Urgent Pet Care West

06/18/2026

Talk about a stick for the record books!

Ruby presented to Urgent Pet Care over the weekend recently due to vomiting and lethargy. An examination and x-rays revealed the presence of a potential foreign body in Ruby's GI tract. Dr. Holbrook and Ruby's family talked over options and agreed that surgical intervention would be the best option to prevent a poor outcome. Ruby was swiftly taken into surgery. With the help of the x-rays taken earlier that day, Dr. Holbrook made a small incision located toward the end of one side of the foreign body. She then gently began to remove what appeared to be a stick from Ruby's GI tract. What none of us were expecting? The stick just kept going! It turned out to be one of the longest sticks UPC staff has ever removed from a dog during a foreign body surgery.

What's remarkable about Ruby's case is that this stick luckily was blunt on the ends. Ruby's situation was an emergency, but because the stick did not have extremely sharp ends, she was able to avoid the risk of a bowel perforation.

Ruby recovered beautifully and was discharged to go home with pain relief, antibiotics, sucralfate to calm esophageal and GI tract irritation, and the dreaded cone of shame to keep her from irritating the incision site.

Once the stick was fully removed and Ruby was recovering well from surgery, our team measured the stick so we could put that detail into Ruby's medical record. Any guesses on how long this stick was?

Because dogs (puppies especially!) can decide to eat some strange things, we always recommend that pet parents keep a close eye on what their pets play with while they're outdoors. Keeping your yard as stick-free as possible can help prevent emergencies.

06/16/2026

All of us at UPC are so happy that Capone is doing better! Thank you to her family for providing us an update.

"Back in November my son brought his kitten in with seizures, your amazing team monitored and tested her for a few days and suggested it may be liver shunts. You were 100% correct, it’s a very big thank you heading your way. It took him til the end of March to have another outstanding vet in Salt Lake City be able to perform the shunt surgery. It took lil Miss Capone a bit of time to gain enough weight for the procedure. Jimmy and I want to again send our deepest most sincere thanks to everyone that helped us that initial evening, and the team that worked on her during her stay with you. Capone is now just under 6lbs and living life to the fullest."

06/11/2026

Before going on that summer vacation, make sure you have a plan in place for your best friend!

Urgent Pet Care’s Consent to Treatment Form helps ensure your pet receives timely, compassionate care if they experience a medical emergency while you’re unavailable. By completing this form, you can authorize our veterinary team to provide the best possible treatment for your pet, working closely with your designated agent and within any cost limits you specify.

We recommend the following steps to make sure that this form is valid before you leave your pets with any boarding facility or pet sitter:

1. Fill out and sign the form. Also include information about medications and health concerns for each pet on another sheet of paper.

2. Provide a copy of the form and health information to your designated Acting Agent (the person/facility caring for your pets in your absence).

3. Arrange a valid payment method with your Acting Agent. If you leave your card number with them, ensure they also have a billing name, address, zip code, 3 digit code, and expiration date.

4. Keep a copy for your own records.

This form can also be used by Acting Agents if you are unwell or hospitalized and cannot make decisions for your pet! With this form, we aim to provide you with peace of mind, knowing that your pet sitter has a plan if an emergency arises during your absence.

06/10/2026

I had to bring my dog in for what turned our to be Pyometra. All of the staff were kind, knowledgeable, and helpful. Because I had been hoping to breed her one more time, they told me I could contact my reproductive vet and sent me home with antibiotics and caution of things to look out for and also advice that it is something that could come back. The next day was a holiday, so both my family vet and the reproductive vet were closed and the more I thought about it the more I realized I did not want to risk my dog going through this again. So I took her back to Papillion urgent pet care and decided to have them spay her to protect her. They contacted me a couple times before she had the surgery to let me know how she was doing and when she was getting ready to go back for surgery, then again after a couple times let me know how she was doing and when I could go get her. They also sent me a text a couple days later to follow up and see how she was doing because they truly care about pets. If you're in an emergency or urgent situation with your pet I 100% recommend Papillion urgent pet care.

05/26/2026

Thank you so much for leaving us this review for our Papillion clinic, Marjean--Clyde is such a beautiful boy! 🩷

"Dr. Starks is brilliant and her staff are all amazing! They treat your pet like you would treat them. They saved my baby Clyde!"

05/22/2026

Please help us wish all of the Veterinary Assistants at UPC a wonderful Veterinary Assistants Week!

Veterinary Assistants are vital to our operations at Urgent Pet Care. They are the main point of contact between clients and DVMs. Some of their primary responsibilities involve discussing symptoms with clients, relaying this information to doctors, and reviewing medication and discharge instructions with clients before a pet is sent home. Assistants also play an essential part in triaging patients--they are often handling and helping care for patients who are in some cases extremely unwell. Our assistants even help ensure that clinic areas like kennels and exam rooms are clean!

Their hard work can make all the difference in providing exceptional care to pets. Thank you to every single one of our assistants for your dedication to the patients you care for!

05/19/2026

We're here for you on holidays! Our Papillion and Millard clinics will be open on Memorial Day from 8am to 10pm for emergencies that cannot wait.

05/14/2026

Alissa left this wonderful review for both of our clinics recently. Thanks, Alissa!

"We unfortunately had to utilize the emergency vet this past weekend, I have 2 doodles that decided to treat themselves to a bag of raw, bone-in chicken wings (meat & bag)

We started at Urgent Pet Care West (144th St). The front desk gals were phenomenal!

Dr. Sokol, was absolutely wonderful. She was very detailed and sympathetic as I was a hot mess and extremely upset. Answered all my questions to the best of my abilities and didn't push me towards anything I wasnt comfortable with.

Unfortunately one of the boys needed an endoscopy and they don't do that at West. They contacted the Papillion office got everything set up for us once they were done and we were on our way.

The front desk people at Papillion were great too, knew exactly who we were and got us in a room right upon arriving!

Dr. Starks got the bone that was still stuck in my boys stomach and we were on our way.

Everyone we talked with was great!

In the unfortunate event we ever have to utilize an emergency vet I will without a doubt bring my boys here!"

05/06/2026

05/05/2026

Thank you very much, Pam, for the review!

"Above and beyond! Brilliant and well versed in cats! Kings and considerate! Caring and understanding! From the brilliant front desk lady who knew my needs for insurance and the front desk staff who took us in to the techs, staff and Doctors, we were impressed. It takes a good team for a furry child to heal as fast as Elvis did. Elvis thrives on attention and tho they were busy with others, they always acknowledged him and gave him head rubs. I know this because he came home calm and happy! With the consistent up to date communications we were always comfortable with him there and able to visit each day except the last one. Thank you all at UPC for your diligence and love of our Elvis and sending him home healed!

With a child you have loved since birth and they suddenly quit eating and walking, you want the best and I knew that my local vet was closing and had no one overnight; hence, we called UPC Omaha and they got us in less than 2 hours. They took our Elvis back and returned with a diagnoses and plan. It was less than 30 minutes and he was very sick with a UTI and enlarged bladder. He is now home climbing up and down the cat climb and eating and cuddling again!

Elvis is 11-12 and will live at least 10-15 more years thanks to UPG!"