Bulger Veterinary Hospital: Vet Care & Contact

Bulger’s emergency and critical-care service is staffed 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The hospital treats both critical cases and less severe urgent cases when a family veterinarian is unavailable.

Call before arrival when possible

Phone: 978-682-9905.

Tell the hospital:

• Your pet’s species and approximate size.
• The main symptom or injury.
• When the problem started.
• How often vomiting, seizures or other episodes have occurred.
• Whether a toxin or foreign object may have been swallowed.
• Any major ongoing medical conditions.

Bring with you

• Dog leash and collar or a secure pet carrier.
• Medication list when readily available.
• Important recent veterinary records if you have them.
• Packaging or remaining material from a suspected toxin exposure.

Bulger uses veterinary triage. This means the sickest and most unstable animals receive priority rather than pets being treated strictly in arrival order.

For a specialty consultation, Bulger says patients are normally referred by their family veterinarian. The regular veterinarian typically sends a referral form explaining the pet’s problem and identifying the specialty service needed.

A referral can include

• Recent examination notes.
• Laboratory results.
• X-rays or other imaging.
• Medication history.
• Current diagnosis or clinical concern.
• The requested specialty.

Bulger communicates with referring veterinarians and can send referral letters, diagnostic information and radiograph results electronically.

Bulger is not referral-only. Established primary-care patients can schedule routine and sick-pet appointments, and the hospital states that its Primary Care service has appointments available seven days a week.

Primary-care visits can include

• Annual wellness examinations.
• Vaccinations.
• Sick visits.
• Dental consultations.
• New puppy examinations.
• New kitten examinations.
• Senior-pet care.
• Preventive diagnostics.

Recommended preventive exam frequency

Bulger’s Emergency and Critical Care veterinarians treat trauma, severe illness and patients needing continuous monitoring.

Critical-care support can include

• IV fluid therapy.
• Oxygen support.
• Transfusion medicine.
• Continuous monitoring.
• Emergency surgery.
• Pain management.
• Mechanical ventilation in appropriate cases.
• Advanced diagnostic imaging.

Bulger’s current surgery team includes board-certified surgeons Brianna Barnet, BVSc, DACVS and Lauren L. Blaeser, DVM, DACVS.

Current surgical capabilities include

• Emergency surgery.
• Orthopedic surgery.
• Spinal surgery.
• Total hip replacement.
• Open-fracture management.
• Wound management.
• Arthroscopy.
• Laparoscopy.
• Thoracoscopy.
• Biopsy and advanced diagnostics.

Imaging supporting surgery

• CT.
• X-ray.
• Ultrasound.
• Other imaging selected according to the case.

Bulger’s current cardiologist is Nancy Laste, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology).

Reasons for cardiology referral

• Heart murmur.
• Breathing difficulty.
• Chronic cough.
• Irregular heart rhythm.
• High blood pressure.
• Congenital heart defect.
• Fainting.
• Fluid in chest or abdomen.
• Exercise intolerance.
• Pre-anesthesia cardiac-risk evaluation.

Cardiology testing

• Echocardiogram.
• Electrocardiogram.
• Holter / event monitoring.
• CT.
• X-ray.
• Ultrasound.

Veterinary Internal Medicine is designed for pets with complicated symptoms, multiple medical problems or illnesses that remain unexplained after initial testing.

Conditions commonly managed

Advanced testing can include

• CT.
• X-rays.
• Ultrasound.
• Endoscopy.
• Advanced laboratory testing.

Bulger’s Ophthalmology team currently includes Nick Cassotis, DVM, DACVO and Nicole Tipling, DVM.

Eye conditions treated

• Cataracts.
• Corneal ulcers.
• Glaucoma.
• Dry eye.
• Uveitis.
• Cherry eye.
• Entropion.
• Retinal disease.

Eye tests

• Fluorescein stain.
• Tear testing.
• Tonometry.
• Retinal examination.
• Electroretinography.
• Ocular ultrasound.

Eye surgery

• Cataract surgery.
• Corneal grafting/transplant procedures.
• Eyelid surgery.
• Glaucoma surgery.
• Corneal-ulcer repair.

Bulger has extensive onsite diagnostic capability and an in-house laboratory and pharmacy.

Bulger provides canine and feline reproductive medicine from breeding planning through pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care.

Services include

• Breeding-soundness examinations.
• Canine ovulation timing.
• Semen analysis.
• Fresh, chilled or frozen semen artificial insemination.
• Pregnancy management.
• Management of pyometra.
• Management of dystocia.
• Planned Cesarean section.
• Postpartum care.
• Neonatal puppy and kitten management.
• PennHIP or OFA radiographs.

Karen A. Belden, DVM is currently associated with Bulger’s reproductive service.

Before admission, Bulger’s team reviews the medical condition, recommended treatment and an itemized treatment plan with the owner.

During an inpatient stay

• A veterinary team monitors the patient around the clock.
• IV fluids and medications may be given when needed.
• Pain medication is adjusted according to the patient.
• Veterinarians and technicians hand off important details at shift change.
• The family veterinarian is kept informed when appropriate.

Discharge

Bulger advises owners to allow up to one hour for the discharge process so the team can review home-care instructions, medications, recheck needs and the account balance.

The hospital will also call if there is a significant change in your pet’s condition. Owners may call at other times, but the medical team may be treating patients and may need to return the call later.

Important payment rule

Accepted payment methods

What changes the final bill?

• Emergency vs. scheduled consultation.
• Laboratory testing.
• CT, X-ray or ultrasound.
• Sedation or anesthesia.
• Surgery.
• ICU hospitalization.
• Medication and pharmacy items.
• Implants or specialized equipment.
• Additional treatment if the condition changes.

Financing

CareCredit and Scratchpay are separate third-party financial services. Bulger can help owners with the application process, but the hospital does not control approval, credit limits or financing terms.

Bulger encourages owners to consider pet insurance because emergency and specialty treatment can be expensive.

Check your policy for

• Annual vs. per-incident deductible.
• Reimbursement percentage.
• Annual coverage limit.
• Pre-existing-condition exclusions.
• Specialty-care coverage.
• Emergency hospitalization coverage.
• Prescription and rehabilitation coverage.

Bulger’s official website provides a Client Portal powered through its current veterinary record platform. Availability of specific portal functions can depend on the client account and patient record.

Bulger provides an online Request Medical Records form for clients.

Before requesting records, have ready

• Owner/client information.
• Pet’s name.
• Relevant dates of care.
• Destination veterinary hospital or recipient when applicable.
• Any urgent deadline for an upcoming specialty visit.

Bulger also works directly with referring veterinarians and can provide referral letters, diagnostic results and radiographs through its veterinary referral workflow.

Bulger lists an in-house pharmacy among its hospital capabilities. It also provides an official online store for eligible prescription items, food and pet products.

Serious pet illness can involve grief, financial stress, difficult medical decisions and end-of-life concerns. Bulger has a veterinary social-work service for clients.

Social work can be useful for

• Pet-loss support.
• Anticipatory grief.
• End-of-life decision support.
• Coping with a serious diagnosis.
• Family communication around veterinary treatment.

Bulger’s current About page describes the hospital as caring for dogs, cats and exotics, while the same page’s “Pets We Serve” list explicitly names dogs and cats.

Some current Bulger veterinarian profiles also document small-animal and exotic clinical training, but this should not be treated as a guarantee that every exotic species can be seen at every hour.

Bulger’s official emergency and appointment instructions tell clients to park and proceed to the main door/front desk.

Emergency arrival

• Drive to 141 Winthrop Avenue.
• Park and proceed to the main entrance.
• Bring the dog on a secure leash/collar or keep the pet in a secure carrier.
• Tell staff immediately if the pet is unstable.