BluePearl Pet Hospital
Clearwater, FL
Emergency Medicine

24/7 Emergency and Specialty
Emergency:
24/7
Specialty:
Mon-Fri: 8 am-5 pm
By appointment

Pet emergency medicine by BluePearl.

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.

A vet specialist holds a small grey puppy wearing a cone on an exam table.

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.

Dominique Barbosa

DVM

Emergency Medicine
Education
  • Clinical Rotation, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ross University, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies

Alex Barnett

DVM
Education
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
  • Bachelor of Science, Entrepreneurship, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
  • Bachelor of Science, Biology, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC

Casey Braginton

DVM
On the job

A dedicated emergency clinician, Dr. Casey Braginton’s interests include urethral obstruction, diabetic ketoacidosis and toxicities. He has also worked with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, VCA SouthPaws, Fairfax VA
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville
  • Bachelor of Science, Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg VA
Off duty

When not working, Dr. Braginton enjoys reading, visiting breweries and board games. He has two cats, Frodo and Dart, and a pit bull mix named Roo.

Kylee Bush

MS, DVM
On the job

Dr. Kylee Bush is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She is most interested in soft tissue cases, specifically lacerations, foreign body, gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), orthopedics, specifically fracture stabilization, and cardiology. Dr. Bush is certified in basic and advanced life support through the Recover initiative.

Education
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan
  • Master of Science, Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville
  • Bachelor of Science, Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville
Off duty

Dr. Bush enjoys running to help de-stress after a long day or catching up on the latest documentary series on Netflix with her couch potato dog, Murphy.

Patrick Donegan

DVM
Education
  • Clinical Rotation, University of Florida, Gainesville
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
  • Bachelor of Science, Biology, Youngstown State University, OH

Dee Dugger

MS, DVM
On the job

Dr. Dugger enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca NY
  • Masters of Science, University of New Hampshire, Durham
  • Bachelor of Arts, Graceland University, Lamoni IA
Off duty

Dr. Dugger’s hobbies include spending time with her pugs, sailing and photography.

Brittnee Frizol

DVM

Emergency Medicine
Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island, West Islip, NY
  • Clinical Rotation, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
  • Bachelor of Science, Biology, The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C.

Dane Gallagher

MS, DVM
On the job

Dr. Dane Gallagher is particularly interested in wound management, toxin ingestion, cardiac and respiratory conditions and other emergencies.

Education
  • Clinical Rotation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
  • Master of Science, Laboratory Animal Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
  • Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA
Off duty

Dr. Gallagher is originally from Pennsylvania (and is an Eagles fan!) and moved to Florida with his partner after finishing veterinary school. In his spare time, he likes getting outside for hikes, fishing, kayaking and spending time at the beach. He also enjoys exploring the Tampa area and eating at new restaurants.

Kristin Habegger

DVM
On the job

Dr. Kristin Habegger has a background in working with wildlife and in zoological institutions and enjoys bringing her knowledge of exotic animal medicine into clinical practice. She finds triaging and managing trauma and metabolic derangement cases the most interesting to address.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, Tampa, FL
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN
  • Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens
Off duty

Dr. Kristin Habegger lives with her boyfriend and their two Australian shepherds, Khali and Arya. They all enjoy spending time outdoors together or staying in and watching movies.

Crystal King

DVM
Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Internal Medicine, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, Clearwater, FL
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
  • Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, University of Findlay, OH
Off duty

Dr. King enjoys exploring each new city she calls home with her two pups, Harley and Autumn.

Alexandria LoPrinzi

DVM

Emergency Medicine
On the job

Dr. Alexandria LoPrinzi is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She finds trauma cases and autoimmune diseases, such as immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) and diabetes presenting as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), the most gratifying to treat.

Education
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
  • Bachelor of Arts, Biology, Asbury University, Wilmore, KY
Off duty

Dr. LoPrinzi enjoys hiking, kayaking, playing sports, especially tennis, board games and watching movies. She is quite fond of her three family dogs, all of which are English setters.

Publications & Articles

Rachel Lucas

DVM
On the job

Dr. Rachel Lucas is most interested in exotic and wildlife emergencies and gastrointestinal diseases.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, Tampa, FL
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville
  • Bachelor of Science, Marine Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville
Off duty

Dr. Lucas enjoys spending time with her husband and their foster-failure feline, Aslan, and serving their church and the Tampa Bay community.

Kevin Lura

DVM

Emergency Medicine
On the job

Dr. Kevin Lura finds blocked felines, toxin ingestion and all emergencies particularly gratifying to treat.

Education
  • Clinical Rotation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ross University, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies
  • Bachelor of Science, Biomedical Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa
Off duty

Dr. Lura is an avid scuba diver and visits the pistol or rifle range about once a month. In addition to his cat, he has several reef tanks and beehives.

Cassandra Mancari

DVM
On the job

Dr. Cassandra Mancari is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She finds helping animals in respiratory distress, treating feline urinary obstructions and repairing lacerations particularly gratifying.

Education
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
  • Bachelor of Science, Biology, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
Off duty

Dr. Mancari and her fiancé have two cats who they enjoy spoiling to no end. She enjoys being outside (hiking, walking and beach trips), working out (Pilates and Yoga) and lazy mornings playing video games with her cats.

Krista May

DVM

Emergency Medicine
On the job

Dr. Krista May finds wound repair and management, cytology and treatment of cardiac diseases the most gratifying to perform. She prides herself on her compassion for her patients and empathy for their owners.

Education
  • Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, Sandy Springs, GA
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN
  • Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA
Off duty

Dr. May enjoys reading, scuba diving, playing video games and spending time with her Labradors, Marley and Gracie.

Brianna Scheppke

DVM
Education
  • Clinical Rotation
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
  • Bachelor of Science, Exercise Physiology, Florida State University, Tallahassee

Nicole Tomasso

DVM
On the job

Dr. Nicole Tomasso’s special interests include foreign body removal as well as treating diabetic ketoacidosis (especially in cats), soft tissue injuries and fractures.

Education
  • Clinical Rotation, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ross University, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies
  • Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Off duty

Dr. Tomasso enjoys walking outside on trails, playing tennis, eating sushi and visiting her family for Sunday dinners. She has two cats: one named Manny, who was adopted in St. Kitts during her time at veterinary school, and one named Dominik, who was adopted in Indiana during her clinical rotation.

Jill Western

DVM

Emergency Medicine
Education
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Starkville
  • Bachelor of Science, Clemson University, SC

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.