Weekly companion animal news: December 18, 2023

Chewy to launch veterinary practices with new Chewy Vet Care

Chewy announced the launch of veterinary practices under the brand name Chewy Vet Care. The first practice will open in South Florida early next year with additional locations launching throughout 2024, according to the announcement. The clinics will offer services such as routine appointments, urgent care and surgery. “We partnered with hundreds of veterinarians and customers to design an in-practice and post-visit experience which we believe will be unlike anything in the market and appreciated by both communities,” said Mita Malhotra, president of Chewy Health.

FDA warns Chewy and 8 other companies about selling unapproved animal antibiotics

Chewy and eight other companies are violating federal law by selling or making unapproved antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs for animals that could potentially give rise to drug-resistant superbugs, the FDA said. Reuters reports that the agency sent letters to the companies warning them against selling the products that it said contained antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin. The products, which included brands like Aqua-Mox, Aqua-Zithro, Doxycycline and Fishbiotic, were being sold for so-called minor species like birds and fish. “Inappropriate use of medically important antimicrobials contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance, which affects both human and animal health,” Tracey Forfa, director of the FDA’s veterinary medicine center, said in a statement.

‘Mystery’ dog illness may not actually be a mystery, experts say

Respiratory infections are not uncommon in dogs, but some veterinarians have reported a surge in very sick pets with symptoms that last an unusually long time and do not respond to treatment. Now scientists and health officials are scrambling to find an explanation for the outbreaks of severe respiratory illness that have been sickening dogs across the United States. Experts have not been able to identify a clear cause, fueling concerns that a mysterious new pathogen might be hitting the nation’s dogs. That is one possibility, and a team of scientists in New Hampshire is investigating whether a newly discovered bacterium might play a role in some of these cases. But there is little evidence that a dangerous new canine superbug is sweeping the nation, and that prospect remains unlikely, experts told The New York Times.

New Jersey bill would prohibit pet store sales of cats, dogs and rabbits

Animal advocates are asking the New Jersey state legislature to advance a bill that would ban the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in New Jersey pet stores—a measure they say would stop the “irresponsible and inhumane” sale of animals. Business owners who oppose the measure say the legislation would hurt consumers and lead their shops to close. The new bill would repeal the state Pet Purchase Protection Act and replace it with new restrictions on pet stores and guidelines for adoption centers. Under the bill, pet stores could sell other animals, like snakes or lizards, and sell pet supplies, while animal rescue organizations and shelters would be prohibited from obtaining cats, dogs or rabbits from breeders. Pet shops found to be selling cats, dogs or rabbits would face a $500 fine for each violation, the New Jersey Monitor reports.

Researchers develop AI algorithms to detect pain in cats

A team of AI researchers and veterinarians has created and tested two machine-learning algorithms that judged whether cats being treated in a veterinary hospital were experiencing pain based on the animals’ facial expressions, Scientific American reports. One algorithm looked at the amount of facial muscle contraction by using 48 landmarks involving the ears, eyes and mouth. The other algorithm used deep-learning methods for unstructured data to analyze the whole face for muscle contractions and other patterns. The automated systems were up to 77% accurate. The investigators plan to develop a mobile app that will let veterinarians and cat owners snap a photograph to automatically detect pain, said Anna Zamansky, a computer scientist at the University of Haifa, who was a co-senior author of the paper. Zamansky said this study is the first to publish peer-reviewed scientific research about it.

Iowa State University expands pet cancer care as demand booms

The demand for advanced medical treatments is spiking, including for cancer care, prompting Iowa State University to expand its veterinary oncology services. Six years ago, ISU went to the Board of Regents seeking permission to develop a 1,320-square-foot stereotactic radiation therapy addition to the Veterinary Medical Center’s Hixon-Lied Small Animal Hospital. The $3.7 million project in 2017 incorporated advanced oncology technology and a recovery area near “a future comparative oncology center.” Last month, the university requested a phase-two renovation of more than 3,600 square feet and a 2,000-square-foot addition in its debut of the ISU Pet Cancer Clinic, costing between $6.3 and $6.8 million, The Gazette reports.

Vetster and Air Canada announce partnership to treat traveling pets with telehealth

Vetster, a telehealth provider, announced a partnership with Air Canada to provide services for pets traveling in cargo. According to the announcement, trained Air Canada personnel can now use Vetster on behalf of pet owners to connect with licensed veterinarians to support pets traveling in cargo and in need of medical assistance. Following the trip, pets’ medical files are sent to the owner’s local veterinarian.

Can nurse practitioners and physician assistants offer lessons for veterinary medicine?

Veterinarian shortages, problems with staff attrition and retention, and frustration over a lack of advancement opportunities for veterinary technicians are among the drivers of a movement to create a midlevel practitioner role in veterinary medicine. Proponents point to the human medicine experience for inspiration. Opponents look to that same experience and see reasons for concern. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners, who generally refer to themselves as advanced practice providers, are a rapidly growing segment of the medical profession. The providers fill gaps where physicians are hard to come by, both on health care teams and increasingly as solo practitioners. While interviews with providers and employers indicated that patients, physicians and employers generally accept and respect these non-physician providers, organized medicine—including the American Medical Association—is battling attempts to expand their scope of practice, the VIN News Service reports.