Emergency Veterinary Medicine by BluePearl Raleigh NC

BluePearl Pet Hospital
Raleigh, NC
Emergency Medicine

Specialty and 24/7 Emergency

Pet emergency medicine by BluePearl.

A BluePearl urgent care vet hugs a grey and white dog on an exam table.

Conditions treated

Learn which conditions our emergency team can help diagnose and treat, so your pet gets the right care for their needs.

A BluePearl emergency vet tech holds a grey cat in her arms while looking at a monitor.

Success stories

Discover how other pets have overcome their diagnoses with specialized care, giving you hope for your pet’s recovery.

A BluePearl client smiles while holding her dog at the front desk of the animal hospital.

Call the hospital

Take the next step toward answers and getting the care your pet needs by connecting with our hospital team.

Pet emergencies can be scary – we’re here to help you handle them.

We understand that seeing your pet sick, hurt or in distress can be stressful – especially if you don’t know what’s wrong. Fortunately, our experienced ER clinicians are prepared to take action and help.

Common pet emergencies.

A BluePearl anesthesiology and pain management vet prepares to fix an anesthetic facemask on a yellow lab while a vet tech helps hold the dog on the exam table.

Acting quickly in an emergency may save your pet’s life.

If your pet is experiencing an emergency, you’ll have an entire veterinary team helping them so you can get back to what matters most – spending precious moments together.

  • Accidents, injuries and trauma (hit-by-car, animal attacks, etc.)
  • Bleeding 
  • Bloat (gastric dilatation volvulus, or GDV)
  • Collapse or unresponsiveness
  • Complications from chronic diseases 
  • Difficulty breathing 
  • Straining to urinate
  • Ingestion of medications, poisons or objects 
  • Seizures
  • Vomiting and diarrhea

Our emergency team.

Experience makes all the difference. 

Our emergency team is made up of veterinarians, vet technicians and assistants, and support staff with rigorous training and experience in specialty medicine. The team works hand in hand to provide the comprehensive, compassionate care your pet needs and deserves. Because we’re a multidisciplinary hospital, the team can consult the expertise of other specialty departments, too.

Emily Ansel

DVM
On the job

Dr. Emily Ansel is excited by all aspects of emergency medicine. She especially enjoys cases involving internal medicine, toxins, wound care and reproduction.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal & Surgery, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
  • Bachelor of Science, Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC
Off duty

Outside of work, Dr. Ansel enjoys reading, exploring the outdoors and spending time with her family. She has a special interest in purebred dogs and has participated in various dog sports with her Vizsla and Brittany dogs.

Melissa Ballantyne

DVM
On the job

Dr. Melissa Ballantyne’s clinical interests include diagnostic imaging, toxicities, CPR, wound management and medical oncology.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Pet Hospital, Cary, NC
  • Clinical Rotation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ross University, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies
Off duty

Dr. Ballantyne enjoys going on new adventures, attending concerts, watching football, hiking, being outdoors, nature photography and baking. She loves spending time with friends and making people smile whenever possible.

Katherine Blincoe

DVM
On the job

Dr. Katherine Blincoe brings a positive and bright attitude to work. She is particularly interested in emergency procedures including laceration repairs, thoracic limb amputations, foreign body removal, enucleations, and gastrointestinal (GI) surgery. She is also passionate about feline urethral obstruction and congestive heart failure cases.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, VCA California Veterinary Specialists, Carlsbad
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ
  • Bachelor of Science, Biology, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA
Off duty

Dr. Blincoe and her husband have a Labrador retriever, Wendy, and two cats, a black-and-white polydactyl, Rorschach, and an orange tabby, Shakespeare. She enjoys cooking, visiting with family, playing games, and spending time outside walking her dogs or drinking tea on her porch.

Lauren Block

DVM
On the job

Dr. Lauren Block’s favorite cases are urgent emergencies. She loves stabilizing patients and seeing her efforts take effect. Her professional interests include urethral obstruction, pericardiocentesis and hemoabdomen.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, VCA South Shore Animal Hospital, Weymouth, MA
  • Clinical Rotation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
  • Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Off duty

Dr. Block lives with her husband, young daughter and black Lab, Lacey. She enjoys exercising, staying active and traveling.

Nick de Silvia

DVM
On the job

Dr. Nick de Silvia’s professional interests include emergent endocrine diseases, autoimmune disorders and acute toxicities.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas, Cary, NC
  • Clinical Rotation, Auburn University, AL
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
  • Bachelor of Science, Queen’s College, St. John, Barbados, West Indies
Off duty

Dr. de Silvia lives with his wife, who is also a veterinarian, their two children, rescue mutt and two cats. Outside of work, he likes making homemade pasta and bread, exploring new places and playing pickleball.

Isel Del Valle

DVM, CVA
On the job

As an experienced emergency clinician, Dr. Isel Del Valle is particularly interested in Eastern medicine, acupuncture, stabilization of septic patients, sports medicine, and rehabilitation.

Education
  • Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Chi University, Reddick, FL
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Regional Veterinary Referral Center, Springfield, VA
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
  • Bachelor of Science, Biological Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC
  • Bachelor of Science, Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC
Off duty

Dr. Del Valle is passionate about travel, gourmet cooking, dressage, gardening, family time, and Duke University sports. She has a horse, a dog and a cat.

Tara Enzweiler

VMD
On the job

Dr. Tara Enzweiler appreciates the wide variety of cases, challenges, and fast pace of emergency medicine.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas, Cary NC
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
  • Bachelor of Science, Science-Business, University of Notre Dame, IN
Off duty

Dr. Enzweiler is an avid fan of Notre Dame Athletics. She enjoys spending time visiting North Carolina’s beautiful beaches, staying active, playing sports, and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.

Zachary Jacobsen

DVM
Education
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
  • Bachelor of Arts, Environmental Studies, St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN

Sarah Leigh

DVM
On the job

A highly experienced clinician, Dr. Sarah Leigh is passionate about integrated, collaborative medicine. She thrives in the fast-paced ER environment and enjoys treating and managing complex cases.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Florida Veterinary Specialists, Tampa
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Off duty

A fan of outdoor sports, running and sports training, Dr. Leigh enjoys spending time with her husband, three children, dogs Stan and Shy and cat Joseph.

Ashley Miller-Quarles

DVM
On the job

As an experienced emergency clinician, Dr. Ashley Miller-Quarles prides herself on great communication skills and her ability to put clients’ minds at ease during emergencies. She particularly enjoys unblocking urinary obstructions in cats, stabilizing trauma patients and managing patient care in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Dr. Ashley Miller-Quarles is the ER medical director of our Cary, Durham and Raleigh hospitals.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Internal Medicine & Critical Care , Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists, Houston, TX
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Auburn University, AL
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • Bachelor of Science, Biology, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
Off duty

Dr. Miller-Quarles is married with two young children. She has three dogs, including a three-legged dog or “tripod.” In her spare time, she enjoys reading, knitting and anything related to true crime (documentaries, podcasts, books, etc.).

Alexander Petruso

DVM

Emergency Medicine
Education
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Kimberly Piner

DVM
On the job

A highly experienced clinician, Dr. Kimberly Piner particularly enjoys treating cases of toxicity, urethral obstruction and parvovirus.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, Portland, OR
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus
  • Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Ohio State University, Columbus
Off duty

When not at work, Dr. Piner enjoys running obstacle races and spending time with her husband and two children. She has three cats, one three-legged calico, one bobtail and one polydactyl.

Kelsey Routh

DVM
On the job

As an emergency clinician, Dr. Kelsey Routh communicates effectively with clients and uses essential problem-solving skills to diagnose and treat her patients. She finds cases involving shock stabilization, blood transfusions and internal medicine particularly gratifying.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas, Cary NC
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
  • Bachelor of Science, Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
Off duty

Outside of work, Dr. Routh enjoys hiking, discovering new restaurants and spending time with her husband and German shorthaired pointer, Laney.

Rebecca Schuber

DVM
On the job

Dr. Rebecca “Becks” Schuber is most interested in diseases and disorders of the hepatobiliary system and endocrinopathies.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Pet Hospital, Cary, NC
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
  • Bachelor of Science, Animal, Dairy and Poultry Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Off duty

Dr. Schuber enjoys playing the piano, trivia and exploring the great outdoors. She has a fiancé, who is also a veterinarian, three dogs and a kitten.

Samantha Stansbury

DVM
On the job

Dr. Samantha Stansbury’s clinical interests include shock stabilization, traumatic brain injuries, urethral obstruction, and emergent autoimmune and endocrine disorders.

Education
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
  • Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
Off duty

Dr. Stansbury Dr. Stansbury lives with her husband, and together, they have a black lab mix named Nara and a tortoiseshell cat named Rue. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, camping, golfing, cooking and live music.

Summer Wheeler

DVM
On the job

Dr. Summer Wheeler’s special interests include wound care, treating cardiomyopathy and blocked cats, and performing ultrasounds.

Education
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus
  • Bachelor of Science, Agriculture, Murray State University, Murray, KY
Off duty

Dr. Wheeler enjoys lifting, spending time with her fiancé, reading and watching movies. She also loves spending time with her cats, dogs and foster kittens.

What to expect.

We know an unexpected trip to the emergency pet hospital can be stressful, and we want you to be prepared so you have one less thing to worry about. Our entire BluePearl team will be with you every step of the way.

Before your visit

  • If possible, call us before arriving so we can discuss your pet’s condition, help you with directions and prepare our team.
  • Collect your pet’s medical records, current medication or any historical information.
  • If your pet has eaten something potentially toxic, bring the substance with you if it’s safe to do so.

During your visit

  • When you arrive, let us know if you need help bringing your pet in from the car, and we’ll be ready to assist you.
  • Our team will perform an initial triage exam on your pet to assess their condition.
  • To stabilize your pet, we may need to administer IV fluids, pain medications, oxygen therapy and sometimes blood or plasma transfusions.
  • Before you leave, you’ll receive discharge instructions and a list of any recommended medications.

After your visit

  • We’ll let your family veterinarian know about your pet’s condition and the treatment they receive at BluePearl. This communication is key in the ongoing management of your pet’s care.
  • You know your pet better than anyone, and you play a crucial role in any follow-up treatment necessary. If you have any concerns about providing care at home (such as giving medication or monitoring your pet’s symptoms), let us know – we’re here for you.

Success stories.

"Thanks to the quick thinking of his veterinary team, the support of a generous donor dog, and the innovative use of autotransfusion, Harley pulled through surgery. Just two weeks later, Harley returned to BluePearl for his post-operative recheck. Tail wagging and spirits high, he was doing great."
Read Harley's story.
“The hard work and dedication of both teams was inspiring,” said Sierra, reflecting on Everest’s care at both hospitals. “No one gave up on him and because of that he thrived and was able to come to his forever home.”
Read Everest's story.
“Everyone at BluePearl was amazing. They were super kind and sweet, and now Suni is right back to his normal self.”
Read Suni's story.
"Over the next few days, it seemed that everything I have known and told people over my 30 years as a vet tech went out the window. Broski was nauseous and not eating and we were all worried there was something very wrong with him. Even after hours, the surgeon responded to my concerns and eased my worries. Our dog is now fully recovered and back to normal. Thank you to Dr. Heintz, Dr. Ferrell and everyone else who assisted!"
Read Broski's story.