I agree with Mike Janke that sometimes the wrong person is handling the phone. My vet is fantastic and has never turned away an emergency that I know of. When I had to bring my Slinky in for a mercy shot, I phoned the clinic at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning and was told that it was not a good time to bring Slinky in, that 10 a.m would be better, that not enough time could be given to me. I replied that I didn't need any time, that my poor animal was suffering and he wasn't going to suffer for two more hours. I told her to let the doctor know that I was on my way in, as I was sure he would have no objection. When I arrived, my vet promptly showed me into the back room where he administered the mercy shot. I know that if my vet had answered the phone, he would have said to come right in. The person who answered the phone was the problem. Regards, Moxie [Posted in FML issue 2832]