# Blog

Updated: 2026-10-07 · Canonical: https://tillyvet.com/blog

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# Vet clinic phone and front desk blog

Practical, vendor-neutral articles for practice managers, owners and front-desk teams at independent vet clinics: how to measure and cover your phones, keep the schedule full, and run a front desk that isn't always one call behind.

-   [Never miss a call](/blog/topic/never-miss-a-call)
-   [A full, reliable schedule](/blog/topic/full-reliable-schedule)
-   [Practice economics](/blog/topic/practice-economics)

-   ![](/media/blog-vet-clinic-after-hours-calls-cover.webp)
    
    Never miss a call · 10 min read
    
    ### [After-hours calls at a vet clinic: what callers need and how to cover them](/blog/vet-clinic-after-hours-calls)
    
    Sort after-hours calls into four kinds, design cover for each, send possible emergencies to a person fast and test your after-hours path every month.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-ai-receptionist-vet-clinic-guide-cover.webp)
    
    Guide · AI at the front desk, safely · 20 min read
    
    ### [AI receptionists for vet clinics: how they work and what to ask](/blog/ai-receptionist-vet-clinic-guide)
    
    How an AI receptionist answers vet clinic calls, what it should never do, how emergencies reach a person, and the questions to ask any vendor.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-vet-reminder-text-templates-cover.webp)
    
    A full, reliable schedule · 8 min read
    
    ### [Appointment and vaccine reminder text templates for vet clinics](/blog/vet-reminder-text-templates)
    
    Copy-ready appointment, vaccine recall, no-show and waitlist text templates for vet clinics, with character counts, opt-out wording and a US consent note.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-vet-clinic-phone-compliance-guide-cover.webp)
    
    Guide · Compliance and privacy · 21 min read
    
    ### [Calls, texts and the law: a compliance guide for vet clinics](/blog/vet-clinic-phone-compliance-guide)
    
    A plain-language US guide for vet clinics: TCPA texting and calling, consent records, quiet hours, opt-outs, call recording, AI disclosure and privacy.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-vet-clinic-holiday-phone-coverage-cover.webp)
    
    Never miss a call · 6 min read
    
    ### [Holiday phone cover for vet clinics: a December rota plan](/blog/vet-clinic-holiday-phone-coverage)
    
    A December phone plan for vet clinics: confirm your emergency partner's hours, publish holiday hours, staff the peaks and test every closure day.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-missed-calls-vet-clinic-audit-cover.webp)
    
    Never miss a call · 8 min read
    
    ### [How many calls is your vet clinic missing? A one-week phone audit](/blog/missed-calls-vet-clinic-audit)
    
    A vendor-neutral, one-week phone audit for vet clinics: what counts as a missed call, where your call data lives and how to read your answer rate.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-is-ai-safe-vet-clinic-phones-cover.webp)
    
    AI at the front desk, safely · 12 min read
    
    ### [Is it safe to let AI answer your clinic's phones? The questions to ask](/blog/is-ai-safe-vet-clinic-phones)
    
    Five safety rules any AI on a vet clinic's phones should follow, the questions to ask a vendor, and a 20-minute test-call script to check each rule.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-vet-front-desk-guide-cover.webp)
    
    Guide · A front desk that works · 21 min read
    
    ### [Running a vet clinic front desk: workload, scripts and training](/blog/vet-front-desk-guide)
    
    How to run a veterinary front desk: map the workload, write phone scripts, handle grief calls with care, keep refills with your vets and train your team.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-switch-ai-receptionist-shepherd-cover.webp)
    
    AI at the front desk, safely · 6 min read
    
    ### [Switching AI receptionist on Shepherd: a migration guide](/blog/switch-ai-receptionist-shepherd)
    
    A calm, step-by-step guide for Shepherd clinics changing AI receptionist: what to export, what to ask, how to test and how to move call forwarding.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-tcpa-vet-clinic-texting-cover.webp)
    
    Compliance and privacy · 11 min read
    
    ### [TCPA for vet clinics: texting and calling clients the right way](/blog/tcpa-vet-clinic-texting)
    
    A plain-language guide to the TCPA for veterinary clinics: which texts and calls need which consent, calling hours, opt-outs, AI voice calls and records.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-vet-clinic-phone-coverage-guide-cover.webp)
    
    Guide · Never miss a call · 16 min read
    
    ### [The complete guide to phone coverage for vet clinics](/blog/vet-clinic-phone-coverage-guide)
    
    Why vet clinics miss calls, how to measure answer rate and abandonment, staff for peaks, choose a coverage model and plan the after-hours path.
    
-   ![](/media/blog-vet-clinic-phone-scripts-cover.webp)
    
    A front desk that works · 13 min read
    
    ### [Vet clinic phone scripts: 10 templates for your front desk](/blog/vet-clinic-phone-scripts)
    
    Ten veterinary receptionist phone scripts, from greetings and bookings to refills, complaints and urgent calls, with the reason behind each line.