First, how urgent is this?
Go now
- Obvious effort to breathe, or open-mouth breathing.
- Pale or white gums.
- Unable to stand, dragging a back leg, or in obvious pain.
- Heavy bleeding, a deep wound, or bone showing.
- Loss of consciousness after the impact, or a change in behaviour since.
Contact your vet today
- Walking, but with an odd gait or unwilling to use stairs.
- Flatter or breathing faster within hours of the impact.
- A swollen belly, or clear pain when it is touched.
- Straining to urinate, or blood in the urine.
Record and observe
- Completely normal after a minor knock: still worth calling the vet to describe it and confirm whether a check is needed.
Before you set off
- How and when it happened: a vehicle, a fall height, a crush.
- Whether the dog lost consciousness, and any behaviour change since.
- Where the bleeding is, and how much (photos).
- Move the dog on a board or blanket supporting the whole body, never by the belly or a limb.
- Do not offer food or water, and do not give painkillers.
- A list of medicines and the time of the last dose.
What your vet may ask and do
- Ask: how it happened, when, and how hard the impact was.
- Ask: any loss of consciousness, and how the dog has been since.
- Do: a full physical and neurological examination.
- Do: X-rays of the chest, abdomen and pelvis.
- Do: ultrasound for abdominal fluid and internal bleeding.
- Do: pain relief, fluids and oxygen, with admission or surgical referral for severe cases.
- Do: monitor for chest and abdominal problems that appear later.
Where to go in Hong Kong
- Hong Kong 24-hour vet list
- 24-hour emergency, Hong Kong Island
- 24-hour emergency, Kowloon
- 24-hour emergency, New Territories
- Clinics with CT
- Clinics with blood transfusion
- Clinics with inpatient care
- What emergency and test fees look like
Call the clinic before you drive over, to confirm tonight's arrangements and the location.