As they officially moved into their first Rhode Island location at 989 Centerville Road on Monday, Aug. 26, Veterinary Emergency Group employees made sure to celebrate with a bang — the bang of confetti cannons, to be specific.

The emergency hospital, which is open 24/7, will provide medical services for pets that need urgent care.

The company does not operate like a normal veterinary hospital. According to VEG Medical Director Lauren Cannon, that came about when founder David Bessler’s son was in the emergency room, and he noticed that he could be by his son’s side throughout his care.

“He was able to stay with him during X-rays, and things like that, and he wondered why we didn’t do that with pets,” Cannon said. “So he decided to found the company and to do emergency rooms the way that he would want them done with his own animals, so that the people are relaxed and the animals get to stay with their families.”

As such, the center is more open-concept, with surgical tables right in the building’s main room, for pet owners to be with their pets as they undergo medical treatment and operations.

There are also side rooms within the facility, in case a person decides that they want a bit more privacy or if an animal is agitated in the larger room.

The location, according to Hospital Manager Kriza Martinez Vega, is VEG’s 88th since its founding in 2014. With the Warwick location being VEG’s first in Rhode Island, they now have a location in 24 states.

Cannon said that VEG’s services are open to anyone whose pets are having an emergency, and the group accepts walk-ins.

“People can walk in off the street,” Cannon said. “You can give us a call. If you look us up online, you’ll call, and a doctor will get on the phone and answer some questions to see if you need to come in. Or you can just stop by if you have an emergency.”

Cannon also noted that VEG is only for emergencies, and does not offer checkups or vaccines.

Cannon noted that VEG primarily deals with common household pets, though they do occasionally deal with exotic pets. A full list of the pets that VEG works with can be found on their website.

Cannon said that while VEG doesn’t typically serve farm animals or pets not listed on their site, she had helped stabilize a calf in the past while at VEG, and the team would try to work with any sick animal that came in.

“If you can get it through the door, we’ll try and treat it,” Cannon said.

Currently, according to Cannon, VEG has seven veterinarians currently on staff and 35 employees in total. She expects the number of veterinarians to increase over the next few months.

Cannon said that the support that VEG has received from local officials has been incredible, and that VEG is looking forward to further becoming a part of the Warwick community.

“It’s been overwhelmingly positive,” Cannon said. “There’s a lot of people here that love animals, and they just need help when they have emergencies… We’re super excited to be here.”