Emergency
When your vet is closed, go here
Most Czech clinics close by 6pm on weekdays and are closed weekends. Emergency cases route to one of a small number of 24-hour animal hospitals. Call ahead if you can. They will still take you if you cannot, but a short call lets them ready the intake team.
Go directly to emergency if you see
- Suspected poisoning, especially chocolate, xylitol, rat bait, antifreeze, human medication.
- Bloated abdomen with unproductive retching (GDV in dogs is a surgical emergency).
- Uncontrolled bleeding, or a wound exposing tissue.
- Difficulty breathing, blue or pale gums.
- Seizure lasting more than two minutes, or a cluster of seizures.
- Collapse, unresponsiveness, weak or absent pulse.
- Straining to urinate without producing urine (blocked cat is a same-day emergency).
- Trauma from a fall, road accident, or dog fight.
Prague hubs
VetPoint 24 (Praha 4), Veterinarni klinika Jaggy (Praha 5), and Anicura chains cover most of the city 24/7. Call before you leave home unless minutes matter.
Brno hubs
The University of Veterinary Sciences (VETUNI) runs one of the country's best referral centres, and Vetos and Anicura clinics cover most out-of-hours cases.
Useful Czech phrases
- Muj pes zvraci a je apaticky. — My dog is vomiting and lethargic.
- Zla otrava, muze byt. — Possibly serious poisoning.
- Zranili se pri autonehode. — Injured in a car accident.
- Prijedu do 15 minut. — I will arrive in 15 minutes.