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THIS WEEK'S TOPICS:

• 🐶 🐶 Cloning your dog is taking over TikTok

• Your dog's food is being recalled

• People spend more 💸 on vet visits than on clothes

• $42k dog shattered into pieces 🤯

DOGGYDEX™

Proudly introducing the DoggyDex™, an index comprised of 10 publicly traded companies whose primary focus is the dog/pet industry.

The yellow line-plot in the chart represents these companies above (DoggyDex™) and their combined performance against both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin on a weekly basis.

Pawformance is measured by % gains & losses.

🐶 🐶 CLONING YOUR DOG IS TAKING OVER TIK TOK

We've witnessed a lot of technological advances in our modern society. Everything from payphones, drones, reggaeton, and now clones!

These clones however, are not ones created via genetic preservation. No, no...these are Cuddle Clones, and they've been red hot the last few years.

What are Cuddle Clones? They're handmade replica stuffed animals of your dog...and they do not disappoint. The end product is so good that it's sort of creepy...

This TikTok👇 of theirs alone has garnered over 40m views. It's a compilation of people unboxing clones as gifts, and it's a real tug on the heart strings...

The numbers:

• Founded in 2010

• Clones starting price for a replica is $249 (at time of writing)

• TikTok:

  • 564k Followers

  • 9m Likes

• Grew revenue from $3.27m in 2018 to $11.67m in 2020

  • +256% increase ⬆

• Earned spot on Inc 5000 list 4x (only done by 1 in 10 companies that make the list)

• Revenue Grew +400% in 2020

• Sold for an undisclosed amount in 2021 to Dianthus (an AI e-commerce company)

We'd really like to meet the crew behind the craft and see "how the sausage is made."

Can't help but think she might be the one in charge.

As soon as we found out how big business was, we immediately wondered if there was any competition. Turns out there are a few clone alternatives.

• Petsies - they also offer custom bobbleheads of your dog!

• Plush-A-Pet - a budget version of Cuddle Clones

• Etsy (Amigu World) - This seller's pricing starts at $39 and has sold over 15k!

 YOUR DOG'S FOOD IS BEING RECALLED

Words you hope you never hear 🥴.

So two weeks ago Purina voluntarily recalled select lots of Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental (PPVD EL) prescription dry dog food due to potentially elevated levels of vitamin D (which normally is a good vitamin for dogs, but can cause health effects in high doses).

So this got us thinking! 🧐 What are the standards for dog food and how is it regulated?

Well if you are curious too, come along with us for a quick dog dip (it's a new term we are trying out).

Flopping into the world of pet food regulation

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are the two organizations that are responsible for what ingredients go into dog food, how it's labeled, and it's level of safety.

The FDA is a government organization (that we all know and love), while the AAFCO is a private membership organization.

However, these bodies don't do any pre-approval of new products.

So no pre-approval needed, means...

They do inspections of manufacturers, investigate complaints, and set the standards. So if we decide to create the Dogonomist Dog Donuts we wouldn't need to pass any sort of regulatory review before launching.

So while there is regulation, there is not a lot of proactive regulation, and the standards are well below those for human food.

In addition, most of the terms you see on dog food like "premium", "healthy", and "prescription", are in no way regulated. They are just marketing buzz words.

The worrying part is that there are certain loopholes and low standards that could mean the dog food you use contains known carcinogens, euthanasia drugs, or parts of diseased animals.

🤢🤢🤢

What should you do? Well, awareness is the first step. Knowing that there are lower standards and marketing gimmicks can give you more insight when inspecting labels and considering dietary options.

Also, since 2002 the National Organic Program has allowed pet food to be certified organic, which has higher standards.

 PEOPLE SPEND MORE 💸 ON VET VISITS THAN ON CLOTHES

We here at Dogonomist love stats about dogs (we're dorks 🤓).

So you don't have to, we combed through a variety of data from the Humane Society of the United States to bring you our favorite insights about the data behind dog ownership.

Some fun numbers:

• Households spend more on annual vet visits ($1,344) than clothing 👕

• More households own dogs (54%) than own bikes! 🚲

• More households own dogs (54%) than cats (34%) 🐶 📈

• The % of euthanized dogs is down to the lowest point in history (but we can do more) 📉👍

• The majority of dog ownership is of small dogs (<25 lbs) ⚖️

• Purebred dogs make up 56% of owned pups 🐩

What should we do with this information? Well, nothing really, but it's fun to get an idea of the scale of dog ownership in the US. 

On second thought, go hug your dog for us.

$42K DOG SHATTERED INTO PIECES 🤯

There is now one less famous "Balloon Dog" sculpture, by Jeff Koons, in this world thanks to an admirer who admired a little too closely causing the sculpture to crash to the floor in a Miami gallery.

Koons' balloon series sculptures were created between 1994 - 2000, which varied in all shapes, sizes, and colors (psst...he doesn't even sculpt his work himself anymore, he has a team now).

The most prominent one being his 12-foot-tall sculpture made of mirror-polished stainless steel that resides in LA. In 2013 one of his large scale balloon pooches sold for a whopping $58.4m to an anonymous telephone bidder.

The sculpture (valued at $42k) that shattered, was a miniature version of this one ☝️ - there are 799 798 balloon dogs in circulation today.

Needless to say these dogs are his most famous work and highly sought after amongst collectors, whose dogs just became a little more valuable...

KIBBLE BITS:

• Florida trying to outlaw dogs hanging out of car windows 🚙: Florida is wanting to crackdown on the unsafe nature of dog transport and lack of proper restraint.

• Most expensive dog breeds: A list of most expensive dog breeds. No.1 weighs nearly 200lbs.

• NYC's sidewalks are littered with dog 💩: A recent study shows that high amounts of bacteria from dog feces on the sidewalk are being tracked into homes and businesses.

• Lady Gaga is being sued for $500k for her stolen dogs: The woman who returned Gaga's stolen dogs is now suing her for not paying the $500k reward.

Every week we love to shoutout a pooch that has made another trip around the sun. Happy 3rd Birthday 🎂 to Scout and those canoe paddles she has for ears!

That's a wrap for this week. Be sure to stay tuned for next week, where we bark about turning your backyard into a private dog park.🤑🤑🤑

If you want more, be sure to follow our Twitter (@dogonomist).