>RE 1: Customers have zero influence on this. If you have a pet, you'll need a vet, and if the owner of the owner-operated clinic next to you gets an offer they

>RE 1: Customers have zero influence on this. If you have a pet, you'll need a vet, and if the owner of the owner-operated clinic next to you gets an offer they can't refuse... I can't imagine you'll find some other owner-operated clinic to visit out of spite, where the now-corporate one next to you is open, and perhaps even cheaper. I have seldom gone to the nearest vet/pediatrician/hospital. Inevitably I try it, it's bad, and then I spend time driving to some place further away that I actually like. And I drive an average of 4000 miles per year; with the median driver traveling some multiple of that each year, I can only assume that most people are way more willing than I to shop around.