Pets love to play, explore, and do all sorts of crazy things, which is why the need may arise for a surgery or other urgent vet appointment. From broken bones and lacerations to blocked stomachs and more, there are a wide variety of situations that pets can get themselves into. At Mercy Animal Hospital in Edmonton, we can perform emergency c-sections, repair torn ACLs, set bones, and more. All of our surgeries include anesthesia and patient monitoring to ensure that your pet’s procedure runs as smoothly as possible.

Dewclaws can be attached via a bone, but most often, they are simply attached with a bit of skin and some connective tissues. Since they are not well-attached, they can easily become snagged and rip off or tear. This is very painful for your dog. You should get your dog’s dewclaws removed if they:

• Hang or seem very loose.
• Your dog catches his or her dewclaw on objects.
• The dewclaw is not well-formed.

Our veterinarian can help you decide if dewclaw removal is right for your dog. The best time to remove dewclaws is before they are fully formed. The surgery can happen as soon as your puppy is a few days old up to a few weeks, and it is no more painful or difficult than permanently removing a fingernail.

If your dog is not spayed or neutered, we recommend getting the dewclaws removed at the same time as the spay/neuter surgery. With this option, your dog only has to undergo anesthesia once for both surgeries, and it is typically less stressful for your dog to have both surgeries performed at the same time.

We know that when pets experience pain or other emergency situations, it can cause a great deal of stress for you. We are here to provide the information and support you need to make the best decision for your fur baby. Our veterinarians and vet technicians have the training and experience that will provide the highest level of care for your pet. If you have questions about your pet’s health or need to book an appointment, please contact Mercy Animal Hospital today.

A laceration is a cut or tear in the skin that may include damage to the muscles and other structures beneath the skin.While surface wounds may sometimes be repaired using local anesthesia (which affects only the area of the wound), most laceration repairs require general (full) anesthesia of the pet. After the wound is cleaned and assessed, the cut edges are usually held together with suture material or skin staples. Lacerations should be repaired as soon as possible after the injury occurs to ensure proper healing and to prevent infection. If infection does occur, the infection will have to be cured before the surgery can be performed to prevent the infection from being trapped in a closed wound.

Finding a growth is one of the most stressful things for pet owners. Is my pet in pain? Can it be fixed? What if it is cancer? These questions and many more run through our heads and cause a lot of worry.

The good news is, many of these lumps and cancers can be removed through surgery. We won’t be able to tell what we are dealing with until we get a chance to look at it, so the best thing you can do is call and book an appointment so we can figure out the best plan of action to get your pet back to full health.

There are many types of abdominal surgeries for animals, some of the more familiar ones you may have heard of include: the stomach flipping, removing of a gallbladder, and the removal of bladder stones. Unfortunately, most of these cases are not able to be seen with the naked eye and are generally discovered when your pet is acting differently or doing abnormal things. This is why it is important to have regular check ups and talk to your doctor about any suspicious behavior. If you notice your pet acting abnormally, make sure to call the vet to book an appointment, he could be showing symptoms of a more serious condition.