veterinary-consolidator
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Encore Vet Group
Encore Vet Group is a Saratoga Springs, New York-based community of veterinary hospitals founded in 2018 by Ted Sprinkle, DVM, Lance Sprinkle, and Bo Iler. Rather than running a top-down corporate chain, Encore acquires established community and legacy veterinary practices and then hands the day-to-day medicine and culture back to the local teams while layering on business support, leadership training, and mental-health resources. Backed by private-equity firm North Castle Partners, the group has grown to roughly 60 hospitals and around 1,900-2,200 team members, and it operates education platforms like Encore Performance Academy and the MentorCore virtual mentorship program for new graduates.
Ted Sprinkle
Ted Sprinkle, DVM, is a Cornell-trained veterinarian turned serial entrepreneur who has spent the second half of his career building veterinary consolidators that buy community animal hospitals while leaving their culture intact. He co-founded Encore Vet Group in 2018 with his son Lance and Bo Iler, and led it as CEO through a growth run to roughly 2,200 employees before transitioning to executive chairman in late 2025. Before Encore he founded Healthy Pet Corp. (sold to VCA in 2007) and Pet Partners, and earlier ran a leading thoroughbred operation. His pitch is unusually simple for an acquirer: put people first and the medicine, the clients and the numbers follow.