In an effort to improve access to veterinary care for our clients & patients during after-hours, we have teamed up with a Canadian veterinarian-led company named Smart.Vet.  Smart.Vet allows you, our clients, access to Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVTs) over the phone whenever our hospital is not open to take your call.  These RVTs can speak with you to determine the level of care that your pet requires, and will then work with you to schedule an appointment with one of their licensed Ontario-based veterinarians.  If your pet requires critical in-person care, the RVT will be able to determine this over the phone with you and will assist you by making arrangements for your pet to be transferred for physical care.

Please be advised that AVC shares an on-call rotation with Elliot Lake Animal Hospital for after-hours small animal emergencies. If critical in-person care is required, you will need to be prepared to travel to Elliot Lake or our main office in Desbarats. Please also be aware that in-person critical care services mainly apply to our current and Elliot Lake Animal Hospital clients. We are not able to take on new clients at this time.

The phone number you will use to access our RVTs is 705-805-7301. There is no cost for this call or any assistance provided by the RVTs. If you are booked with a virtual veterinarian, there will be a cost starting at $130 plus HST for the consultation, with an additional $30 service fee if medication is prescribed.

You also have the ability to book directly with a Smart.Vet veterinarian by visiting https://smartvet.ca/login.  Once you’ve created an account, you can decide to send in a message or request a phone / video call. When you’ve submitted a phone / video request, a veterinarian will reach out to you as soon as they’re available. Please just wait for a call from a number with area code 647 - this may take more than 20 minutes during busier times.

Once a request has been submitted, you can add additional notes or add images/videos to the consultation for the veterinarian’s reference.

If you have any issues during scheduling, you can send an email to care@smartvet.ca. 

We understand that this process is much different than the way most clients have previously accessed emergency service. However, as the demand for veterinary service increases while facing a severe veterinarian shortage, these changes allow us to continue to provide care for our patients in the most effective and timely manner for pets facing critical emergencies. It also lowers the costs for urgent and emergency services which can be handled virtually.

If you have any questions or concerns about our emergency coverage, please contact the clinic.