- Years answering calls
- 30+
- Live agents, every call
- 24/7/365
- English & Spanish agents
- EN · ES
- Plans start at
- $33
Veterinary answering service
When a pet can’t wait, a real person answers
Pet emergencies don’t keep office hours. A dog that ate something it shouldn’t have, a cat that can’t breathe right, a horse down in the pasture: the owner on the phone is scared and needs a calm, clear answer. Our veterinary answering service puts a live, trained agent on every call in your clinic’s name. Agents follow your protocol exactly, getting urgent calls to your on-call veterinarian or referring owners to the emergency hospital you choose.
Everything else is handled too: appointment requests, refill messages, new client calls and the everyday questions that tie up your front desk. We answer 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English and Spanish. Southern Voices has answered calls since 1995 from our headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and we were founded by a physician, so we take clinical calls seriously even when the patient has four legs.
Who we answer for
Answering for veterinary practices of every kind
From one-doctor clinics to multi-location groups and practices that see large animals on farm calls.
Small animal clinics
Dogs, cats and pocket pets, with owners who call at all hours.
Emergency & specialty hospitals
Overflow and referral calls handled when your team is busy treating patients.
Mobile & house-call vets
Calls answered while you’re on the road between appointments.
Equine & large animal
Farm and barn emergencies routed to the vet on call, day or night.
Multi-location groups
Each clinic with its own greeting, hours and on-call schedule.
Boarding, grooming & daycare
Booking requests and pickup questions captured for your staff.
What we handle
The calls your clinic gets every day
After-hours pet emergencies
Screened with your questions, then sent to your on-call vet or referred to the emergency hospital your protocol names.
Appointment requests
Booked in your scheduling system when you give us access, or taken as complete requests for your team.
New clients
Owner and pet details, the reason for the visit and the best time to call, captured live.
Refill requests
Medication, dose, pet name and pharmacy taken in full so your team doesn’t have to call back for details.
Lab results & follow-ups
Owners calling about results or recovery get a message logged for the right doctor.
Hours, directions & questions
Common questions answered from the information you give us.
Our agents don’t give medical advice, and they never tell an owner what’s wrong with a pet. They follow your script, and anything clinical goes to your veterinarian or to the emergency clinic you’ve chosen.
Nights, weekends & holidays
After-hours veterinary answering, your way
Clinics handle after-hours emergencies differently, so we follow yours. Some practices want every urgent call sent to the vet on call. Others refer owners straight to a nearby emergency hospital and want a message for the morning. Many use a mix, depending on the species or the problem. We build your script around your rules and keep your on-call schedule current.
Urgent calls reach your veterinarian by live phone patch, a call to their cell, or a secure text. Routine messages arrive by secure text, email or the client portal before your team opens. Read what missed after-hours calls really cost.
- Your clinic team: 8 AM–6 PM
- Southern Voices: nights, weekends, holidays
- Southern Voices: lunch hour
- Overflow backup whenever your lines are busy
Example schedule. You choose exactly which hours we cover.
How pet owner calls are handled
What happens when a pet owner calls
A live agent answers in your clinic’s name, asks your screening questions, and follows your protocol from there.
- Urgent Your on-call veterinarian, reached now Live phone patch, a call to their cell, or a referral to the emergency hospital you choose
- Booking Appointment booked Booked in your scheduling system when you give us access, or sent as a request
- New client New client captured Owner, pet and reason for the visit, sent to your front desk
- Question Question answered Hours, directions, boarding and common questions, answered from your information
Spanish-speaking pet owners get a bilingual agent live, not a “press 2” menu. More on bilingual answering.
Real people, every call
Hard calls deserve a human voice
Not every call is an emergency. Some owners call because a pet is old and failing and they don’t know what to do next. Those calls need patience and kindness, not a phone tree. Our agents are trained to slow down, listen, and take a clear message so your team can follow up with care.
We cover why live answering still matters in 24/7 doesn’t mean automated.
Getting started
How it works
- Share your protocolYour hours, on-call vets, referral hospital and what counts as an emergency for your clinic.
- Approve your scriptWe write the greeting, screening questions and routing rules. Agents are trained before go-live.
- Forward your lineAfter hours only, lunch and overflow, or all calls.
- Update any timeChange on-call schedules, referral partners and scripts whenever you need to.
Pricing
What a veterinary answering service costs
Pricing follows your call volume and how much each call involves. Plans start at $33, and practices with several clinics get volume discounts: the more locations and calls we handle, the lower your rate.
See answering service pricing for what goes into a quote, or ask us for one.
Plans start at
$33
Your plan is built around your call volume, and larger organizations get volume discounts.
Questions
Veterinary answering service FAQs
Don’t see your question? Call and ask a live agent, any time.
Do your agents give veterinary advice?
No. Agents don’t diagnose or advise. They ask the screening questions you approve and then follow your protocol: reaching your on-call veterinarian, referring the owner to your chosen emergency hospital, or taking a message.
Can you send some emergencies to us and refer others to an emergency hospital?
Yes. Your protocol can route calls differently by problem, species or time of night. We build those rules into your script.
Can you book appointments for our clinic?
Yes. With access to your scheduling system, agents book and change appointments directly. Otherwise they take complete appointment requests for your team.
Do you answer during the day?
Yes. Many clinics use us for lunch-hour coverage and overflow when the front desk is busy with clients in the lobby, as well as nights and weekends.
How much does a veterinary answering service cost?
Plans start at $33 and scale with call volume and complexity. Multi-location practices get volume discounts. See our pricing page or contact us for a quote.
Keep reading
Guides for busy practices
The real cost of missed after-hours calls
What an unanswered evening call costs a practice.
Why live receptionists still win trust
What 24/7 should mean for your callers.
6 tips to get the most from your answering service
Simple setup choices that make every call better.
Also serving: medical practices, dental offices and small and professional businesses.