The waiting room of Hillside Veterinary Clinic off Mockingbird Lane bustles with the energy of a hospital emergency room. People drop off their pets, an owner holds a sick dog in her lap, a mother and daughter bring in a stray that they found and the office phone continuously rings.

It’s just another busy day at the neighborhood vet clinic that has been open since the mid-1980s. That variety is one of the reasons that Dr. Stephanie Chritton loves East Dallas.

“This is a neat eclectic area and the people in this community consider their pets part of their family. When people care about their pets like that, it makes our jobs fun,” she said.

Hillside is a standard general practice that stands out for a couple of reasons, Dr. Chritton said. With three senior veterinarians, four associate vets and a fifth associate starting at the end of June, the clinic is able to stay open seven days a week. General hours run from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.

“Having a neighborhood practice like this allows us to be open so that we can work into people’s schedules,” she said.

She also said that the staff is the reason that patients bring their pets from as far away as Frisco to visit the clinic.