Animal Emergency Trauma Center

What Animal Emergency Trauma Center does

Animal Emergency & Specialty Center (AESC), formerly Animal Emergency & Trauma Center (AETC), is a 24/7 emergency and specialty veterinary hospital located in Poulsbo, Washington, serving Kitsap County, the Olympic Peninsula, and the broader Puget Sound region. Founded in 1993 by Drs. David Burgess and Carollynn Zimmers, AESC operates as an after-hours and specialty extension of primary care veterinary practices, handling trauma, critical care, complex medical cases, and specialty referrals. The hospital relocated to a new state-of-the-art facility in June 2022 and rebranded to AESC, expanding its service mix from emergency-only to include internal medicine and surgery, supported by three surgical suites, CT scanning, ultrasound, endoscopy, and advanced anesthetic monitoring equipment. Clinical differentiation is anchored on board-certified specialists (DACVS surgery, DACVIM internal medicine) and a bench of emergency DVMs and licensed veterinary technicians including a VTS (Emergency and Critical Care) specialist.

The hospital generates revenue primarily through fee-for-service emergency, specialty, and surgical care, with deposits required upon treatment plan acceptance and full payment due at discharge, supplemented by financing through CareCredit and ScratchPay. Secondary revenue streams include pet aftercare services (euthanasia, cremation) and continuing education programs for referring veterinarians. The customer base is dual-sided: pet owners in Kitsap County and surrounding areas for emergency walk-ins, and a network of 50+ referring primary care veterinarians who feed the specialty pipeline. AESC distributes exclusively through direct walk-in and referral channels at its single facility, with no online or delivery-based service model.

Since 2017 the practice has been owned by National Veterinary Associates (NVA), a multi-site veterinary services consolidator headquartered in Westlake Village, California. NVA acquired 70% from Dr. Burgess in 2017 and the remaining 30% in June 2020, making AESC a wholly owned subsidiary within NVA's hospital portfolio. AESC has approximately 21 employees and operates as a private, non-listed entity with no public financial disclosures.

Name

Animal Emergency Trauma Center

Legal name

National Veterinary Associates

Website

https://myaetc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Animal Emergency & Specialty Center is a 24/7 emergency and specialty veterinary hospital in Poulsbo, WA, serving pet owners and 50+ referring veterinarians across Kitsap County and the Olympic Peninsula. Founded in 1993, it is wholly owned by National Veterinary Associates since 2020.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Veterinary Services

NAICS

Veterinary Services (54194)

SIC

Services-Hospitals (8060)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAMACAB

Veterinary Specialty Referral Hospitals (Multi-specialty)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Veterinary & Animal Health/Emergency & Specialty Veterinary Hospitals

SECONDARYHLAMACAA

Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Hospitals

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Veterinary & Animal Health/Emergency & Specialty Veterinary Hospitals

SECONDARYHLAMACAC

Veterinary Surgery Centers (Soft Tissue/Orthopedic/Neuro)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Veterinary & Animal Health/Emergency & Specialty Veterinary Hospitals

SECONDARYHLAMACAD

Veterinary Internal Medicine & Oncology Centers

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Veterinary & Animal Health/Emergency & Specialty Veterinary Hospitals

Keywords

• Emergency veterinary services
• Veterinary specialty surgery
• Veterinary internal medicine
• Animal trauma care
• Critical care hospitalization

Headquarters

HQ city

Poulsbo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Emergency Veterinary Services: 24-hour emergency animal hospital providing trauma care, critical care, and complicated medical treatments. Patients are seen on a fee-for-service basis with deposit required upon treatment plan acceptance and full payment upon discharge.
2. Specialty Surgery Services: Comprehensive surgical care including orthopedic surgery (TPLO, MPL, fracture repair), soft tissue surgery, and complex referral surgeries. Includes overnight veterinary care for surgical patients.
3. Internal Medicine Services: Diagnosis and management of complex medical conditions using endoscopy, ultrasound, and CT scanning. Patients seen by referral appointment and can be managed long-term.
4. Pet Aftercare Services: Euthanasia services and aftercare options including home burial assistance, group cremation, and individual cremation with urn return.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Animal Emergency & Specialty Center operates a 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital delivering triage, trauma, and critical care for companion animals, supplemented by two specialty services (Internal Medicine and Surgery) and Pet Loss and Grief Support. Patients are seen on a fee-for-service basis, with referrals accepted from over 50 local veterinary practices across Kitsap County, the Olympic Peninsula, and the Puget Sound region.

Product overview

Animal Emergency & Specialty Center (AESC) is a veterinary emergency and specialty hospital offering a unified suite of integrated animal healthcare services. The core offering is 24/7 Emergency Care for critically ill companion animals, supplemented by two specialty services—Internal Medicine (for complex medical conditions via advanced diagnostics) and Surgery (orthopedic and soft tissue procedures in three surgical suites). Additional support services include Pet Loss and Grief Support (euthanasia, aftercare, comfort room), Critical Care Hospitalization, Lunch and Learn Continuing Education for referring veterinarians, and Veterinary Referrals coordination. All services operate as an integrated extension of the primary family veterinarian, with shared records and collaborative care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emergency Care 24/7 emergency veterinary care for critically ill or injured companion animals, including triage, stabilization, and treatment of trauma, poisoning, and acute medical conditions.
• Internal Medicine Specialty service for diagnosis and management of complex medical conditions using minimally invasive tools (endoscopy), advanced imaging (ultrasound, CT scanning), and expertise in endocrinology, immune-mediated disease, and gastrointestinal disorders.
• Surgery Services Comprehensive surgical care including orthopedic surgery (TPLO, MPL, FHO, fracture repair) and soft tissue surgery (GI, splenectomy, liver lobectomy, cholecystectomy, respiratory, urogenital) performed in three state-of-the-art surgical suites with advanced monitoring equipment.
• Pet Loss and Grief Support End-of-life care services including euthanasia, grief support resources, and pet aftercare options (home burial, group cremation, individual cremation with urn) provided in a dedicated comfort room.
• Critical Care Hospitalization Specialized overnight hospitalization for critically ill patients with continuous monitoring, blood products, and blood donors available as needed.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving Kitsap County since 1993 with trusted emergency care
• +2 more outcomes

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

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG): Emergency-only veterinary hospital chain operating 24/7 ER facilities. Comparable in the emergency component of AESC's service mix, though VEG does not offer specialty surgery or internal medicine.
• Ethos Veterinary Health: Veterinary specialty hospital group operating referral and emergency hospitals across the U.S. with board-certified specialists in surgery, internal medicine, oncology, and other disciplines. Directly comparable specialty referral model with similar referral-driven GTM motion.
• BluePearl Veterinary Partners: Large network of emergency and specialty veterinary hospitals offering 24/7 ER, surgery, internal medicine, and advanced diagnostics. Most directly comparable as a multi-specialty referral hospital serving urban/regional catchment areas, and a likely competitor for high-acuity cases from the broader Puget Sound region.
• Pieper Veterinary: Regional veterinary group offering emergency, specialty, and primary care services across multiple Connecticut/Massachusetts locations. Comparable multi-specialty referral hospital model with a referral-driven growth approach.
• Pet Emergency & Specialty Center of Marin: Independent-style emergency and specialty veterinary hospital offering 24/7 ER, surgery, and internal medicine. Comparable in scale and service mix to AESC, demonstrating the small-to-mid specialty hospital model.
• Guardian Veterinary Specialists: 24/7 emergency and specialty veterinary hospital in the Pacific Northwest offering surgery, internal medicine, oncology, and emergency care. Comparable multi-specialty referral model and a potential competitor in adjacent Washington/Oregon markets.
• MedVet: Network of emergency and specialty veterinary hospitals providing 24/7 emergency care, surgery, internal medicine, and other specialty services. Comparable as a multi-specialty referral operator and a potential acquirer/competitor in regional specialty markets.

Broad incumbents

• VCA Animal Hospitals: National veterinary services network offering general practice, emergency, and specialty services across hundreds of locations. Operates multiple specialty/emergency hospitals in the Seattle metro area that compete with AESC for complex referrals, and is also a competitor to NVA at the corporate level.

Regional players

• Pacific Northwest Veterinary Specialists: Specialty veterinary hospital in the Puget Sound region offering internal medicine, surgery, oncology, and other specialties. Regional peer competing for specialty referral cases from the broader Seattle/Tacoma area near AESC's market.
• Cascade Veterinary Referral Center: Specialty and emergency veterinary hospital in Tigard, Oregon serving the Portland metro area. Comparable as a multi-specialty referral hospital in the Pacific Northwest, though operating in a different sub-region than AESC.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/animal-emergency-trauma-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

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 Trauma Center