Condensed, Consolidated Income Statements (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011
Revenue	$ 438,372	$ 376,105	$ 847,837	$ 731,228
Direct costs	337,765	279,273	653,851	554,618
Gross profit	100,607	96,832	193,986	176,610
Selling, general and administrative expense	38,997	26,663	78,048	52,846
Net (gain) loss on sale of assets	112	60	635	149
Operating income	61,498	70,109	115,303	123,615
Interest expense, net	4,364	4,575	8,451	8,594
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Remeasurement Gain	0	0	(5,719)	0
Other expense (income)	(148)	(67)	(355)	(9)
Income before provision for income taxes	57,282	65,601	112,926	115,030
Provision for income taxes	21,504	25,536	40,827	44,469
Net income	35,778	40,065	72,099	70,561
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	1,458	453	2,534	2,110
Net income attributable to VCA Antech, Inc.	$ 34,320	$ 39,612	$ 69,565	$ 68,451
Basic earnings per share	$ 0.39	$ 0.46	$ 0.80	$ 0.79
Diluted earnings per share	$ 0.39	$ 0.45	$ 0.79	$ 0.78
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share	87,589	86,535	87,443	86,445
Weighted-average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share	88,723	87,304	88,555	87,303