Metro Atlanta veterinarian does house calls - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

For some people, gone are the days of tugging on a leash, trying to get your pet into the vet's office. More and more of the country's 85,000 veterinarians are now making house calls.

It seems pets just know when they're going to the vet's office; some claw, some run and hide to avoid going to the vet. More pet owners are saving themselves time and aggravation by having the vet come to them.

Metro Atlanta veterinarian Dr. Leslie Neely is going to work, but her car serves as her office. She's part of a growing and thriving trend in veterinary medicine. She's a mobile vet, which means her entire practice is based on house calls. Her first client of the day is a Frenchie named Peanut.

"You precious little baby girl, said Dr. Neely.

It's not the typical greeting for a veterinarian. Dr. Neely says she left the traditional practice three years ago so she could build better relationships with her clients.

"Sometimes in a stand-alone practice, you're just, you're having to go so fast, that you don't get that quality time," said Dr. Neely.

Dr. Neely can visit with patients from 45 minutes to over an hour. House calls reduce the stress for both the animals and their owners. Constance Lewis says the thought of getting both Peanut and her rescue cat, Emma, into the car is almost unbearable.

"One animal in the car is a lot. Two is more than twice the work," said Constance Lewis.

In the comfort of her own home, Emma doesn't even know she's being examined or immunized.

But Lewis says it's not just the convenience that makes the house call fee worth it, it's the relationship. She says Dr. Neely was there for her when her last Frenchie, named Riot, had a seizure.

"We called her and she was at a movie. She got out of the movie and she was on the phone with us, helping us make the very difficult decision about what to do," said Lewis.

Dr. Neely says she can perform most procedures that don't require anesthesia. She says her fees are comparable to a traditional clinic, but her clients says the services she provides are priceless.

"It's like a touchstone for the caring and really the nurturing of the pet owner, as much as the nurturing of the pet," said Lewis.

Most mobile vets charge a trip fee inaddition to any procedures. That fee can range between $40 and $150. For moreinformation on Dr. Neely's practice, click here!