Transporting an Injured Pet to a Veterinary Hospital

Elke Rudloff, DVM, DACVECC, clinical specialist and residency trauma supervisor at Lakeshore Veterinary Specialists, explains how to transport animals safely from the scene of an accident to a veterinary hospital.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“The best way to transport an animal from the scene of an accident [to a] veterinary hospital is, first, identify whether the [animal] can walk on their own or not, and if they can’t walk on their own, if it’s a dog, [you’ll] want to put them on some sort of flat surface, to try to protect their spine; [you can] use a doubled-over cardboard, slide the dog on it, and then move that dog into the car.

If it’s a cat that isn’t moving, ideally you’d put them in a box [or] a carrier if you have one, because cats can become very anxious in a car and you want them in an enclosed space so that they don’t hurt themselves or the people that are transporting them. In very desperate situations, if you have a pillow case that you [can use to] cover them up [and] scoop them up [with], or a blanket to scoop them up into, that might be the safest way to move them to [a] veterinary hospital.

Once they get to the veterinary hospital, [you] should ask if there is a gurney that the personnel can come out with and transport the pet [inside, so that you can] maintain [the animal] on a flat surface.”