Companion News for week of September 2

VCA launches cancer centers

VCA Animal Hospitals announced the launch of its network of 35 VCA Pet CancerCare Centers across North America. The centers will have multidisciplinary oncology teams to design individualized treatment plans for pets “using the latest in medical health care technology to create the most efficient treatments available, which are often less invasive with fewer side effects,” according to the announcement. The company has two goals in setting up its cancer centers: The first is to increase accessibility to high-quality treatment for pets, and the second is to increase collaboration and communication between oncologists, primary care veterinarians and pet owners.

Elanco Animal Health invests in Stonehaven Incubate

Stonehaven Incubate, a business incubator that aims to bring key human health technologies to the animal sector, announced that it’s received capital backing from Elanco Animal Health. According to the announcement, the capital “will enable Stonehaven Incubate to advance new and existing opportunities, and expand its global team.” Elanco also has the option of investing more capital when additional funds are raised from other sources. The new investment will accelerate the development, financing, day to day operation and the ultimate exit of new startup businesses, according to the announcement. Stonehaven has launched one company, Anizome, signed three additional agreements with human health developers, and has several undisclosed evaluations underway.

Appeals court reopens fraud class action against PetSmart and Hill’s

A federal appeals court has revived a class action lawsuit in which cat owners sued PetSmart and Hill’s Pet Nutrition over allegations that the companies used fraud and deception to increase profitability of a “prescription diet” food that was no better than other products, the Cook County Record reports. A U.S. District judge in November 2017 granted the companies’ motion to dismiss the complaint, but the plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court, which issued an opinion saying the district judge’s decision wasn’t valid. “Pet food intended to treat or prevent disease and marketed as such is considered a drug and requires approval of a new animal drug application,” Judge Diane Sykes wrote. “Without FDA approval, the manufacturer may not sell it in interstate commerce and the product is deemed adulterated and misbranded.” While the Food and Drug Administration has issued guidance acknowledging most products in the category don’t have required approval, “the guidance does not specifically authorize the conduct alleged here, so the safe harbor does not apply,” Sykes wrote.

Brutus & Barnaby recalls pig ear dog treats due to salmonella risk

Florida-based Brutus & Barnaby is recalling all sizes of its Pig Ears for Dogs “because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella,” according to the company’s announcement. Bags of the treats were distributed in all U.S. states over the company’s website, as well as Amazon and Chewy, and in one physical store where the company is based. Brutus & Barnaby has ceased production and distribution of the product while the Food and Drug Administration investigates the issue, and the company urges customers who have purchased the treats to destroy any remaining product and seek a refund from the place of purchase. This comes after Dog Goods USA recalled its own pig ear treats in mid-August.

Maryland pet stores sue to block state ban on commercially bred dog and cat sales

Pet stores in Maryland are suing to block a law that will bar them from selling commercially bred dogs and cats, a measure aimed at stopping unlicensed and substandard “puppy mills.” The stores’ federal lawsuit challenges a ban set to take effect January 1, 2020. Maryland is the second state, after California, to pass these restrictions on the sale of dogs and cats, the Associated Press reports. Store owners worry the ban will put them out of business, and their lawsuit says animal welfare organizations have made unfounded claims that pet stores are fueling the growth of puppy mills. The law encourages animal welfare organizations to collaborate with retail pet stores to showcase cats and dogs for adoption or purchase from local breeders, according to a summary of the legislation prepared by state analysts. The pet stores’ lawsuit argues the ban is unconstitutional, saying it discriminates against out-of-state breeders and brokers.

The internet is the ‘wild west’ for pet sales, consumer advocates say

A combination of booming online pet marketplaces and a lack of transparency in breeder standards has made it difficult for potential pet owners to make informed decisions about the animal they’re getting, consumer advocates say. That lack of information can have serious repercussions if animals have undisclosed health problems, costing pet owners hundreds of thousands of dollars in veterinary bills, not to mention emotional tolls. “Getting dogs through the internet is an area that I think we’re going to have more attention and scrutiny about, and I think that’s how it should be,” one expert said. “We’re not buying widgets here.” A 2019 American Pet Products Association survey found that 36% of people who got a pet said they found it online, wtop reports. It’s become more difficult to check breeders’ track records since a 2017 decision removed federal inspection reports from public websites, which lawmakers said was due to privacy concerns for breeders.

Unsafe driving increased when pets roamed in the car: study

Allowing pets to roam unrestrained in the car led to significantly more unsafe driving behaviors, more time distracted and increased stress on drivers and their pets, a new study from Volvo Car USA and The Harris Poll found. This report builds on a report from last year “exploring the unique relationship between Americans, their pets and their cars,” Lea Lane writes in Forbes. In an observational study that followed 15 drivers for more than 30 hours on the road, researchers found that when pets were allowed to roam freely in the car, unsafe driving behaviors more than doubled: 649 instances while unrestrained versus 274 while restrained. The time drivers were distracted more than doubled, from one hour and 39 minutes when the dog was restrained to three hours and 39 minutes when unrestrained. And unrestrained dogs had a faster heartbeat than restrained dogs, indicating higher stress, while drivers reported feeling calmer when dogs were buckled in.

Ransomware hits hundreds of U.S. dentist offices

Hundreds of U.S. dental practices had their computers infected with ransomware last week, sources told ZDNet. Ransomware operators compromised DDS Safe, a medical records and backup software for dental practice offices. The software was developed by Wisconsin-based The Digital Dental Record and PerCSoft. According to one source, the companies decided to pay the ransom demand, and they shared a “decrypter” with affected dental offices so companies could recover encrypted files. Some office administrators wrote on Facebook that the decrypter either didn’t work or didn’t recover all their data. This is the third time a hacker group has compromised a managed service provider and used its infrastructure to deploy this specific ransomware.