Owning the Pet Medical Relationship
Marc Atiyeh, CEO of Pawp, on building telehealth for pets
This reveals that pet telehealth is won less by traffic and low prices, and more by owning the medical relationship. Chewy can get millions of pet owners to buy food and meds, but its own service mix still separates free vet tech chat, limited state telemedicine, and physical clinics. By contrast, Pawp and Modern Animal are built around being the place a pet owner turns first when something feels wrong, which is what makes advice, follow up, prescriptions, and membership all hang together.
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Chewy has real health assets, including Connect with a Vet, telemedicine in some states, and Chewy Vet Care clinics. But Chewy also says its free chat is not a licensed veterinary practice, does not diagnose or treat, and often routes owners back to a separate veterinarian. That keeps Chewy close to care, but not identical to being the vet.
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Modern Animal shows the opposite model. It sells a membership where exams, urgent care access, virtual care, prescription requests, and delivery sit under one roof. The pet owner opens one app, messages one care team, books one clinic, and keeps one record. That is much closer to a primary care relationship than an ecommerce add on.
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The broader telehealth playbook supports this. In human health, the strongest consumer telehealth companies bundle the visit with downstream fulfillment, whether that is labs, pharmacy, or recurring treatment. Pawp was positioned early as a membership service for ongoing pet care, while Chewy came into health from retail, which shapes how consumers and vets interpret the brand.
The market is moving toward integrated pet care brands that start on the phone but end in exams, prescriptions, and repeat spending. Retailers will keep pulling healthcare closer to checkout, but the companies with the strongest position will be the ones that become a pet owner’s default care front door, not just the easiest place to buy supplies.