Weekly companion animal news: November 28, 2022

A shortage of veterinary professionals could make it harder to get pet care in the years ahead

While backlogs at veterinary offices are easing, a national shortage of veterinary professionals is making it difficult for pets to get necessary care and could worsen in the years ahead. Even as demand for pet health care services grows, retirements and the slow rate of new veterinarians entering the profession could create a shortage of 15,000 companion animal veterinarians by 2030, Dr. Jim Lloyd found in a report published by Mars. According to Dr. Lori Teller, president of the AVMA, the situation could improve by the end of the decade, at least for veterinarians. She said the bigger concern is a shortage of technicians. The Wall Street Journal reports.

More than 3% of Britain’s cats got COVID, study finds

More than 350,000 cats in Britain, or about 3% of the domestic cat population, caught COVID over the course of the pandemic, according to a new study. Cats have been shown previously to catch the coronavirus, but the level of infection among domesticated felines hasn’t been calculated until now, The Telegraph reports. Virologists and veterinarians from the University of Glasgow analyzed swabs from about 2,300 cats taken between April 2020 and February 2022 for routine checkups. Researchers said the samples were representative of the United Kingdom’s domestic cat population. They found that 3.2% of the samples were positive for COVID antibodies, with the highest levels of infection occurring at the end of 2021 and the start of 2022 and one in 20 cats testing positive. The study, published as a preprint, is awaiting peer review.

In New York City, the pandemic dog boom may have been a myth

It may have seemed like the pandemic led to a boom in dog ownership in New York City, but data shows that may not have been the case. According to research published last year on Medium, dog adoptions appeared to decline in the first phase of the pandemic before more or less flatlining from May through December 2020. Now, a heated debate over a temporary dog run in the Chelsea neighborhood shows that not everyone sees their canine neighbors as a benefit. Supporters say the dog run has helped build community, while opponents say the noise is a hazard. The New York Times reports.

AAVMC introduces $50,000 scholarship to advance veterinary research

The American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges announced the launch of a $50,000 scholarship to be awarded to a veterinary student aspiring to pursue an advanced degree in basic or clinical research. The grant, awarded from the Zoetis Foundation, is named for Dr. Catherine A. Knupp, who retired at the end of 2021 as president of research and development at Zoetis. The application will be open to students as of December 1. The grant “will assist in developing a leader in veterinary research,” according to the announcement from the AAVMC.

Delaware officials struggle to deal with stray pigs abandoned by their owners

Officials in Delaware say feral packs of potbellied pigs are running loose in the southern portion of the state after being abandoned by their owners. The stray pets tear up gardens, lawns and native plants. They disrupt other wildlife and risk carrying endemic diseases, such as salmonella and swine flu, to other animals and people, WHYY reports. The pigs weigh only about 35 pounds when they’re young, but they can grow to 200 pounds and live more than 20 years. Delaware state veterinarians have had to kill about a dozen in recent months because pet owners, no longer able to care for them, set them free and rescues can’t handle them.