If you need emergency care for your dog, ACCES is top notch

(I posted this in 2014. Since then ACCESS changed its name to Blue Pearl Pet Hospital)

I’ve never worked at a critical care veterinary hospital, but I imagine that it can take a toll on your psyche. Virtually no one brings their pet in unless it has a life threatening illness or suffered severe trauma, so the staff sees a unending number pets in varying degrees of pain and suffering.

On top of that, they have to deal with the pets’ owners who are on an emotional roller coaster because of their pet’s condition and can be reduced to a blubbering mixture of tears and choking sobs with the first hint of bad news.

Unfortunately, I’m now one of those pet owners.

Our dog Dylan, an almost 13-year-old Chocolate Labrador Retriever, spent 7 of the last 11 days at ACCES (now BluePearl Pet Hospital) due to his third bout of aspiration pneumonia in the last year.

Our regular vets at the Queen Anne Animal Hospital were able to successfully treat him the first 2 times he had it, but this time the bacteria in his lungs had developed an immunity to the antibiotic we gave him so he got sicker before we realized it wasn’t working.

That’s when we took Dylan to the ACESS hospital on Lake City Way in Seattle.

From the moment we walked through the door, the staff there were friendly, sympathetic, efficient, professional, and accommodating. You would have never known if it was the beginning or end of their shift, or how many frantic pet owners they had already seen that day.

They also encourage you to call or visit to check on your pet whenever you like. Dylan was connected to all types of contraptions, so it was a bit of a pain to unhook him and bring him to see us, but I never saw one frown or rolling eyes of the staff that helped us.

When we did visit, we were put in a private room where we could stay with Dylan as long as we wanted. Before he came in the room someone would put down a thick layer of blankets on the cold floor for him. If we wanted to speak with a vet, one came to the room.

None of our interactions were ever rushed. All our questions were answered.

While your pet is at ACCES, you can expect the following:

• A veterinarian will assess your pet, recommend treatment and get your sign off on it.
• Someone will tell you the maximum and minimum amount you can expect to pay based on the recommended treatment (they charge your credit card for the minimum amount).

They will call to let you know when you’re approaching the maximum estimate for your pet’s expenses.

You can call about your pet’s status as often as you want.

You can visit your pet whenever you want, for as long as you want (as long as it doesn’t interfere with its treatment).

You can speak direct to a veterinarian when you call. If one isn’t available they will call you back.

When they discharge your pet, you get an extremely detailed list of home care instructions that a vet tech explains to you.

They encourage you to call them if you have any questions after your pet is home.

Everywhere you turn, you’ll find a box of tissues to use if you start to lose it when you get bad news about your pet (I went through a few of them myself).

They will not spend more than the maximum estimate for your bill without your permission.

I do have one complaint about ACCES – their tissues were kind of rough. Environmentally friendly, but kind of rough.

In addition to its hospital in north Seattle, ACCES has one in Renton. Both are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

On our way home with Dylan today, my wife said the ACCES “is staffed by angels.”

I agree.

I hope your pet never has a medical emergency, but if it does, I highly recommend taking it to ACCES.