Critical Veterinary Neurology Care in Hunt Valley, MD
Same-Day Emergent Neurology Appointments (Monday–Friday)
At Veterinary Neurology & Imaging of the Chesapeake (VNIoC), we offer urgent care appointments for neurological emergencies during the week.
Hours: Monday–Friday | 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Referring veterinarians may call after 8:00 a.m. to discuss cases directly with a neurologist. Same-day appointments are available in most situations.
If your patient is experiencing seizures, sudden weakness, loss of coordination, or other neurologic symptoms, early evaluation and imaging can significantly impact neurologic outcomes.
24/7 Emergency Care for Sudden Paralysis (“Down Dogs”)
Weekend & Holiday Emergency Back Surgery
Few situations are as frightening as when a dog suddenly cannot walk. Acute paralysis or severe back pain is a true emergency — and acting quickly significantly improves the chances of recovery.
Access to emergency MRI and spinal surgery remains limited in many regions during weekends and holidays. That’s why VNIoC maintains on-call neurology coverage to support referring hospitals managing acute spinal cord injury and paralysis.
Emergency MRI services
Emergency back (spinal) surgery
Availability every weekend and all major holidays, 365 days a year
Pets from across the Mid-Atlantic region come to our Hunt Valley location for life-saving and life-altering neurosurgical care.
What To Do If Your Patient Suddenly Cannot Walk
During Normal Business Hours:
Monday–Friday | 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Please call our front desk at 410-828-0911 ext. 5 to coordinate urgent transfer or consultation.
Evenings, Weekends & Holidays:
Call Pet+E.R. of Hunt Valley at 410-252-8387. Both Pet+E.R. and VNIoC are located at the Chesapeake Veterinary Referral Center: 10626 York Rd, Hunt Valley, MD
Important Weekend & After-Hours Information
Pets are evaluated by Pet+E.R. prior to contacting the on-call neurologist. Diagnostics required prior to MRI are CBC, Serum chemistry profile, and if the patient is over 7 years old: three-view chest radiographs.
If these tests are completed prior to arrival, the process will move more quickly for owners. Our weekend imaging request cut-off is 3:00 p.m. After 3:00 p.m., pets will be hospitalized overnight with Pet+E.R. and imaged the following morning.
Advanced Imaging & Neurosurgical Expertise
Our team of board-certified veterinary neurologists and veterinarians specialize in:
Advanced diagnostic imaging (MRI & CT)
Spinal surgery
Anesthesia management for neurologic patients
Comprehensive sudden paralysis care
Learn more about our sudden paralysis services and our experienced neurology team and our focus on dedicated anesthesia for advanced imaging.
Christmas Day Emergency Surgery for Acute Disc Extrusion
When Holly suddenly lost the use of her back legs on Christmas Day, her family faced every pet owner’s worst fear. The night before, she hesitated slightly on the stairs. By morning, she was completely unable to walk.
Holly presented with acute non-ambulatory paralysis and absence of deep pain perception in the pelvic limbs and tail. MRI demonstrated a severe L3–4 intervertebral disc extrusion with marked spinal cord compression. Emergency decompressive surgery was immediately performed by Dr. Gainsburg on Christmas Day.
Holly’s MRI Findings: A spinal cord defect (yellow arrow) aligned with a ruptured disk situated within the spinal canal. The image on the right is a cross-section MRI at L3-4, which clearly shows the large disk (blue arrow) severely compressing the spinal cord and displacing it to the left.
Despite an initially guarded prognosis, the patient regained deep pain sensation within 24 hours post-operatively. Progressive neurologic recovery continued over the following weeks, and the patient was ambulatory without pain at recheck.
Cases like Holly’s underscore the importance of rapid decompression and the value of maintaining weekend and holiday neurosurgical availability.
PARTNER WITH THE BEST
Our veterinarians have more than eight decades of combined experience and are supported by a fantastic team of technicians and administrative staff.
Neurology & Neurosurgery
DR. JAY MCDONNELL
DR. JULIANNA MANNIX
Neurology & Neurosurgery
DR. LARRY GAINSBURG
Neurology & Neurosurgery