Associate DVM

Definition

A vet the practice employs but who owns none of it; keeping them carries a multi-vet clinic.

Why It Matters

When the seller is the producing vet, the practice can hollow out the day they stop working, so the associates are the asset. Read their contracts for term, notice, and non-compete, and ask what share of revenue each one produces. A practice where the owner is thirty per cent of production needs a replacement doctor hired and settled before closing, and hiring one takes months in most markets.