Weekly companion animal news: January 2, 2024

U.S. animal shelters are overcrowded as pet owners face economic and housing pressure

Animal shelters around the country are filling up amid the rising cost of living, The Associated Press reports. The number of animals entering shelters began climbing in 2021 after a pandemic-related dip. Adoptions haven’t kept pace with the influx of pets, especially larger dogs, creating a snowballing population problem for many shelters. Shelter Animals Count, a national database of shelter statistics, estimates that the U.S. shelter population grew by nearly a quarter-million animals in 2023. Shelter operators say they’re in crisis mode as they try to reduce overcrowding. While the issue is sometimes blamed on owners abandoning puppies they purchased during the pandemic, advocates and operators say evidence indicates economic factors such as higher pet care costs and housing insecurity are to blame.

Sixty-six percent of U.S. households own pets, with spending at $137 billion in 2022: APPA

Sixty-six percent of U.S. households, or about 172.24 million adult consumers, own a pet, according to the American Pet Products Association’s new report, “Strategic Insights for the Pet Industry: Pet Owners 2023 and Beyond.” The report breaks down statistical differences, generational trends and more in the pet industry. Respondents include owners of dogs, cats, fish, horses, reptiles, birds and small mammals. It also considers pre-COVID (2018), COVID (2020) and post-COVID (2022) data. Pet owners’ expenditures grew from $46 billion in 2009 to $75 billion in 2019 and topped $137 billion in 2022, according to APPA’s findings. Pet product shopping has been consistently dominated by brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce. And dog and cat owners are spending more on premium formula pet food, Pet Food Processing reports, citing APPA’s findings.

Digitail and AAHA launch survey on AI in veterinary medicine

Practice management software developer Digitail, in collaboration with the American Animal Hospital Association, has launched an industrywide survey on artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine. The survey aims to assess the perspective of veterinary professionals, including current perceptions, concerns and applications of AI in the field. “As AI is beginning to make its strides in animal health care, it is essential to collect feedback from veterinary professionals at this early stage,” said Sebastian Gabor, CEO of Digitail. “The actionable takeaways from this study will help steer the innovation in the direction that aligns with the needs and expectations of the industry.” Learn more about the survey here.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore gets approval for new veterinary school, nation’s second at a historically Black college

The University System of Maryland Board of Regents has announced its approval for a new School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The program will be the second veterinary school across the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities. When the first anticipated students are accepted in fall 2026, it will also be Maryland’s first standalone program, according to UMES. Compared to traditional four-year programs, the proposed program calls for three-year completion. The university says this approach will allow UMES veterinary students to learn the same critical components found in existing programs but more expeditiously. “Black veterinarians make up only 3% of the population in this country, indicating a tremendous need to diversify the profession,” said UMES Dean of the School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences Moses T. Kairo.

Chicagoland kids will get to learn about careers in veterinary medicine at upcoming event

The AVMA on January 3 is set to host a Veterinary Career Exploration Event in Chicago, prior to the association’s annual Veterinary Leadership Conference. Approximately 30 children from F.O.C.U.O.S. (Focus on Critically Using Our Skills), a nonprofit that aims to empower underserved individuals, will attend the event. They’ll have the opportunity to visit the Animal Advocate Pet Center in Chicago, where they’ll discuss careers in veterinary medicine with the clinic’s medical director, Dr. Stefanie Clay-Smith. After visiting the veterinary clinic, the children will have a lunch meet-up with AVMA leadership.

Year-end updates from the VIN News Service on key veterinary topics

The VIN News Service catches up on several key topics in veterinary medicine, including challenges for veterinarians selling solo practices, neurologic effects reported with isoxazoline flea control drugs, government actions on xylazine and progress on a group that offers credentialing in veterinary education. The group, called the Academy of Veterinary Educators, was founded last year after attempts to establish a board-certified education specialty ran into resistance. In October, 32 educators from North America and Europe were recognized as founding members with “distinguished expertise.” The group included non-veterinarians who educate veterinary students.

French bulldogs’ head shape makes sleeping difficult, research finds

A recent study out of Hungary indicates that flat-faced dogs such as French bulldogs have difficulty sleeping because of their head shape, The Guardian reports. French bulldogs specifically suffer from increased daytime sleepiness, probably due to not getting enough nighttime sleep, researchers say. Sleep apnea in French bulldogs and other flat-faced dogs, including pugs, English bulldogs and Boston terriers, is attributable to their shortened heads, or brachycephaly, a condition where the ratio of the skull length to its width is lower than normal. The researchers studied the sleep patterns of 92 dogs accompanied by their owners. They found that compared with other dogs, the flat-faced breeds experienced a longer phase of rapid eye movement, or REM sleep, regarded as the stage of sleep with the most vivid dreams where the brain is active while the body remains still.

Humans may have influenced the evolution of dogs’ eye color, study shows

Ever since canines were domesticated between 15,000 and 50,000 years ago, humans have selected, whether consciously or not, particular traits in their dogs. Now research suggests humans may have influenced canine eye color. A study by scientists in Japan found that dark eyes are more common in domesticated dogs than their wild relatives, and that humans perceive dogs with dark eyes as being more friendly. “I speculate that lighter irises have some evolutionary advantage for wolves, but domestication has lost this selective pressure and darker eyes have emerged in some primitive dogs,” said Akitsugu Konno, the first author of the research, from Teikyo University of Science. The team says dark eyes may subsequently have been favored by humans, possibly unconsciously, during domestication from wolves to dogs, The Guardian reports.