05/27/2026
To our clients, four-legged patients, friends, and community:
We wanted to take a moment to give everyone an honest update about where things currently stand at Valeo Veterinary.
The short version is: we are very busy. Busier than we honestly ever expected this quickly.
Yes, we are still accepting new clients and patients… but it has become a bit more complicated, so please continue reading below for details.
The current waitlist system is also not working quite as well as we had hoped. It is honestly starting to resemble the “pool lounger game” at all-inclusive resorts, where people rush out early in the morning to claim chairs by throwing a towel on them just in case they might want one later.
We completely understand why people are doing it. Veterinary access in many areas is difficult right now, and people understandably want to establish care before they urgently need it. Unfortunately, it also means our scheduling volume has grown very quickly, including many requests that may not actually need appointments anytime soon.
We have also decided that we are no longer going to actively maintain a large waitlist. The reality is that as a small mobile practice, we simply cannot safely or realistically cover the geographic demand we are currently seeing. The vast majority of our emergency and after-hours calls are coming from Camdenton, Macks Creek/Roach, Eldon, Iberia/Brumley, and the west side of the lake, which often involves significant travel time on top of an already very full schedule. At this point, maintaining an ever-growing waitlist for areas we may not realistically be able to service in a timely manner does not feel fair to families or patients waiting for care.
Over the past several weeks, the number of appointment requests, consultations, messages, emergencies, and ongoing patient care needs has increased significantly.
First and foremost, we are incredibly grateful. The trust and support this community has shown our family and our practice means more than we can adequately put into words.
At the same time, we also want to be transparent that we are feeling the strain of trying to keep up with the volume while still providing the level of care our patients deserve.
Because we are a mobile practice, scheduling is not always simple. Every day involves travel between homes, changing appointment needs, urgent add-ons, emergencies, traffic, delays, and trying to fit as many patients into the day as we safely and reasonably can. On many days, we are already adding an additional 3–5 appointments beyond what was originally scheduled just to help established clients in areas we are already traveling to.
Right now, our schedule is very full. We are actively working through appointments as quickly as possible, but we also never want patient care to become rushed or impersonal simply to move faster.
Until we are able to get caught up, and potentially grow in the future, we are limiting new client appointments to:
• Osage Beach
• Lake Ozark (Including the eastern end of Rte W)
• Four Seasons (Horseshoe Bend & Porto Cima)
• Portions of Sunrise Beach (Rte MM & TT areas only)
• Portions of Linn Creek (primarily Rte Y area)
We WILL continue servicing established clients outside of these areas.
Current service hours:
• Monday: 7 am – 4 pm
• Tuesday: 10 am – 6 pm (often later)
• Wednesday: Off — Emergency Availability Only
• Thursday: 7 am – 4 pm
• Friday: 10 am – 6 pm (often later)
• Weekends: Off — Emergency Availability Only, Limited availability for emergencies, fixed-location appointments, and community events
A few things that would genuinely help us tremendously right now:
• If you need to cancel or reschedule, please let us know as early as possible so we can offer that opening to another patient waiting for care.
• Please respond to scheduling messages when able.
• If your pet’s condition worsens while waiting for an appointment, let us know so we can reassess urgency.
• Please be patient with us. We are trying very hard to care for a large number of patients, and it is just the two of us.
We also want to gently address communication expectations.
We completely understand that when something is wrong with your pet, it is stressful and emotional. We truly do. But many non-urgent messages are currently arriving very late at night or very early in the morning, sometimes beginning around 5 am and continuing well past midnight.
We are still monitoring for true emergencies, but we kindly ask everyone to be mindful that we are also humans with families, children, responsibilities, and a need for rest.
We are not a 24-hour emergency hospital or a call center for the entire Lake area. While we will always do our best to help established clients whenever possible, there will absolutely be times when we are unavailable... especially overnight, while driving between appointments, or while actively treating another patient.
We have also made the decision that we are going to protect our scheduled days off whenever possible. That is not because we care less. It is because burnout in veterinary medicine is very real, and we want to continue being here long-term for our patients, our clients, and our own family.
For contact purposes:
• Urgent matters: (573) 200-6370
• Non-urgent established client needs (med refills, vaccine requests, records, follow-ups): please text our software line at (888) 920-8549
• New client requests and routine scheduling: please use the contact form at valeo.vet
We may not always be able to return every call or message immediately, and sometimes we may not be able to return them at all depending on urgency and workload. Active patient care has to remain our first priority.
We know this post is long, but we felt everyone deserved transparency about where things currently stand.
Thank you for your kindness, your patience, your understanding, and most importantly, for trusting us with your pets. It is a responsibility we never take lightly.
— Dr. Travis, Family, & Kerigan
