The Emergency Service and the Intensive Care Unit at CUVS function as advanced Emergency and Critical Care centers, akin to those in human hospitals. These units operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year to provide care for pets referred from their primary care veterinarian as well as pets needing emergency care any time of the day or night.

​We are staffed by board-certified emergency and critical care specialists and internship-trained emergency doctors, together with specialty trained and certified technicians.

One of the most dramatic changes in veterinary medicine in the past 2 decades has been the tremendous advancement in the field of emergency and critical care medicine. As a result, today we’re able to help many pets survive conditions that were once considered fatal. At CUVS, we remain on the leading edge of these advances - another benefit of our affiliation with the nation’s preeminent veterinary teaching institution at Cornell.

We offer the very highest level emergency and critical care in a manner not possible at most institutions.

• CUVS is designated as a Certified Level I Emergency and Critical Care Facility by the Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Society, indicating the highest level of patient care, based on specialist and technician staffing, emergency capabilities, equipment and instrument availability, in-patient support capabilities, continuing education programs, and facilities.
• An emergency and critical care specialist is on duty 7 days per week, 365 days per year.
• Our critical care specialists are amongst the most preeminent in their field, widely published, and lecture all over the US and internationally.
• Our Emergency Service is staffed by internship-trained and seasoned emergency doctors, not interns.
• All of our licensed veterinary technicians are specialty trained and experienced. Some of our technicians are board-certified technician specialists in the field, are published and teach other technicians.
• We have state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and expertise to handle any emergency or critically ill patient.
• Other CUVS specialists are on-call 24/7 for emergency consultation and procedures, including emergency surgery, endoscopy, and interventional procedures.

We understand that pet emergencies are stressful and upsetting. Our expert team is here to help, providing the perspective and quick thinking that come from exceptional clinical expertise honed by years of experience. You can rest assured your pet is in excellent hands.

The Services We Offer

We are equipped to provide today’s most sophisticated veterinary medical capabilities, including:

• Critical care monitoring - continuous ECG, pulse oximetry, capnography, direct and indirect blood pressure monitoring
• Oxygen therapy - oxygen cages and nasal oxygen
• Blood component transfusions – red blood cells, plasma, platelets
• Sophisticated in-house laboratory – including colloid osmometry, blood gas and lactate analysis, coagulation testing and thromboelastography (TEG)
• Respiratory support - nebulization, mechanical ventilation, pleural evacuation
• Advanced pain control - multimodal analgesia, continuous infusions, epidural techniques
• Nutritional supplementation – feeding tube placement, enteral and parenteral nutrition
• Advanced vascular access – central venous and arterial catheterization
• Tube placement - thoracostomy (chest tube) and tracheostomy (breathing tube) placement and management
• Diagnostic imaging - digital radiology, ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT)
• Emergency surgery
• Emergency video endoscopy
• Consultation with other CUVS specialists
• Resuscitation – CPR, defibrillation, advanced post-resuscitation support

The Conditions We See

Emergency and critical care (ECC) specialists are trained to deal with a wide range of life-threatening conditions. Some examples of conditions that could benefit from CUVS EE include:

• Trauma (e.g., traffic accidents, falls, bite wounds)
• Respiratory compromise or distress
• Sepsis (severe systemic infection)
• Bleeding disorders
• Acute kidney failure
• Heart failure
• Liver failure
• Unstable diabetes and other endocrine disorders
• Fluid accumulation in the abdomen or chest
• Adverse chemotherapy and other drug reactions
• Toxin (poison) ingestion
• Urinary obstructions
• Foreign body ingestion
• Severe or unrelenting vomiting or diarrhea
• Seizures and status epilepticus
• Immune-mediated diseases
• Heat stroke, near-drowning, envenomation (bite or sting of a venomous animal, such as a snake)
• Burns and smoke inhalation
• Deterioration of chronic conditions

Our Doctors

Our criticalists provide clinical coverage and direction 365 days per year:

ECC specialty residents:

Emergency Doctors: