Midnight at the Animal Hospital with Mocha

Mocha, our eight-year-old mixed-breed girl, woke me at 2 a.m. by pacing and making a sound I had never heard before. Her belly was tight and she kept trying to vomit without success. My husband and I did not wait. We drove forty minutes through the dark to the nearest animal hospital that stays open all night.

The staff were calm and quick. They asked what she had eaten that day, took her temperature, and explained what they planned to check. The vet told us why timing matters with these symptoms, so I am glad we did not wait until morning.

Here is my practical advice. Keep a list of the nearest emergency clinics with their phone numbers, know the route before you need it, and bring any food packaging she might have chewed. Mocha is fine now and has already started stealing crumbs again. I am watching her more closely.