Pet Care, Inc.

Science, technology and high-tech devices are wonderful and in so many ways have improved our lives and the lives of our pets. Our pets are living longer and are living better for longer. Since 2000, research suggests that dogs are living about 10% longer, while cats have seen even larger gains—upward of 20%, and possibly more according to some studies. Modern veterinary medicine, along with better education and awareness on the part of pet parents, plays a large part in improving the lives of our furry and feathered BFFs.

But at what cost? And why are those costs so high?

It probably isn’t news to anyone that caring for our pets has become more expensive. For the past quarter century, everything related to pets and pet care has gone up. Pet food? More expensive. Pet supplies? More expensive. Veterinary costs? More expensive; in fact, a lot more expensive.

One could argue that everything in our lives is more expensive. So why does it feel like caring for our pets costs so much more?

Because it does.

The price of basically everything has increased almost 100% (93.39% to be exact) since 2000,. That means that whatever you paid for things you bought in 2000 costs double in 2025. Yet, the cost to care for our pets have increased many times over that number.

These aren’t just twice as much; these are increases of three to five times! Increases of up to 500%!

This begs the question why? Why are we paying so much more to have pets in our lives? And what does all this have to do with science and technology? It was tech that opened investors’ eyes to the potential of the pet industry.

As soon as tech entered the pet industry, outside investors followed. It’s not that pet care wasn’t doing great on its own, without outside influences, because it was. Working in the world of pets was profitable and growing and well-run pet related businesses did well for themselves. But in the late 1980s, Wall Street, as always, following the shiniest, sexiest object to monetize and profit from, “discovered” pet care. Here was a global industry which was untapped by investors and major corporations, for the most part. It had reliable customers whose faith in their service providers was strong and who were open to spending more if it meant a better life for their animals. It was already a $7 billion industry (most of that in the US). Venture Capital could immediately see the potential for more.

And all it took was a tiny chip to open those floodgates.

Developed in the mid-1980s, pet tracking microchips were the first high tech product to enter the pet market. No doubt it has been a lifesaver for an unknown number of pets. While that product was privately funded by its creator, the use of tech for pets was something burgeoning tech bros could understand the potential for. And once investors started to realize the size, scope, and reliability of this sector, it was game on. Tech led to big box retailers (for scale), which led to consolidation and control over supply chains for products and accessories, which led to scaling up veterinary care through consolidation, which led to … which led to…

In 1987, a single veterinary practice in Oregon teamed up with a growing retail chain to create a store-in-store chain of vet practices across the United States. By the time Mars, Inc. (yes, the candy folks) bought those vet clinics, originally named VetSmart, they numbered 580. Those clinics were quickly rebranded Banfield Pet Hospitals and the retail stores were Petsmart. In 2007, when Petsmart officially partnered with Mars, Inc., it was the second largest pet supply chain in the US with almost 1400 locations. Since then, Mars. has gone on to either partner with, or completely buy, numerous pet food manufacturers, including Royal Canin,  (2001), Nutro Products (2007), Iams, Eukanuba, & Natura (2014), and Orijen & Acana also known as Champion Petfoods (2023).

And Mars isn’t the only corporation with a stake in your pets’ lives. While most players do not own retail chains, they saw the potential in buying, expanding, and scaling up various products and services. In the pet food sector, the largest portion of all spending in pet care, there’s:

• Nestlé S.A.: Purina PetCare which is the largest pet food company in the world by revenue and commands massive market share in the economy and premium pet food sectors with flagship brands like Purina ONE, Friskies, Fancy Feast, and Purina Pro Plan.
• Colgate-Palmolive: Hill's Pet Nutrition is a major player in premium, clinically proven, and veterinary-prescribed diets, primarily through its Science Diet and Prescription Diet lines. You would be hard-pressed to find a veterinarian whose go-to isn’t Scienced Diet whenever diet is, or can become, the issue.
• General Mills: Blue Buffalo is another well-known force in natural and grain-free pet nutrition, capturing significant market share in the premium dog and cat food categories.
• The J.M. Smucker Company (best known for jams and peanut butter) holds a strong footprint in the mid-priced and economy segments with household brands like Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, and 9Lives.

Perhaps no sector within the industry changed more because of Wall Street than veterinary science and care. In 2000, when Mars was looking at acquiring Bandfield, only 5% of veterinary practices were corporate-owned. By 2008, when this author entered the pet industry professionally, that number had already reached 10%. Today, between 25-35% of all US vet practices are corporate owned and achieve about 50% of all veterinary care revenues.

Who are the major players invested in the consolidation and scaling up of veterinary medicine?

• Mars Veterinary Health: The undisputed market leader in standalone veterinary clinics. Mars owns over 2,000 practices across the US, operating major chains including Banfield Pet Hospital, VCA Animal Hospitals, and BluePearl Pet Hospital (specialty/emergency care).
• National Veterinary Associates (NVA): A massive consolidator of independent veterinary hospitals and pet resorts, backed by a global investment firm, ranking as a top-revenue leader.
• VetCor: A large network operating hundreds of partner veterinary practices across the Eastern, Midwestern, and Southern United States.
• PetVet Care Centers: A major network of general practice and specialty/emergency veterinary hospitals across the country.
• United Veterinary Care: A rapidly growing network of independently operated veterinary hospitals.

Even Chewy, the popular online pet retailer which started out as a subscription service for pet products, has expanded into brick-and-mortar veterinary clinics in select regional markets. Obviously, all this consolidation  makes good business sense. At least some people think so; but these might not be pet owners.

Meanwhile, those veterinary clinics rely heavily on a concentrated group of manufacturers for diagnostics, medicines, and medical equipment:

• IDEXX Laboratories dominates the U.S. market for veterinary diagnostic testing, in-clinic analyzers, and practice management software.
• Zoetis spun off from Pfizer and it is the global leader in animal health, supplying a massive portfolio of medicines, vaccines, and parasiticides for pets and livestock.
• Elanco & Boehringer Ingelheim are primary competitors to Zoetis, acting as global leaders in veterinary pharmaceuticals and parasiticides.
• Merck Animal Health is another major pharmaceutical manufacturer providing vaccines and health products.

And what about non-medical pet supplies and services? Investment firms such as BC Partners (which owns PetSmart LLC), Clearlake Capital (owners of Wellness Pet Company),  Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), BlackRock, and Vanguard (majority shareholders of PetCo), and Blackstone (which acquired pet supply platform Rover) together hold significant financial stakes across pet services and supplies. Even boarding kennels that were once all family-owned, family-run, are now being replaced by franchised or out-right corporate-owned facilities, dominated by Dogtopia and Camp Bow Wow.

Today, we are hard pressed to find any aspect of pet care that doesn’t have a corporate imprint on it.

No one is insinuating that these businesses, by definition, are doing a bad job. Products and services, once created and sold by individuals or small companies, don’t automatically drop in quality just because they are now controlled by corporations. But they do seem to get disproportionately more expensive. A lot more expensive!

Of course, we all deserve to make a living from our chosen line of work. Some might have gotten into the pet world to make a lot of money. That’s fine. But when the entire ecosystem is controlled by so few, and when maximizing profits and ROI are the goals, is it surprising that the cost to consumers (we pet parents), have risen so much and so fast?

What can we do to combat this? How can we, as consumers, fight back?

• Buy local. Whenever possible, buy from your local, mom-and-pop pet supply shops. They may not be able to offer you the loss-leader deals the big box stores offer, but once the local competition is gone, the deals that major retailers use to bring you in today, won’t be needed anymore and they’ll be gone tomorrow.
• Hire local and family owned. There are still plenty of family-owned kennels, private (off-platforms) dog walkers, and pet sitters. Hire them. It will be better for the caregivers, too, since they won’t be sharing their hard-earned fees with an advertising platform set up to maximize exposure (coast-to-coast, if not internationally) even though your local dog walker works only locally.
• Support privately owned veterinary clinics. You won’t have to question if maximizing profits for some far-off corporation is the goal, and if medical decisions are being skewed in support of that goal.

Encourage your friends to support local, too.

Happy tails!