The Small Animal Hospital at the Veterinary Health Center provides around-the-clock, around-the-calendar care for ill and injured dogs and cats. We are open to receive emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The VHC is the only 24-hour veterinary emergency hospital in our region and is one of 24 Level 2 small animal emergency hospitals in the United States, as certified by the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society.
Our service provides two types of care: emergency care and critical care.
Emergency Care
Animals don’t always become ill or injured during regular business hours. We are here to see your pet in the middle of the night or the middle of a long weekend. Of course, we are also able to accommodate animals in the middle of the day.
Although we welcome any information in advance of us seeing a patient on emergency, it is not necessary. If circumstances allow, please call 573-882-7821 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays) or 573-882-4589 (after hours) so we can be prepared for your arrival.
If this is not possible, we welcome walk-in emergencies. Patients admitted on emergency are triaged upon arrival and provided with lifesaving emergency care as necessary. All patients receive a complete evaluation by the emergency veterinarian on duty, and the client is informed of the findings of the examination. We will recommend diagnostic and treatment plans and provide a complete estimate for emergency stabilization. We can perform routine diagnostics such as lab work and standard radiographs at any time, and we can provide stabilization, intensive-care hospitalization and 24-hour monitoring as indicated.
More complex diagnostic and surgical procedures can be performed on an emergency basis if the patient is not stable enough to wait for times when the hospital is fully staffed. Emergency diagnostic, surgical and treatment decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and in consultation with the appropriate specialty service. Communications with the primary care veterinarian for each patient seen after hours include an emergency fax sent the next business day to inform the pet’s veterinarian of initial findings.
Critical Care
As a tertiary referral center, the patients seen at the Veterinary Health Center are often extremely ill and suffering from critical illnesses. Our faculty specialists in critical care are equipped to provide the most intensive and comprehensive care possible to these sickest pets. Animals in our intensive care unit are monitored 24 hours a day, and a veterinarian is always present to cope with any change in medical condition. This care is available to pets admitted for emergency services as well as to pets admitted by our other community practice or specialty services.
We are able to monitor animals using such advanced methods as cardiac telemetry, blood gas analysis, blood pressure, electrolyte and metabolic assessments, and more. We are able to provide supportive care that is not available anywhere else in mid-Missouri, including ventilatory support for animals unable to adequately breathe on their own.
Faculty Veterinarians
Keith Branson, DVM, MS, DACVAA
Assistant Teaching Professor of Anesthesiology
Board-Certified Specialist in Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia
Alex Bukoski, PhD, DVM, DACVAA
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Board-Certified Specialist in Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia
John Dodam, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVAA
Professor of Anesthesiology
Chairman of Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery
Board-Certified Specialist in Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia
Elizabeth Easley, DVM
Clinical Instructor
Heather Honious, DVM
Clinical Instructor
Patrick Hunt, DVM
Clinical Instructor
Laura Elyse Hutcheson, DVM
Clinical Instructor
Wendy Karnia, DVM
Adjunct Instructor
F.A. (Tony) Mann, DVM, MS, DACVS, DACVECC
Professor and Director of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Service
Board-Certified Specialist in Veterinary Surgery
Board-Certified Specialist in Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care
Katie O’Brien, DVM
Clinical Instructor
Colin Reich, DVM
Clinical Instructor
Residents
Zoe Bianco, DVM
Specialty Intern
Kaoru Tsuruta, DVM
Technicians
Katana Blankenship, RVT
Jamie Brueggeman, RVT
Billie Gardner, RVT
Julie Hull, RVT
Morgan Keys, RVT, Supervisor
Hope Larson, RVT
Molly McManus, RVT
Kaitlyn Nimmo, RVT
Savannah Brie Pruitt, RVT
Ruth Silverberg, RVT
Katy Vernon, RVT, VTS (ECC), Relief Technician
Emily Thompson-Westhues, RVT
Veterinary Assistants
Jadah Bradley
Cody Kimbell
