Our ability to service emergencies is in transition because of numerous factors, local and national.  On the national level demand for veterinary services has increased significantly during the covid virus pandemic, at the same time, pandemic related restrictions have caused changes in the way veterinary clinics operate.  On the local level (The greater Walla Walla Valley) most or all of the local practices no longer see small animal emergencies after regular business hours, and instead refer to emergency clinics in the Tri-City area.  As a result of these factors our clinic has seen a dramatic increase in emergency and urgent care cases, the majority of which originate from outside our usual client base.
We do our best, but our limited manpower means we cannot handle all of the after-hours emergency demands we are currently facing.  In many cases very serious emergencies will need to be referred to emergency services elsewhere.  The good news is that most of the late night emergency requests are not so urgent, in reality, that they cannot wait until the clinic opens.  And, during clinic hours, we go out of our way to help all perceived emergency and urgent care situations no matter how busy the schedule already is.