Weekly Companion Animal News: June 16, 2025

Banfield announces Senior Care Optimum Wellness Plans

Banfield Pet Hospital introduced two new Senior Care Optimum Wellness Plans. The Senior Care OWP is designed to help identify signs of age-related illness, combining essential services like vaccinations and exams with comprehensive diagnostic testing (i.e., bloodwork, radiographs, urine testing, blood pressure monitoring and electrocardiogram); and the Senior Care Plus OWP, which includes all the services in the Senior Care plan plus a professional dental cleaning to maintain oral health.

Boehringer Ingelheim, Eko Health collaborate on early detection of canine heart disease

Boehringer Ingelheim and digital health company Eko Health have agreed to work together to enhance the early detection and diagnosis of heart disease in dogs. The companies said a canine-specific detection algorithm will be made available to veterinarians through an Eko mobile app in 2026.

VHMA names Lynsey Mohr 2025 Practice Manager of the Year

Lynsey Mohr, CVPM, practice manager of Rehoboth Beach (Delaware) Animal Hospital, was named 2025 Practice Manager of the Year by the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association. As a high school student, Mohr interned at the hospital as a veterinary assistant. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in animal sciences and later managed operations at a large dairy farm. In 2020, she returned to Rehoboth Beach as practice manager.

AI facial recognition is bringing lost pets home

AI facial recognition technology – and a database built by Petco Love Lost – are expected to increase the number of reunions of lost dogs with their owners. The database includes photos from more than 3,000 animal shelters in the U.S., and it is free to use. Petco Love Lost reports it will soon launch a new version of the technology that will match photos based on up to 512 data points.

Pegasus launches Felycin-CA1 for feline cardiac care

Pegasus Laboratories/PRN Pharmacal announced the addition of a new FDA conditionally approved drug, Felycin®-CA1 (sirolimus delayed-release tablets), designed to manage ventricular hypertrophy in cats with subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. HCM is a heart condition which causes the muscular walls of a cat’s heart to become abnormally thick, reducing the heart’s ability to pump blood efficiently.

New studies investigate use of EEG and fMRI in dogs with epilepsy

Among epilepsy research grants being funded by the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation are a University of Guelph study on electroencephalography (EEG) as a tool for assessing seizures and treatments and a North Carolina State University study using functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the underlying cause of epilepsy in dogs. According to VCA Animal Hospitals, an estimated 2% of dogs will experience a seizure in their lifetime.

Anxious cats more likely to suffer recurring bladder inflammation

Recurring bouts of cystitis in cats may be linked to stress, according to a study of 33 cats by a behavioral medicine team at the animal hospital of Universite de Montreal’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Researchers found that among cats with two or more episodes of feline idiopathic cystitis, 94% showed a marked fear of strangers, compared to 59% of cats with one episode. The fear response is thought to be an indicator of underlying anxiety.

Synchrony study finds 8 of 10 pet owners underestimate the cost of care

Synchrony’s 2025 Pet Lifetime of Care Study shows a clear upward trend in lifetime pet care costs compared to the study in 2022. Caring for a dog over 15 years now costs $22,125 to $60,602, an average increase of 11.65%, and for cats, the rise is even sharper – $20,073 to $47,106, an average increase of 19.4%.