Pet Specialist Support & Referral Options for GP Vets Learn about our operating hours & emergency specialist referral options for surgical support during the festive season.
Christmas 2025/26 Pet Specialist Support for Referring Vets
As the 2025/2026 festive season approaches, MARS is committed to supporting referring veterinary clinics with continuity of specialist surgical care. We understand that December and early January bring unique challenges for general practice clinics—reduced staffing, higher caseloads and limited availability for urgent cases. To help you plan ahead, we’ve outlined our operating hours for MARS Mobile and MARS Hospital (Hawthorn East), along with referral pathways for urgent specialist surgical needs.
MARS Mobile Availability
For the holiday period, MARS Mobile will be closed from 24th December 2025 through to 2nd January 2026.
Our mobile soft tissue surgery service will resume on 5th January 2026.
If your clinic anticipates any early-January cases that may require mobile support, we encourage you to reach out before Christmas to discuss scheduling options.
MARS Hospital (Hawthorn East)
Routine & Urgent Pet Specialist Referrals Available in Melbourne
The MARS Hospital team will continue to support referring vets, with some amendments to routine appointments:
Closed for routine appointments on:
- Thursday 25th December
- Friday 26th December
- Thursday 1st January
Although routine consults will pause on these public holidays, our hospital pet specialists will remain available for urgent procedures & emergency specialist surgical referrals.
Clinicians can contact us at any time to discuss a case:
- Email: enquiries@marsvets.com.au (include “URGENT Referral” in the subject line)
- Phone: (03) 9050 0671
A discussion with one of our surgeons can help determine whether emergency specialist surgery is indicated or if interim stabilisation is recommended.
Emergency Support
From our Sister Hospital
Geelong Animal Referral Services (GARS)
If your clinic requires emergency care outside MARS’ holiday hours, our sister hospital GARS (Newtown, Geelong) will continue to accept emergency referrals throughout the festive period.
Their specialist-led team is available for advanced imaging, emergency surgery & critical care support.
- Phone: (03) 4219 2169
- Email: hospital@garsvets.com.au
Working together
through the holiday season
MARS is proud to support GP vets with dependable, high-level surgical care. Your trust, communication & collaboration allow us to deliver the best outcomes for patients across Melbourne & surrounding regions.
We look forward to continuing our partnership in 2026.
From the entire MARS team, we wish you a safe, enjoyable & restorative festive season.
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