Brewery offers paw-ternity leave

BrewDog, a Scottish brewery set to open a U.S. location later this year, now offers a week of paid leave to employees to stay home with new puppies and rescue dogs. BrewDog says it is the first company in the U.S. and the first brewery in the U.K. to give the “paw-ternity” benefit to employees. According to co-founder James Watt, “"We care about two things above all else. People and beer. We also just really like dogs."

Cat wines allow owners to treat pets

Two companies have brought pet wines to the market. Apollo Peak, located in Denver, calls itself the “original cat winery.” It cat wine isn’t truly wine, but water flavored with catnip. Pet Winery, located in Florida, started in 2016 and claims something a little different, adding salmon oil to their cat wine in addition to catnip. Both companies are now expanding into dog wines.

Flat-faced cats raise health concerns

Researchers the University of Edinburgh published a study in 2016 that concluded flatter-faced cats are more likely to have breathing problems. This is as the trend to own flat-faced cats like Persians, British and Exotic Shorthairs is on the rise. Some veterinarians and charities are warning that breeding cats for a specific look is harming their health, and regulations are being put in place that prevent intentional breeding that can compromise the health of the animal.

FDA approves first generic drug for heartworm

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Feb. 17 that it approved Diroban (melarsomine dihydrochloride), the first generic drug to treat heartworm disease in dogs. Distributed by Zoetis, Diroban is now available commercially across the United States. The drug is administered through an injection and is used to treat class 1, 2, and 3 heartworm disease.