ER Vets

Donna M. Jackson

Award-winning Children's Author, specializing
in narrative nonfiction books for children.

Donna M. Jackson Award-winning Children's Author, specializing in creative nonfiction books for children.

   Saving animals round-the-clock!

ER Vets highlights the work of emergency veterinarians at Colorado State University’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, one of the best in the nation. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, dedicated doctors and nurses work to heal sick and injured animals using high-tech equipment and procedures comparable to those in human hospitals.

No two days are alike in an animal emergency room. At any time the ER vet team may treat a dog that’s swallowed paintballs or been bitten by a rattlesnake, a cat that’s been poisoned by antifreeze or in need of a blood transfusion, a bird requiring oxygen, or a hedgehog with a cancerous tumor.


   Check out the photos below for a glimpse at the exciting world of animal emergency medicine.




		Ups and downs ER vets never know what each day will bring -- that’s part of the thrill of the job.



Close call Fortunately for this brave cat, the arrow missed his major organs and doctors surgically removed it.



	Holistic healing One of the ER team’s top priorities is to ensure animals remain comfortable and pain-free during their stay.


Ouch! Rattlesnake bites to a dog’s face are painful and cause its muzzle to swell. Always seek veterinary help if your dog has been bitten.



		Keeping cool In an emergency, ER vets must remain calm, think on their feet, and make split-second, life-and-death decisions.



	Tools of the trade Endoscopes -- tubes with tiny cameras at the tip -- allow vets to retrieve foreign bodies such as this bottle cap from a dog’s stomach.