your pet’s condition. This index includes the following levels: 

• Level one: Resuscitation – the patient is seen before all others, exhibiting a severe physical trauma or cardiac arrest. 
• Level two: Emergent – these traumas are not life-threatening but are time-sensitive, including a Seizures, toxin ingestion and heat stroke. 
• Level three: Urgent – these patients are seen after levels one and two are taken care of. Examples of urgent care include sudden illness, severe cuts, vomiting, trouble walking, allergic reactions or difficulty urinating.
• Level four: Non-urgent – minor cuts, prolonged low appetite, limping, fever, and mild injuries are non-urgent conditions can be treated after the first three levels. 
• Level five: Stable – the patient is uncomfortable but stable, experiencing diarrhea, low appetite, ear infection, or skin irritation.

As a rule of thumb, pets in the first two levels should be taken to the emergency room. Levels three through five can receive veterinary urgent care services.

Urgent Care FAQs

To learn more about our urgent care services, payments, and aftercare, please visit our Urgent Care FAQs page.