Gloucester and the surrounding Middle Peninsula have limited after-hours veterinary coverage. When local options are closed, families cross the Coleman Bridge to CARE, where the team handles serious cases and coordinates with your home veterinarian once the emergency has passed.
Getting here from Gloucester
CARE is on John Tyler Highway at the corner of Route 199 and Route 5, in front of Food Lion and next to Bruster's. From Gloucester Court House and Main Street, the drive is about 30 minutes: Route 17 across the Coleman Bridge over the York River, then on toward Williamsburg. Get directions from Gloucester in Google Maps.
Call (757) 703-0199 before you leave. Our team can tell you whether your pet should come in now and be ready when you walk through the door. Pets with life-threatening emergencies are always seen first.
For Gloucester veterinarians: referring a patient
Veterinarians across Gloucester and the Middle Peninsula are welcome to refer cases to CARE. Refer a case whichever way is fastest for your team:
- Email: refer@care199.com
- Phone: (757) 703-0199
- Fax: (757) 703-1199
- Online: the referral form
Cases referring practices often send us:
- Weekend and after-hours emergencies, and overflow when your schedule is full
- Toxin cases that may need hemoperfusion
- Wounds, swelling and inflammation suited to hyperbaric oxygen therapy
- CT and ultrasound, run and read on site
- Swallowed objects that may be retrieved by endoscopy instead of surgery
- Patients who need hospitalization and ICU monitoring
We send detailed reports and updates back to you, and referring clinics can get automatic patient status updates through our Instinct EMR portal on Shareville. Email refer@care199.com to set up your clinic's login. More on our Referring Veterinarians page.
Emergency guides for Gloucester pet owners
- Pet poisoning: what to do first and how we treat it
- Dog ate ibuprofen: why any amount is worth a call
- Snake bites: copperheads live in the wooded yards and trails pets explore
- Swallowed objects: endoscopy or surgery
- Cat can't pee: urinary blockage is an emergency
- Paying for emergency care: estimates, financing and pet insurance
When CARE is closed: Tuesday to Thursday
We are closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday unless a holiday falls on one of those days. Call your Gloucester veterinarian first. We work closely with your primary vet and with many emergency hospitals outside the area: for an emergency Tuesday to Thursday, we recommend The COVE in Suffolk or VEST in Virginia Beach, and Richmond also has a variety of specialty hospitals. For a poisoning, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center answers around the clock at (888) 426-4435 (a consultation fee applies). See our weekend hours for details.