Welcome to
Veterinarian in Concord, CA
Where Pets Are Loved, Families Are Heard, and Care Truly Matters
Our Concord emergency vet leads a specialized team trained to handle urgent medical situations that require swift intervention and advanced treatment protocols. At Concord Veterinary Clinic, Dr. Harman Chhina, DVM, recognizes that pet emergencies create intense stress for pet owners who need reliable veterinary care when their companion faces difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, or signs of a traumatic accident.
Our veterinary hospital operates with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and comprehensive treatment services designed to address everything from poisoning cases to internal injuries. During our business hours, we prioritize emergency cases and maintain the medical expertise necessary to assess the situation rapidly, providing your pet with the professional care they need during their most vulnerable moments.
Our Mission
As a Bay Area native with extensive training in emergency medicine, Dr. Harman Chhina, DVM, recognized the community’s need for a reliable emergency vet capable of handling complex medical situations that require immediate intervention. Our veterinary hospital specializes in providing rapid diagnostic services and comprehensive treatment for pets experiencing obvious signs of pain, difficulty breathing, vomiting or diarrhea, and other emergency conditions.
We understand that every pet owner deserves access to professional veterinary care during their animal’s most vulnerable moments, which is why our team maintains advanced medical protocols and cutting-edge equipment. Our mission extends beyond basic treatment services to include thorough first aid stabilization, detailed medical assessment, and ongoing support throughout your pet’s recovery process.
Why Choose Us
Rapid Diagnostic Testing and Results
Our on-site laboratory delivers critical test results within minutes, allowing us to immediately identify internal injuries, poisoning cases, and life-threatening conditions. This diagnostic speed means we can start targeted treatment services right away, which often determines the difference between successful recovery and prolonged complications for pets experiencing medical emergencies.
Specialized Emergency Medicine Expertise
Dr. Harman Chhina completed advanced emergency medicine training at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, bringing years of critical care experience directly to our veterinary hospital. Our team includes technicians with military veterinary backgrounds, ensuring we can handle complex cases involving fractured bones, severe bleeding, and traumatic accidents with professional expertise.
Complete Surgical Emergency Capabilities
Emergency surgical procedures require immediate access to sterile operating facilities and advanced monitoring equipment, both of which we maintain on-site at all times. We can repair cuts and wounds, address internal injuries from traumatic accidents, and perform complex procedures when your pet faces life-threatening surgical emergencies without delays or transfers.
Immediate Emergency Case Priority
We prioritize urgent cases and provide same-day appointments for critical conditions like difficulty breathing, heat stress, inability to urinate, and severe injuries. When you call about vomiting or diarrhea, signs of poisoning, or other emergency symptoms, our staff immediately prepares to receive your pet and begin appropriate first aid measures.
Clear Communication During Crisis
Emergencies create stress for pet owners who need reliable information about their animal’s condition and treatment options. Our veterinary team provides detailed explanations of diagnostic findings and treatment plans in understandable terms, ensuring you feel confident about the veterinary care your pet receives during these critical moments.
We accept payment through the CareCredit program, which will allow you to break your payment into 6 installments.
Meet the Doctor
Dr. Harman Chhina serves as your primary emergency vet, bringing specialized training from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and clinical experience from Purdue University directly to pets facing critical health situations. Her active memberships in the American Veterinary Medical Association, California Veterinary Medical Association, and Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Society ensure she stays current with the latest emergency treatment protocols for handling everything from difficulty breathing to traumatic accidents.
As a Bay Area native, Dr. Chhina understands the local pet owner community’s needs for reliable veterinary care during emergencies. When she’s not providing life-saving treatment services at our veterinary hospital, she enjoys outdoor activities with her husband Hobie and their two children, including camping and hiking throughout California’s diverse landscapes.
Meet Our Team
Three Ways Your Pet Will Benefit from Vet Care
As a pet parent, you want your dog or cat to live as long as possible. Regular vet visits can keep them in great shape, ensuring that they have all their vaccinations and that there are no lurking health concerns. A good vet can save your pet by providing emergency services when needed. Here are three other benefits of bringing your cat or dog to our office on a regular basis.
Early Disease Detection
When you bring your cat or dog in for a regular checkup, our veterinarian can often detect the early stages of diseases. With the right diagnosis and rapid treatment, we can often prevent unnecessary suffering and help your animal recover promptly.
Preventative Health Care
Just as with people, preventative healthcare can help your pet stay healthy longer. As your pet ages, these visits become more important than ever. Stay on top of your dog or cat’s health issues and learn about healthy diet, exercise, medication, and vaccination recommendations.
Bad Behavior
If your cat or dog develops bad behavior, your vet can assess their emotional and mental condition. If necessary, we can recommend a specialist to address behavioral issues. In some cases, their physical state impacts their feelings and mental health. So, regular checkups are vital to your cat or dog’s overall well-being.
Early Disease Detection
When you bring your cat or dog in for a regular checkup, our veterinarian can often detect the early stages of diseases. With the right diagnosis and rapid treatment, we can often prevent unnecessary suffering and help your animal recover promptly.
Preventative Health Care
Just as with people, preventative healthcare can help your pet stay healthy longer. As your pet ages, these visits become more important than ever. Stay on top of your dog or cat’s health issues and learn about healthy diet, exercise, medication, and vaccination recommendations.
Bad Behavior
If your cat or dog develops bad behavior, your vet can assess their emotional and mental condition. If necessary, we can recommend a specialist to address behavioral issues. In some cases, their physical state impacts their feelings and mental health. So, regular checkups are vital to your cat or dog’s overall well-being.
Testimonials
Dental Services
Dental emergencies in pets can escalate quickly, from broken teeth to severe infections that affect their heart, liver, and kidneys. At Concord Veterinary Clinic, we treat urgent conditions like abscessed teeth, stomatitis, and periodontal disease that cause extreme pain and behavioral changes in dogs and cats. Whether your pet is drooling excessively, refusing to eat, or showing sudden aggression due to oral pain, our team provides immediate relief.
Our vet begins each case with comprehensive diagnostics, since most dental damage occurs below the gumline, where it’s invisible to the naked eye. X-rays help us identify hidden fractures, infections, and the extent of gum disease on a scale of 0 to 4. From scaling and polishing to tooth extractions under safe anesthesia, we customize treatment plans that restore your pet’s comfort and health.
Dental X-Rays
Invisible threats live beneath healthy-looking gums, abscesses, cysts, and bone loss that silently damage your pet’s jaw. By age three, most dogs and cats develop early periodontal disease, yet surface examinations miss 60% of dental problems. Concord Veterinary Clinic uses advanced imaging to expose these hidden dangers before they compromise your pet’s heart, liver, or kidneys.
Anesthesia ensures your pet stays perfectly still during the brief procedure. Our veterinary team interprets each image to map out treatment, from simple tartar removal to complex oral surgery. Digital dental x-rays reveal the complete picture, helping us grade disease severity and plan interventions that restore your pet’s oral health.
Emergency Vet
Blood pooling beneath your dog after a car accident requires split-second decisions. Some pet crises, like chocolate toxicity or breathing distress, escalate rapidly, while others develop slowly until they reach dangerous thresholds. At Concord Veterinary Clinic, we’ve witnessed how 24 hours without food can signal serious internal problems, just as sudden seizures reveal hidden neurological issues.
Not every alarming symptom demands immediate hospital visits, which is why we provide phone triage services first. Our comprehensive emergency capabilities include treating heat stroke victims, managing difficult births, and stabilizing trauma cases during business hours. Should you need a vet when we’re unavailable, Sage Veterinary Centers and Apollo Veterinary Hospital maintain our treatment protocols while we arrange follow-up appointments.
Spays & Neuters
Preventing uterine infections and testicular cancer starts with one crucial decision, scheduling your pet’s sterilization surgery. Male cats can undergo the procedure as early as six weeks, while female dogs benefit most between six and nine months of age. Beyond cancer prevention, spays & neuters eliminate heat cycles, territorial marking, and dangerous roaming behaviors that put pets at risk.
General anesthesia keeps patients comfortable throughout the 5-20 minute procedure, with vital signs monitored continuously for safety. Post-surgical recovery involves ten days of activity restriction, wound monitoring, and keeping incision sites clean and dry. If complications arise during healing, like excessive swelling, appetite changes, or infection signs, our emergency vet provides immediate intervention to ensure optimal outcomes.
Vaccines
Starting at six weeks old, puppies and kittens begin their vaccination journey with core immunizations against rabies, parvovirus, and distemper. Titer testing offers an alternative for senior pets, blood work that reveals existing antibody levels, potentially eliminating unnecessary shots while maintaining protection. Concord Veterinary Clinic customizes vaccination protocols based on your pet’s breed, lifestyle, and environmental risks.
Legally required rabies vaccines protect both animals and humans from this fatal disease, with initial shots administered around 14-16 weeks, followed by annual or tri-annual boosters. Beyond core vaccines, we recommend additional protection like Bordetella for social dogs or feline leukemia for outdoor cats. Should your pet experience vaccine reactions or complications, our vet stands ready to provide immediate treatment and monitoring.
Puppy and Kitten Care
Your eight-week-old bundle of fur needs more than cuddles, they need comprehensive health assessments that catch problems before symptoms appear. Teaching new owners proper tooth brushing prevents lifelong dental disease, while parasite control keeps tiny bodies free from harmful invaders. Concord Veterinary Clinic transforms anxious first-time pet parents into confident caregivers through hands-on education and personalized nutrition plans.
Wellness checkups every few weeks? Essential. Vaccinations on schedule? Life-saving. But what happens when your kitten stops eating or your puppy develops unusual behaviors between visits? We equip families with warning sign knowledge so they recognize trouble early. Should emergencies strike, vaccine reactions, developmental abnormalities, or sudden illness, our emergency vet responds immediately to protect these vulnerable young lives.
Life-Saving Care from Our Trusted Concord Emergency Vet!
Our Concord emergency vet provides professional care that can save your pet’s life when they experience severe bleeding, poisoning, or obvious signs of pain that require immediate medical attention. Dr. Harman Chhina, DVM, and our experienced team at Concord Veterinary Clinic provide the critical treatment services your pet needs during their most vulnerable moments, handling everything from internal injuries to heat stress with advanced diagnostic capabilities.
Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on emergency care tips and clinic news, then contact us immediately at (925) 338-2375 when your pet needs urgent care, or visit our veterinary hospital at 5201 Clayton Road.
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FAQs
What constitutes a veterinary emergency?
A veterinary emergency includes any situation where your pet’s life is in immediate danger or they’re experiencing severe distress. Common emergencies include difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, vomiting or diarrhea that persists, obvious signs of pain, inability to urinate, and any traumatic accident. If you’re unsure whether your pet’s condition requires emergency care, it’s always better to call our emergency vet immediately rather than wait and potentially risk your pet’s health.
What should I do while transporting my pet during an emergency?
First, assess the situation and ensure your own safety before approaching your pet, as injured animals may behave unpredictably due to pain and fear. Keep your pet as calm and still as possible during transport, using a blanket or towel to gently wrap smaller pets. For larger dogs with potential fractured bones or internal injuries, try to keep them on a flat surface like a board or stretcher if possible, and call our veterinarian immediately to let us know you’re on your way.
Do you handle all types of pet emergencies during business hours?
Yes, we’re equipped to handle a wide range of pet emergencies, including poisoning cases, cuts and wounds, heat stress, ear infections, and various traumatic injuries. Our experienced team and advanced diagnostic equipment allow us to treat most emergencies effectively. For extremely complex cases that require specialized equipment or procedures beyond our capabilities, we maintain relationships with emergency specialty hospitals and will coordinate appropriate transfers when necessary.
How quickly can you see my pet in an emergency?
We prioritize all emergency cases and will see your pet immediately upon arrival during our business hours. We recommend calling ahead when possible so our team can prepare for your arrival and provide guidance on immediate first aid measures you can take while transporting your pet. However, if calling isn’t possible due to the severity of the situation, bring your pet in immediately, and our staff will triage and begin treatment right away.
What information should I provide when calling about a pet emergency?
When calling about an emergency, provide your pet’s species, breed, age, and weight if known, along with a clear description of their symptoms or the incident that occurred. Tell us about any obvious signs of pain, difficulty breathing, or other concerning behaviors you’ve observed. If possible, mention any recent changes in eating, drinking, or bathroom habits, and whether your pet may have ingested something toxic or been involved in a traumatic accident.
