A Veterinarian’s Guide To True Pet Emergencies And Peaceful Planning

What Qualifies As A True Pet Emergency?

If your dog started breathing hard tonight, would you know what to do? We sit down with Dr. Mike LoSasso, Chief of Staff at Frisco Emergency Pet Care, to map the line between worry and true emergency—and why minutes matter more than most owners realize. From heat stroke and prolonged seizures to dangerous ingestions, Mike explains the red flags that demand immediate action and the common scenarios where early care prevents crisis.

We go deep on bloat, the life-threatening twist of the stomach that hits deep-chested breeds hard. You’ll learn how to spot non-productive retching, a tight swollen abdomen, sudden restlessness after meals, and why this isn’t “just gas.” Mike breaks down breed risk—from standard poodles and German Shepherds to smaller deep-chested dogs—and shares plainspoken guidance on what happens in the ER when bloat is suspected. The theme is clarity: know the signs, move fast, and buy your pet the best chance.

Not all emergencies look dramatic. We highlight splenic masses that hide for months and then rupture without warning, leaving owners to make urgent, high-stakes choices about surgery, transfusions, or humane euthanasia. Mike offers compassionate, practical advice on preparing for the hardest goodbye while your pet is still comfortable: choosing location, deciding who should be present, and understanding aftercare. Thoughtful planning turns a frantic midnight crisis into a peaceful, loving moment when time finally comes.

To help you navigate ER visits smoothly, we share simple steps that cut delays and costs: send the person who knows the pet’s habits and meds, bring access to recent lab results or a patient portal, and make sure the team can reach the owner. Preparation is power in emergency medicine. If this conversation helped you feel more ready to protect your pet, follow the show, share it with a fellow pet parent, and leave a quick review so more people can find it.

To learn more about Frisco Emergency Pet Care visit:
https://www.FriscoEmergencyPetCare.com
Frisco Emergency Pet Care 
11201 Preston Road 
Frisco, Texas 75033 
469-287-6767 

Transcript

Welcome And Purpose

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome to the Frisco Emergency Pet Care Podcast, your trusted source for expert insight into emergency veterinary medicine. Hosted by Dr. Mike Lasasso, Chief of Staff at Frisco Emergency Pet Care, this podcast brings you essential information to help protect the health and safety of your dogs and cats. Serving North Dallas with 24-7 emergency and critical care, the team at Frisco Emergency Pet Care is here when every second counts. Now, let's begin.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Welcome everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer in the studio with Dr. Mike Lasasso, Chief of Staff at Frisco Emergency Pet Care. Dr. Lasasso, it's great for you to join us. We appreciate you.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Oh, I'm happy to be here. Thanks, Julie.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

So let's jump right

What Counts As A Real Emergency

SPEAKER_00 1:06

in. And we know it's a broad question, but would love to hear your feedback on this. What qualifies as a true pet emergency?

SPEAKER_02 1:13

Well, sure, because at FEPC, just like at other emergency hospitals, we see not only true emergencies, but we see anything that needs care after hours. But pet owners need to know there is a small set of conditions that we really need to see, including um difficulty breathing. We occasionally see we'll see the sudden collapse, especially with heat stroke. I know it's strange to be talking about that in January, but somebody may be listening to this in April, you know, and down here in Texas, um, I've seen heat stroke as early as April 1st. Doesn't take much, especially in the brachycephalic dogs, the little smash-face dogs. Um, you know, seizures that last for more than 30 seconds. I mean, for for most people, seizures are going to be an emergency every time. That's not necessarily the case, but we should see them if you haven't seen them before. Um, the other thing that we like to see right away is if they've ingested anything that's not appropriate, whether that's a sock or a corn cob or medications of some kind, because if we can get those out of the body, then tends to go better long term.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

And you mentioned, you know, a lot of life-threatening issues that could be happening. What are some of the most common red flags that owners should never ignore if something's off with their pet?

Red Flags You Shouldn’t Ignore

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Well, you know, the the big one that we see, I think, that the people wait too long on is congestive heart failure. Is older small dogs that have been coughing or their respiratory rate is elevated and it's elevated typically for some time, for a couple of weeks before they say, Oh, today he's really struggling. Um, you know, we obviously need to see those really struggling dogs, but I definitely wouldn't ignore the older poodle that is having an increased respiratory rate and an increased respiratory effort. If you don't see your general practice, then come in because the earlier we start treatment on those, the more successful we can be.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

And you mentioned heat stroke too, which we know is important because, like you said, somebody could be watching this in a warmer time of uh the year or perhaps they're already in a warm climate, unlike I am. You're probably a little bit better where you are. Um, but you know, you mentioned um other conditions like uh, you know, the breathing issues.

Understanding Bloat And At-Risk Breeds

SPEAKER_00 3:38

What about bloat? Um, some of us are not familiar with that. I'd love for you to explain what that is.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

Sure. Well, what what everybody else would call bloat, I would call GDV, which stands for gastric dilatation and volvulus. That's why we call it bloat. Um, so that's where the stomach has essentially turned on its own axis, and that cuts off the egress from the stomach either into the esophagus or into the small intestine, and the bacteria that are in the stomach continue to produce gas. So this stomach gets very, very big very quickly. It's very painful. Um, but that also puts pressure on all of the vessels that are going into the um coming from the abdomen or going to the hind end of the body. Those dogs are not able to vomit, are not able to. What they really need is a good belt, try to get all that gas out, except that the the esophagus has been effectively cut off, kind of like when you um when you close a loaf of bread, you just twist it a couple times and you're not getting that out of there. So this happens mostly in older deep-chested breeds. So deep-chested meaning their their sternum or breastbone is really far away from their from their vertebral column. Uh, my pit bull's really not at risk because she's shaped like a barrel. Um, but dogs like like a Viesla or a German Shepherd, uh, the single most overrepresented dog is actually the male standard poodle. But standard poodles are are built that way. I've even seen GDV indoxins and corgis because even though they're small, they still have that that depth uh in their in their chest, which gives it gives the stomach room to physically flip. If if you're built, like I said, if if you're a a box like like my pity, it's really hard. It's not impossible, but it's really, really hard for that to happen.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

And I have to give a quick barkout to your pit bull because her name is Bubbles. Yes, and that's amazing. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

She's she's the uh the the pretty typical super sweet pit bull. They get such a bad, such a bad rap. I mean, there are occasionally pitties out there that are aggressive, and when they are, it's really scary. Um, but most of them are super sweet dogs, and so we thought we'd give her a super aggressive name to go along with her.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Yes, absolutely. Sounds like a big teddy bear to me.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

She's amazing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

That's awesome. Well, thank you to you uh both for adopting her. That's amazing. Um, so are there other hidden emergencies that some of us pet parents might not think

Hidden Emergencies: Splenic Masses

SPEAKER_00 6:15

look dramatic at first, or that you found that a lot of your patients' parents have come in and they didn't realize that something was going on and it happens very often until they have to bring them to emergency?

SPEAKER_02 6:27

Sure. One of one of the things that we see, I think that is the most devastating for pet owners are splenic masses. Um, the challenge with these things is that even though they're present for I would say weeks to months, I think we're generally in the months category. Uh it's been sitting around there, it's kind of a ticking time bomb, but nobody knows it's present. Um, they don't have to be very big, but and they don't cause any clinical signs. They don't show up on blood work, they may or may not show up on radiographs. So some people say, hey, I just had my dog in for for routine blood work and and the annual exam. And those are not necessarily picked up. It's not your, it's not your veterinarian's fault. Now, if we were doing scanning ultrasounds on everybody every time you brought them in, we'd pick them up a lot faster. Nobody does that. We I don't get an ultrasound every time I go in for a physical exam. So so nobody knows they're there. And then one day, if that cracks open because it's not normal tissue, whether that's because they um because they fell or because it was just time and that that mass had gotten big enough that we see a problem that it cracks open and starts to either seep or really bleed. Then we have these older dogs typically labs are it. I mean, it can happen in any breed. Labs, pit bulls, and golden retrievers actually are the two that we see the most malignancy in. Then all of a sudden they're bleeding into their belly, they get really, really weak, they don't want to stand up. People bring them in and say, hey, he's not eating, he doesn't want to stand up, he just seems really weak, and they've got no idea that what we're look what we're looking at is a tough choice because those guys either go to surgery and potentially need a blood transfusion and need all kinds of support, or or we make the tough decision to euthanize. There's not a lot of option there. So that's one of the things that that I think are really catch people by surprise because they go from having what they thought was a really healthy, you know, albeit older, you know, 12-year-old dog that's suddenly now they're making a decision that they thought was a couple years away.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Yeah, that is really tough. I mean, you have a very tough position for what you encounter all the time. It's um very difficult.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

Yeah, it is. Unfortunately, we see um a lot of euthanasia in in our position in emergency work. Um, I would say 10 to 15 percent

Facing Euthanasia With Preparation

SPEAKER_02 9:02

of what I see uh ends up needing to be euthanasia or brought to us specifically for that reason. And that's the other thing that I would kind of encourage people to think about. And this is why I wrote a book about euthanasia in 2012. Um, it wasn't so much about the process, it was about helping people to understand what it would look like and to kind of start making decisions about where do I want it done? Who needs to be present, what do we want ultimately done as aftercare? If you have those conversations when the dog is still healthy, it tends not to be that emotional a conversation, and you're better prepared when the time comes. So I actually would, if I was still in general practice, I'd encourage people to have a conversation when they're puppies, you know, because you never know, because then you're dealing, like I said, with a healthy, happy, bouncing baby. Uh, you don't, it's not a real emotional time, but they are questions that need to be answered, just like we do our own funeral planning. You know, making the decision about where you want it done, your general practice is more than capable of doing it. We do a really good job of it in our hospital and most emergency clinics too. I have three rooms that are dedicated to that procedure that have oxygen drops so that people can spend good quality time. And we do, like I said, I think we do as good a job as is possible at that procedure. It's one of the most important things I think that a veterinarian actually ever does for you is help you say goodbye. But people also need to know that there are there are at-home practices, and in our area, we've got about four practices who don't do anything other than go to people's house and do that. Sometimes, sometimes the emergency clinic is not the best place. Now, when you've got an emergent situation and you don't have a choice, yes, you've run out of options at two o'clock in the morning, then we're here for you. But if if you know it's coming, sometimes it's a little pre-planning before you get to that, hey, I don't have a choice, we have to go to the emergency room. Sometimes I think people could think that that's true just a little bit better and and plan and make their own, make make the process peaceful, more peaceful for themselves and for their pets.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Yeah, that that's great advice to do it when you have a moment of clarity and like you said, more peace of mind. That's really cool though, that you wrote and published it. It's hard to do. Yeah, that's hard to actually complete a book and publish it.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

Yeah, and that was that was written more than a decade ago, but that came out of frustration and that I would see so many owners coming to me for for euthanasia at midnight or two o'clock in the morning, stressed out, knowing that I was their only option, but this was not a sudden thing. And and with just a little bit of forethought and planning, it could have been so much more peaceful for them. We still did. I I think, I mean, it seems weird to say we did a good job for those because it was very peaceful and it was stress-free for the pet, and we were as as compassionate, made it as peaceful for the owners as we could. But if they had just planned it in advance, it wouldn't have been in an emergency hospital, it could have been with their primary, it could have been at home,

Bring Records And Key Details

SPEAKER_02 12:25

and maybe maybe that would have been better, especially when you're talking about the 180-pound great Dane. Just getting him in the car is such a challenge that having somebody come to the house would have been much better for everybody involved. So that's uh that's why I wrote the book was to try to try to educate people as to how the process actually goes and and to get them thinking about it way ahead of time.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

As somebody who's experienced what you were talking about with you know having to put a dog or cat down and in the last hours and how we would have preferred to do that peacefully and ahead of time and at home, absolutely. But we didn't do that, so I think your book is very important. Um, and I have a last question for you, and I know we talked about this between episodes, and you brought up a great point, and it's kind of a more fun question, but um, but it needs to be asked. You brought up a great point. Make sure that whoever's bringing in the animal to the emergency room has knowledge about the animal's health and habits, and hopefully access to medical records.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

Absolutely. So it it certainly facilitates our job if the person bringing it in is if it's the pet sitter, then we need to be able to get a hold of the owner. If it's the husband, we need to be able to get a hold of the wife, because invariably a wife sends a husband up and says, just take the dog in. He doesn't, in in a lot of cases, know exactly what's going on. He doesn't know what what medications the the dog is on. I certainly fall into that category. I couldn't tell you what bubbles takes or when she takes it. My wife is her doctor, so I I would be in that kind of useless husband um category. Um, but we we do need to know what's going on. And if people have got access to recent blood work, sometimes it means that we don't have to repeat things, which keeps the bill down, or it means that we've got money that we can allocate to treatment or other advanced diagnostics that need to be done. So, you know, we we're not here to do blood work for blood work's sake. But if you're, you know, the frustrating thing for us in in emergency practice, and I think I can speak for most emergency practitioners, is when your general practice sees something during the day and then takes blood and sends it off to the lab, and we don't have any way to get those results. But you just paid hundreds of dollars for all that blood work that was only done six hours ago. So I have um tried, and and sometimes I can get uh passwords to lab accounts so that I can log in and I can see what those results are, so we don't have to repeat those things. But if you've got access to you know a patient portal, like so many practices are going to, that is a fantastic help for us, which means that it's a fantastic help for you.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Well, Dr.

Clinic Info And Closing

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Lasasso, thank you so much for breaking down all of this clearly, giving us a better understanding of the emergency room. We appreciate you.

SPEAKER_02 15:32

Oh, yes, ma'am. Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Thank you for listening to the Frisco Emergency Pet Care Podcast. To learn more, visit FriscoPetER.com. Call 469-287-6767. Or stop by 11201 Preston Road, Frisco, Texas, 75033. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Frisco Emergency Pet Care is always here when your pet needs us most. Until next time, take care of your pets, and they'll take care of you.