Drs. Foster & Smith was once a big deal if you bought pet supplies online. Founded by two veterinarians in the early ’80s, the brand carried a kind of trust you don’t get from many other places. You could buy everything from mainstream dog treats to niche aquarium medicine, knowing it was all vetted—literally—by animal doctors. For nearly four decades, they were a go-to for people who cared a lot about their pets’ well-being.
But after 36 years, that ride came to an abrupt end in 2019. Here’s how it happened, what changed behind the scenes, and what it actually meant for employees and customers.
The Early Days: Veterinarians Start a Mail-Order Pet Supply Company
The story started way back in 1983 in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, a town better known for woods than warehouses. Drs. Race Foster and Marty Smith were actual practicing vets who wanted to help pet owners take better care of their animals at home. Mail-order catalogs were huge at the time. Their goal was simple: offer products they’d actually use in their own clinics, ship them straight to people, and throw in honest advice.
At first, it was a small, catalog-based operation. Then it grew—fast. They expanded into all kinds of pet supplies, introduced educational guides, and made it easy to talk to real animal experts by phone. By the early 2000s, their website (drsfostersmith.com) was one of the biggest online pet shops, competing with PetSmart and even Amazon. If you were deep into fishkeeping or had exotic pets, you probably ordered from them at least once.
Petco Steps In: The 2015 Acquisition
By mid-2010s, it’s no secret online shopping was eating up everybody’s lunch. Amazon moved into pet products harder than ever, Chewy was taking off, and margins were shrinking. In 2015, Petco—already a giant in retail pet sales—bought Drs. Foster & Smith. At the time, Petco said they wanted to boost their own e-commerce strength and bring veterinary expertise into their brand.
There was some optimism. You might have hoped Petco would keep Drs. Foster & Smith as a specialist offshoot—like a sharp website for discerning pet owners. But alliances in retail evolve fast, and synergy is a lot harder than it sounds.
Closure Announcement: How It Unfolded
Jump to January 2019. Suddenly, the news dropped: Petco announced they were closing Drs. Foster & Smith entirely. The shock hit both customers and employees hard. Just a month later, by mid-February, shipping, customer service, and all warehouse operations started winding down.
By spring 2019, the entire business was shut. The familiar website was no longer taking orders. Emails went out to loyal customers, explaining the change, offering a coupon, and encouraging them to try Petco instead. Rhinelander’s massive facility—once a point of pride—was dark, empty, and up for lease.
Why Did Petco Shut Down Drs. Foster & Smith?
So, what pushed Petco to pull the plug so quickly? If you look at Petco’s public explanation, it comes down to two things: focus and efficiency. The company said they wanted to ‘streamline operations’ and pay more attention to their core business—basically, their own pet supply lineup and in-store services.
Retail was going digital in a major way. Customers expected faster shipping, more inventory, and seamless tech. Amazon and Chewy set a new bar for speed and selection, making it tough for even established niche brands to keep up.
There was also a business partnership issue. Petco formed a new pharmacy partnership with Express Scripts, a huge prescription management company. That made running Drs. Foster & Smith’s original online pharmacy and vet supply wing less appealing—it would mean doubling up on infrastructure and personnel.
All of that added up. Instead of running two parallel pet supply brands (and two sets of warehouses), Petco decided to focus resources on petco.com. The less duplication, the better for their bottom line.
Big Impact on Rhinelander Employees
This wasn’t just a change on the web—real people lost real jobs. Around 289 to 500 employees in Rhinelander were laid off as a result of the closure. That covered everyone from call-center staff and warehouse workers to managers, online techs, and even some marketing and vet pharmacy experts.
For those employees, it wasn’t just about losing a job. Drs. Foster & Smith had been a rare big employer in northern Wisconsin. It was the workplace you’d see sponsoring local events or fundraising for humane societies. The company had become part of the local identity.
Petco did offer various severance packages and options to apply for work elsewhere, including at their other locations. But the transition was abrupt. Most workers found out via direct communications from management—some even through local news media before all the details went out internally.
How Customers Were Notified and Shifted Over to Petco
If you were a regular Drs. Foster & Smith shopper, the change happened pretty quickly. In January 2019, customers started getting emails saying the brand would close. The updates explained the move, provided a cutoff date for online orders, and pointed everyone to Petco.com for future purchases.
To sweeten the deal (or at least soften the blow), Petco included a digital coupon, hoping folks would give their main site a shot. There were also plenty of FAQ-style details covering returns, prescription refills, and how existing orders would be finalized.
Most people noted their favorite items weren’t always carried over, though. Some specialty foods, medical supplies, and especially aquarium oddities simply disappeared.
The Final Website Shutdown and Service Discontinuation
Once operations stopped, Drs. Foster & Smith’s website immediately redirected visitors to Petco’s homepage. The robust online pharmacy, order history features, educational library, and unique customer service numbers were all taken down.
Everything linked to the Rhinelander warehouse—shipping, packaging, order fulfillment—closed within just a few months. The call center, which used to connect customers with animal care experts, went silent. Pet owners who loved the long-form advice and tailored support had to adjust to Petco’s more mainstream options.
If you had questions about past orders or medical refills, you were redirected to Petco’s customer care. But, again, the handoff was rushed, and a lot of the old service didn’t survive the shift.
What Happened to the Niche Operations Like LiveAquaria?
One quirk in the shutdown: not every division went away immediately. LiveAquaria, the section dedicated to shipping live fish and rare aquatic critters, wasn’t included in the first wave of layoffs and closures. It kept running for a while under separate handling.
For hardcore aquarium folks, LiveAquaria’s continued existence was a small relief. That said, its future was always uncertain, tethered tightly to broader corporate choices at Petco and shifts in the exotic animal market.
The Broader Pet Industry Takeaway
What’s left when a popular pet supply mainstay suddenly disappears? You get a community asking questions about where to buy trusted products. Some customers migrated to other specialist sites; others defaulted to Amazon, Chewy, or big-name brick-and-mortar chains.
Petco did gain traffic and likely picked up plenty of former Drs. Foster & Smith shoppers, but they never replaced all the quirks and specific expertise of the original brand. If you relied on Drs. Foster & Smith’s detailed how-to guides or niche prescription services, the new Petco setup wasn’t a direct substitute.
Plenty of businesses have had to make tough consolidation choices as the retail world keeps shifting. If you’re interested in how other companies adapt or close, sites like Sera Business track these trends with detailed breakdowns and timely updates.
What’s the Situation Now?
Now, a few years after the fact, Drs. Foster & Smith is pretty much gone except in memory and a handful of rebranded products you might find on Petco’s shelves. For folks in Rhinelander, the closure was a huge moment—one that made headlines and reshaped the local job market.
For pet owners, it was a reminder of how quickly trusted names can vanish when bigger players retool their strategy. Shopping for pet supplies looks different now: it’s faster, more mainstream, and maybe less personal than it used to be.
So, if you suddenly wondered why Drs. Foster & Smith vanished from search results or why their customer service stopped answering, that’s what happened. Petco chose to refocus resources, and the legacy brand quietly exited after 36 years. There’s no sign it’s coming back—at least, not in any form most long-time pet owners would recognize.