As a small animal vet in practice for 28 years, 1 hour from several emergency clinics that weren't there 28 years ago, we do take after hours call. The clients appreciate it. My kids were included and grew up gracefully.

The vet I take my crew to is a feline-only vet who has a solo practice. I don't expect one person to hold down extended hours and still have a life and do continuing education. I'd rather have her expertise and the unique atmosphere of the clinic than the 'extra convenience' of extended hours. With a little planning, her regular office hours are not inconvenient at all. After-hours issues have come up a couple of times, but she and I have dealt with them and in 15 years I haven't yet had to go to an emergency clinic.

I have left two vets because of their hours. One because he did not have appointments, you just came and waited til he could get to you and the other because I found out the hard way that she didn't do emergencies, she just referred them to other vets. So when I had and emergency I was scrambling to find a vet who would take him. We live in a rural area where there are no emergency clinics.

I understand the needs of the people caring for our fur babies to have a life outside of their practice, unfortunately that does not help me in taking care of my dogs. I switched vets after having an emergency and finding out the emergency hospital also did regular health care. I can make an appointment any day, except Sunday, for any time between 7AM & 8PM. I think I may be paying more for this convenience but I also have peace of mind in knowing I can get care at any time & with the people who normally care for my kids.

My vet takes appointments until 4:30, but the office is open until 6. They also do drop-offs; if your pet needs to be seen and you can't make a daytime appointment, you can drop them off in the morning and pick them up before close.

I think they're certainly being accommodating, even if they don't offer later appointment hours.

I can understand business hours. However I already live 25 minutes from my vet and they don't have an on-call number, they just recommend going to a hospital that is 40 minutes even farther away. I can't imagine driving over an hour in the car with my dog needing emergency care. Another annoyance I have is closing early! Once I drove all the way out to our vet to get some flea meds and as I pulled in the parking lot a secretary was locking up! There were 20 minutes left before the posted close time, and I had called earlier to tell them I was coming by!

Our vet has extended hours one night a week which works well for a lot of people.They have been doing this for years. They are also open about 6 hours on Sat. After hours you go to the ER vet. They have a staff meeting one day a week over lunch when they don't take appointments. If you run in with an animal in crisis during that time, the STOP what they are doing and come running. Wonderful practice.

I have worked a 10 hour day (7-6) and now work 9-6. To accommodate my time constraints, I use a 24-hour emergency clinic as my primary vet. I love the vets there, and the customer service observed by the staff is usually wonderful. It's a little more expensive, but the trade-off is worth it for me.

Big city life: My cats' vet clinic (not a solo practice) is open 8-8 Mon-Thurs, 8-5 Fri, and 9-2 Saturday. Pretty convenient. They allow scheduled (not spontaneous) dropoffs, ie, I can leave a cat there before I go to work and the cat will be seen by a vet later in the day. On the few occasions I have done this I have written down my observations and questions so the vet knows why the cat is there and doesn't have to call me until after she has seen my cat. Of course I would much rather be there for a vet visit but that is not always possible. The clinic does not take emergencies out of office hours but there is a 24 hour clinic across town (town being DC).

My vet stays open late on Thursday and has Saturday morning hours which is great. He has a solo practice. I love this guy because I believe he has good judgment and doesn't pad the bill. I trust him. I also have had good experience with the emergency vets near me and I trust them as well. I also like his waiting room. It is small and people are quickly put into exam rooms so my pets are not stressed out by having to be near other pets who are also stressed out.

A Vet is a service industry. I know it is hard to keep costs down and service high. I also know how many "assistant" Veterinarians and techs my current Vet has gone through in the last 10 years because he is unwilling to pay them appropriately and loses them to the 24 hour facilities.

If my vet cannot treat my dog after 4:30 but I am still in his waiting room at 7 PM waiting time after time I am not in the right place. If my dog is sick on Wednesdays, Sat. after 11am and Sunday and I am always taking it to the 24 hour facilities then I am not in the right place.
Why do I have the vet in the first place? Because you have to have a primary vet for the 24 hour facility to send your records.

Vets need "Me Time" too. They have lives; families, their own pets etc. I'm lucky that I live in an area where we have quite a few animal emergency facilities. They are very expensive, but they're there.

Several years ago when my elderly dog became critically ill, I called my regular vet immediately. The receptionist said, "Don't bring her here, we'll be closing in a half an hour and will be gone for the weekend." I rushed the dog to relatively new emergency clinic recommended by my vet and discovered that it was actually is a 24 hour clinic that serves as both a regular veterinary clinic and emergency care center. In addition to the large staff of highly trained vets and assistants, surgeons and internists are on staff. Patients are not left on their own during weekends and the nighttime, but are continually monitored 24 hours and stay in spotless surroundings. Because it is a larger shared clinic, they also have state of the art equipment on hand. They were the first to properly diagnose and treat my dog (after seemingly countless other vet visits and emergency vet visits). Remarkably, the dog pulled through the life-threatening calamity and lived another 18 months. Needless to say, I left my old vet for this clinic and continue to take my other pets there. Granted, you need a large population base to support this sort of clinic, but I think it serves as an outstanding model of what health care for animals should be. It offers a continuity for the pet, better care, and avoids having to schlep pets between emergency vets and regular vets to accommodate the restrictive hours and availability of each. I would not by choice ever return to a one or two vet office that keeps 9 to 5 office hours.

We left a vet when they discontinued their Saturday hours. We currently use a practice that has five vets. The hours are 7:30AM to 6pm Monday thru Friday. Saturday hours are 8 to noon. We use two of the doctors. One of them is usually there. I appreciate the extended hours. We also have an emergency clinic in our city that is open 24/7. It is expensive but gives peace of mind that medical treatment is always available.