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THIS WEEK'S TOPICS:

• 📈 New study shows sociability is key to your dog’s longevity

• ❤️ The shelter behind the largest no-kill city in the US

• 🫙 Preservative-free dog food in a jar

📈 NEW STUDY SHOWS SOCIABILITY IS KEY TO YOUR DOG’S LONGEVITY

In the heart of every dog lover is the belief that our furry companions thrive when surrounded by love and companionship.

Recent findings from the Dog Aging Project, who we’ve covered before, have not only confirmed this sentiment but have also shed light on the profound impact of social determinants on canine longevity.

The study, a collaboration between the University of Washington School of Medicine, Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine, and numerous other institutions, analyzed data from a staggering 25,000 dogs.

The Results?

Social connections matter.

Brianah McCoy, a Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University and one of the study’s lead authors, remarked,

But the study went beyond just the importance of social bonds.

It delved into the nuances of canine health, drawing parallels with human health.

For instance, dogs from wealthier backgrounds seemed to have more reported health concerns.

A deeper dive into this data suggests that these dogs might simply have more frequent vet visits, leading to a heightened awareness of their health.

Another intriguing finding was the correlation between time spent with children and poorer dog health.

Co-lead author Layla Brassington from Arizona State commented,

This unexpected outcome underscores the intricate balance of attention and care required for our pets.

The research also highlighted the ripple effects of societal inequities on our pets.

Factors like financial adversity and household instability were linked to poorer health and reduced mobility in dogs.

Noah Snyder-Mackler, an assistant professor at the ASU School of Life Sciences, emphasized the significance of these findings, suggesting the need for interventions to address these disparities.

One of the most compelling takeaways from the study was the sheer power of social support.

The data revealed that the positive effect of social companionship on canine health was five times stronger than that of financial factors.

This underscores the universal truth that, whether human or canine, social bonds are paramount to well-being.

The Dog Aging Project's latest study offers a profound insight into the lives of our beloved pets.

It emphasizes the importance of social bonds, the impact of our environment, and the parallels between canine and human health.

As researchers continue to delve deeper into this rich trove of data, one thing remains clear: our dogs, much like us, thrive in an environment filled with ❤️ love, care, and 👯 companionship.

Future studies promise to further illuminate the intricate dance between environment, genetics, and health, ensuring a brighter future for our furry friends.

❤️ THE SHELTER BEHIND THE LARGEST NO-KILL CITY IN THE U.S.

Austin Pets Alive! (APA) started in 1997 with a grim statistic in mind. 87% of shelter pets in Austin, Texas were put down.

Since then, they've saved over 110,000 pets, just last year had 10,533 adoptions, 11,324 foster placements, and boast a fantastic 97% save rate.

On top of that they've helped spearhead the push to turn the city into the largest no-kill city in the US.

Now their save rate tops 90%.

We'll take you through the background and numbers for this pioneering pet shelter.

The Story

Shortly after graduating vet school in the late 90's, Ellen Jefferson decided she needed to do something about the high number of dogs and cats she saw getting put down.

She decided to start at the source and began a free / low cost mobile service to spay and neuter pets. With little budget or people, her impact was minimal, but her drive was there.

Separately, in 1997 attorney Jim Collins had a similar observation and founded Austin Pets Alive! with the goal of turning Austin into a no kill city by 2001 (defined as a 90% "save" rate or higher for stray animals).

Both Ellen and Jim kept plugging away with some success, but 2001 came and went with no clear achievement in site.

But then, in 2008 fortune brought them together and they decided to team up.

At this point APA was only an advocacy organization, and didn't actually save any animals. With no physical organization they started out of their homes.

They decided to focus solely on animals on the "kill list" at one shelter (Town Lake Animal Center) so they could track progress and have an impact on the most at-risk animals.

Over the next few years the organization (staffed exclusively by volunteers and donations) slowly grew.

They were able to find a physical location, grow their donations, add dedicated staff, and partner with local businesses to help foster an adopt more animals.

Finally, in 2010 they were able to work with the city council to unanimously pass a No Kill implementation plan!

In the years after this historic milestone, APA grew both as a shelter and an advocacy group.

Launching programs that outline their methods to other organizations, starting their own conference, and funding research into parvovirus.

Some Numbers

So we've covered some of the volume that APA has done in total, but since they are a charity, we are able to get access to all their stats as well as their financials.

Here we can see their 2022 intake and outcome stats (link to all of their annual numbers)

A few interesting takeaways:

• 70% of their intakes come from transfers within the state of Texas (likely other cities)

• They are pretty split between puppies and adult dogs

• 62% of dogs relinquished by owners are adults

• The majority (84%) of outcomes are adoptions

• Not sure where or why, but they do transfer some dogs internationally (71)?

And now the fun stuff, the financials!

These are their high level numbers by year, but we dug deeper into their 2021 tax returns here.

Takeaways:

• It costs a LOT to run a large shelter! About $13 million to be exact. Their website currently has ~500 dogs and ~400 cats for adoption, but we aren't sure how many of those APA actually houses & feeds.

• Donations make up the bulk of their $. In 2021 92% of their revenue came from donations ($15.2 million)

• They can turn a profit. It doesn't always happen, but at least in 2021 they had a $3.5 million profit

• Execs don't get paid too much. Often the hallmark of a poorly run charity is how much they pay execs and employees. While the bulk of their expenses are wages (63%), they only pay $112k to Ellen. To be fair, they do pay a few directors above $100k, but we don't feel that's egregious for a charity of their size.

So there you have it, a little more insight into a charitable shelter that helped drive Austin to become the largest no-kill city in the US!

🫙 PRESERVATIVE-FREE DOG FOOD IN A JAR

Last week we covered Epipaws, the 3rd of five winners of Purina's annual Pet Care Innovation Prize.

This week, we are talking about the 4th winner, Happy Bond, the maker of preservative free dog food / supplements with no fillers or additives.

HappyBond

Ever looked at the ingredients on the back of a dog food and wonder what the heck things like butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), or Ethoxyquin were?

Us too.

Turns out those are common artificial preservatives used in dog food to help it last longer.

Now this is not an indictment on preservatives and their use in dog food, but we have always tried to err on the side of feeding our dogs ingredients we can pronounce (or are aware of).

This is the concept behind HappyBond, a Los Angeles based dog food and supplement company that sells cooked dog food and collagen nutrients free of any fillers, additive, and preservatives.

HappyBond was started in 2018 by Anja Skodda who has a background in biotechnology and initially developed supplements for sport horses due to her background in dressage (which is a fancy term for competitive horse riding).

The initial product for HappyBond was a collagen based supplement to help hip and joint issues. Soon after, HappyBond partnered with Cesar Millan, who came onboard after seeing the effects on his dog. They've also since partnered up with Halle Berry as a second celebrity spokesperson.

HappyBond leans into it's scientific backing and features a lot of content around their three areas of health; mind, body, and play.

As expected, fresh and clean ain't cheap.

1 day's serving (~1,500 calories) runs about $7-10 depending on whether you subscribe or not.

We found an old (2020) investor posting by the company which highlighted some interesting numbers:

• $30k avg. monthly revenue

• Avg. expenses of $23,500

• 3x growth from Q1-Q3 in 2020

• 40% of customers are subscribers (gotta love that recurring revenue!)

• 7:1 ratio of the value of a customer vs the cost to acquire that customer

Now those numbers are 3 years old, but still promising for the early days in terms of growth and ability to acquire customers in a profitable way.

For us, the coolest thing is this is another example of the trend towards treating our dog's health in the same way we treat our own.

It doesn't mean you have to go all natural, preservative free, but more and more you have options to care for your pup in the way that fits your desire & ability.

We are all for that!

DOGGYDEX™

Winner 🏆: BITCOIN

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

List of tickers used can be found at the very bottom of the newsletter.

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.

• 🐶🐶 A blind dog and his eye-seeing dog: Check out Willie and his best friend / eye-seeing dog Carson living their best lives.

• 🏃 Collie does parkour with the best of them: Watch this Collie scale this urban landscape with ease next to his human.

• 🎶 Pittie composes masterpiece in public: A pittie discovered a set of musical tiles on the sidewalk then belts out his own composition.

DOGGY B-DAY

• $CHWY - Chewy: E-commerce platform for pet supplies

• $IDXX - Idexx Labs: Vet point of care instruments and vet software

• $FRPT - Fresh Pet: Pet food company

• $PETQ - PetIQ: Pet health products and medicines

• $PETS - PetMeds: Online pet pharmacy

• $ZTS - Zoetis: World's largest producer of meds and vaccines for pets and livestock

• $TRUP - Trupanion: Pet insurance company

• $WOOF - Petco Health & Wellness co.: Pet health & wellness company

• $BARK - BarkBox: Subscription service providing dog products, services, and experiences

• $PET - Wag! Group Co.: Tech platform that allows pet owners to connect with industry professionals for services such as, walking, training, etc.