BetterVet, a Boston-based veterinary care service, has merged with Bucks Mercer Mobile Vet to gain a toehold among the region’s pet owners, reports Kennedy Rose for the Philadelphia Business Journal. 

The online business was the brainchild of founder-veterinarian Bruce Herzfelder. He theorized that if technology offers a more convenient, less stressful diagnostic experiences for children, why not pets? 

BetterVet seeks to improve animal medical care. The business model removes the stress often associated with a physical trip to a traditional practice. Replacing it is an exam by any mobile device with a camera. 

Herzfelder’s vision is to take his service nationwide. The Bucks County acquisition is the first step. 

“What we like to do is start in a town, city by emerging with an existing practice,” Herzfelder said. “We like to have the existing clientele. Then we can methodically introduce our app and some other systems and approaches that we have. And we’re benefiting that practice quite a bit… through the app.”  

Upsides for pet owners include time-savings and a drop in the anxiety often associated with an in-person physical exam. The mobile practices benefit from a larger number of resources and from tech conveniences for administrative tasks like making appointments. 

Herzfelder is courting veterinary practices from Pittsburgh to Florida. 

More on virtual cat-caregivers and dog-diagnosticians is in the Philadelphia Business Journal.