Urgent Care Now at Riverside Animal Clinic & Holistic Center
Ever had that frustrating experience of a sick pet who can’t get into the vet? It can be aggravating and sometimes serious but with a record low number of veterinarians working, we had to find a solution. Riverside will be changing the way we schedule appointments, making treatment faster and easier by opening a walk in Urgent Care only for Riverside clients.
We feel adding walk in appointments for sick pets will be the best way to help you get care right away. All you have to do is call and let us know what time you’ll be here. This is a loose schedule allowing our clients to get in when needed without the hassle of an appointment. We also think the loose schedule will help us prevent long waiting times which we certainly don’t want. The cut off time for an urgent care appointment is 3PM. Clearly, we will still be here, but just need to know you’re coming in so we can plan the rest of the day. Again, this is only for current clients who have come to Riverside Animal Clinic & Holistic Center.
Urgent care appointments are of growing importance to pet owners in McHenry County. Most emergency veterinary hospitals are experiencing staffing shortages and some are operating on limited hours. Some examples of urgent care appointments include: ear infections, coughing, diarrhea, vomiting, urinary problems, broken toenail, skin growths or rashes, eye swelling or infections or any other concerns that you would consider a sick patient appointment. We will not be staffed for serious emergencies such as: serious accidental injuries such as hit by a car or on demand euthanasia. Our veterinarians reserve the right to refer you to an emergency clinic if they feel it is in your pet’s best interest. We will continue seeing our end of day appointments for euthanasia at 5 PM. If you have questions about where your appointment belongs, please call (815-344-7716) or text (815-406-6089) our office.
Walk in services also work for anyone needing a technician appointment for nail trims, anal glands, heartworm tests, fluids, blood draws or certain vaccines (not rabies).
The office will still take appointments for the following: Wellness, Chronic Cases, Holistic- 1 hour with paid deposit, New Clients by Referral Only. We will now close for lunch from 12:30-1:30.
A few things are behind our decision to test this model for the next few months. First, our clinic started receiving hundreds of extra calls weekly when we won Best of the Fox 2021, our podcast on Voice America took off and a few of our blog posts were at the top of Google searches. This made an always busy environment become overloaded. Additionally, a nationwide shortage of veterinarians across the country has hit home and that makes finding care challenging for many pet owners.
At the beginning of the week, we will post our schedule at www.riversideanimalclinic.net and also on our Facebook page. Please refer to it before calling or coming in just in case there is a rare change. We truly appreciate you all for your kindness and thank you so much for being a client of Riverside.