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Owned by veterinarians, not investors

Meet the Owners

Symbios Animal Health is a family of six New Jersey animal hospitals, every one of them 100% independently and family owned. Here is who is behind it.

Symbios Animal Health began with a simple conviction: veterinary hospitals are better when the people who own them are the people inside them. Drs. Nick and Elizabeth Pope met at Oklahoma State's veterinary program, married, and made New Jersey home. Today they live on a small Somerset County farm with their sons, Benjamin and William, two Labradors, Nora and Brody, and a small herd of cows, goats, and chickens. They are joined in ownership by Dr. Jan Cailles, who founded Oldwick Animal Hospital in Tewksbury Township and brought her practice into the family.

Corporate groups now own a large share of veterinary medicine, and it can be hard to tell who is behind a hospital's name. Here it is simple. There is no corporate parent and there are no outside investors. Every Symbios hospital is 100% family owned, every decision is made by veterinarians, and the standard we hold ourselves to is the one we would want for our own animals.

Dr. Nick Pope
Co-owner ยท Symbios Animal Health

Dr. Nick Pope

Nick grew up on an Oklahoma farm, inspired by his grandmother, who managed a multi-doctor veterinary clinic in his hometown. That is where his belief in veterinarian-owned practice began. He lives on a small farm in Somerset County with his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Pope, their sons Benjamin and William, their Labradors, Nora and Brody, and a small herd of cows, goats, and chickens. When he is not at one of the hospitals, you will find him fishing the Raritan or golfing.

Dr. Elizabeth Pope
Co-owner ยท South Branch Veterinary Services

Dr. Elizabeth Pope

Elizabeth grew up in New Jersey knowing she wanted to be a veterinarian. She met Nick at Oklahoma State's veterinary program, and the two returned to New Jersey to build something of their own. She has been part of South Branch Veterinary Services since 2017, with a focus on internal medicine, dentistry, and leading the South Branch team.

Dr. Jan Cailles
Co-owner ยท Oldwick Animal Hospital

Dr. Jan Cailles

Dr. Jan Cailles has practiced veterinary medicine in New Jersey for more than twenty years. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, she built Oldwick Animal Hospital in Tewksbury Township, where she lives with her husband, Glenn, and their daughter, Margeaux. She brought her hospital into the Symbios family and remains one of its owners, with professional interests in emergency medicine, zoo animal medicine, and family practice.

Questions we hear a lot

Ownership, plainly answered

Is Symbios Animal Health corporately owned?

No. Symbios Animal Health is a family of six New Jersey hospitals, every one of them 100% independently and family owned by working veterinarians, with no corporate parent and no outside investors.

What is Symbios Animal Health?

A family of six independently owned New Jersey animal hospitals that back each other up with specialists, extended weekend hours, and shared records, while each hospital is run by its own doctors and front desk team.

Care that stays in the family.

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