Essentials PetCare is opening the first walk-in veterinary clinic located within a Walmart store in Georgia. Pet parents living in or near the Atlanta suburb of Dallas, Georgia, will soon be able to bring their dogs and cats to Essentials PetCare at Walmart for routine veterinary care and minor illness exams on a walk-in basis, without the need to set an appointment.
“We look forward to serving pets and their parents here in the greater Atlanta area,” said Essentials PetCare founder and president, Douglas Spiker, DVM. “It’s exciting to expand our reach to more U.S. pet families.”
Like Essentials PetCare locations in Florida and Texas, the Georgia clinic will provide routine vaccinations, labwork and treatment for a variety of minor illnesses, such as ear infections, common skin conditions and urinary issues. Patients with more serious ailments, like chronic illness, or those in need of emergency care and surgical procedures, will be referred to full-service veterinary hospitals in the surrounding community.
The mission of Essentials PetCare is to provide quality, affordable veterinary care to all U.S. pets. According to a 2018 study published by Access to Veterinary Care Coalition and the University of Tennessee, nearly 28 percent of U.S. households with an estimated 29 million dogs and cats experience barriers to veterinary services because of cost and not knowing where to access care.
In 2016, Essentials PetCare launched the first retail veterinary clinic located within a Walmart store in the U.S. Earlier this year, Essentials PetCare began executing their planned expansion with the first four of nine new veterinary clinic openings located in Texas since May.
By expanding the traditional model of veterinary care with a focus on convenience, quality and affordability, Essentials PetCare provides pet owners with better opportunities to care for their pets’ well-being while helping to reduce the number of pets not receiving medical care.
Essentials PetCare clinics also serve to compliment full-service veterinary hospitals by introducing veterinary care to a large segment of the U.S. pet owning market, which has traditionally not pursued veterinary services because of cost, and the company’s veterinarians educate clients on the benefits of full-service veterinary care when recommended.
