Emergency Services

We are proud to be the full-service hospital for your pet's emergency services. We pride ourselves on being a trusted resource for all the health needs of the furry family members that you love and care for. We treat a broad range of animals - from cats and dogs, to horses, and cattle!

You know your pet better than anyone. If you feel his or her medical condition is serious and cannot wait, seek emergency care immediately. As pet owners ourselves, we know emergency situations don’t always happen at the most convenient times.

During our regular business hours, the medical staff and resources at Heartland Animal Hospital are available to help you with any emergency your pet experiences. If possible, please call in advance so we can prepare for your arrival.

If you have an emergency outside of normal business hours, we see our clients up to 10pm nightly and on weekends. If the veterinarian is unavailable or it is after these hours, we refer clients to the following emergency facility:

University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center Emergency Care

900 East Campus Drive

Columbia, MO 65211

573-882-7821

When To Seek Emergency Care

The following general situations should help you determine if you need to seek emergency care for your pet:

Acute abdominal swelling
Bleeding
Difficulty breathing
Electric shock
Excessive vomiting or diarrhea
Exhibits symptoms of heat stroke (excessive panting, weakness, pale gums, vomiting)
Seizures
Sudden onset of weakness
Temperature above 104-degrees or below 99-degrees
Unable to urinate or defecate
Acute eye pain/squinting/discharge

We moved to Ashland late in 2000 and began using Heartland Animal Hospital in the spring of 2001. Dr. Cuddihee and her staff took the records of our pets from previous veterinarian’s office and used those to start providing treatment to our pets and building their own records. Fifteen years later, we are still sold on the services our pets receive. Dr. Cuddihee and her staff have celebrated our new pets with us and have been caring and empathetic when we’ve had to say goodbye to some very old friends. While it is difficult to talk about euthanasia of very special animal family members, it is important to me to say that the staff at Heartland have kept some of our pets happy and healthy longer than the breed books say they should live. They have been kind, respectful and caring of both of both the pet and us when the time has come to humanely euthanize the animal. Our dogs look forward to going to the vet’s office in Ashland (and know where the treats are). Our cats are tolerant of trips to the vet and rarely get their claws out (a four star review from a cat, believe me). Finally, I would like to make two points. Dr. Cuddihee will give you every option and scenario for treatment available (and the cost associated with it) but she allows you to make the decision of how to proceed. Second, I recently discovered the price of specialized dog food is less at her office than it is at the farm store in Columbia. So if you want great care and service, and reasonably priced pet products, go to Heartland.

Brooke Dawson, “Blackie”, “Critter”, “Etta”, “Smokey”, “Beau”, & “Gabe”