Three local veterinary practices complete $3M in upgrades

Lucks Lane Veterinary Clinic after a $2 million round of renovations completed last year. (Photos courtesy Companion Animal Partners)

After several years of work, three local veterinary practices owned by the same company have just completed a sizable round of upgrades.

Companion Animal Partners, owned by Richmond investor Michael Congdon, put up $3 million in renovations to its Town & Country Veterinary Clinic at 7416 Woodpecker Road in Chesterfield, Fan Veterinary Clinic at 307 N. Robinson St. in the city and Lucks Lane Veterinary Clinic at 1108-G Courthouse Road in North Chesterfield.

Founded in 2017, Companion Animal Partners purchased Town & Country in 2019, the Fan clinic in 2020 and Lucks Lane in 2023.

Congdon said the renovation projects began after he noticed a need in the community stemming from a rise in pet ownership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Waitlists were getting pretty backed up, and that’s not something we wanted to do at our clinics,” Congdon said. “We figured that a costly expansion was worth it just to make sure that our customers and our community was getting served.” 

A before and after of the Fan Veterinary Clinic, after exterior renovations were completed earlier this year.

Renovations began in 2023 with around $300,000 in interior and exterior work at the Fan clinic, including painting, updated flooring, a new reception desk and new signage. Those upgrades were completed last month. 

“That was our big finishing milestone, once we got the outside painted, new signage and just a general facelift it really came together,” Congdon said. 

Lucks Lane, which Congdon said was a “very small shoebox of a clinic” acquired as a satellite clinic to handle overflow from CAP’s other two, was expanded from 1,000 square feet to around 4,700 square feet by leasing out vacant space next door.

The enlarged facility, which specializes in exotic pets, now has six exam rooms and several specialty suites. 

“(At Lucks Lane) we have a CT scanner, which not many veterinary clinics in the city of Richmond have,” Congdon said. “I think we’re one of two or three.” 

The Lucks Lane acquisition, expansion, buildout and new equipment came in at around $2 million for CAP and was completed last year, Congdon said. 

Also completed late last year, the Town & Country Veterinary Clinic added around 1,000 square feet to its footprint. It took over a former garage space that had housed a mobile veterinary clinic van that hadn’t been used for several years and transformed it into a new treatment space and surgery suite.

Town & Country also doubled its exam rooms, going from two to four, and added several vet services to its repertoire, including the likes of laser therapy, ultrasounds and acupuncture. Renovations came in at around $700,000 to $800,000, Congdon said. 

And with added capacities and added square footage, CAP brought on five new employees earlier this year, including one new full-time veterinarian at each clinic. CAP has around 40 employees total, including four administrative roles. 

“With the expansions and some of our doctors retiring, we realized we needed to do recruitment in terms of both doctors and staff to fill in the new space we have,” Congdon said. “We’ve filled every position.” 

To celebrate the upgrades, CAP hosted a community rabies clinic at Lucks Lane Veterinary Clinic on July 26. With the event being well-attended, Congdon noted the company may look to do similar events quarterly. 

Congdon played coy when asked if Companion Animal Partners is looking to acquire any additional practices in the near future. 

“I can say that I always love having opportunities on my desk, and I always look for the best possible staff and people,” he said.  

Congdon is also a managing member at Artesian Dynamics, LLC, which has investments in veterinary healthcare, real estate, education, aquaculture, and media production.

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