Pet owners think emergencies. Vets know triage. The hard part isn't deciding who handles what — it's making sure clients reach the right place fast enough that the wrong things don't escalate. Here's the routing layer.
Clients calling after hours fall into three buckets: (1) true emergency — needs the local emergency vet, (2) urgent question — can wait until morning if reassured, (3) routine that'll keep — non-emergency. A routing URL sorts these so true emergencies hit the ER and routine calls don't wake you. Pair with an answering service for the warmth-needed calls.
Voicemail and auto-reply point to a URL. URL asks one question: 'How urgent is this?' with three buttons mapping to the categories above.
True emergency button: contact info for the local 24/7 ER, with their address and phone.
Urgent question button: phone number for on-call (you, or a covering vet).
Routine button: 'Please email [address] and we'll respond when we open at [time].'
Most solo vets find a covering vet through:
Email all active clients (or active accounts in past 12 months) 7 days before vacation:
'Hi — [Clinic] will be closed [dates]. For after-hours emergencies during this window, please contact [ER Vet Name] at [phone] / [address]. For non-urgent questions, [covering vet name] at [phone] is happy to help. We'll be back [date].'
Real emergencies hit the ER, routine waits till morning. 14 days free.
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