Pet Industry News
The deals, launches, and strategic moves behind the brands and operators shaping the industry.
Eleven Pet Companies that Made the 2026 Inc. 5000
At least eleven pet-industry companies, led by veterinary telehealth platform Dutch's 2,395% three-year growth, placed on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies. Their range, from consolidated veterinary care to doodle-breed grooming, maps where pet industry money is actually moving.
Vetspire Splits From Thrive, Lands a Battery Ventures Backing
Vetspire has spun out of Thrive Pet Healthcare's orbit with a growth investment from Battery Ventures and a new CEO, Zachary Seely. The AI-powered practice management platform, used by more than 800 veterinary hospitals and clinics, will operate independently while Thrive remains a customer. The deal tests whether AI-native vet software can draw institutional capital without a strategic parent underwriting it.
PetMeds Revenue Falls 20% as Takeover Fight Drags On
PetMeds' first-quarter revenue fell 19.9% to $41.0 million and cash reserves dropped to $13.1 million, even as the company narrowed its net loss to $6.1 million from $34.2 million a year earlier. The results land as an unsolicited $3-a-share buyout offer from SilverCape Investments remains on the table and a $37 million sale-leaseback of its headquarters awaits closing.
FDA Clears Zoetis Drug for Screwworm as Outbreak Spreads North
The FDA granted Zoetis an emergency use authorization for Simparica Trio to treat New World screwworm in dogs, the first product cleared specifically for the threat. Texas has already begun requiring treatment before dogs cross certain lines, putting boarding facilities, transporters, and border-state vet practices under a new compliance mandate.
DOJ Sues Darwin's Pet Food Over a Decade of Ignored Contamination Warnings
The Department of Justice is suing Darwin's Natural Pet Products, seeking a permanent injunction over contamination findings dating back to 2017 and a child's E. coli-linked hospitalization. It's a harsher, rarer enforcement path than the recalls that usually settle pet food safety cases, and it raises the bar for every raw feeding brand with open FDA warnings of its own.
Wolters Kluwer's New Database Signals a Retail Push Into Vet Meds
Wolters Kluwer introduced Medi-Span Vet Meds, a veterinary drug database built to let retail pharmacies safely dispense pet prescriptions. The launch targets a $13 billion market where dispensing errors and a shortage of certified veterinary pharmacology expertise have kept most retail chains out. No launch retail partner has been named yet.
Salmonella Recall Hits a Raw Dog Food Brand That Hadn't Had One Since 2015
Oma's Pride is recalling 639 bags of frozen raw chicken dog food across 11 states after testing found Salmonella in a single lot, the family-owned brand's first FDA recall since 2015. The event adds to a rough 2026 for raw and frozen pet food safety, where two of the year's three tracked pathogen recalls already involved the category.