Condensed, Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
		Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue		$ 678,251	$ 563,439
Direct costs		523,783	426,659
Gross profit		154,468	136,780
Selling, general and administrative expense		58,401	50,128
Net loss on sale or disposal of assets		250	563
Operating income (loss)		95,817	86,089
Interest expense, net		9,027	7,095
Other income		(302)	(264)
Income before provision for income taxes		87,092	79,258
Provision for income taxes		34,639	31,536
Net income	[1]	52,453	47,722
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests		1,360	1,495
Net income attributable to VCA Inc.		$ 51,093	$ 46,227
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)		$ 0.63	$ 0.57
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)		$ 0.62	$ 0.57
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share (in shares)		81,245	80,776
Weighted-average shares outstanding for diluted earnings per share (in shares)		82,179	81,523

[1] Includes approximately $0.8 million and $1 million of net income related to redeemable and mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.