PetMeds And Dutch Team Up For Veterinary Care And Prescriptions

PetMed Express Inc., the parent company of PetMeds and PetCareRx has entered a strategic partnership with virtual veterinary care provider Dutch to expand its provider ecosystem with affordable, accessible pet healthcare options. The new partnership will enable pet owners to leverage Dutch’s technology and veterinary team to secure prescriptions for PetMeds’ medications.

Pet owners, through the partnership, can sign up for a monthly Dutch membership,which will allow them to connect virtually for appointments, which are available 24/7, with veterinarians in 34 states. Since its launch four years ago, Dutch has completed almost 700,000 visits and offers treatment options for more than 150 conditions, including providing flea and tick medication and treatments for allergies and joint pain.

“Because they’re technologically advanced, because they’re able to cover the majority of the country and because they have over 200 veterinarians of their own made us feel very comfortable with them,” Sandra Campos, CEO of PedMeds, said of Dutch.

“Technology has evolved and in this case Dutch has proven that they continue to improve the technologies and are able to implement them within our own web site, which will make it much more seamless for the customer where they don’t have to go and log onto a whole new platform,” Campos added.

Today, customers and pet owners can go to Dutch and get same-day care and talk to a veterinarian for less than $10 a month, less than the cost of a carton of eggs. The veterinarian is able to write a prescription, create a treatment plan and save consumers pain, time and money by getting them care right away.

“Dutch is a membership model,” said Joe Spector, founder and CEO. “Think of it as Costco where you pay $120 for an annual membership and you get up to five pets covered, so up to five pets can be seen by the veterinarian at any time. We make money on the membership and the product partnership. In this case we would fulfill and make a margin on any products being purchased.”

Consumer awareness and adoption of veterinary telehealth options have been accelerating as pet owners look for more affordable and accessible ways to keep their pets healthy and happy. Dutch’s recently released “2025 State of Veterinary Care Report” found that 129 million Americans, or roughly 38% of the population, live in vet-care “deserts”—underscoring the need for more accessible pet care options.

Spector said the partnership could see tens of thousands of customers. There’s almost 150 million pets in the U.S. and almost half get no care at all, according to Spector. “We’re talking about 75 million pets who could get help from a more affordable option,” he said.

“There’s a lot of demand for pet telemedicine because it either can bring you peace of mind at the very least by speaking to a professional, not Dr. Google, and at the most, it saves you thousands of dollars of going to urgent care,” Spector said.

And the veterinarians in the Dutch network are seasoned and experienced. The average vet has over 15 years on the job. “This isn’t someone who couldn’t find a job or just got out of school,” Spector said. “This is someone who has been seeing pets for years and has decided to practice telemedicine. Veterinarians have come to believe they can provide better care when they see a pet in the comfort of their own home. We see a lot of anxious dogs. They’re not better served in person and neither are cats because they become a different animal.”

Telehealth for people has continued to evolve and improve and grow as more consumers become accustomed to Zoom calls and telehealth. The same is true on the pet side where telehealth for peets is going to increase year-over-year and the popularity of pet insurance continues to grow, Campos said.

She added that PetMeds and Dutch wanted to provide a one-stop shop of solutions for pet owners whether they need a prescription and don’t have access to a veterinarian or can’t get to a vet or they need something after hours or on weekends. “We give them that option without having to leave our site,” she said.

“We know that pets are better off when you’re providing them with preventative solutions and you’re taking care of their health,” Campos said. “Rather than all of a sudden being hit with a disease or being hit with a critical condition, and then you have much greater costs as well, it’s going to be much better to sustain their care and their maintenance over time.”