PLC Newsletter

I’m greatly looking forward to seeing everyone in Las Vegas later this month at SuperZoo, particularly at our board meeting on Monday the 25^th at 8 a.m. at the Mandalay Bay in the Tropics B meeting room. We’ll be unveiling the third phase of our consumer perception research and hope to have some insightful conversations regarding the findings.

I’d also like to point out that June is National Pet Preparedness month. Something I found noteworthy was 44 percent of non-evacuees during Hurricane Katrina did not want to evacuate due solely to their pets. Whether it be hurricanes, forest fires, mudslides, or another natural disaster, it pays to be prepared as a family, and that includes pets. APPA released a few helpful tips this month, like having proper identification ready to go for your pet, a kennel or crate for safe transportation and having food that won’t easily spoil, stored and ready to pack. Ready.Gov also has a great pet preparedness social media toolkit available for quick and easy online sharing of pet safety information.

Again, I look forward to seeing you in Vegas and enjoy the articles below.

What would you do without your local veterinarian? More and more farmers and ranchers are finding out as many current professionals who handle large animals are retiring and new replacements are harder to find.

The percentage of veterinarians pursuing careers in food-animal practice has been in steady decline since the end of World War II, when roughly half of the members of the American Veterinary Medical Association were engaged in food animal practices. Today, only 5 to 8 percent of graduating veterinarians join private practices with an emphasis on food animals, according to USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The American Kennel Club urged Orange County officials to proceed cautiously as they begin to draft an ordinance that would restrict retail sales of puppies and kittens as neighboring Seminole and Lake counties have recently done.

The nonprofit group, which stages its annual AKC Invitational Dog Show at the Orange County Convention Center, said it had “grave concerns” the county might adopt restrictive legislation based on misinformation and mischaracterizations.

In observance of National Pet Preparedness Month, the American Pet Products Association (APPA) is pleased to share tips and products from its members to help pet owners be ready and keep their pets safe in the event of an emergency. According to a study from Fritz Institute, 44 percent of non-evacuees during Hurricane Katrina did not want to evacuate due solely to their pets. Whether it be hurricanes, forest fires, mud slides, or another natural disaster, APPA encourages pet owners to be thinking about what quick evacuation with their pets might look like. Because pets are part of our family, preparedness is key.

With incidence rates on the rise and input being sought on how heartworm preventive studies should be evaluated, the need has never been greater for more research in this area.

“Heartworm disease is a debilitating and potentially fatal condition, particularly in dogs and cats,” Debra Woods, PhD, research director and head of parasitology global therapeutics research at Zoetis, said. “New therapies are likely to be required as heartworm resistance to current therapies develops over time.”

Miranda Lambert‘s MuttNation Foundation has set up in downtown Nashville for CMA Fest again in 2018, and the organization has already helped rescue at least one very special dog.

MuttNation will be set up from 11-3PM inside the Music City Center every day during CMA Music Fest. Lambert’s mother, Bev Lambert, co-founded MuttNation Foundation along with her daughter, and she’ll be on hand to take photos with each adopting family. MuttNation has helped place more than 100 rescue dogs in good homes during CMA Fest in 2016 and 2017, and they are shooting for 60 in 2018.

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) have teamed up develop a handbook focused on helping senior center administrators incorporate pet-friendly programming and policies into their facilities. The handbook, Older Adults and Animal Programming, provides an overview of the scientific research that demonstrates the benefits of human-animal interaction, and a path forward for senior centers looking to develop or expand animal programming.

For years, PetSmart Charities’ primary focus was to help pets find lifelong, loving homes through adoption. While this continues to be a goal the organization works to achieve, it also recognizes the human-animal bond and the positive effects that pets have on the lives of people, especially those in need. The unconditional love, support and comfort that pets provide in times of crisis or transition is unlike any other. What can seem like a miracle is really just the effects of the human-animal bond.

This world-renowned pageant for not-so-pretty pooches is four paws in when it comes to advocating for pet adoption. And to maximize the message of the 2018 contest, campaign, and June event, the World’s Ugliest Dog® Contest is announcing a first-of-its-kind team-up with Pawscout®, The Smarter Pet Tag. The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest and Marin-based Pawscout, Inc., will launch a community campaign to celebrate the beauty of pets everywhere, while promoting pet safety through community connection.

“The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest is really about the Cinderella stories,” shares Sonoma-Marin Fair Publicist, Christy Gentry. “Many of our contestants have been rescued and adopted after becoming lost, so Pawscout is the perfect partner to help us campaign for pet safety and extend the powerful importance of building a pet-loving community. Not only will Pawscout, The Smarter Pet Tag be a gift to all of this year’s contestants, but their sponsorship dollars will fund a prize match donation for a pet rescue/adoption nonprofit pre-selected by each winner.”

The American Humane, a national humane organization which has been supporting the U.S. military for more than 100 years, and Mars Petcare, a pet nutrition and health care business, have joined forces to produce two free service dog training videos designed to help train business and retail employees to better accommodate veterans and other patrons who have service dogs.

ProCat Distribution Technologies, a provider of warehouse scanning technology, joined the Pet Industry Distribution Association (PIDA) in early 2018 to become more actively involved in the field. As a company that helps warehouses keep track of their processes and operations, ProCat Distribution Technologies regularly works to encourage safe pet food and product distribution.