American Veterinary Group

American Veterinary Group

American Veterinary Group (AVG) was founded in 2015 by a group of veterinarians to acquire and support veterinary practices. The firm is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and focuses on buying hospitals in the US South where it can maintain close geographic proximity. AVG acquires general practice animal hospitals and owns UrgentVet, a chain of dedicated pet urgent-care clinics founded in 2015 by Dr. Jim Dobies and merged into AVG in 2018. The firm does not disclose its asset-class mix or fund structure publicly, but its model is a roll-up of veterinary practices — acquiring hospitals and providing centralized finance, marketing, IT, and learning & development support. Confirmed portfolio companies include practices in Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia (per firm website). AVG is led by CEO Craig Niebur, who previously helped expand a veterinary services provider from $9M to $70M in revenue across 34 states. The firm employs 14 named senior executives including a Chief Medical Officer, CFO, and VPs of Operations, Marketing, and Medicine. It operates UrgentVet as a separate division. The firm buys existing hospitals rather than building de novo, and structures acquisitions to preserve local branding and clinical decision-making. AVG says it treats hospitals as partners (per firm website), a governance model distinct from full corporate consolidation. Succession planning for retiring practice owners is an explicit focus — offering exit liquidity while retaining practice culture.