Small Business, Happy Pets

Smaller veterinary practices say local is better than corporate

Local veterinary providers say corporate-owned vet practices are becoming more common as the cost of operating an independent practice increases.

Vets say cost of medications and increasing economic pressure are leading many clinics to sell their companies to larger entities to survive. A 2025 study by the Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association revealed that corporate-run veterinary practices accounted for approximately 30 percent of the U.S. market in 2022.

The same study revealed that the entry of corporate practices can harm independent clinics, causing a 5.7 percent drop in employment and a 6.9 percent drop in revenue.

Schofield says when Eugene Mobile Vet was purchased by BetterVet, “everything changed overnight.” She says prices went up, clients couldn’t get hold of their veterinarians and staff was overworked. Instead of calling a mobile office, Schofield says clients would reach a call center “somewhere in Minnesota or across the country.”

Schofield says she founded The Mobile Vet because “no one wants that corporate experience, you’re being sold things you don’t need and didn’t elect for.”

During her first year of business, when BetterVet was still operating, she says it was difficult to compete with the corporation’s pricing and capacity. “It was a big David and Goliath moment,” she says, where she realized, “I just have to keep hitting the pavement.” Today, Schofield owns a $300,000 fully-converted Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van complete with the equipment for minor anesthetic procedures, dentistry, ultrasound and radiographs. 

Andria Saxon, a certified veterinary technician and certified veterinary practice manager, is the co-owner of Pawsitive Wellness Veterinary Care. Saxon founded the Eugene-based practice in 2018 after the previous clinic she was working for sold to a corporation. Like Schofield, she did not want to lose the personal touch of a locally owned practice. “I was more resistant to the distance between the people caring for the pets and the people making the decisions,” Saxon says of corporate ownership. “If doing what’s right might harm me financially, I’m willing to do that.”

Schofield says big corporations are able to negotiate costs of medications with pharmaceutical manufacturers. “I’ve got no negotiating leverage as a small business so whatever a vaccine costs, I’ve got to pay for that and then the client pays slightly higher prices with me.”

“We can get it, and we can sell it to our clients and we make a little bit off of it. But it is not anything near what they are offering the corporate practices,” Saxon says.

Schofield uses a variant of the feline rabies vaccine that lowers the risk of adverse reactions. Each set of doses costs her approximately $500, meaning she has to charge clients almost $100 for vaccinating their pet. “I bet it costs a Banfield like half that,” she says. For a consultation, Schofield charges $109 plus an additional $89 travel and concierge fee. Banfield is the largest privately owned veterinary practice in the United States, operating under Mars Incorporated — known for its confectionery treats like M&M’s, Mars owns a large number of pet-oriented companies.