Tailor-Made Temporary Veterinary Staffing Solutions
Best Temporary Veterinary Staffing Agency in the US
Temporary veterinary staffing keeps appointments on the schedule when a doctor or technician is out. Pulivarthi Group provides licensed relief veterinarians and credentialed technicians for coverage from a single day to several months, whether you are covering maternity leave, a vacation, a sudden resignation or the weeks before a permanent hire starts. Every professional is license-verified for your state before the first shift, and you pay only for the coverage you use, with no hire fee and no long-term commitment.
Cost of delayed hiring
The Hidden Costs of Uncovered Veterinary Shifts
An uncovered doctor day is not a saving. Appointments get pushed, surgeries slip, emergency cases divert to the competitor across town, and the remaining team absorbs the load until someone else burns out. Relief veterinarian day rates across the market typically run in the high hundreds to low thousands of dollars per day, which is almost always less than the production and goodwill lost by leaving the slot empty. Temporary veterinary staffing turns an unpredictable gap into a fixed, planned cost.
Challenges
Without Temporary Vet Hires
With Strategic Temporary Vet Hiring
Appointment backlogs
High turnover risk
Quick placements
Staff burnout and overtime
Reactive hiring cycles
Reduced burnout and attrition
Declining client experience
Overworked clinical teams
Reliable scheduling and coverage
Lost revenue opportunities
Inconsistent care delivery
Improved clinic performance
Without Timely Hiring
Productivity
Declining output
Team Morale
High burnout
Revenue Growth
Slower expansion
With Strategic Hiring
Productivity
Increased efficiency
Team Morale
Balanced workload
Revenue Growth
Accelerated success
What Temporary Veterinary Staffing Includes
Temporary staffing gives you a qualified clinician for a defined period without adding a permanent employee. We match the professional to your case mix and practice software, confirm licensure, and coordinate schedules. Typical temporary and relief coverage:
- Relief associate veterinarians for general practice appointment blocks
- Emergency and critical care veterinarians for overnight, weekend and holiday coverage
- Credentialed veterinary technicians for surgery, dentistry, anesthesia and treatment-room support
- Veterinary assistants and front-desk staff during surges
- Interim practice managers while you recruit a permanent lead
Temp-to-hire is available: if a relief clinician is the right long-term fit, you can convert them to a permanent employee.
What Does Temporary Veterinary Staffing Cost?
Temporary and relief coverage is billed by the day or hour for the time worked. There is no placement fee. Published 2026 relief rate guides put most relief veterinarian day rates between $600 and $1,500, with general practice coverage commonly at $800 to $1,000 a day. Weekend, overnight and holiday shifts usually carry a 1.25x to 1.5x premium, and high-cost metros sit at the top of the range.
| Role | Typical 2026 relief rate | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Relief veterinarian (general practice) | $800 to $1,000 per day | Market, appointment volume, surgery expectations |
| Relief veterinarian (ER / urgent care) | Upper end of $600 to $1,500 per day | Overnight and holiday premiums of 1.25x to 1.5x |
| Relief veterinary technician | About $22 to $38 per hour | Credentialing, anesthesia and dental skills, metro |
| Staff benchmark: veterinarian | $130,100 median salary ($62.55 per hour) | BLS, May 2025 |
| Staff benchmark: veterinary technician | $47,380 median salary ($22.78 per hour) | BLS, May 2025 |
Sources: relief rate ranges from published 2026 relief-rate guides; technician hourly data from ZipRecruiter and Roo; staff benchmarks from BLS.
When temporary staff come through an agency, the rate you pay also covers what an employer normally carries: payroll taxes, workers compensation, liability coverage and scheduling. That is why an agency rate sits above the clinician's own pay, and why it is usually cheaper than overtime plus the appointments you would otherwise cancel. For more, see what it costs to hire a veterinarian.
How Temporary Staffing Compares With Other Options
Most practices use more than one model. Here is how temporary veterinary staffing compares with the alternatives. For the full cost math across every model, see our guide to veterinary staffing solutions, or compare providers in our list of the top veterinary staffing agencies.
| Model | Best for | Typical length | How you pay | Time to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent | Ongoing roles where continuity of care and client relationships matter | Indefinite (direct hire onto your payroll) | One-time placement fee when your hire starts | Search-dependent; weeks for GP roles, longer for specialists |
| Temporary / relief (this page) | Leave, vacation, sudden resignations, the gap before a permanent hire | A single day to several months | Daily or hourly rate; no hire fee | Days, depending on license and location |
| Contract | Defined projects, seasonal surges, new locations, trial before hire | Typically 3 to 12 months | Hourly bill rate for the contract term | One to three weeks |
| Per diem | Individual shifts, weekends, holidays, on-call and surgery days | Shift by shift, booked as needed | Per shift or per hour, only for shifts worked | As soon as a shift is confirmed |
| Executive search | Medical directors, regional leaders, COO and practice-group leadership | Indefinite (direct hire) | Retained or contingent search fee | A multi-month confidential search |
Temporary staffing fits when the gap has a known end. If the need is ongoing or shift-by-shift, a different model is usually better:
- Ongoing roles where continuity of care and client relationships matter → permanent veterinary staffing
- Defined projects, seasonal surges, new locations, trial before hire → contract veterinary staffing
- Individual shifts, weekends, holidays, on-call and surgery days → per diem veterinary staffing
- Medical directors, regional leaders, COO and practice-group leadership → veterinary executive search
How Our Temporary Veterinary Staffing Process Works
Our temporary veterinary staffing process puts a licensed relief clinician on your schedule quickly, with state licensure and practice fit confirmed before the first shift.
Submit Your Staffing Request
Share your temporary needs for roles like Emergency Veterinarian, Urgent Care Veterinarian, or DACVIM specialist.
Schedule & Role Alignment
We align shift length, caseload, and care setting.
Candidate Screening
Licensed, experienced veterinarians ready for temporary assignments.
Quick Review & Confirmation
Fast selection to avoid coverage delays.
Onboard & Maintain Coverage
Seamless integration into your clinical team.
Fill Temporary Vet Roles Fast.
Temporary veterinary staffing keeps your clinic running without disruption when coverage matters most.
What Others Say About Us
Hundreds of veterinary clinics and animal hospitals trust us to deliver reliable staffing solutions. Here’s what they say:
Case Studies
Real Hiring Success Stories
Navigating Board Certification and State Licensing for DACVIM Placement Specialty Referral Hospitals Dependent on Board-Certified Expertise Board-certified veterinary internal medicine
Preventing Referral Backlogs by Placing a Veterinary Internal Medicine Specialist Specialty Referral Hospitals Facing Diagnostic Bottlenecks Specialty referral hospitals rely
Temporary Veterinary Staffing FAQs
What is temporary veterinary staffing?
Temporary veterinary staffing places a licensed veterinarian or technician in your practice for a defined period, from a single day to several months. The professional is supplied by the agency, so you get coverage without hiring, onboarding or offering benefits.
What is the difference between a relief veterinarian and a temporary veterinarian?
In practice they are the same thing. Relief veterinarian is the term most clinics use; temporary veterinary staffing describes the service of supplying one. Some relief vets work independently on 1099 terms, while agency relief comes with payroll, liability and scheduling handled.
How much do relief veterinarians cost per day in 2026?
Most relief veterinarian day rates fall between $600 and $1,500, with general practice commonly at $800 to $1,000. Weekend, overnight and holiday coverage usually carries a 1.25x to 1.5x premium.
How quickly can you provide temporary veterinary coverage?
For veterinarians already licensed in your state, coverage can often start within days. Out-of-state clinicians need a license first, which is why we match on licensure before anything else.
Can I hire a temporary veterinarian permanently?
Yes. Temp-to-hire conversion is available on every assignment, so a relief clinician who fits your team can move onto your payroll.
Are temporary veterinary professionals licensed and vetted?
Yes. Every temporary clinician is checked for active state licensure, DEA registration where needed, clinical experience and references before placement.
Do you provide temporary emergency veterinarians?
Yes. We cover emergency, urgent care and critical care shifts, including overnights, weekends and holidays.
Ready to start? Request a staffing quote or see our full veterinary staffing services.
Still Have Questions?
Not sure if temporary staffing fits your needs? Let’s discuss your coverage requirements.
Idexx
EverVet
Heart and Paw
easyvet
VCA Animal Hospital
United Veterinary Care
Innovetive Petcare
Alliance Animal Hospital
