A private equity-backed company now owns Geary Veterinary Hospital, the Walnut Creek practice that has treated East Bay pets since 1979.

VetnCare, a Northern California veterinary network backed by Great Point Partners, announced the acquisition Aug. 26 in the trade magazine PetAge. The deal marks VetnCare's seventh acquisition since Great Point Partners invested in the company in 2022, according to PetAge.

VetnCare CEO Matt Kirchner called Geary's reputation the product of "combining strong medicine with deep relationships across the Walnut Creek community," according to PetAge.

Gillian Hamilton and Erica Weiss, who lead the practice, said in PetAge that their "commitment to quality healthcare for pets and their owners is at the root of what started as a family-owned business and is now expanding through a partnership with VetnCare." No details about staffing changes, pricing or service adjustments have been disclosed.

The acquisition is VetnCare's second in roughly six weeks. The company purchased Holistic Veterinary Care in Oakland on July 14, Patch reported. The Private Equity Vet database, which tracks corporate ownership of veterinary practices, lists multiple VetnCare facilities in Contra Costa County, Oakland and San Francisco.

Private equity's growing role in veterinary care

The Geary deal reflects a broader wave of corporate consolidation in veterinary medicine. Corporate ownership of U.S. veterinary practices has grown from roughly 10 percent a decade ago to an estimated 30 to 50 percent, according to a PBS NewsHour segment that aired July 1. In specialty care, the figure reaches an estimated 75 percent.

Veterinary costs have risen roughly 60 percent since 2014, far outpacing overall inflation, PBS NewsHour reported.

California dog owner Francis Wong created the Private Equity Vet database after his dachshund, Pluto, died following treatment at a clinic he later discovered was owned by KKR through PetVet Care Centers. Wong was offered a refund of his approximately $13,000 bill in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement, according to a Patch investigation published July 24. He declined.

Matt Salois, president of Veterinary Management Groups and an economist who studies the industry, told PBS NewsHour in a July 1 segment that private equity's entry into a practice "is not good or bad" on its own. "I think the problem here is one of size," Salois said. "It's easier for a smaller enterprise to maintain that level of trust between the veterinary team and the pet owner because the distance between decision-maker and decision-implementer is closer."

VetnCare has not announced any timeline for operational changes at Geary Veterinary Hospital.