| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Service |
| Founded | Lutz, Florida, USA 2009, incorporated 2011 |
Number of locations | Operations in 37 states with over 350 veterinarians in total |
| Website | https://www.lapoflove.com/ |
Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice is a family-centered veterinary hospice and in-home animal euthanasia service, recognized as the first organized group of its kind in America. [1] The company is a member of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care, and it operates in 37 states. [2]
In 2009 Lap of Love was founded by Dr. Dani McVety, a graduate of University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, after spending several months working in a traditional veterinary emergency room and recognizing the growing demand for end-of-life services to be performed at home. [3] Shortly thereafter, McVety teamed up with Dr. Mary Gardner, a fellow UF grad, with the hope of developing a model for pet hospice and at-home animal euthanasia services that could be taught to other veterinarians. [4] Lap of Love was incorporated in 2011, and began offering franchises in 2012.
In 2015, the company was awarded the University of Florida Entrepreneurship Award, given by the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. [5]
Animals seen by Lap of Love veterinarians are either geriatric or terminally ill patients. Hospice and palliative care includes phone and in-home consultations on a pet's appetite, hydration, mobility, wound care, and pain management. [6] The company also offers an online Pet Hospice Journal which includes a quality of life scale, and a diary to help the pet owner track daily health issues. [7] Should natural death not appear to be imminent when an animal is suffering or exhibiting signs of a degraded quality of life, pet owners may elect for at-home euthanasia services by Lap of Love veterinarians, and burial or cremation arranged through the company. [8] [9]
McVety and Gardner have authored several seminars and videos relating to the human-animal bond and compassionate medicine, and both have appeared nationally at public speaking engagements, including the 2012 North American Veterinary Conference. [4]
In 2025, Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice, a portfolio company of Cortec Group (New York, NY), filed suit in Fulton County Superior Court against former employee Dr. Erin Brown, as well as Shawn Martin and Heartstrings Pet Hospice. The complaint seeks to enforce a non-compete agreement that would restrict Dr. Brown’s ability to practice within the Atlanta metropolitan region.
Trellis Law Lap of Love’s legal action was publicly characterized by Heartstrings as an attempt to impose an “overly restrictive non-compete” in the Atlanta market. Business Wire
In a press release, Heartstrings stated that Lap of Love’s suit aims to prevent Dr. Brown from working in Atlanta under terms they believe are unenforceable under Georgia law. Business Wire
Under Georgia law, non-competition agreements are subject to judicial scrutiny, and courts often disfavor overly broad or unduly restrictive covenants, particularly with respect to geographic scope and duration. (This is a general principle in Georgia contract jurisprudence; see, e.g., Georgia precedent on enforceability of covenants in restraint of trade.)
Following her departure from Lap of Love, Dr. Brown co-founded Heartstrings Pet Hospice alongside Shawn Martin, with the stated mission of providing in-home hospice and euthanasia services to families in the greater Atlanta area, including regions not currently served by Lap of Love. Business Wire
Shawn Martin and Heartstrings have publicly resisted enforcement of the non-compete, arguing that it unduly restricts the ability of veterinarians to practice and limits choice for pet owners in end-of-life care. Business Wire
As of October 2025, the case remains active in Fulton County Superior Court and is proceeding through pretrial motions and procedural phases. Trellis Law +1