Weekly companion animal news: December 19, 2022

New York bans retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits

New York Governor Kathy Hochul last week signed a bill into law banning the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at retail pet stores, Fox 5 New York reports. According to the governor’s office, the law aims to “end the puppy mill-to-pet store pipeline and stop abusive breeders.” The bill passed the Democratic-controlled legislature with bipartisan support in June, but it had remained unclear whether Hochul, also a Democrat, would sign it. According to The New York Times, she ultimately agreed to do so with concessions to the pet store industry, including delaying the implementation of the ban until December 2024 and allowing pet stores to charge rent to animal shelters that use the stores as a space to host adoption events.

How AlignCare makes veterinary care more accessible for low-income pet owners

AlignCare, a national program, is trying to make veterinary care more accessible by assisting pet owners with limited means. Families enrolled in government assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can apply to their local AlignCare chapter, which covers 80% of the veterinary care bill. The pet owner pays the remaining 20%. They can receive care at a participating clinic through the program for a year and then reapply. While data on the program’s specific health benefits for people is limited, it’s part of a One Health approach to veterinary care since pet owners receiving assistance will be better off, Dr. Kate Boatright writes for the American Animal Hospital Association.

What’s the state of veterinary hospital consolidation in North America?

A new report from Veterinary Integration Solutions analyzes nearly 50 corporate groups buying or building veterinary hospitals. It provides a breakdown by categories such as financing sources, number of locations and geographical area of operations, practice acquisition eligibility criteria and type of partnership agreement. Fifteen veterinary groups have been added to the latest report. Based on open-access data, at least 661 veterinary hospitals have been consolidated this year, including acquisitions of corporate-owned practices by other consolidators.

Scholarship competition asks students to address the future of veterinary teaching hospitals

The VIN Foundation announced the seventh annual Solutions for the Profession Competition, which asks veterinary students to suggest innovative solutions to challenges facing the industry. This year’s competition asks participants to examine the future of teaching hospitals. Until 2010, only a few veterinary schools operated a distributed clinical education model, having students receive their clinical training at other schools or private practices rather than in a university teaching hospital. In the last decade, several new schools have adopted this model. Competition entrants are asked to address the positive or negative aspects of this shift and explain what they think is best for the future of the profession. Three entrants will win cash scholarships.

Shepherd Veterinary Software partners with Fear Free

Shepherd Veterinary Software has released an “emotional medical record workflow” for Fear Free Certified practices. According to the announcement, Shepherd is the only practice management software that successfully integrates with the Fear Free Certified practice standards. Certified practices can use the software to more easily track patients’ fear, anxiety and stress (FAS) score over time.

Most home-buying pet owners would pass on their dream home if it didn’t work for their pet, survey finds

Eighty-two percent of Americans with pets who are planning to buy a home within the next year consider their pets’ needs just as important, if not more so, than their own needs or those of their family, according to a survey by Realtor.com and HarrisX. Seventy-seven percent of U.S. homeowners say they have a pet at home, and 79% of pet owners say they factored their pet in when choosing which home or apartment to live in, according to the survey of 3,001 U.S. adults. Seventy-two percent of prospective buyers with pets say they would forgo buying their dream home if it didn’t accommodate their pets, while 62% of current homeowners with pets say they would, the survey found.

AAFCO releases new standards for ‘human grade’ pet food

The Association of American Feed Control Officials has approved a new standard for human-grade pet food and specialty nutrition products. Processors wanting to make “human grade” product claims must meet AAFCO’s standards under the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Process Verified Program. The standards cover ingredient supply, storage and handling, pet food production, packaging and labeling. The term “human grade” can only be used to describe pet food products as a whole, meaning every ingredient within the formula must be human grade to be marketed as such, according to Pet Food Processing.

Report shows U.S. animal health industry’s contributions to the country’s economy

A new study commissioned by the Animal Health Institute details the growth of the animal health industry over the past three years and documents the value and role that companies that produce animal medicines play in the U.S. economy. With nearly $14 billion in sales of medicines at home and abroad, the U.S. animal health industry directly supports 24,094 jobs and accounts for more than $1.6 billion in wages and $1.5 billion in taxes, according to the report. Animal health products also contribute to the economic activity of other industries such as veterinary services, animal production, meat and dairy production, and pet services.