FirstVet telehealth scores €18.5 million

europe, health, industry news

Swedish-based FirstVet has received €18.5 million ($20.5 million USD) in second round funding from Creandum and OMERS Ventures. FirstVet plans to use the funding to expand it’s telehealth vet service into Germany, France and the US. Veterinary telehealth is the...

Bill Requiring Pet Insurers to Cover Pre-Existing Conditions is a Bad Idea

health, industry news, pet insurance, US

New York state senator James Skoufis (D-Rockland) has introduced a bill that would bar pet insurers from denying medical coverage to dogs or cats with pre-existing conditions or illnesses. While well-intentioned, this is a really dumb idea. Skoufis claims that...

Pet Spending in China Could Hit $28 Billion

china, industry news

Asia Times is reporting that Chinese consumers are expected to spend 202 billion yuan (US$ 28.8 billion) on cats and dogs in 2019. This would reflect an 18% increase from 2018. The number of domestic dogs and cats in China is set to reach 99 million (55 million dogs...

Rover Expands into Pet Grooming

services, US

Rover, the not-quite-unicorn-status dog walking service, has expanded it’s offerings to include in-home pet grooming. Rover claims that nearly half of dog owners use professional grooming services on a regular basis. However, the current salon-focused model is...

Chewy to go Public

ecommerce, industry news

PetSmart, the owner of Chewy.com, has started the process to take the online pet retailer public. Chewy lost $267 million on revenue of $3.53 billion in 2018. Despite this loss, Petsmart should come out ahead as it purchased Chewy for an estimated $3.4 billion in 2017...