Pet Industry News
The deals, launches, and strategic moves behind the brands and operators shaping the industry.
Jane Lauder's TAW Ventures Buys Polkadog, Builds a Pet Wellness Portfolio
TAW Ventures, the pet health and wellness investment firm founded by Jane Lauder, has acquired Boston-based Polkadog from co-founders Rob Van Sickle and Deb Suchman. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is TAW's first announced acquisition and brings a founder-led, long-horizon ownership model to a premium pet category that has been shaped largely by private equity roll-ups.
Florida Pet Services Association returns to Jacksonville for its 2026 'Bridges' Summit
The Florida Pet Services Association returns to Jacksonville August 13–15 for its 2026 Summit at the Jacksonville Humane Society, themed "Bridges." Early-bird ticket pricing closes May 31. Programming covers education, business and operations, networking, and a hiring intensive, aimed at pet sitters, walkers, trainers, groomers, boarding facilities, daycares, vets, rescues, and pet-industry vendors across Florida and beyond.
Serenity Vet adds enterprise tier as corporate vet groups face mounting relief-labor costs
Serenity Vet released enterprise functionality letting multi-location veterinary groups manage relief staffing across all hospitals from a single account, with centralized profitability caps and clinic-level guardrails. The release is a positioning move against Roo's per-shift marketplace, aimed at the corporate vet operator tier where relief labor is the largest variable OpEx line. Sploot Veterinary Care served as the launch customer reference.
Proteine Resources launches VELI at Interzoo, a wet pet food built around a dual-action gut-health formula
Proteine Resources launched VELI at Interzoo 2026, a wet pet food line built around a dual-action gut-health mechanism: prebiotic fiber from insect-derived chitin paired with heat-stable postbiotics that survive the sterilization process most live probiotics don't. The launch targets a documented category gap, since digestive issues drive 20–30% of vet visits and digestive sensitivity is the leading therapeutic pet diet category in the EU.
MHP turns Slovenian poultry into a €43M pet food bet
MHP SE inaugurated Croatia's first wet pet food plant this week — a €43M facility in Zlatar Bistrica — and used the opening to launch a new owned brand called Proof. The real story is vertical integration: a poultry conglomerate routing captive Slovenian raw material into branded pet food, on the same playbook Cargill and Marfrig are running.
A pet-built CGM enters Canada and tests Abbott's off-label moat
ALR Technologies launched the GluCurve Pet CGM in Canada this week — the first continuous glucose monitor purpose-built for cats and dogs. The clinical question on accuracy is already settled by off-label Freestyle Libre use. The operator question is whether vets switch — and it comes down to workflow, price, and distribution.
Dechra Just Closed the Diagnostic Side of Canine Cushing's
Dechra received FDA approval for CosACTHen (cosyntropin injection) on May 19, the first canine-labeled cosyntropin after 25 years of off-label workarounds. The approval closes the diagnostic side of Dechra's canine Cushing's franchise alongside Vetoryl (trilostane), converting the most-prescribed ACTH stim reagent from compounded supply to labeled product.