By Steffie Higgins | Doggie Faire BnB — In-Home Dog Boarding in the Quercy Region, South West France
Moving to a new area with a dog or cat in tow brings a particular kind of anxiety: you don’t yet know who to call if something goes wrong. Google throws up dozens of listings with no way to tell which ones are still trading, which ones speak English, or which ones actually pick up the phone out of hours.
We’ve done the legwork so you don’t have to. Below is a researched, up-to-date list of local vets — starting with two practices we’d recommend to anyone settling into the area — along with genuine emergency contact information. Save this page, or better still, print it and stick it to the fridge.
Why having this sorted matters
A calm home is a big part of reducing stress for both you and your pet. But calm goes out the window the moment your dog eats something it shouldn’t, or your cat goes missing for the night and comes home limping. Knowing exactly who to ring and having the number already saved in your phone removes one more source of panic from an already stressful moment.
Our top two recommendations
1. VET2U — Dr Diana James (Beauville)
If you’re an English-speaking pet parent and not yet confident navigating veterinary French, this is where to start.
- Vet: Dr Diana James, BVetMed MRCVS
- Address: 76 Route de la Côte Rouge, 47470 Beauville
- Phone: +33 (0)6 32 23 77 08
- Website: www.vet2u.eu
- Services: Home visits by request, or appointments at Beauville. Vaccinations, European pet passports, microchipping, dental checks, parasite treatment, and general medical care — all explained in plain English.
- Good to know: This is a solo, mobile-friendly practice rather than a walk-in clinic, so major emergencies still need a fully equipped clinic (see below). But for routine care, travel paperwork, and the reassurance of speaking your own language about your pet’s health, it’s an excellent first port of call.
2. Clinique Vétérinaire des 3 Chemins (Bourg-de-Visa)
A well-regarded, established local clinic with a strong reputation among residents.
- Address: 25 Grand Rue, Le Bourg, 82190 Bourg-de-Visa
- Phone: 05 63 04 35 92
- Email: clinvetdes3chemins@orange.fr
- Typical hours: Monday to Friday, 9am–12pm and 2pm–6.30pm; Saturday 9am–12.30pm. Closed Sundays.
- Good to know: Fully equipped for consultations, vaccinations, surgery, and day-to-day care, with a solid track record of good reviews locally. An out-of-hours mobile number is given when you call the landline, in English, following the initial French message. Most of the vets at this clinic speak English.
Four more well-regarded local practices
3. Cabinet Vétérinaire du Lamia (Lauzerte)
- Address: 26 Rue de la Garrigue, 82110 Lauzerte
- Phone: 05 63 94 67 43
- Typical hours: Monday to Saturday, 8am–7pm. Closed Sundays.
4. Clinique Vétérinaire des Drs Alaux et Streiff (Saint-Sylvestre-sur-Lot)
Consistently well-reviewed locally, with owners specifically praising how attentive and available the vets are for genuine emergencies.
- Address: 42 Rue de la République, 47140 Saint-Sylvestre-sur-Lot
- Phone: 05 53 41 49 00
- Typical hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30am–12pm and 2.30pm–7pm; Saturday 8.30am–12pm and 2.30pm–5pm.
- Good to know: They run an out-of-hours cover arrangement with neighbouring practices — if they can’t take your call themselves, their answerphone gives you the number of whoever’s on duty.
5. Clinique Vétérinaire Beauséjour (Villeneuve-sur-Lot)
Worth having in your contacts even if it’s a slightly longer drive, as it’s a larger practice with more diagnostic and surgical capability — genuinely useful if your usual vet refers you on.
- Address: 4 Rue du Docteur Pierre Mourgues, 47300 Villeneuve-sur-Lot
- Phone: 05 53 40 10 33
- Good to know: If they’re not the on-call practice when you ring out of hours, their answering machine will direct you to whoever is.
6. Clinique Vétérinaire Saint Jacques (Agen)
A larger multi-vet clinic worth knowing about for anything beyond routine care — it has vets with specific interests in surgery, internal medicine, imaging, ophthalmology and dermatology, and dogs and cats are hospitalised separately for comfort. It’s also the practice VET2U refers on to for emergencies requiring a fully equipped clinic.
- Address: 1497 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 47000 Agen
- Phone: 05 53 68 22 33
- Typical hours: Monday to Friday, 8am–7pm; Saturday 8am–12pm and 2pm–6pm, with an emergency service outside these hours.
- Good to know: It’s a bigger, busier practice than the others on this list, and reviews are mixed on things like waiting times and bedside manner — but it’s well-equipped and well-regarded for its clinical standard, particularly for surgery and specialist referrals.
What to do in a genuine emergency
A couple of things are worth knowing before you ever need them:
- Most small local practices don’t have 24-hour reception, but they do operate an out-of-hours rota (garde) with neighbouring practices. If you call your usual vet and it’s closed, the answerphone message will almost always tell you which practice is on duty that night or weekend, and give you a number to ring.
- National on-call vet line: You can also dial 3115 to be put through to a veterinary practice on call in your area, any time of day or night.
- Keep this list somewhere you can find it fast — a note on the fridge, a saved contact group in your phone, or a pinned note in WhatsApp. In a genuine emergency, you don’t want to be scrolling through search results with a distressed animal in the car.
- If in doubt, ring first. Turning up unannounced at a practice that isn’t equipped for emergencies can waste precious time. A quick call means you’re either sent straight to the right place or talked through first-aid steps while you get there.
Settling in
Finding “your” vet often takes a visit or two — much like finding a GP you actually like. We’d suggest registering with one of the practices above for a routine check-up in your first few weeks, even if nothing’s wrong. It means your pet’s records exist locally before you ever need them in a hurry, and it gives you a chance to see how a practice runs before it matters.
If you’ve had a good (or not-so-good) experience with a local vet not listed here, we’d love to hear about it — this guide will only get more useful the more local knowledge feeds into it.