Weekly companion animal news: May 31, 2021

Pandemic pets are staying with their owners, data shows

Despite initial fears that a return to pre-pandemic routines would lead to a spike in pet surrenders—and some news reports to back up that concern—shelter data and interviews with animal welfare experts show a different picture, The New York Times reports. “We don’t have any evidence to show that shelters are seeing an increase,” said Michael San Filippo, a spokesperson for the AVMA. The ASPCA added that there was no evidence of “an increase in owner surrenders or stray intakes” across the United States. Monthly reports from PetPoint, which aggregates data from more than 1,100 animal welfare organizations in the United States, suggests that while shelters have experienced an increase in pets coming in, their numbers are simply returning to levels reported before the pandemic.

As demand for pet care increases, veterinary clinics change their look

Heightened demand for veterinary services has drawn investors and others to the market, The New York Times reports. Landlords are more amenable to leasing space to clinics after a year during which veterinary practices were able to pay rent while other businesses fell behind. Architecture firms that specialize in the design of veterinary space have more business than ever. “Tech-savvy startups like Bond Vet are promising a reinvention of the experience, with phone apps, round-the-clock telemedicine and boutique storefronts where refreshments (for pet owners) run to LaCroix and cold brew,” the Times reports. Startups make up fewer than 1% of the more than 28,000 veterinary practices across the country, but they’re growing quickly. The new looks are designed to appeal to pet owners, especially millennials, as well as to the doctors themselves.

Pet Poison Helpline deems Seresto collars safe

After a review of scientific literature on Seresto flea and tick collars and a review of its animal poison control case data, Pet Poison Helpline said its veterinary toxicology experts believe the collars are “a safe and important treatment for the vast majority of cats and dogs.” The health protections the collars provide “far outweigh the extremely rare risk of a serious adverse event,” according to the announcement. Diseases such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever pose a far greater health risk to a pet than the collars, according to Pet Poison Helpline.

Deadly virus confirmed in South Dakota domestic rabbit

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 has been confirmed in a domestic rabbit in Custer County, South Dakota. This is the first case of RHDV2 in a domestic rabbit in the state, Kelo reports. Rabbit owners are advised to improve biosecurity measures and not allow wild rabbits from co-mingling.

whiskerDocs will launch telehealth service for birds

Telehealth provider whiskerDocs is launching service for birds this summer. With an estimated 2.8 million pet birds in the United States and limited access to care, “we saw this as a highly underserved market,” said Nicole Rogers, whiskerDoc’s chief operating officer. The service for bird owners will be similar to the service for dog and cat owners, with phone, chat, email and video consultations available. The avian service will be available through some sponsored partnership offerings, and bird owners nationwide will be able to enroll their pets on the whiskerDocs website, according to the announcement.

Chewy adds new features to its telehealth service

Chewy has added video consultations and other new capabilities to its telehealth service, Connect with a Vet, the company announced. Clients will also be able to preschedule a virtual veterinary consultation, and the service will have extended hours of operation, including weekends. Connect with a Vet was launched last fall with weekday service. The latest expansion comes soon after Chewy made the chat-based service available for free to subscribers in its Autoship program.

WellHaven Pet Health announces Jenni Jones as new CEO

Veterinary hospital group WellHaven Pet Health announced that Jenni Jones has been promoted to CEO. Jones was previously the chief operating officer at WellHaven, prior to which she held a similar position with Midwest Dental and was senior vice president of operations at Minute Clinic Inc. WellHaven founder and former CEO John Bork will take an advisory role on the company’s board of directors.

Petco expands same-day delivery for pet food in most U.S. markets

Petco’s same-day pet food delivery service is now available in most markets nationwide, the company announced. The company said it’s expanding same-day delivery for its entire assortment of fresh and frozen dog and cat food, starting with JustFoodForDogs, the availability of which is planned to triple to 560 pet care centers in 2021. “This expansion builds on our successful same-day delivery program and gives us a distinct competitive advantage over retailers who ship these products more slowly and with greater environmental impact from distribution centers using more packaging and dry ice,” said Darren MacDonald, chief digital and innovation officer at Petco.