BUSINESS
FDA, known for transparency, continues to stonewall vets and dog owners on heart disease data. Did farm lobby get senators to muzzle them?
One reason for the atypical FDA resistance could be because in 2020 Dr. Solomon, the FDA CVM director, made what he apparently believed was a private vow to the pet food industry not to issue any more updates about DCM in dogs following pressure that was applied by a group of farm state senate Republicans (and Democrat Jon Tester of the farm state of Montana) in a letter to then FDA Commissioner Hahn.
Fact-checking 101 and “show, not tell”
Dear Readers, It’s been brought to my attention that the publisher of the Veterinary Information Network’s News Service (VIN News), Paul Pion, has asked that his reporters check reporting we did months ago. Specifically, we confirmed with both the California and New York licensing boards that Dodds did not obtain a license to practice veterinary […]
What happened to the Pet Insurance Model Law? Why the surprise pull-back?
It’s been three weeks since the pet insurance model law was removed unexpectedly from the agenda of the final 2021 meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) where the law was to be considered and put up for a vote. The Pet Insurance Model Law has been in the works for more than two years. TCR has […]
Petplan is now ‘Fetch by The Dodo’–which means policy holders can now complain to Ken Lerer, too
There is at least one piece of good news for Petplan (or ‘Fetch by The Dodo’) policy holders, which is that you now have a prominent New York media executive to rope in when you file complaints to departments of insurance: Ken Lerer
USA Today “updates” Seresto story without admitting corrections, even removing entire “Why this story matters” sidebar
USA Today editor Emily Le Coz reached out to Elanco this morning to inform the company that a September 24 story about Seresto flea and tick collars that Elanco had been disputing emphatically, and for which it began demanding corrections immediately after the story was published, has now been “updated” two weeks later, though without […]
Petplan spox, CEO remain mum on rebrand plans with The Dodo touted one year ago
Internet sensation The Dodo and pet insurance provider Petplan appear to have dissolved plans to build a partnership. Both parties have refused repeated requests to comment since mid-September, and the Petplan camp declined to comment on the deal throughout the summer, too. Last October, the announcement was all but shouted from the rooftops: “Petplan, North […]
Seresto parent company Elanco demands corrections, retraction after new USA Today story alleges cover-up
A spokesperson for Elanco, the parent company and maker of the popular Seresto flea and tick collars, told TCR yesterday that the company categorically disputes the substance of a story published on Friday by USA Today alleging that it “failed to report an additional 11,000 safety-related incidents to the federal government since 2020.” In essence, […]
Eleven months ago, The Dodo and Petplan announced a deal to rebrand Petplan as “Fetch by The Dodo” — It still hasn’t happened
This story has been updated* Eleven months ago, Petplan announced a deal with Group Nine Media, the parent company of The Dodo, a blog for animal lovers, in which pet insurer Petplan would rebrand as “Fetch by The Dodo.” CEO Paul Guyardo told TCR in November 2020, that he anticipated changes to begin in March […]