🐾 Stop Corporate Bullying: Let Compassion, Not Private Equity, Lead Veterinary Medicine 💜 Heartstrings Pet Hospice is asking veterinarians, veterinary staff, and supporters across the country to stand up for fairness, compassion, and the freedom to care for families without fear.

Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice — backed by private equity firm Cortec Group — has filed an anti-competitive lawsuit against Heartstrings Pet Hospice, a privately owned, family-run end-of-life care practice. Their lawsuit aims to restrict where compassionate veterinarians can work and serve families, using non-compete clauses and legal intimidation to suppress fair competition.

We believe this is not only wrong — it’s dangerous for the future of our profession.

Private equity should never dictate who can comfort a grieving family or provide end-of-life care for a beloved pet. Lawsuits like this one don’t protect families — they protect profits.

Heartstrings Pet Hospice operates with core values of Compassion, Dignity, and Respect, and we stand for:

🐶 Fair competition that allows veterinarians to choose where and how they serve.
🩺 Freedom from corporate control and private-equity intimidation.
💜 Access to care for families and pets in every community.

We’re calling on Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice and the Cortec Group to immediately drop this anti-competitive lawsuit and focus their resources on supporting veterinarians and families — not silencing them.

If you believe veterinarians should have the right to care for families without fear of being sued for doing what’s right, please sign and share this petition.

Together, we can send a message:

Compassion is not a competition — and love for our patients should never be owned or restricted by corporate greed. 🌈

💜 When Compassion Becomes a Court Case: The Story Behind the Lap of Love Lawsuit 🌈
Heartstrings Pet Hospice was founded on a simple belief — that families and their pets deserve Compassion, Dignity, and Respect at the end of life.

Recently, our practice and our Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Erin Brown, have become the subject of a lawsuit filed by Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice. The case centers on the interpretation and enforcement of Dr. Brown’s former employment agreement, which includes a non-compete clause covering a 30-mile radius around Atlanta, Georgia.

While the original agreement was geographically limited, Lap of Love has sought broader restrictions through the courts, including efforts that, if granted, could have impacted Heartstrings’ ability to serve families in other states. These actions have raised concerns among many within the veterinary community about how non-compete agreements and litigation can affect veterinarians’ ability to provide care and maintain their livelihoods.

A recent court ruling denied Lap of Love’s request to expand those restrictions nationwide. That decision allows Heartstrings to continue supporting families and pets outside the Atlanta area — a development we view as a positive step toward fair competition and clarity under Georgia law.

Heartstrings Pet Hospice remains committed to complying fully with all court orders while defending our right to operate independently and stand up for fair competition in veterinary medicine.

Our mission has always been — and remains — to serve families with compassion, not conflict. We believe veterinarians should have the freedom to provide care guided by their hearts, their training, and their ethical obligations, without unnecessary legal barriers.

Because compassion should never come with a non-compete. 💜🌈