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Owning pets can bring all sorts of joys and benefits to a household, but for many households that are struggling to meet the most basic needs, paying for veterinary care for their furry family members can be too much. As a result, many pet owners give away their beloved friends because they can no longer afford to take care of them. That’s where a new business venture called Cheap Pricks comes into the picture.
Cheap Pricks is a new venture into the veterinary field founded by two passionate pet lovers and entrepreneurs, Kristen Duhr and Matt Bowler. The two began the journey together after realizing how many owners had to give up on their pets because of the high costs of care. “During the pandemic, families found it a perfect opportunity to bring their first or even a second pet into their homes,” said Bowler. “Unfortunately, veterinary offices are at max capacity, and clients can often take weeks to make an appointment for something basic.” So the two business owners decided to find a solution.
For over a decade, Kristen and Matt have worked towards improving pet well-being, although both took different paths initially. Kristen Duhr started with a dog-walking career back in 2001, which later grew into a full-service pet care company in Missouri that offered pet boarding, daycare, grooming, training, and many more. On the other hand, Matt Bowler was working in IT back in 2002 as a Linux system administrator. Later, he would work for global clients in the private and public sectors. The two met when Bowler started bringing his pets to Kristen back in 2009.
In 2011, Kristen and Matt worked on launching Kingdom Canine, a joint venture that would expand the pet care business. Then in 2014, Matt decided to retire from consulting work to focus on the business full-time.
From time to time, Kingdom Canine would encounter pet owners who had to give up their pets because they could no longer pay for care. So in 2014, Duhr started a nonprofit called Home 2 Home Canine Orphanage, a charity that would focus on rescuing abandoned pets, rehabilitating them, and placing them in new loving homes. The nonprofit would treat and place thousands of dogs, but it only addressed the symptom—not the main problem.
Most pet owners who give up their pets would gladly keep their pets if they had a cheaper option for veterinary care. That’s when Kristen Duhr and Matt Bowler decided to start Cheap Pricks, a veterinary care business that would provide pet owners with veterinary services at a fraction of the cost. The duo started to conceptualize a vaccination program that would be low-cost. This shows that they were committed to creating a reasonable, honest, and sustainable way to ensure pet health.
Later, the idea grew to more than just vaccinations and to offer preventative medicine and testing to clients. Since 99% of vet visits consisted of these kinds of visits, that seemed like the best route.
Construction is now ongoing for the site and is very much on schedule. Duhr and Bowler look forward to opening Cheap Pricks’ doors to pet owners and their beloved pets very soon. To stay up to date on their progress and the upcoming opening, visit the Cheap Pricks website and Facebook page.
