MEDIA
“Terrorizing the pet industry”
Last month marked three years since we began our drive to bring greater accountability and transparency to the pet industry through our high impact, public interest journalism. We have a long way to go, but we’re off to a strong start. Last week, Business Insider noticed – writing that TCR is “terrorizing the pet industry.” […]
The Making – and Unmaking — of Forbes’s Insurance Rankings
Forbes misfires, takes down pet insurance rankings.
Embrace pres. compares #1 Forbes badge to “World’s Best Dad” medal from kids–
an analogy NAIC consumer rep. calls “non-sensical”
Petplan, Dodo officially withdraw veterinary professional “moral hazard” filing
In July, The Canine Review reported that Petplan which had recently partnered with Group Nine Media and rebranded itself as “Fetch by The Dodo,” was seeking to slash veterinary professionals from pet health insurance coverage by declaring them a “moral hazard.” Our reporting resulted in sharp and extensive outcry from veterinary professionals and influencers on […]
Questions readers have been asking lately UPDATED
Is it true that TCR bans the use of the term “investigative journalism” ?
Yes. It’s redundant. A journalist’s job is to investigate.
The term is a product of a new phenomenon born out of digital communication or journalism by email, Tweet, etc. which is intended to distinguish actual reporting from what most ‘reporting’ is now, in the post-Internet age. Woodward and Bernstein were not “investigative journalists.” Bob Woodward was a cub reporter on the metro desk assigned to cover a local burglary, Watergate. Woodward would be the first to say – and does say – that journalism is about showing up and outworking every person around you. All journalism demands showing up and being a surrogate for your readers.
Dodo partner Petplan calls veterinary professionals “moral hazard”
Last Friday, we reported that pet health insurer Petplan — now rebranded as “Fetch by the Dodo” to reflect its new partnership with The Dodo, the animal-loving viral video blog – had started rolling out an exclusion in its policy that slashes coverage options for veterinary professionals. Now we can report that the insurer explained the move by declaring veterinary professionals a “moral hazard/fraud [risk]” in the cover letter of the filing we reported last week.
Media elites behind Dodo, NYMag, Vox stay silent as insurance partner Petplan slashes discounted coverage for vet professionals
Why Would Petplan Slash Coverage For Veterinary Professionals?
Are veterinary professionals not the people a pet insurance provider would want on its good side for client referrals? Actuary data shows that veterinary professionals tend to adopt “what we consider ‘lemons’ as their companions,” explained Margi Tooth, the President of Trupanion, a Petplan competitor which does not have the same exclusion. “What this inevitably means,” she added, “is that their pets have a higher rate of utilization that the average pet owner. There’s no conspiracy here – it’s a profession that can’t face putting a pet to sleep that could be saved – so when an owner walks in with a sick pet that they can’t afford to treat, they’re often adopted by the team in the hospital. These folks are heroes on many levels.”
Seresto Under Siege on Capitol Hill as ‘Investigative Reporter’ and Dems Team Up, Renewing Calls to Recall ‘Killer’ Collars
The blockbuster Seresto flea-and-tick collar was skewered by lawmakers yesterday, who renewed their calls for parent company Elanco Animal Health, Inc. to pull the collars from shelves during a hearing held by the House Committee on Oversight & Reform, Subcommittee on Economic & Consumer Policy. The hearing, whose title was “Seresto Flea and Tick Collars: […]
USA Today writes another hit job on Seresto; ‘investigative’ report fails to seek comment; vets continue to be ignored
Just over a year ago, on March 2, 2021, USA Today, whose parent company Gannett became America’s largest newspaper publisher when it merged with Gatehouse in 2019, printed a thinly sourced story declaring one of America’s most popular pet products, Seresto flea and tick collars, to be killer collars. The story was castigated by veterinarians and other health professionals — including board-certified veterinary toxicologists we interviewed.
Press feasts on dog ‘death by rat urine’ lepto rumors — but NYC Health Dept. spox says no cases reported
This report has been updated to include a statement we received around 6pm ET on January 26 from acting press secretary Michael Lanza at NYC’s Department of Health: “The Health Department so far cannot confirm recent reports of canine leptospirosis related to McCarren Park. We have not received reports of leptospirosis in dogs from Brooklyn this year. The Health Department has reached out proactively to several veterinary hospitals in the area, none of which have seen cases so far this year.”
“‘Multiple’ dogs may have been sickened by rat-transmitted illness,” ABC affiliate WABC-TV reported Monday. However, in New York City, Health Department officials have not confirmed even one case involving the illness. And we’re not trying to pick on bloggers, but there’s a reason our only blogger is Nellie the Labrador: One blog declared a leptospirosis “outbreak” as early as last week, apparently scooping The Canine Review, and even The New York Times. In fact, the blogger’s source on “outbreak” is city councilman Lincoln Restler, who is not, in fact, on the payroll of any health department.
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
