News March 26

Millennial pet spending trends examined

A recent Business Insider article examined why millennials are delaying traditional milestones, like getting married, buying a house, or having children, and opting to be pet owners instead. “As a generation that puts off having children or opts out of it entirely, they’re putting greater focus on pets instead,” Emily Anatole, insights director at cultural strategy and trend forecasting company Cassandra, told Bobila. “Many are treating their pets as if they were kids and devoting a growing share of their disposable income to them.”

Over the last year, 14% of millennials bought a luxury item in pet-care category — not far from the 18% of millennials who made luxury purchases on children’s items, reported Bobila, citing stats from Anatole. Millennials are also opting to buy more expensive pet food, reported Business Insider’s Mary Hanbury, citing a report by The Wall Street Journal. Nielsen data has shown that annual household spending on pet food among pet owners increased by 36% between 2007 and 2017, which has led to an influx of premium food brands entering the market, according to Hanbury. Read more at:https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-buy-high-end-dog-clothes-prioritize-pets-over-kids-2019-3

World Veterinary Day 2019 promotes value of vaccination

The “Value of Vaccination” will be the focus of this year’s World Veterinary Day, sponsored by the World Veterinary Association and set for April 27, AVMA highlighted on its website. The WVA has partnered with Health for Animals, the global animal medicines association, on the World Veterinary Day Award, which will honor one WVA member with a $2,500 prize for its vaccine-related work.

Labrador retrievers – again – are America’s top breed

Today’s Veterinary Business reported that Labrador retrievers, German shepherds and golden retrievers are the most popular breeds in the United States, with the Labrador retriever taking the No. 1 spot for the 28th year in a row, the American Kennel Club’s latest registry list shows. Among the cities where Labs rule are Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Portland, Salt Lake City and Seattle. The Labrador retriever has claimed a spot on the Top 10 list since the 1970s.

Flooding in Nebraska displacing animals, livestock

According to Reuters, the floods that have devastated large swaths of Nebraska and Iowa left house pets homeless, inflicted an unknown toll on livestock and led to several daring water rescues of animals from dogs to horses. Rescuers in the Omaha area, where the Platte, Elkhorn and Missouri rivers began spilling over their banks, have been working overtime to save dogs and cats along with their owners, sometimes at risk to themselves. “It becomes very difficult and it does put our rescuers in harm’s way, because you have animals that can potentially try to bite or fight,” Rescue Lieutenant Jami Mitchell of Waterloo Fire/Rescue in Nebraska said by phone. Along with the 189 adults and eight children pulled from flooded homes in Waterloo, about 20 miles west of Omaha, Mitchell tallied 87 dogs, eight cats, one rabbit, two birds, two hamsters and 26 horses.

Banfield Pet Hospital and Banfield Foundation release impact reports

Banfield Pet Hospital released its 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, an overview of how the organization has leveraged its resources, reach and relationships to improve the well-being of pets, communities, associates and the veterinary industry. Banfield’s charitable arm, the Banfield Foundation, also released its 2018 Banfield Foundation Impact Report.

Highlights from the 2018 Banfield CSR Report and the 2018Banfield Foundation Impact Report include: 1.79 million pets and people impacted by the combined efforts of Banfield and the Banfield Foundation; $2,256,435 in grants awarded by the Banfield Foundation to 265 nonprofits; $383,363 in veterinary care provided by Banfield to shelter pets ahead of new Banfield hospital openings; 170,653 pets and people in 157 U.S. cities impacted through 15,529 volunteer hours through the Mars Volunteer Program, a paid volunteer program that enables associates to give back to communities in need.

Veterinary ophthalmology practice to offer telemedicine consultations

A Virginia veterinary ophthalmology practice will offer telemedicine consultations for their veterinary partners and existing clients. Animal Vision Center of Virginia claims it is the first veterinary ophthalmology practice in Virginia and among the first in the U.S. to provide a remote real-time evaluation experience in partnership with the TeleVet mobile app, according to a release. “Telemedicine consultations allow us to bring our practice to our clients for evaluation, diagnosis and treatment in real time, when they are unable to bring their pets to us,” said Dr. Heather Brookshire, a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist and owner of Animal Vision Center of Virginia.

Brookshire and her staff began offering telemedicine consultations last fall using TeleVet, the remote healthcare application and online platform that allows veterinary clinics to treat their patients remotely when a veterinary-client-patient relationship has been established.

Sri Trang USA hires Beth Clifford as Director of Distributor Relations

Sri Trang USA, a provider of infection prevention products such as the Ventyv® brand, has hired Beth Clifford as its Director of Distributor Relations. Clifford will be responsible for creating opportunity with national and regional distributor accounts for Sri Trang USA “to extend the value of its infection prevention products to customers across all healthcare segments,” according to a release. Clifford has more than 10 years of experience in both the distribution and manufacturing industry identifying market opportunities and establishing effective relationships. Clifford’s professional experience includes working as the PHD Category Manager for Medical Specialties Distributors; Product Marketing Manager for Bovie® Medical; Product Manager-Energy for Symmetry Surgical Inc.; and Category Manager for Rite Aid pharmacy. Beth studied marketing at CCRI and Project Management at Bryant University.