The Company (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) day_care_location province provinces Laboratory segment State Hospital	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
The Company (Textual) [Abstract]
Number of operating segments | segment		5
Number of hospitals operated | Hospital		795
Number of states in which hospitals are operated		43
Number of Canadian Provinces | province		5
Number of states in which the company operate a full-service veterinary diagnostic laboratory network		50
Number of laboratories operated | Laboratory		61
Gain on sale of business | $	$ 43,300	$ 0	$ 43,306	$ 0
Number of Canadian Provinces in which entity operates | province		5
Camp Bow Wow
The Company (Textual) [Abstract]
Number of dog boarding and daycare service locations operated | day_care_location		130
Number of states in which the entity operates		33
Number of Canadian Provinces in which entity operates | provinces		1
Vetstreet
The Company (Textual) [Abstract]
Percentage of cumulative ownership	19.90%		19.90%
Vetstreet business
The Company (Textual) [Abstract]
Gain on sale of business | $			$ 43,300