Bond Vet Expands Into The Northeast With Urgent Care For Pets

Bond Vet, a walk-in veterinary clinic that provides emergency care for cats and dogs, is planning to double in size and expand its territory this year, with locations in Boston and Washington, D.C.

Bond Vet is expanding as a slew of competitors, from the largest pet shops to small start-ups, vie for a slice of the lucrative pet healthcare market. It's aimed for the city-dwelling millennial pet parent looking for a quick and easy way to receive care for a sick dog or cat.

Bond Vet's growth is being powered by a $170 million investment from Warburg Pincus, the same private equity group that bought CityMD in 2017 and combined it with medical practice Summit Medical Group to form the leading urgent care chain in New York and New Jersey.

When the Warburg Pincus investment was disclosed last October, the private equity firm stated that it was hoping to capitalize on the increasing veterinary services market and increased demand.

CityMD's pet version
Bond Vet bills itself as a pet version of CityMD, giving a convenient urgent care option, but co-founder and CEO Mo Punjani said the company also took inspiration from tech-forward human healthcare services like One Medical.

Costco addresses supply chain pains by chartering their own ships, making the grocery business much more competitive.

According to Punjani, Bond Vet's telehealth services and technology stack, which includes in-clinic software and pet parent facing software, provide pet owners with the type of tech-enabled healthcare experiences pioneered by One Medical.

Bond Vet's first clinic opened in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill area in mid-2019. It currently operates 11 clinics in New York, with hopes to expand to 25 by the end of the year. Outside of the New York metro area, the first locations will be in Boston and Bethesda, Maryland.

More than 100,000 pet patients have been treated at Bond Vet facilities since 2019. Dogs account for 70% of clinic visitors, while cats account for 30%.

Bond Vet clinics can handle illnesses and concerns that go beyond routine checkups but don't require an emergency pet hospital, such as bite wounds, limping, loss of appetite, overgrown nails, or a pet who swallowed a toy or ate something they shouldn't have eaten.

Chewy, PetSmart, and Petco are also competing.
Bond Vet confronts competition in the pet health industry from Chewy, PetSmart, and Petco, the three biggest dogs in the pet retail pack, all of whom have stated that vet services and prescriptions are a key growth driver for them.

Small Door Veterinary, a membership-based vet company, raised $20 million last year to support expansion, with a goal of opening 24 more clinics by 2025. In the New York metro area, it presently has three locations.

The Vets, a mobile petcare firm that comes to you, just received $40 million in funding to increase veterinarian recruitment. The Vets are currently in Miami, Tampa, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver, and New York City, with plans to expand to 15 additional cities by the end of the year. It was created in 2021 as part of the venture building program of principal investor Target Global.

Burnout among vets is an issue.
Veterinarians are in high demand. Veterinarians' employment is expected to expand 17 percent between 2020 and 2030, outperforming other occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, turnover, burnout, and psychological suffering among veterinarians are leading to more retirements and job changes.

Bond has solved this, according to Punjani, by creating a company that provides the finest working conditions for veterinarians and nurses.

This has resulted in extraordinarily high retention among our veterinarians and nurses, as well as the capacity to relieve them of a variety of administrative tasks. Punjani remarked that he wants to give them the tools they need to accomplish their best work.

Dr. Zay Satchu, one of Bond Vet's co-founders, is a champion for developing healthy working environments for veterinarians.

The clinics, which range in size from 2,000 to 4,000 square feet, are intended to be soothing environments for pets and their owners while still allowing for efficient work flow.

A dog seeking for a reward from the Bond Vet clinic's Treats Bar.

Bond Vet clinics have amenities like a goodies bar to keep pets and their owners happy. VET BOND

Bond Vet, according to Punjani, distinguishes itself from vet services supplied by big businesses and startups by focusing on illness response. A pet would not be able to be treated for many of the conditions that can be handled at Bond at a big box retailer, he said.

Furthermore, a competitor would find it impossible to replicate Bond Vet's technology, which allows vets and clients to manage appointments and treatments. That technology helps with note-taking, facilitates communication between doctors and pet owners, and supports the nurse-staffed 24-hour helpline.

Bond Vet also provides a less expensive option for sick pets, according to him. Using a Bond Vet facility can save pet owners up to 50% on the expense of a trip to an emergency pet hospital, according to Punjani.

Bond Vet is focusing on expanding in the Northeast for the time being, according to Punjani, but he believes that eventually, our value proposition to dogs, pet parents, veterinarians, and nurses will be embraced across the country.

Bond has a leg up on the competition for millennial pet healthcare spending, but it will have to outpace the other pet companies vying for the same money.

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