Anyone who has pets will tell you that they never find a good time to get sick. It always seems to be when you have something else to do, other big bills have just arrived, or the vets are closed.
Although we can’t do much about the first two, we’re here for you at all times if you need us.
Over the Christmas period, we will be closed only for the public holidays. On all other days, we will be open as normal.
When we are closed, we will be offering an on-call service, so a vet will be available at all times.
If your pet is unwell or injured over Christmas, your first step should be to call your regular vet clinic. They will either direct your call to their duty vet or give you the number of another clinic which can provide the care which is needed.
If you’re a client of ours, please call the regular clinic number, then press “2” when prompted. This will direct your call to the duty vet.
Please note the following when it comes to on-call services (these points apply to almost all clinics):
- We’re generally not at the clinic. When we’re on-call, we are at home or spending time with our friends and family. The on-call work is done in addition to our normal work hours, so trying to spend time away from the clinic is important. Please phone ahead before driving to the clinic as this will allow us to meet you at the clinic much sooner.
- Additional fees will apply. Providing an on-call service 24/7 is quite expensive. As such, additional fees will be charged for after-hours calls. This fee is payable at the time of the consultation.
- We can’t do house calls after hours. This is for the safety of our staff, as well as ensuring your pet receives the best possible care. We are also very limited in the medication and equipment we can carry.
- Please call sooner rather than later. When we’re on call, we’ve generally either worked a full day or if it’s the weekend we’ve tried to enjoy some time away from work. If you’re worried about your pet, please call us early on as we would rather get a full nights sleep when possible. However, if it’s an emergency, call us regardless of the time. We would prefer to be woken up at 2 am and be able to save the pet rather than getting a full night’s sleep and being too late to help.
- Please understand the stress and strain after hours puts on us. We already work long days, and on-call work is additional to this. Although none of us enjoys the disruption to our private lives, we understand the importance of offering this service. The alternative would be to refer all cases to dedicated emergency clinics in Perth, which could cost lives due to the 90+ minute drive.