Consolidated Income Statements (USD $) Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 1,699,642,000	$ 1,485,361,000	$ 1,381,468,000
Direct costs	1,324,668,000	1,146,904,000	1,050,304,000
Gross profit	374,974,000	338,457,000	331,164,000
Selling, general and administrative expense	157,155,000	121,112,000	123,541,000
Asset Impairment Charges	123,573,000
Goodwill impairment	99,501,000	21,310,000	0
Net loss on sale of assets	1,310,000	382,000	374,000
Operating income (loss)	92,936,000	195,653,000	207,249,000
Interest expense	(17,020,000)	(17,485,000)	(14,431,000)
Interest income	(468,000)	(601,000)	(801,000)
Debt retirement costs	0	2,764,000	2,131,000
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Remeasurement Gain	(5,719,000)	0	0
Other expense (income)	(488,000)	118,000	(772,000)
Income before provision for income taxes	82,591,000	175,887,000	192,260,000
Provision for income taxes	31,875,000	76,027,000	78,102,000
Net income	50,716,000	99,860,000	114,158,000
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	5,165,000	4,455,000	3,915,000
Net income attributable to VCA Antech, Inc.	$ 45,551,000	$ 95,405,000	$ 110,243,000
Basic earnings per share	$ 0.52	$ 1.10	$ 1.28
Diluted earnings per share	$ 0.51	$ 1.09	$ 1.27
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share	87,681	86,606	86,049
Weighted-average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share	88,671	87,394	87,051