Experiencing an Emergency?

We offer on-call emergency veterinary care!

Colville Animal Hospital and Echo Ridge Veterinary Hospital have united to offer shared on-call emergency veterinary services to the residents of Stevens County. This type of collaborative effort is common in rural areas where veterinary professionals are in short supply. It allows hospitals to offer emergency services to their local communities without overtaxing the veterinarian’s personal life and mental health which in turn drives so many professionals to leave our rural areas. It is an alternative to what veterinary clinics do in more population-dense areas where all emergency services for all clinics are referred to fully staffed emergency hospitals.

Emergency Veterinarian Schedule

Weekends (Fri-Sunday) and Holidays: Rotating

There will be only 1 on-call veterinarian for northern Stevens County and surrounding areas. The on-call doctor will carry a cell phone and will not be on-premises. Arrangements must be made with the doctor to meet at their respective clinics.

If the On-Call Doctor does not answer…

If the on-call doctor does not immediately answer the emergency phone, it is likely that the doctor is engaged with another emergency. Please leave a message and the doctor will call you back as soon as they become available. If your emergency is pressing and cannot wait for a return call, then you may want to seek more immediate services further south including one of the full-service emergency clinics in Spokane.

When to Go to an Emergency Hospital

There are distinct differences between the on-call services of local veterinarians like CAH & ERVH, and the services offered at a fully staffed emergency hospital. Complicated, in-depth, or critical cases that require closer monitoring, may be encouraged to travel to a fully staffed emergency hospital in Spokane.

After Your Emergency

The doctors at both clinics are working to establish communication links so that long-standing patients at one clinic can be smoothly transitioned, if necessary for emergency services, then resumed at their respective clinics during normal business hours.

We are excited about this collaborative effort between both clinics and hope that the community will be supportive and understanding of this endeavor. As the population and demand for veterinary services in Stevens County grows, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to bring and maintain good veterinary professionals to rural areas as they must sacrifice a good deal of their personal lives to offer after hours emergency care.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this arrangement please do not hesitate to call either clinic so we can address them!