When your dog or cat needs urgent care, Universal Pet Hospital in Palo Alto is here for you during our regular business hours. We accept same-day and emergency cases Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8 AM to 7 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM to 5:30 PM. We are closed on Tuesdays. Walk-ins are always welcome, and calling ahead when possible allows our team to prepare for your arrival. If your pet has a life-threatening emergency outside of our open hours, please contact a local 24-hour emergency veterinary facility immediately. Call (650) 362-7969.
Foxtail grass awns are one of the most serious and underestimated seasonal hazards in the Palo Alto and Bay Area region, and they are a leading cause of urgent veterinary visits from spring through fall. Foxtails are the seed heads of certain grasses that grow throughout El Camino Real's surrounding neighborhoods, Los Altos Hills, Arastradero Preserve, Foothills Park, and virtually every trail and open space in the South Bay. What makes foxtails dangerous is their barbed, one-directional structure: once a foxtail penetrates the skin, it cannot back out. It can only burrow deeper, migrating through tissue and causing abscesses, infections, and potentially life-threatening internal damage if not found and removed promptly. Foxtails most commonly enter through the paws (between the toes), the ears, the nose, the eyes, the skin of the face and chest, and the groin area. Dogs who run through dry grass fields are at the highest risk, but cats with outdoor access are also vulnerable. Signs requiring urgent evaluation include: a dog repeatedly sneezing or pawing at their nose (nasal foxtail); sudden head shaking, yelping, and pawing at one ear (ear canal foxtail); limping or licking intensely at one paw with a swelling between the toes (paw foxtail); squinting or eye discharge after outdoor time (eye foxtail); or a draining wound anywhere on the body that is not healing. After every outdoor outing in spring and summer, check your dog's coat, paws, ears, and face. If you suspect a foxtail, do not probe the area yourself. Come to us immediately during our open hours.
Labored breathing, open-mouth breathing in cats, blue-tinged gums, or a respiratory rate that is visibly rapid and distressed are signs of a potentially life-threatening emergency. Causes include respiratory infections, pleural effusion (fluid around the lungs), severe allergic reactions, heart disease, trauma, and anemia. Cats in particular do not normally pant or breathe with their mouth open. Any open-mouth breathing in a cat outside of extreme heat or exertion should be treated as an emergency. Do not wait to see whether your pet's breathing improves on its own. Call us at (650) 362-7969 and come in immediately during our open hours.
A seizure lasting more than two minutes, or multiple seizures in a short period, is a medical emergency. Keep your pet away from furniture and stairs during a seizure, time the episode, and do not put your hand near their mouth. After the seizure ends, contact us immediately. Sudden collapse, an inability to stand, or profound weakness can indicate cardiac events, severe low blood sugar, neurological conditions, internal bleeding, or toxin ingestion. All of these require urgent veterinary evaluation. Our team will begin assessment and stabilization on your pet's arrival.
If your pet has been hit by a vehicle, fallen from height, suffered a serious bite wound from another animal, or experienced any significant physical trauma, treat it as an emergency even if your pet appears to be walking and functioning normally. Internal injuries, hemorrhage, and shock may not be externally visible in the first minutes after an event. Call us at (650) 362-7969 on the way and we will prepare for your arrival. We perform rapid triage, pain management, stabilization, and on-site diagnostics for trauma cases as a priority during our business hours.
Toxin ingestion is one of the most time-critical emergencies in veterinary care, and the Palo Alto and Bay Area environment presents a specific set of hazards that every pet owner should be aware of. If you believe your pet has ingested any potentially toxic substance, call us immediately at (650) 362-7969. Do not wait for symptoms to develop. Early intervention is far more effective than waiting until your pet is showing clinical signs. Substances that require urgent veterinary evaluation include dark chocolate (particularly baker's chocolate and high-percentage cocoa products), grapes and raisins (which can cause acute kidney failure in dogs even in small amounts), xylitol (an artificial sweetener found in sugar-free gum, peanut butter, certain baked goods, and oral care products), onions and garlic in any form, rodenticide (rat and mouse bait, which is designed to be palatable to animals), certain mushrooms (wild mushrooms are common in Bay Area parks and surrounding hills and include several highly toxic species), ibuprofen and acetaminophen (human NSAIDs and pain relievers are among the most common accidental pet toxins), cannabis ingestion (increasingly common in the Bay Area), and antifreeze (ethylene glycol), which has a sweet taste and is rapidly fatal if not treated within hours of ingestion.
Severe allergic reactions in dogs and cats can cause facial swelling, hives, vomiting, difficulty breathing, and cardiovascular collapse. If your pet has been stung by an insect and is showing facial swelling, vomiting, or systemic signs within minutes of the sting, come in immediately. Rattlesnake envenomation is also a concern for dogs spending time in the hills and open space preserves surrounding Palo Alto, including Arastradero Preserve and Foothills Park. Signs of snakebite include rapid swelling at the bite site (often the face or leg), pain, drooling, weakness, and difficulty breathing. Call us at (650) 362-7969 on the way.
A urinary blockage, particularly in male cats, is among the most time-critical medical emergencies we see. A blocked cat can deteriorate rapidly, with kidney failure and cardiac complications developing within hours of complete obstruction. Signs include repeated trips to the litter box with little or no urine produced, straining or crying while attempting to urinate, a distended lower abdomen, vomiting, and lethargy. Dogs can also develop urinary emergencies, including complete blockage from urinary stones. If your pet has not produced urine in 12 hours or is showing these signs, contact us immediately during our business hours.
Occasional vomiting or soft stools may not require urgent care, but certain presentations do. Come in promptly if your dog or cat is vomiting repeatedly and cannot keep water down, if vomit or stool contains fresh blood or dark, tarry material, if your pet is vomiting and also has a visibly distended or hard abdomen (which may indicate GDV/bloat in dogs), if diarrhea is profuse and your pet is showing signs of weakness or dehydration, or if a puppy or kitten is vomiting and has not been fully vaccinated (which raises the concern for parvovirus). Pets who are lethargic alongside GI signs, or who are a very young, very old, or already medically fragile, should always be seen promptly regardless of whether the GI signs alone seem severe.
Facing a pet emergency during our business hours? Call (650) 362-7969 immediately or walk in directly to Universal Pet Hospital in Palo Alto. We are open Monday, Wednesday to Friday 8 AM to 7 PM and Saturday to Sunday 9 AM to 5:30 PM. For emergencies after hours, please contact a local 24-hour emergency veterinary facility without delay.
