Animal Emergency Clinic

What Animal Emergency Clinic does

Animal Emergency Clinic of Durham Region (operating as AEC) is a privately held veterinary emergency hospital founded in 1995 and headquartered in Whitby, Ontario. The clinic operates continuously 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing urgent and emergency care exclusively to cats and dogs across the Durham Region. Service offerings center on emergency triage, veterinary examinations, diagnostic imaging (X-ray), bloodwork, emergency surgical procedures (laceration repair, foreign body removal, splenectomy, emergency C-sections, GDV correction), hospitalization, and euthanasia. The clinic does not perform routine procedures such as spays, neuters, dentals, or lump removals, instead referring those cases to specialty practices; ultrasound imaging is delivered via a referral partnership with Dr. Greenwood at Maple Tree Diagnostics.

The facility occupies 8,400 square feet and is staffed by more than 30 professionals, including 6 full-time veterinarians and 11 full-time registered veterinary technicians, with at least one doctor on shift at all times. Diagnostic capabilities include X-ray with sedation protocols and in-house bloodwork for pre-anesthetic testing and illness diagnosis. The clinic holds CVO (College of Veterinarians of Ontario) Accreditation and complies with Ontario Regulation 429/07 accessibility standards. Patient records are returned to the referring primary veterinarian within 12 hours of discharge, supporting an integrated referral network with day clinics across the region.

The business model is direct-to-consumer professional services with transactional, quote-based pricing paid at discharge, supplemented by a required deposit equal to the first 24 hours of estimated fees. The clinic generates revenue through examination fees, diagnostics, surgical procedures, hospitalization, and medication sales. To reduce payment friction, the clinic has integrated direct-pay billing with pet insurer Trupanion and third-party financing through Scratchpay and LendCare. Patient acquisition relies primarily on walk-ins, phone contact, and referrals from family veterinary practices via a structured transfer toolkit; no digital advertising or e-commerce channels are present.

Name

Animal Emergency Clinic

Legal name

Animal Emergency Clinic of Durham Region

Website

https://animalemergencydurham.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Animal Emergency Clinic of Durham Region is a 24/7/365 veterinary emergency hospital in Whitby, Ontario, providing after-hours urgent care, diagnostics, and emergency surgery for cats and dogs in the Durham Region, funded through direct consumer fees and day-clinic referrals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Veterinary Services

NAICS

Veterinary Services (541940)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Hospitals (HLAMACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Urgent Care Veterinary Clinics (Non-ER) (HLAMAAAD)

Keywords

• Emergency veterinary services
• Veterinary diagnostics
• Pet urgent care
• Veterinary surgical services
• After-hours pet care

Headquarters

HQ city

Whitby

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Emergency Veterinary Services: One-time service fees for emergency veterinary care including examinations, diagnostics (X-ray, bloodwork), surgical procedures, hospitalization, and medications. Payment required at discharge. Deposit equal to estimated fee for first 24 hours required at admission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Animal Emergency Clinic of Durham Region is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week emergency veterinary hospital in Whitby, Ontario, providing urgent and critical care for cats and dogs. Its core offerings include emergency examinations, X-ray and bloodwork diagnostics, emergency surgical procedures (laceration repair, foreign body removal, GDV, splenectomy, C-sections), euthanasia, and ultrasound referrals via partner specialists.

Product overview

Animal Emergency Clinic of Durham Region is a 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital in Whitby, Ontario serving as an urgent care center for cats and dogs. The clinic operates 365 days a year providing emergency care, walk-ins, and referral services from family practices. The integrated service portfolio includes Emergency Care (core 24/7 service), Diagnostic Services (Bloodwork, X-ray), Veterinary Exams, Surgical Services (emergency procedures only), Euthanasia, and Ultrasound Referrals (via external partner). The clinic does not perform routine procedures like spays, neuters, dentals, or lump removals; patients requiring these or specialized surgeries are referred to specialty practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emergency Care 24/7 urgent and critical veterinary care for cats and dogs experiencing accidents, injuries, medical complications, or unexplained symptoms when primary veterinary hospitals are closed. No emergency fees are charged.
• Bloodwork Diagnostic blood testing services for early detection and management of pet health issues, including pre-anesthetic testing before surgery and illness diagnosis.
• X-ray Diagnostic X-ray imaging services for cats and dogs to diagnose swallowed objects, complex medical conditions, and pregnancy, using non-manual restraint with pain medication and sedation as needed.
• Veterinary Exams Comprehensive head-to-tail visual examinations for pets presenting with emergency issues, including triage assessment and diagnostic recommendations.
• Surgical Services Urgent surgical procedures including emergency surgeries, laceration repair, pyometra surgery, foreign body surgery, splenectomy, emergency C-sections, and GDV correction. Does not perform routine surgeries like spays, neuters, dentals, or lump removals.
• Euthanasia Compassionate end-of-life services for pets nearing the end of their life, including private quiet areas for the procedure and grief support resources.
• Ultrasound Referrals Weekly ultrasound services offered through Dr. Greenwood from Maple Tree Diagnostics, with referrals arranged through the family veterinarian.

Quantifiable outcome

• Continuous care available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year including holidays

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Maple Tree Diagnostics / Dr. GreenwoodminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Greenwood from Maple Tree Diagnostics offers weekly ultrasound services with referrals arranged through the family veterinarian. This partnership provides diagnostic imaging capabilities for patients requiring ultrasound examinations.
• TrupanionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInsurance partner offering direct pay services. The clinic submits claims and receives payment directly from Trupanion for covered services, with pet owners only paying their portion. Profile and pet records must be up to date for direct billing to be available.
• ScratchpayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThird-party financing partner providing affordable payment plan options for pet owners to finance veterinary expenses. Finding a plan does not affect credit score and payments can be broken into installments.
• LendCareminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThird-party financing partner providing payment plan options for pet owners to finance veterinary healthcare expenses.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• VCA Canada (Mars Veterinary Health): National network of primary care, specialty, and emergency veterinary hospitals in Canada owned by Mars. Comparable emergency and diagnostic services at a multi-site, corporate scale across Ontario.
• NVA Canada (National Veterinary Associates): Multi-site veterinary hospital operator in Canada offering general practice, specialty, and emergency services. Comparable service lines at corporate scale across multiple Ontario markets.
• BluePearl Pet Hospital (Canada locations): Large US-headquartered specialty and emergency veterinary hospital chain with locations in Canada. Comparable emergency and specialty services at greater scale; represents a corporate consolidator that could enter or expand in the Durham Region.

Direct peers

• Toronto Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital: 24/7 emergency and specialty veterinary hospital in the Greater Toronto Area offering emergency surgeries, diagnostics, and ICU care for cats and dogs. Directly comparable to AEC's emergency, surgical, and after-hours service model in an adjacent Ontario market.
• Animal Health Partners: Toronto-based 24/7 emergency and specialty veterinary hospital offering emergency, internal medicine, surgery, and diagnostic services. Comparable emergency-first model with a broader specialty footprint than AEC.
• Mississauga-Oakville Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital: After-hours emergency and specialty veterinary hospital serving the western GTA with 24/7 emergency intake, surgeries, and diagnostic imaging. Highly comparable service mix and referral-driven model to AEC.
• Central Toronto Veterinary Emergency Clinic: Independently operated 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital in downtown Toronto providing emergency care, surgery, and diagnostics. Direct functional equivalent of AEC in a larger urban market.

Regional players

• Hamilton Region Emergency Veterinary Clinic: 24/7 emergency veterinary clinic serving Hamilton and surrounding areas. Similar emergency-only, referral-driven model to AEC, but in a different Ontario catchment.
• Huronia Veterinary Emergency Clinic: After-hours emergency veterinary clinic serving the Barrie/Simcoe County area in Ontario. Comparable emergency-only, referral-based model, but operates in a different catchment north of AEC.

Others

• Trupanion: Pet medical insurance provider offering direct-pay veterinary billing integrated with clinics like AEC. Not a competitor, but a key ecosystem partner that lowers customer payment friction and could be compared as a channel enabler for emergency vet revenue.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/animal-emergency-clinic-of-durham-region

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Animal Emergency Clinic