Weekly Companion Animal News: April 14, 2025

New anesthesia guidelines enhance details on monitoring during recovery

New guidelines for small-animal anesthesia and sedation monitoring from the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia contain enhanced detail on patient monitoring during recovery, Lydia Love, DVM, DACVAA, told dvm360. Approximately 50% of veterinary anesthesia-related fatalities occur within the first three hours of recovery—a period during which monitors are frequently turned off as the patient is transferred to its recovery area, she said.

UK study to investigate role of congenital heart defects in puppy deaths

Primary care vets in the UK are being sought to support a national study seeking to uncover how structural heart defects contribute to early-life mortality in dogs. The ConNeCT Study(The Prevalence of Congenital Heart Disease in Puppies Suffering Unexplained Neonatal Death based on micro-CT imaging) is led by a collaboration involving Bristol Vet Specialists, the University of Cambridge, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Eastcott Veterinary Referrals, and is supported by The Kennel Club.

Corporate or independent? Pet owners hear both sides

What initially looks like an article from CBS News about the virtues of independent veterinary practice vs. “corporate” practice ends up taking a broad look at both sides. Even as consolidation continues, independent practices remain viable, Brakke Consulting’s John Volk is quoted as saying. “I’ve not seen any data to suggest that the services provided by corporately owned practices are materially different from services provided by independently owned practices.”

ELIAS Animal Health adds Dr. Philip Bergman to advisory board

ELIAS Animal Health, a developer of cancer immunotherapies for veterinary medicine, announced that Philip J. Bergman, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Oncology), has joined its Scientific Advisory Board. He played a role in developing the ONCEPT® (a registered trademark of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health) canine melanoma vaccine, and contributed to the development of treatment modalities as global director of clinical studies for Mars Veterinary Health and VCA.

Mars Veterinary Health publishes Science Impact Report

Mars Veterinary Health has published its inaugural Science Impact Report: Pets, Purpose & Progress: Synergizing Research and Clinical Excellence, highlighting the company’s investment in clinical research across its network in 2024. Included are manuscripts on COVID-19 and pharmaceutical stewardship as well as veterinary research on topics ranging from canine osteoarthritis, to age-related changes in cats, to body-condition scoring.

Neogen reports Q3 2025 Animal Safety revenues decline

Neogen reported that revenues for the Animal Safety segment were $68.2 million in the third quarter, a decrease of 4.0% compared to $71.1 million in the prior year. Growth was led by the animal care and other and biosecurity product categories, particularly in small-animal supplements, rodent control and cleaner & disinfectant products, and offset by a decline in the vet instruments product category.

Skills-based hiring grows in popularity as attacks on DEI continue

While not abandoning the need for top college graduates, top employers are leaning into specific skills instead of degrees to find the right talent, according to Forbes. The Skills-First Workforce Initiative, led by nonprofit Burning Glass Institute with backing from Walmart, is launching a career website outlining the skills needed for some of the most in-demand jobs in the market, including retail salespeople, first-line supervisors of retail sales workers, sales managers and customer service representatives.

Dutch regulator warns dog food brands against controlling retailers’ prices

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets has issued warnings to dog food brands that they may not influence what retailers charge. Brands are prohibited from confronting retailers with their own sale prices, stopping supply to those who do not follow pricing directives, rewarding those who do, or instructing others, such as wholesalers, to exert pressure on retailers. Brands are also not allowed to repeatedly remind retailers of the recommended retail price of their products or comply with retailer requests to confront other retailers with their sale prices.