Month: July 2025

Creating an Emergency Plan for Your Pets: Dogs, Cats, and Exotics

Emergencies can happen with little warning. In Texas, recent flood disasters have shown just how quickly families—and their pets—may have to evacuate to stay safe. At All Pets Veterinary Medical Center in College Station, we know your pets are part of the family. That’s why it’s essential to create an emergency plan that includes your dogs, cats, and exotic pets.

Why Planning Matters

Floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and other emergencies often mean evacuating quickly. Leaving pets behind isn’t an option—they depend on you entirely for safety and care. Planning ahead can help you keep your animals calm, secure, and healthy even in a crisis.

Our veterinary team is committed to supporting College Station pet owners with expert veterinary care before, during, and after emergencies.

1️⃣ Have an Evacuation Strategy

Always plan to evacuate with your pets.
✔️ Know where you’ll go (pet-friendly hotels, friends, relatives)
✔️ Research local shelters or boarding facilities that accept animals
✔️ Plan multiple routes in case roads close

Tip from our College Station vets: Keep a list of these options handy. Our team at All Pets Veterinary Medical Center can help you identify local resources.

2️⃣ Prepare a Pet Emergency Kit

Store this kit in an easy-to-grab spot. Include:

  • 3–7 days of food and water (plus bowls)

  • Medications and dosage instructions

  • Vaccination records and medical history

  • Collars with ID tags, harnesses, leashes

  • Recent photos for identification

  • Waste bags, litter box and litter for cats

  • Comfort items like blankets and toys

  • Pet first aid supplies

For exotic animal care:

  • Species-appropriate travel enclosure

  • Heat source (battery-powered heat pad if needed)

  • Specialized diet or supplements

  • Bedding or substrate

Need advice? Our exotic animal veterinarians in College Station can help tailor your kit for your unique pets.

3️⃣ Prioritize Identification

Pets may become lost or separated during an emergency.
✔️ Ensure they wear collars with updated ID tags
✔️ Microchip your pets, and keep registration info current

Pro tip: Include your cell phone number on tags for contact while evacuated.

4️⃣ Plan for Shelter-in-Place

Sometimes you’ll need to stay home without power or water. Prepare to:

  • Have extra food, water, and meds on hand

  • Maintain temperature and humidity for exotics

  • Secure rooms to prevent escape during storms

Our veterinary team can help you plan for these situations, especially if you have reptiles, birds, or other exotic species with special environmental needs.

5️⃣ Manage Stress for Your Pets

Emergencies are frightening for animals.

  • Practice crate training well before you need it

  • Get pets comfortable with carriers

  • For birds and small mammals, rehearse gentle handling and enclosure transfers

Our College Station veterinarians can offer calming techniques and personalized advice for anxious pets.

6️⃣ Include Pets in Your Family Drills

Everyone in your household should know:
✔️ Where the pet emergency kit is
✔️ How to secure each pet quickly
✔️ Who is responsible for which animal

Including your pets in drills ensures you’re truly ready.

7️⃣ Keep Important Contacts Handy

Prepare a printed list of:

  • Your veterinarian’s number (📞 All Pets Veterinary Medical Center: [Insert phone number])

  • Emergency veterinary clinics

  • Local shelters that accept animals

  • Animal poison control hotlines

Even if your phone battery dies, you’ll have what you need.

8️⃣ Special Considerations for Exotic Pets

Exotic pets may have unique needs:

  • Temperature and humidity control

  • Specialized diets

  • Transport challenges

Our exotic animal vets in College Station can help you create a species-specific emergency plan, including advice on:

  • Backup power for heat lamps or incubators

  • Portable, secure enclosures

  • Safe transport solutions

We’re always happy to help you prepare.

✅ Final Thoughts

Your pets rely on you completely in an emergency. By planning ahead, you’ll ensure their safety, health, and comfort—even in stressful, uncertain situations.

At All Pets Veterinary Medical Center, we’re dedicated to providing exceptional veterinary care in College Station for dogs, cats, and exotic animals. Whether you need routine wellness exams, emergency vet services, or help building a detailed emergency preparedness plan, our team is here for you.

📞 Call us today at 979-696-4411
🌐 Visit us at www.allpetsmedical.com
📍 Proudly serving College Station, TX, and the Brazos Valley

Point-of-Care Ultrasound at All Pets Medical Center: Fast, Accurate Answers for Your Pet’s Health

At All Pets Medical Center, we’re committed to delivering the highest level of care by using the best diagnostic tools available. One of the most valuable technologies we offer is point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). This in-house imaging service allows our veterinarians to quickly and non-invasively assess your pet’s health, often during the same appointment.

POCUS is a versatile, painless procedure that uses sound waves to create real-time images of your pet’s internal organs and structures. Our trained veterinary team uses ultrasound in many ways to help pets feel better faster.

Our Point-of-Care Ultrasound Services

🫀 Cardiology Scans

We perform focused cardiac ultrasounds to assess heart function, detect valve issues, evaluate chamber size, and screen for diseases like cardiomyopathy. This is especially helpful for pets showing signs of heart disease (coughing, exercise intolerance, fainting) or for breeds at higher risk of cardiac conditions.

🐾 Abdominal and Thoracic (Sick Pet) Scans

When pets are sick, they can’t tell us what hurts. Abdominal and thoracic ultrasounds help us quickly evaluate organs such as the liver, kidneys, spleen, bladder, stomach, intestines, and lungs. This is invaluable for:

  • Vomiting or diarrhea

  • Difficulty breathing

  • Unexplained weight loss

  • Suspected fluid buildup in the chest or abdomen

  • Trauma cases

With POCUS, we can make rapid, informed decisions about treatment plans or referrals.

🩺 Wellness Screening

Ultrasound isn’t just for sick pets! We also use it in preventive care. Routine abdominal screenings in older pets can help detect early changes in organs that might not yet cause symptoms. Early detection leads to better outcomes.

🐶 Reproductive Tracking

For breeders or owners of pregnant animals, we offer reproductive ultrasound to:

  • Confirm pregnancy

  • Estimate fetal counts

  • Track fetal development

  • Monitor for complications

This helps ensure healthier pregnancies and deliveries.

Why Point-of-Care Ultrasound Matters

POCUS is fast, safe, and comfortable for pets. It provides immediate insights that can guide treatment, reduce the need for invasive procedures, and improve outcomes. Having this capability in-house means your pet gets answers quickly, often without needing to travel to a specialty hospital.

At All Pets Medical Center, we believe in combining compassionate care with advanced technology. Our point-of-care ultrasound service is just one of the ways we work to keep your pets healthy, happy, and by your side for as long as possible.

📞 Contact Us
If you have questions about our ultrasound services or want to schedule an appointment, please call us at979-696-4411 or visit Allpetsmedical.com.