One of Vancouver’s newest pet care clinics held its grand opening Feb. 29, the latest of several veterinary clinics that have opened in the city in recent years. But the new VetIQ clinic stands out due to its location: Inside the Mill Plain Walmart at 221E N.E. 104th Ave.
The growth of pet clinics inside retail stores is part of an industry-wide trend. Major retailers such as Petco and PetSmart have been rolling out pet health options at their locations in recent years, sometimes in partnership with big veterinary industry names including Vancouver-based Banfield Pet Hospital.
The VetIQ approach takes the idea one step further by putting clinics inside general retail stores, but Bill Gilboy, the parent company’s regional director of wellness centers, said the clinic concepts are all pursuing the same goal: To spur more pet owners to give their pets regular preventative health care.
The Vancouver VetIQ clinic occupies one of the sections at the front of the Walmart that are typically home to things like a vision center or a fast-food restaurant, although it’s accessed through a separate outside door.
Clinic supervisor Nathan Hoessman described the clinic as akin to a walk-in neighborhood medical clinic or urgent care center for humans. VetIQ focuses on wellness checkups, preventative medicine, basic services such as microchipping and treating simple health problems – ear infections are a common example.
“Because the Northwest is so wet, any dog with floppy ears is a higher risk,” Hoessman said.
Rather than replacing full-service veterinarians, the goal is to provide an easy and accessible option where many people already go, Gilboy said.
“They’re probably in the Walmart once a week buying their groceries,” he said. “People can get what they need without making it a big deal.”
One in four pet owners don’t bring their pets for annual preventative care, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, and affordability is often cited as one of the reasons.
The VetIQ clinics try to combat that barrier with a simplified experience. The clinics only serve dogs and cats, and they don’t offer appointments. Prices are listed on a menu-style sheet at the front counter, and most exams take about 15-30 minutes, Hoessman said.
A handful of clinics also offer prescription pet food, Gilboy said, but the company is still figuring out the right model and product lineup, so most of the clinics just focus on preventative care and basic veterinary medicine.
Spaying and neutering, surgeries, and other major procedures aren’t part of the clinic’s repertoire – anything involving anesthesia will need to be referred to a full-scale veterinary clinic or hospital, Hoessman said, and the company always recommends that customers maintain a relationship with a full-service veterinarian.
PetIQ
VetIQ’s parent company, PetIQ, is based in Idaho. It includes multiple lines of business, such as manufacturing of consumer pet products. VetIQ is part of a branch focused on services, Gilboy said, which initially focused on mobile “community clinics” that the company would set up for one-time events.
The in-store clinics are a more recent initiative, and Gilboy said the rollout has often been guided by the customer traffic and community feedback that the company received from the mobile clinics, many of which were located outside of places such as Walmart.
“If you’re seeing 30 to 40 pets on a Friday night, then we say ‘Hey, listen, this would be a great site for a wellness center,’ ” he said.
PetIQ has been rolling out the concept across the country, partnering with retailers such as Walmart, Meijer and Tractor Supply Co., usually using a different sub-brand for each store chain such as VIP Pet Care, Pet Vet Clinic or VetIQ.
The program is currently up to 96 clinics with another 17 in active development, Gilboy said, and PetIQ’s target is to open 1,000 clinics by 2023. That doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a clinic in every Walmart, Hoessman said – the goal would be to provide an even distribution to maximize access.
The Vancouver clinic is one of the first two VetIQ clinics on the West Coast – the other opened in a Walmart in Bonney Lake, near Tacoma, around the same time.
Local competition
Entering into Vancouver puts PetIQ at the center of a major veterinary medicine hub; The city is home to both major industry player Banfield Pet Hospital and the rapidly growing newcomer WellHaven Pet Health.
And PetIQ isn’t the only company targeting the accessibility problem. Banfield has spent several years rolling out its own small-scale clinics inside PetSmart retail stores. Some of PetIQ’s clinics are also in pet specialty stores, but its push into the wellness clinic space generally differs because it targets broader retail locations like Walmart.
WellHaven doesn’t operate small-scale clinics, but the company’s chief medical officer, Bob Lester, voiced support for the concept. He said he’s heard some concerns in the industry that retail clinics could disrupt business for traditional full-scale veterinary clinics, but it’s not a concern he shares.
“To my way of thinking, the pie is enormous,” he said. “I think there’s definitely a space for that.”
Pet ownership is on the rise, he said, driven particularly by the millennial generation. But the vast majority of pets aren’t insured, he said, and in general there are cost and accessibility issues that often stop people from purchasing pet care – particularly entry level, preventative care.
Like Hoessman, Lester described the clinics as analogous to human urgent care clinics and suggested that they would likely serve clients who would otherwise forego basic preventative care for their pets altogether.
“It’s no different than if you or I walk into a MinuteClinic at CVS,” he said.
WellHaven has been putting its efforts into developing a subscription-style plan for pet care, with a selection of services covered under a monthly payment plan. It’s a different approach, Lester said, but it’s targeting the same core problem of care affordability and accessibility.
