Condensed, Consolidated Income Statements (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
Revenue	$ 409,465	$ 355,123
Direct costs	316,086	275,345
Gross profit	93,379	79,778
Selling, general and administrative expense	39,051	26,183
Net (gain) loss on sale of assets	523	89
Operating income	53,805	53,506
Interest expense, net	4,087	4,019
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Remeasurement Gain	(5,719)	0
Other expense (income)	(207)	58
Income before provision for income taxes	55,644	49,429
Provision for income taxes	19,323	18,933
Net income	36,321	30,496
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	1,076	1,657
Net income attributable to VCA Antech, Inc.	$ 35,245	$ 28,839
Basic earnings per share	$ 0.41	$ 0.33
Diluted earnings per share	$ 0.40	$ 0.33
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share	86,984	86,355
Weighted-average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share	88,055	87,245