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The stat call comes in over the emergency room loudspeaker at 7:15 p.m. Friday and the staff at VCA Veterinary Referral Associates springs into action.

Two vet technicians rush out and return carrying a large shaggy dog — Buddy is old, frail and having trouble breathing. A tech pulls a pair of electric clippers from the ceiling to shave a patch of skin where a catheter will be inserted. She puts a modified oxygen mask over the dog's snout, and in a buzz of fur, a spurt of blood and a few scratches behind the ears, Buddy is stable.

It's just another night in the 24-hour emergency department at the Gaithersburg animal hospital, which moved from its previous location in a former dairy barn on Dufief Mill Road to a facility at 500 Perry Parkway in August. The hospital opened in 1977 and has been operated by the national animal hospital network VCA Antech Inc. since 1996.

"I love having patients come in that really need me," said Dr. Anne Stoneham, emergency department director. "They're really sick when they come in and you can make them feel better rather quickly. And like in regular emergency rooms, we're all something of an adrenaline junkie."

The hospital has 30 doctors and about 100 staff, including specialists in radiology, surgery, neurology, ophthalmology, exotic animals, acupuncture, cardiology, diagnostic imaging, rehabilitative and physical therapy and medical and radiation oncology. The hospital is also in the process of building a radiation facility, which is expected to be completed in the summer, Stoneham said.

The facility includes an operating room, intermediate care ward, intensive care ward, a rehab area with treadmills and a pool, blood bank and an in-house laboratory. Doctors can also conduct ultrasounds, X-rays and MRI and CAT scans.

Michelle Barasso, 40, brought her 2-year-old cat Mermaid, who had begun vomiting blood earlier that day possibly after eating a poisoned rat, to the facility from her home in Washington, D.C. Barasso said she chose to drive 40 minutes to Gaithersburg, passing a closer animal hospital, because she had positive experiences with its vets when she lived in Burtonsville.

"They interact and communicate with you well and from our past experience they really love animals. You feel when you leave them here that they're safe," Barasso said while waiting in the hospital lobby. "I've had animals before and it's scary when they don't feel well. To know this resource is here is reassuring."

Nights and weekends, when most vets are closed, are the emergency department's busiest times, staff said. The department saw more than 10 animals Friday night. Some cases were simple, such as Charlie, a 6-month-old Maltese that got an irritated eye after its owner accidentally used laundry detergent instead of shampoo when giving the dog a bath.

Others, like Buddy, were more difficult. The dog was placed in an oxygenated enclosure to help with its breathing and though doctors did not know what was wrong, Buddy's prognosis was poor. After several meetings with the owners about what actions they wanted staff to take, they broke the difficult news — Buddy was suffering and any potential treatment, like placing the dog on a ventilator, would be expensive and unlikely to provide a long-term health benefit. The owners came into the emergency room for an emotional goodbye, and Buddy was euthanized shortly before midnight.

"Definitely the worst part of the job is seeing the animals hurt or in pain," vet tech Jennifer Cook of Rockville said as she gently pressed Buddy's paw into a circle of clay, a memento the staff makes for owners when their pet dies. "You never want to know that an animal is hurt or in pain, but we see a lot of it, unfortunately. But that's why I love what I'm doing, because I'm helping them."