New Emergency Care Plan Now Available for Westerville Pet Parents

Westerville Veterinary Clinic has launched a new Emergency Care Plan designed to make unexpected veterinary care easier to access and, for pet parents who choose enhanced protection, dramatically less financially overwhelming.

Pet emergencies rarely come with warning. A dog swallows a sock. A cat suddenly can’t urinate. A pet begins vomiting late at night or suffers an unexpected injury. In addition to worrying about their pet, families can suddenly be faced with hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unexpected veterinary expenses.

The Emergency Care Plan offers two different levels of help: immediate access to emergency care without an emergency exam fee, or enhanced financial protection against the much larger costs of a serious emergency.

Enrollment is entirely online, takes just a few minutes, and does not require an office visit or physical exam.

This guide explains the two levels of emergency coverage, how they work, why late summer is a great time to enroll, and why planning ahead matters.

What Is the New Emergency Care Plan?

The Emergency Care Plan is a monthly membership designed specifically for unexpected veterinary care. Pet parents can choose between two levels of protection depending on their needs.

Emergency Access Plan — $15/month — No Waiting Period

The Emergency Access Plan eliminates Westerville Veterinary Clinic’s emergency and urgent care exam fees for enrolled pets.

There is no waiting period for Emergency Access benefits. Enrollment simply needs to be completed before arriving at the clinic.

That means even if your pet suddenly becomes sick or injured and you aren’t already a member, you can enroll online before leaving home or on your way to Westerville Veterinary Clinic and receive the Access Plan benefit for that visit.

You cannot enroll after arriving at the clinic or while your pet is already being examined and apply the plan retroactively to that visit.

Emergency Protection Upgrade — Additional $35/month — 30-Day Waiting Period

For pet parents who want protection against the much larger expenses that can accompany a serious emergency, the Emergency Protection Upgrade provides substantially greater benefits during an eligible emergency visit:

• 100% coverage of eligible emergency procedures and hospitalization
• 20% savings on eligible diagnostics and medications
• Up to $10,000 in benefits per year

Unlike the Access Plan, the Emergency Protection Upgrade has a 30-day waiting period.

That’s an important distinction:

Emergency Access can help today. Emergency Protection is something you put in place before you need it.

Westerville Veterinary Clinic is open seven days a week from 8:00 AM–1:00 AM for emergency care, with a team that routinely treats urgent and serious medical and surgical cases.

Why Enroll Now, Before You Need It

Late summer and early fall bring a change in routines, but they don’t bring an end to pet emergencies.

Back-to-school schedules mean pets may spend more time unsupervised. Football season and fall gatherings bring food and guests into the home. Cooler weather means more time outdoors, while Halloween and the holiday season—and all the things curious pets can get into—aren’t far behind.

The Emergency Care Plan offers two ways to prepare.

The Emergency Access Plan has no waiting period. If your pet unexpectedly needs urgent or emergency care today, you can enroll online before arriving at Westerville Veterinary Clinic and have the emergency or urgent care exam fee waived. Enrollment must be completed before arrival and cannot be added during the examination for that visit.

The Emergency Protection Upgrade is different. Its enhanced financial benefits begin after a 30-day waiting period. Enrolling while your pet is healthy means that protection is already in place when an unexpected emergency happens later.

Consider a common emergency:

Sadie, a Golden Retriever, Eats a Sock

At first, Sadie seems fine. Then she begins vomiting and stops eating. Her family brings her to Westerville Veterinary Clinic, where diagnostic testing shows that the sock is lodged in her intestine and needs to be surgically removed.

Between diagnostics, emergency surgery, medications and hospitalization, Sadie’s total bill is approximately $7,500.

Without the Emergency Protection Plan: approximately $7,500

With the Emergency Protection Plan: generally under $2,000

The exact amount will vary depending on the diagnostics, medications, procedures and hospitalization required for an individual pet. But this is exactly the type of unexpected emergency the plan was created for.

You don’t enroll because you expect Sadie to eat a sock next month.

You enroll because you don’t know if she will.

Enrollment was designed to be simple:

1. Scan the QR code available at the clinic or visit the enrollment page online.
2. Enter your pet’s basic information.
3. Choose your Emergency Care Plan and complete enrollment.

There is no appointment or physical examination required to enroll, and the entire process can be completed from a phone or computer in just a few minutes.

For the Emergency Access Plan, there is no waiting period. Enrollment must simply be completed before arriving at Westerville Veterinary Clinic for the emergency or urgent care visit.

For the Emergency Protection Upgrade, enhanced benefits begin after a 30-day waiting period.

What Happens When Your Pet Has an Emergency

When an enrolled pet develops an urgent problem, owners can book online, call Westerville Veterinary Clinic directly, or come to the clinic for emergency care.

For Emergency Access Plan members, the emergency or urgent care examination fee is waived.

And because Access has no waiting period, a pet owner who has not previously enrolled can still sign up online before arriving at the clinic and receive the Access benefit for that visit.

For pets whose Emergency Protection Upgrade has been active for at least 30 days, the plan goes much further. Eligible emergency procedures and hospitalization are covered at 100%, while eligible diagnostics and medications receive a 20% discount, subject to the plan’s $10,000 annual benefit limit.

That can make an enormous difference when an unexpected visit turns into surgery or hospitalization.

The medical team can also collaborate with a pet’s regular daytime veterinarian whenever appropriate, helping maintain continuity of care after the immediate emergency has been addressed.

Who Should Consider an Emergency Care Plan

The Emergency Care Plan can make sense for almost any pet because emergencies are, by definition, unpredictable. It may be particularly valuable for:

• Owners of young, curious pets prone to eating things they shouldn’t
• Households with senior pets who may be more likely to need urgent medical attention
• Multi-pet households, where the likelihood of an unexpected veterinary visit increases
• Pet owners who want access to emergency care without worrying about an emergency exam fee
• Families who have experienced a large unexpected veterinary bill before and want greater financial protection in the future

Pet owners who are already enrolled in a wellness plan can also add emergency coverage. The two plans serve very different purposes: wellness plans help with predictable preventive care, while the Emergency Care Plan is designed for the things nobody planned to happen.

Emergency Plan vs. Wellness Plan — What’s the Difference

A wellness plan is designed primarily for the veterinary care you can anticipate: annual examinations, vaccines, parasite screening, routine bloodwork and other preventive care.

The Emergency Care Plan is designed for the care you can’t anticipate: sudden illness, injury, emergency surgery and hospitalization.

For families who want both predictable preventive care and protection from unexpected emergencies, the plans can complement one another.

Enroll Today

Pet emergencies rarely provide advance warning.

Fortunately, preparing for one doesn’t require an appointment.

Westerville pet owners can scan the QR code displayed at the clinic or visit the online enrollment page to enroll their pet in just a few minutes.

There is no office visit and no physical exam required to enroll.

Need emergency care today? The $15/month Emergency Access Plan has no waiting period as long as enrollment is completed before arriving at the clinic.

Want protection from the potentially thousands of dollars associated with a serious emergency? The Emergency Protection Upgrade has a 30-day waiting period, so enroll before you need it.

Emergency Access can start today. Emergency Protection starts with planning ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Do I need to bring my pet in to sign up for the Emergency Care Plan?
No. Enrollment can be completed entirely online. No office visit or physical examination is required.

What does the Emergency Access Plan include?
For $15 per month, enrolled pets have their emergency and urgent care examination fees waived at Westerville Veterinary Clinic.

Is there a waiting period for the Emergency Access Plan?
No. The Emergency Access Plan has no waiting period. You can enroll even if your pet needs emergency care that day, as long as enrollment is completed before you arrive at Westerville Veterinary Clinic.
Enrollment cannot be completed after arrival or during the examination and then applied to that visit.

What does the Emergency Protection Upgrade include?
For an additional $35 per month, the Emergency Protection Upgrade provides 100% coverage of eligible emergency procedures and hospitalization and 20% savings on eligible diagnostics and medications, up to $10,000 in annual benefits.

Is there a waiting period for Emergency Protection?
Yes. The Emergency Protection Upgrade has a 30-day waiting period before enhanced benefits become available. This is why pet owners should enroll before an emergency occurs rather than waiting until their pet becomes sick or injured.

Why choose Westerville Veterinary Clinic for my pet’s emergency care?
Westerville Veterinary Clinic is open seven days a week from 8:00 AM–1:00 AM and routinely manages urgent illnesses, injuries, surgical emergencies and hospitalized patients.

How long does enrollment take?
Most pet owners can complete enrollment online in just a few minutes by entering basic information about their pet and selecting a plan.

Can I have both a wellness plan and an Emergency Care Plan?
Yes. Wellness plans are designed primarily for routine and preventive veterinary care. The Emergency Care Plan is specifically designed for unexpected urgent and emergency care.

What counts as a pet emergency?
Emergencies can include sudden vomiting or diarrhea, significant injuries, difficulty breathing, toxin exposure, swallowing a foreign object, heatstroke and many other unexpected illnesses or injuries. If you’re unsure whether your pet needs emergency care, call Westerville Veterinary Clinic for guidance.

Is the Emergency Care Plan only for dogs and cats?
Yes. The Emergency Care Plan is available for dogs and cats, with no age restriction.

What if my pet has never had an emergency before? That’s actually an ideal time to consider the Emergency Protection Upgrade. Protection is designed to be in place before something happens. Because enhanced Protection benefits have a 30-day waiting period, waiting until an emergency occurs is too late to obtain Protection benefits for that event.

The Emergency Access Plan is different: there is no waiting period, provided enrollment is completed before arriving at the clinic.

Is Westerville Veterinary Clinic experienced in handling serious emergencies?
Yes. The Westerville Veterinary Clinic team routinely manages serious illnesses, injuries, surgical emergencies and hospitalized patients. Our extended hours allow us to provide emergency care seven days a week, including late into the evening.

Emergency Care Plan benefits are subject to plan terms, limitations and exclusions. Emergency Access enrollment must be completed before arrival at Westerville Veterinary Clinic to apply to that visit. Emergency Protection benefits are subject to a 30-day waiting period. The Sadie example is illustrative of a representative emergency and is not a guarantee of costs or benefits for any individual case. Actual veterinary charges and member responsibility vary based on the care required.

Why Choose West Vets Emergency Veterinary Clinic for Your Pet’s Dental Emergencies?

At West Vets Emergency Veterinary Clinic, we understand the urgency of dental emergencies. Our clinic is equipped with advanced diagnostic tools, and we have experienced veterinary professionals ready to provide the best care for your pet.

Our Capabilities Include:

• Expert Staff: Our veterinarians are trained in the latest dental care techniques. They have extensive experience managing complex dental emergencies, ensuring your pet receives the best possible care.
• Advanced Diagnostics and Treatment Options: We offer comprehensive services tailored to dental emergencies. Our facilities include state-of-the-art equipment for precise diagnosis and effective treatment planning.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please Contact Us Today.