The Great Deception: When ‘independently owned’ means ‘corporate controlled’ (#323)

Walk into a veterinary hospital in your neighborhood and you might be greeted by warm staff, a comforting logo, and a sign that proudly reads Independently Owned.

But who’s really behind that front desk?

Increasingly, the answer is not a local veterinarian, or even someone directly connected with the field of veterinary medicine, but a private equity (PE) firm, headquartered thousands of miles away, whose only real interest is return on investment.

Independently Owned - Or Just Branded That Way?

In many cases, veterinary hospitals now operate under a legal fiction.

State laws often prohibit non-veterinarians from owning clinics outright. To skirt this, private equity (PE) firms use clever legal structures, typically Management Services Organizations (MSOs), to control operations behind the scenes.

A veterinarian is listed as the legal owner, but decisions about pricing, diagnostics, medications, staffing, and even branding come from corporate executives, who are in most cases not veterinarians!

These practices often retain their original names and signage. They don’t advertise the fact that they’re now part of a corporate chain. Why would they? People trust local. They trust independent. And that trust becomes a tool for profit.

What’s the Harm?

This illusion isn’t just a branding trick.

It has real-world consequences for pet owners, veterinary professionals, and the animals in their care.

• Deception Undermines Trust

  
  

  • Pet owners who value supporting independent practices are misled. They believe they’re choosing a family-owned clinic, when they’re actually supporting a faceless investment portfolio.

• Corporate Control Affects Care

• PE firms standardize care models across hundreds of clinics, prioritizing profitability over personalization. That means more up-selling, higher fees, and less flexibility in patient care.

• Vets Lose Autonomy

• Veterinarians who once owned and ran their clinics become employees of a corporate system. Burnout increases, mental health declines, and the profession loses its sense of calling.

• Prices Rise, Choices Dwindle

• As PE firms consolidate the market, costs for pet owners climb and true independent practices vanish, leaving consumers with fewer options and less competition.

Rick’s Commentary

The veterinary profession is built on trust. Clients trust veterinarians with their beloved pets. Vets trust they’ll have the freedom to practice medicine with integrity.

When ownership is obscured behind a carefully managed illusion, that trust is broken.

Consumers deserve to know who owns their veterinary hospital.

Transparency shouldn't be optional.

Transparency should be a professional obligation.

If the website, or the sign on the door says, independently owned, the ownership should reflect that in more than name.

#bunyipsbooksbeyond