[shakes_mcjunkie]

> They said that some PE firms were on a mission to acquire all of the vet firms in metro areas and then drive prices up even further because the demand is so inelastic.

I searched recently for a nearby vet in Chicago and probably out of 15, only 1 was not owned by a larger chain or company. Big bummer. It's hard to trust that a vet that's part of a chain isn't going to have perverse incentives when it comes to caring for my pets.

Also, another thing that I imagine is driving up vet prices is the unregulated pet insurance industry.

[dhosek]

My brother owns Merrick Animal clinic in Brookfield. The other thing to investigate would be independent vets doing house call practices which, assuming you can find one, would be cheaper than a clinic and much less stressful for the animals (my brother did that before buying Merrick 14 years ago).

[zippergz]

We have used house call vets for many years, and they are wonderful in terms of experience for the animals. However, in my experience they are universally far more expensive than clinics (which we still go to sometimes if it's semi-urgent and our mobile vet is not available).

[shakes_mcjunkie]

Oh interesting I'm going to look into a house call vet!

[mirntyfirty]

True although some of the large PE firms do their best to hide the affiliation.

[shakes_mcjunkie]

Oh yea I'm sure. Many of the chains I'm not sure what type of company they were. But just the fact that vets aren't a small, locally owned businesses concerns me. I'm sure some of the larger chains are either PE firms or owned by PE firms.