We will cover TFAST and its 5-view design for detecting pneumothorax; and pleural and pericardial effusion by using our set of TFAST rules. These rules are important to help avoid mistaking heart chambers for either type of effusion or heart anatomy for other abnormalities. Common causes for pericardial effusion in both dogs and cats will be covered. Overcoming confirmation bias error and satisfaction of search error, clinical imaging pearls, and advantages and limitations of TFAST as compared to radiography will also be discussed. Practical everyday cases are used to show this approach’s clinical impact.