Companion News for June 25

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Banfield Pet Health Report®: Osteoarthritis on the rise

Banfield Pet Hospital® released its 2019 State of Pet Health Report®, which explores the growing trend of osteoarthritis (OA) in pets. According to the report, Banfield has witnessed a 66% increase of OA in dogs and 150% increase in cats over the past 10 years. Discomfort from OA can keep pets from being active, lead to weight gain, and in turn, worsen the joint condition. Banfield found 52% of dogs and 41% of cats with OA are also overweight or obese. Therefore, weight management is an important part of treating OA, even if a pet is not currently overweight. “As veterinary professionals and pet lovers ourselves, all of us at Banfield understand diagnosing and treating a complicated and sometimes overlooked disease like osteoarthritis is a joint effort – and that pets can benefit from better management of both pain and excess weight,” said Molly McAllister, chief medical officer, Banfield Pet Hospital.

UVSA engages Animal Policy Group

The United Veterinary Services Association (UVSA), the trade association for distributors, manufacturers and suppliers of animal care products in the veterinary channel, announced that it has engaged the Animal Policy Group to bring additional legislative insight and support for the association’s members. The Animal Policy Group works with organizations to analyze and develop comprehensive policy strategies and the messages to communicate these viewpoints. As the animal health care industry has grown so, too, has related legislative action, particularly at the state level of government. “The choice of Animal Policy Group to represent UVSA was an easy one because of our past relationship with Mark Cushing and his team on issues that impacted AVDA members. We know they understand our members and their concerns and will help UVSA as we expand our efforts to be the voice for the industry on compliance and regulatory issues impacting the entire channel,” said Jackie King, UVSA’s Executive Director.

Insured pet population grows by 18%

According to Today’s Veterinary Business, nearly 2.2 million U.S. pets were covered by health insurance in 2018, an 18% jump from the prior year, the North American Pet Health Insurance Association’s 2019 State of the Industry report shows. The report found that gross written premiums across the United States rose by 24% in 2018, to a total of $1.3 billion. Just over 1% of U.S. dogs and cats are insured, compared to an estimated 25% in the United Kingdom and a possible 40% in Sweden.

Animal Wellness Foundation forms National Law Enforcement Council

The Animal Wellness Foundation (AWF) and Animal Wellness Action (AWA) have announced the formation of a National Law Enforcement Council (NLEC), co-chaired by Drew Edmondson and Josh Marquis, and dedicated to enforcing our federal, state, and local laws against animal cruelty. Edmondson served for 16 years as Oklahoma’s Attorney General and Marquis as Clatsop County, Oregon District Attorney for 25 years. “One measure of a civil society is how it treats its most vulnerable members, and few are as vulnerable as the animals,” said Drew Edmondson, who served as Muskogee County District Attorney for a decade before becoming Oklahoma Attorney General. “We have a moral duty to show mercy toward all of God’s creatures.”

Pawlee to launch digital platform for service providers

According to Pet Product News, pet services company Pawlee reported that it’s working on a new digital platform aimed at helping service providers expand their business by connecting them with pet owners. The platform is expected to launch by early July, but users can already set up accounts and become familiar with the website.

Former Petco executive joins True Leaf as senior VP, operations

True Leaf Brands Inc., a global cannabis and hemp wellness brand for pets, announced the appointment of Allen Fujimoto as Senior Vice-President, Operations of True Leaf Pet. Allen brings over 25 years of extensive experience building and optimizing world-class supply chain networks in the consumer goods industry and leading complex business transformations for global, billion-dollar companies. He most recently served as Vice President, Transformation for Petco, where he is credited with improving profitability through assortment and supplier optimization. Prior to that, he served as a Senior Director at AlixPartners, a leading management consulting firm, Managing Director at Accenture, and Partner at ATKearney.

What do we do about suicide? It’s time to limit access to means

Federal data shows that veterinarians are at least twice as likely as the general population to die by suicide, but common methods of combating suicide haven’t helped reduce the rate, Dr. Andy Roark writes. Roark argues here that a key way to stop suicide in the industry is to restrict access to the lethal medications that many veterinarians have available in their clinics. “It seems obvious that one of the reasons our profession has such a problem with suicide is our access to, knowledge of, and comfort with drugs that are both lethal and painless,” he writes. drandyroark.com