We're Not an Emergency Hospital — Here's How to Plan for After-Hours Anyway

Let's start with the part most veterinary websites bury: Skyway is not an emergency hospital. We close at 6:00 PM on weekdays and noon on Saturday, and we're closed Sunday. Our phones aren't staffed overnight. If your dog goes down at 2:00 AM, calling us will not help — and we'd rather you learn that here than from a ringing phone nobody answers.

That's a choice, not a gap. A practice that tries to be everything ends up worse at all of it. We chose to be a full-service day practice for dogs and cats — the place that knows your pet's history and catches the slow problems early. The hospitals that do emergency medicine well staff it overnight on purpose, with critical-care equipment we don't keep. We'd rather send you somewhere excellent than keep you somewhere adequate.

We've been here since 1961, and 63 years of telling St. Petersburg families the truth is part of why they stay. So here's the truth that matters tonight: the worst time to figure out your emergency plan is during the emergency.

Why We Chose to Be a Day Practice

Emergency medicine is its own discipline, not a regular clinic with the lights left on. Different equipment, different drug inventory, and a staff whose whole skill set is built around the first sixty minutes of a crisis. Doing it halfway is dangerous.

What we're built for is the rest of your pet's life. The exam where we notice the weight is down a tenth of a pound from last year. The lump that turned out to be nothing, and the one that didn't. The fourteen-year-old cat we've known since she was eight weeks old. That depends on continuity — same team, same chart, same eyes over years — which is exactly what a practice can't offer while also running a night shift.

So we know our lane, and we know the people who own the other one.

What Counts as an Emergency That Can't Wait Until Morning

If you see any of the following, do not wait for us to open. Go now.

• Difficulty breathing. Open-mouth breathing in a cat, gasping, choking, gums that look blue or gray, or a pet stretching its neck out to get air. This is the most time-sensitive thing on this list.
• A swollen, hard belly with unproductive retching, especially in a large or deep-chested dog. This can be bloat (GDV), and it kills fast.
• Straining in the litter box, especially a male cat. A cat crying in the box, going in and out, or producing nothing may have a urinary blockage. This becomes life-threatening in hours, not days.
• Seizures — a first-time seizure, one lasting more than a couple of minutes, or repeated seizures.
• Bleeding you can't stop with a few minutes of steady pressure.
• Hit by a car, a fall, or any major trauma — even if your pet gets up and seems fine. Internal injuries hide.
• Suspected toxin. Cane toads, rat bait, antifreeze, human medication, a chewed-up edible, lilies for cats. Don't wait for symptoms.
• Collapse, sudden weakness, or unresponsiveness.
• Straining to give birth without producing a puppy or kitten.
• A painful eye — squinting, held shut, cloudy, or clearly injured.

That list isn't exhaustive, and it isn't a diagnosis. Here's the rule that covers what it misses: if you're reading this at 11:00 PM because something feels wrong, that instinct counts as information. Call the emergency line. Nobody there will be annoyed you asked — sorting the scary-but-fine from the truly urgent is their job, and it's why the line exists.

What Can Usually Wait for a Same-Day Appointment

Some things are alarming and still not a midnight problem. A single episode of vomiting in a bright, comfortable dog who's drinking normally. A mild limp with weight still on the leg. An itchy ear. A small cut that's stopped bleeding. One skipped meal in a pet otherwise acting normally.

But "usually" is doing real work there. These wait only if your pet is stable, alert, comfortable, and not getting worse. If anything trends the wrong way, or your gut says something is off, treat it as the first list and call VEG. A second opinion at midnight costs far less than a delay.

Who to Call After Hours, and What to Expect

Put these two numbers in your contacts tonight, where you can find them one-handed in the dark.

• VEG St. Petersburg — (727) 342-4334. Where we send our clients for after-hours and overnight emergencies. They're open 24/7, including the Sundays and holidays we're not. Call on the way rather than just showing up — telling them what's coming lets them get ready before you're through the door.
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control — (888) 426-4435. For anything your pet ate, licked, or got on their skin. Available around the clock, and they'll tell you whether it's wait-and-watch or go-now, plus what the treating vet needs to know. There is a consultation fee.

Expect to be triaged, not queued. Emergency hospitals see the sickest patient first, so a stable pet may wait while a crashing one goes back. That's a good sign about the hospital, even when it's hard to sit through. Bring medications or photos of the labels, and be ready to describe what changed and when. Costs vary, so it's worth knowing in advance how you'd handle an unplanned bill.

Your After-Hours Plan, Before You Need It

Ten minutes, once. Do it tonight.

• Save VEG St. Petersburg — (727) 342-4334 — in your phone right now, under a name you'd actually search for.
• Save ASPCA Poison Control — (888) 426-4435. With toxins, the clock matters.
• Save Skyway — (727) 327-5141 — for everything during business hours.
• Look up the route before you need it. GPS at 3:00 AM with a panicking dog in the back seat is not the moment to learn the turns.
• Know your pet's baseline. Normal gum color, breathing at rest, appetite, energy. You can only spot "wrong" if you know "right."
• Keep records reachable. A phone photo of the vaccine record, medications, and any chronic diagnoses beats remembering under stress.
• Have the carrier accessible, not buried in the garage. For dogs, know where the leash and a towel are.
• Decide who else can authorize care if you're away, and make sure your pet sitter has all of this too.
• Plan for cost. Insurance, a savings buffer, or a care-financing option — pick one before you need it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do if my pet has an emergency while Skyway is closed?

Call VEG St. Petersburg at (727) 342-4334. They provide 24/7 emergency care, and they're who we refer our own clients to for overnight, Sunday, and holiday emergencies. Calling on the way lets their team prepare before you arrive. For a possible poisoning, ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 can guide you around the clock. Don't wait for us to open the next morning — with a true emergency, the delay is the risk.

Can I call Skyway first to find out whether it's a real emergency?

During our hours — Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Saturday 8:00 AM to noon — absolutely. Call us at (727) 327-5141 and we'll help you sort it out and get your pet seen. Outside those hours our phones aren't staffed, so there's no one to reach. That's what the emergency line is for: VEG triages by phone at any hour. If you're unsure, err toward calling them.

Will Skyway know what happened at the emergency hospital?

Yes, and this is the part we're built for. Emergency hospitals send records back, but the handoff goes smoother when you tell us directly. Call us the morning after and we'll request the file, review what was done, and get you in for follow-up. Emergency medicine stabilizes the crisis; the weeks afterward are where continuity matters.

Two more worth reading while nothing is wrong: our guide to the emergency signs worth knowing, and how to medicate your pet safely — which matters more than people expect when you're following discharge instructions at home. And if it's a weekday and something's been nagging at you, the limp that hasn't resolved or the appetite that's off, call us at (727) 327-5141. The best way to have fewer emergencies is to catch them while they're small.

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Written by the Skyway Animal Hospital team. Skyway has served Pinellas County pet families since 1961.