Call 591-2660 (an answering service will respond) after 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, after 12:00 Noon on Saturday and all day on Sundays. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years holidays are also emergency days. Always identify the farm and yourself. Please be prepared to describe the reason for the call – Is the animal standing or down?  Does the animal need surgery? How long has the cow been in labor? An emergency call charge of $40 is applied.

 At any time during regular working hours that a call must be responded to promptly causing the doctor to drive a considerable distance out of his/her way or delay previously scheduled work, the “emergency call” charge may be applied.

Helpful hints for using the answering service
 Let the telephone ring if there is no answer on the first two rings.  They may be responding to several calls at one time.

 First, give your name, telephone number and location.
 Second, describe the problem.  Please speak slowly. They have to write down everything you say in order to advise the doctor on call.
 Third, be patient.  The answering service staff is neither familiar with dairy farm language nor trained in cow care.
 Fourth, have someone available to answer the telephone in case the doctor needs to talk to you. If you are using a cell telephone, please stay in a place that has good reception.

 If you have animals beside cattle that the clinic has attended to for whatever reason, explain this to the service.  They are instructed to refer calls about horses, pigs, sheep, goats, dogs and cats to other practices.

 The answering service will NOT:
• Give out home numbers of doctors.
• Say where a doctor is at the time you call. This is a matter of client confidentiality.
• Call any doctor that is not on call.
• Call the clinic after closing to find out if a doctor is still there.