Vital Signs — Thursday, October 8, 2026

New technology

• PetPace Announces Launch at Chewy, Bringing Advanced AI-Powered Pet Health Monitoring to Millions of Pet Parents — PetPace's AI smart collar, which continuously tracks vitals (pulse, respiration, temperature, HRV) and streams the data to the pet's own veterinarian, is now on sale at Chewy (announced Oct 6).
• VetStem, Inc. Achieves Industry Leading Stem Cell Processing Milestone — VetStem has now processed over 17,000 patient samples, resulting in nearly 43,000 adipose-derived stem cell treatments for orthopedic conditions in dogs, cats, horses, and exotics across the US and Canada (announced Sept 22).

New discoveries and research

• Case Report: Allogeneic adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells for severe chronic kidney disease in a dog — After conventional treatment failed, a 9-year-old Pomeranian with severe CKD received four biweekly IV infusions of donor adipose-derived MSCs, with reductions in creatinine and phosphorus plus improved appetite and condition and no adverse events (Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Oct 7).
• Case series: Superficial lipomatous hamartoma in dogs and cats is a previously unreported NLCS-like dermal lesion — Six cases (five dogs, one cat) document a previously unreported benign dermal fat lesion in pets resembling the human condition nevus lipomatosus cutaneous superficialis (Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Oct 7).

New treatments, drugs, and therapies

• Cancer Drug Trametinib Shrinks Oral Tumors in Dogs, Trial Shows — In a two-year Cornell clinical trial of 20 dogs with oral squamous cell carcinoma, daily at-home trametinib (a human-approved MEK inhibitor) shrank tumors in ~30% of dogs, with a 71% response rate in BRAF-mutant tumors and almost no serious side effects (study in Veterinary Oncology; coverage ~Sept 30).
• Gold Nanorods and Laser Light Strike at Cancer Stem Cells in Cats With Breast Tumors — An Egyptian team tracked circulating cancer stem cells in client-owned cats over 29 months and found heat-activated gold nanorods (42–44°C via diode laser) regressed mammary tumors while sparing surrounding tissue (coverage ~Sept 27).

Feel-good stories

• Rescuer Picks Up Sick Puppy, Then Her Phone Rings With Another Dog Who Needs Her — One rescue call became two in minutes: severely anemic puppy Cosmo, found collapsed in an alley and rushed for a blood transfusion at a 24-hour ER, and emaciated Starlight, found beside a road coated in motor oil and now on a carefully managed refeeding plan (~Oct 6).

Clinic management and profitability

• U.S. Households Now Own More Kittens Than Puppies, New Study Reveals — Packaged Facts data show more US households now have kittens than puppies for the first time in years — driven by declining dog ownership (down 5% since 2019, $1,300/yr dog vs $750/yr cat), with the researcher tying the shift to vet costs, housing, and the economy (reported Oct 7).