Diabetes Pet Care AllianceTM Gains Momentum, Helps Clinics Leverage Pet Diabetes Month
Five years of success inspire Merck Animal Health, Purina and Zoetis to continue joint effort to help clinics and clients
Fueled by the desire to help veterinarians screen patients, educate owners and initiate treatment of pet diabetes, company partners Merck Animal Health, Purina and Zoetis are continuing their commitment to the Diabetes Pet Care Alliance™ program. Through the Alliance program, which is timed to help veterinarians leverage Pet Diabetes Month in November, veterinarians gain access to important tools and resources they can use to raise awareness of diabetes among pet owners and increase the number of pets screened for the disease. Meanwhile, clients whose pets are diagnosed with diabetes are provided with free kits to help jump-start management of their pets.
Diabetes mellitus is believed to be underdiagnosed, with the disease affecting approximately one in 230 cats and one in 308 dogs.1, 2
The Diabetes Pet Care Alliance program has grown each year since its inception in 2014. A record 897 new pets were diagnosed during the program period in 2018, which was 65 percent more than the number of pets diagnosed in the same program period in 2017. Program growth in 2017, meanwhile, was also significantly higher than the previous year, thanks to the sponsoring companies’ decision that year to lift their cap on program enrollment.
Since 2014, the alliance has helped facilitate the screening and diagnosis of thousands of pets, while providing education and free products to clients to help them manage the disease in their newly diagnosed pets. Program kits include the following:
- One AlphaTRAK® 2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System from Zoetis
- One 6-pound bag of Purina® Pro Plan® Veterinary Diets DM Dietetic Management® Feline Formula for cats or Purina® Pro Plan® Veterinary Diets EN Gastroenteric Fiber Balance® Dry Formula for dogs
- One AlphaTRAK® 2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System from Zoetis
Clinic enrollment begins Sept. 1 and ends Oct. 31, 2019; meanwhile, clients whose pets are diagnosed between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2019, are eligible to receive the free kits. To enroll or learn more, veterinarians can visit usa.petdiabetesmonth.com.
Alpha Trak 2 is a registered trademark of Zoetis Belgium S.A. and the Zoetis logo is a registered trademark of Zoetis Services, LLC.
Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets is a registered trademark of Societé des Produits Nestlé S.A.
Vesulin is a registered trademark of Intervet Inc.
About National Diabetes MonthNational Diabetes Month is an initiative sponsored by the National Diabetes Education Program, a federally funded program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and includes over 200 partners at the federal, state, and local levels.
About Merck Animal Health
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to The Science of Healthier Animals®, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services as well as an extensive suite of digitally connected identification, traceability and monitoring products. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals and the people who care for them. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter at @MerckAH.
Sure Petcare, along with HomeAgain, is a Companion Animal portfolio of digital products within Merck Animal Health. In 2017, Sure Petcare expanded its product range to include connected devices designed to provide proactive pet care by giving owners data and insight into their pets’ day-to-day behaviours, activities and routines. Over time, this information will provide pet owners a greater understanding of their pet’s health and well-being. Sure Petcare sells direct through retail stores and veterinary practices in 35 countries.
In July 2019, Sure Petcare launched in the U.S. the SureFeed® Microchip Pet Feeder Connect, the next generation of the best-selling SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder, which monitors the eating behavior of pets. The smart feeder monitors how much and when a pet eats, sending real-time updates directly to the pet owner’s phone. The new product also features integrated scales, which enable owners to provide accurate food portions to their pet at every meal. Feeding behavior is a key indicator of health for pets with a loss of appetite or change in feeding habits often being one of the first signs of illness. The SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder Connect records the time and weight of food consumed by a pet each time they eat from the feeder, reporting it directly to the Sure Petcare app. Over time, this enables pet owners to build a comprehensive understanding of their pet’s unique feeding patterns, making it easier for them to spot changes in their pet’s health and well-being earlier than they may otherwise have been able to do so.