VCA Antech, Inc. and Pet's Choice, Inc. Announce Definitive Merger Agreement

     LOS ANGELES, California, May 23, 2005 - VCA Antech, Inc. (NASDAQ NM SYMBOL:
WOOF), a leading animal healthcare company in the United States, and Pet's
Choice, Inc. ("Pet's Choice") today announced the signing of a definitive merger
agreement. Under the agreement, VCA Antech (the "Company") will acquire Pet's
Choice for $60 million (less assumed debt), to be paid in cash. Pet's Choice
operates 46 animal hospitals in five states with annual revenues in fiscal year
ended March 27, 2005 of $69.4 million. On completion of the merger, the combined
companies will operate 370 animal hospitals in 37 states.

     Bob Antin, Chairman and CEO of VCA Antech, stated, "We are very excited
about the opportunity to merge VCA Antech and Pet's Choice animal hospital
operations. The merger of the two companies was made possible by the
long-standing relationship between the two companies and the mutual respect
among the senior management teams. Both companies were founded on, and have
developed a culture of, focusing on providing high quality pet care and setting
the standard within the profession.

     "Combining the two companies provides us the opportunity to strengthen our
presence in five states, particularly Texas and Washington, where we have
focused in the past. In addition to merging Pet's Choice's quality animal
hospitals into our national network of hospitals, we will merge two great
management teams with substantial experience in the industry. We are excited
about the prospects for growth and innovation that will come out of the merger
of our teams.

     "We believe that the combination of the two companies will be accretive to
net income and diluted earnings per share starting in the first quarter of 2006.
The impact (after integration costs) on net income and diluted earnings per
share for the remainder of 2005 is not expected to be material."

     Mr. Rich Finlay, President and CEO of Pet's Choice, said, "I am proud of
what we built over the past nine years. I view this as a merger of hospitals,
people and cultures and believe it is a great fit. It is really a continuation
of our original vision. The size and scale of the combined animal hospital
operations will afford our hospitals many benefits and advance our objective of
providing the highest quality veterinary care in the nation. Many outstanding
members of our management team will join VCA's team to continue on the path that
we started on nine years ago."

     The merger agreement was unanimously approved by the Pet's Choice board of
directors. The merger agreement is subject to customary closing conditions,
including approval of the stockholders of Pet's Choice. VCA Antech's board of
directors approved the merger, which will require approval from its lenders.
Closing is targeted for July 2005.

     VCA Antech, Inc. will discuss the merger agreement during a conference call
on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call can be
accessed




via telephone by dialing (800) 289-0494. Interested parties should call
at least 10 minutes prior to the conference call to register. The conference
call will also be broadcast live on the Internet and can be accessed by visiting
the Company's website at http://investor.vcaantech.com. Interested parties will
be able to access a replay of the conference call by visiting the Company's
website.

     This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the
statements as to the expected growth, innovation and other benefits of the
combination of the two companies, expected impact of the merger on net income
and earnings per diluted share for each of 2005 and 2006, the anticipated
timeframe for the closing, and whether the satisfaction of the closing
conditions will be met and the merger consummated. Actual results may vary
substantially as a result of a variety of factors. Among the important factors
that could cause actual results to differ are: the ability of the companies to
satisfy the conditions to the closing of the merger, including the ability to
obtain Pet's Choice's stockholder approval in a timely manner or at all; the
ability of the Company to obtain the consent of its lenders; the ability of the
companies to consummate the merger; a material adverse change in the financial
condition or operations of either company; the ability to successfully integrate
the two companies and achieve expected operating synergies following the merger;
the rate of the Company's laboratory internal growth and animal hospital
same-store revenue growth; the level of direct costs and the ability of the
Company to maintain revenue at a level necessary to maintain expected operating
margins; the level of selling, general and administrative costs; the effects of
competition; any impairment in the carrying value of the Company's goodwill; the
effects of the Company's recent acquisitions and its ability to effectively
manage its growth; changes in the market for financing; the ability of the
Company to service its debt; and general economic conditions. These and other
risk factors are discussed in the Company's periodic reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2004 and the Company's periodic Report on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, and the reader is directed to these
statements for a further discussion of important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

     VCA Antech owns, operates and manages the largest networks of freestanding
veterinary hospitals and veterinary-exclusive clinical laboratories in the
country.

     Media contact:        Tomas Fuller, Chief Financial Officer
                           (310) 571-6505