Vital Signs — Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Editor's Pick

• Intratumoral STING agonist therapy as a potential bridge to surgery in canine sarcoma · ~15 min read — In a University of Calgary pilot study of four dogs with sarcomas deemed inoperable, weekly injections of experimental STING agonists directly into the tumors shrank every tumor, and two dogs improved enough to have surgery. Why it matters: inoperable sarcomas often leave owners choosing between palliation and euthanasia, so a bridge-to-surgery immunotherapy is a conversation worth having in the exam room — with the caveat that this was four dogs, no control group, and significant local side effects in some.

"And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and self-love, and discontent with the portion which has been given to thee." — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book II.5 (George Long translation)

Do today's work like it counts — because for the patient in front of you, it does.

By the Numbers

• 52% — Small dogs under 25 pounds now make up more than half of the global canine population, per Hill's World of the Small Dog Report 2026. Takeaway: the typical dog in your exam room is increasingly a small one, so small-dog nutrition, dental care, and stone risk deserve their own protocols rather than scaled-down large-breed ones.

In the Journals

• Hide-and-seek for treats offers a new window into cognitive decline in dogs · ~3 min read — University of Arizona researchers built CANID, a 40-minute, three-game assessment that spots subtle cognitive impairment in dogs at age 7 or 8 — years before overt dementia signs appear around 12 to 14 — in a study of 239 dogs published in Animal Cognition. Why it matters: owner surveys only catch canine cognitive dysfunction once it's already severe, so an earlier, objective measure could eventually change how we screen seniors and counsel owners — though it still needs trained staff and equipment and hasn't yet been shown to predict who develops dementia.

AI Watch

• Deep learning for diagnostic and clinical decision support in companion animals: a systematic review of CNN- and LSTM-based approaches · ~30 min read — A systematic review in Frontiers in Veterinary Science of 57 studies (2021–2026) found convolutional and LSTM neural networks dominate veterinary diagnostics — oncology most of all — with binary classification accuracy reaching up to 99%, but inconsistent datasets, metrics, and heavy hardware demands keep most models out of everyday practice. Why it matters: the evidence says AI diagnostics work in the lab but mostly aren't clinic-ready yet, so buy on prospective validation, not headline accuracy.

The Business End

• Hill's Report Highlights Unique Clinical Needs of Small Dogs · ~1 min read — Hill's World of the Small Dog Report 2026 finds small dogs need about twice the calories per kilogram as large breeds, face up to five times the periodontal disease risk, are 12 times more prone to luxating patellas, and account for 71% of canine urinary stones. Why it matters: with small dogs now the majority of the canine population, these aren't niche numbers — they're a reason to review your small-breed diet, dental, and stone-prevention recommendations. (Industry report — Hill's sponsored.)
• The Veterinary Desert Down the Street · ~5 min read — A Today's Veterinary Business analysis of 33,745 US practices finds the access gap is inside cities, not between them: some ZIP codes in Queens and South LA have 100,000-plus residents and zero practices, while the best-served 10% of ZIP codes in a metro can have five times the practices per capita of the worst-served 10%. Why it matters: before a second location or a relocation, the ZIP-level map matters more than the metro number — and if you're pulling clients from underserved ZIPs, you're the oasis, so market like it.

The Feel-Good Finish

• Vaccinating dogs for wildlife biosecurity in the Galápagos · ~2 min read — A door-to-door campaign on Santa Cruz Island registered 5,393 pets and reached 91.6% documented canine vaccination coverage — plus microchipping for 75% of dogs — building a biosecurity baseline to protect the Galápagos' endemic wildlife from diseases carried by pets. Why it matters: it's a reminder that the humble vaccine clinic, done door to door, is also conservation work.

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