Urban Animal, a Seattle-based veterinary network, has announced it will become the first worker cooperative veterinary practice in the US this fall. This will enable its 110 employees to share in the governance and profits of the company with more than 50,000 clients.
Urban Animal joins about 30 worker cooperative-based businesses in Washington. By introducing the limited cooperative association (LCA), Urban Animal founder Cherri Trusheim, DVM, will gift a portion of the company to seed it, striving to become a completely employee-owned worker co-op over time. With the influx of veterinary corporatization, Trusheim aims to empower employees and ensure the practices stay locally owned and community minded while offering the best care.
“The veterinary industry is in the eye of a perfect storm due to factors such as employee burnout and private equity buyouts, which are diminishing the number of qualified veterinary professionals,” said Trusheim, in the release. “Urban Animal is presenting this groundbreaking solution to set the bar for the industry and beyond.”
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