Best part of the rain: Seeing all the dogs out in cute rain jackets and boots. Worst part of the rain: Wet human waiting for wet dog to find that one perfect grass patch that’s not like any other grass patch to go potty.

In today’s newsletter: Context behind the major deal that may change your next vet visit, a dog lover’s dream job that pays as much as a corporate attorney, and a new product from the makers of Churu.

Modern Animal was built on the idea that corporate veterinary care wasn’t meeting the needs of Millennial and Gen Z pet owners. Now, it’s being acquired by a corporation. Whether that’s a contradiction or an opportunity is the question nobody can answer yet—including, probably, Modern Animal.

Chewy announced last week that it’s acquiring Modern Animal, the technology-forward veterinary platform I profiled last year. The deal, pending regulatory review, expands Chewy Vet Care’s footprint from 18 to 47 locations and is expected to add over $125 million in annualized revenue. In a letter announcing the deal, Modern Animal CEO Steven Eidelman said the deal was about bringing the Modern Animal experience to more communities, rather than changing what pet owners had come to love about the company.

When I spoke with Eidelman last year, he was unambiguous about what he was building against. The legacy veterinary model, in his view, had failed everyone involved: pets, owners, and the veterinarians themselves. Modern Animal’s answer was a membership model, same-day appointments, a beautifully designed clinic experience, technology that actually worked, and a holistic compensation model for vets. This strategy attracted over 100,000 member families, veterinary talent, and built something that felt, genuinely, like a different kind of vet. (As I’ve disclosed before, I am a paying Modern Animal member.)

Last year, Eidelman told me his goal was to build “a long-term independent company.” He also knew that growing too fast was “a recipe for stretching yourself too thin.”

Now under Chewy with a mandate to grow, Modern Animal has to prove that what it built can survive at scale.

I profiled Modern Animal a year ago. Read the full story here: The vet clinic with free cold brew and unlimited exams.

Corporate consolidation in veterinary care has been accelerating for over two decades. By some estimates, corporate groups now own around a quarter of all general practice veterinary clinics, with that percentage rising to roughly 75 percent for speciality care clinics. Mars—yes, the candy company—is one of the largest corporate owners in the veterinary health space as the parent company of Banfield, VCA, and BluePearl, which each operate hundreds of vet clinics and hospitals around the country.

Alongside corporate rollups, private equity has fueled growth in veterinary care and backs around 29 percent of the market, according to a 2023 report from the consulting firm KPMG. Modern Animal is very much a part of this trend: The company has raised millions in VC funding since its founding. Eidelman is also no stranger to M&A: Before founding Modern Animal, the CEO sold his first pet tech startup, Whistle, to Mars Petcare in 2016.

The argument in favor of corporate ownership is usually the same: more resources = more scale. In the context of veterinary care, that usually translates to more clinics and improved access to veterinary care. In some cases, that can also mean better salaries and working conditions for veterinarians, which in turn results in better care for your pets.

But let’s not be naïve, either. Corporate ownership introduces new pressures, which can look like production quotas (e.g., you need to see X number of patients a day, or you need to make a minimum of X dollars in revenue for the clinic, or you need to convert X number of patients on this service) and a bottom-line orientation that doesn’t always sit easily alongside the deeply personal nature of pet healthcare. Businesses have to be profitable to continue existing, of course, and there’s always someone to answer to, whether it’s pet owners seeking affordable veterinary care or investors and shareholders seeking returns on their investments. The cost of running a veterinary business isn’t cheap either, so someone has to end up footing the bill.

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I’m writing to you, sleepy and caffeinated, from Caltrain during my evening commute home from work. I’m back to corporate life, working Monday through Friday at a law firm while spending weekends at a retail job1 as I prepare for my next chapter: law school.

Now that my days bring me to the heart of SF’s Financial District, the AI revolution is all the more present: Every billboard is an incomprehensible (and, let’s be honest, ugly2) mess, promising onlookers that this software won’t SOC-block your top engineers, or this company is an AI tool that will help your AI be better than every other company’s AI. I’m overhearing engineers on the train talk about blowing through thousands of dollars of tokens running agents, as if that’s somehow the best metric to prove efficacy. My brother, with good intentions, sends me Reels and X posts about how there will be fewer jobs for associates at law firms as their work gets replaced by LLMs that can draft contracts and review paperwork at a fraction of the cost. I proceed to text my lawyers friends for reassurance that I’m making the right decision.

I’m also, as I write this, mentally preparing to clock in for my next shift as the mom of a reactive dog in an apartment complex with residents who, unfortunately, love to complain—especially when they see a Doberman wearing a basket muzzle.

What that looks like: navigating through hallways and elevator banks in the early mornings and late nights, praying that I won’t encounter anybody; repeating out loud to myself and to Pippa, “We got this, we got this,” like I’m psyching myself up for a match; scanning left, right, forward, and backward to catch triggers before my dog can.

Apartment living with a reactive dog is not for the weak. But it’s a life experience forcing my growth as much as it is my dog’s: We have to be confident in life; we have to be accepting of the unexpected; we can learn to recover from the things outside of our control. We will have our good days and our bad days, and we must be accepting of both.

I’m still wrestling with my relationship to control: When is it the right to let go? When should we stay the course? With journalism, I’ve accepted that it’s time to move on. With Pippa, I don’t want to—no matter how many times I’ve been told otherwise. That doesn’t mean clinging to the same techniques or ignoring reality, but it does mean holding onto the conviction that the best is yet to come.

And for that, I’m grateful we have each other on this journey.

If you’re a returning subscriber or have just stumbled upon this newsletter, you probably have an animal companion you feel just as strongly about. You know the real work that goes into caring for a creature who, in all their quirks, provides immeasurable value to your life. I’m glad we’re in this community together.

Now, let’s get into it.

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• The internet’s favorite pet food brand has merch. Open Farm is selling a limited-run batch of “Call Me Crazy” gray hoodies for cat parents. The dog mom/dad version can’t be far behind.

• Can there only be one Dogue? Vogue is suing Dogue, the dog fashion magazine, for trademark infringement. It’s not a coincidence that Vogue published its own digital cover under the same name in 2024 for a feature on celebrity dogs. The project was spearheaded by Chloe Malle, who is basically the new Anna Wintour at the legacy fashion mag, and returned the following summer to enlist reader submissions.

  • Going after Dogue feels like small potatoes: The magazine is only sold at one stand in Beverly Hills and is entirely free online. But litigation costs, even if Dogue creator Olga Portnaya prevails in court, could put an end to the magazine.

  • Meanwhile, there are plenty of dog toys out there that riff on existing brands and are sold at major retailers like Chewy and Target. One of the most popular manufacturers, Haute Diggity Dog, is behind Puptron, Johnnie Dogwalker, the Barkin Bag, Chewy Vuiton, etc. Louis Vuitton actually sued the company for trademark and copyright infringement back in 2007 but ultimately lost, with the court ruling that the toys were parodies and not likely to create confusion with the actual Louis Vuitton brand.

  • Not so fast, though: Jack Daniel’s mostly prevailed in its own case against a parody dog toy manufacturer, with a federal judge ruling last year that the toy tarnished the Jack Daniel’s brand, even if it didn’t rise to trademark infringement.

• Romania has a beauty contest for cats. More than 200 cats gathered over the weekend in Bucharest for this year’s Academy Awards–themed SofistiCat expo.

• Tired: Talking to your dog on the Furbo. Wired: Receiving a phone call from your dog. One of the stranger products I’ve seen this month is the PetPhone, a device that lets your dog or cat call (??) you by jumping at least three times within six seconds (which is just ~existing~, if your pup is anything like my Pippa). PetPhone is another entry, albeit gimmicky, in the growing pet tech space. The device is probably more useful as a health tracker, but it’s hard to see how it beats out competitors like Fi and Tractive.

• W Magazine released their Best Performances issue last month with a photoshoot featuring the animal actors who stole the show at the box office. That includes Jake, the majestic rattlesnake from Sinners; Indy, the nepo baby pup who starred in his dad’s horror flick Good Boy; Bing, the Great Dane from The Friend; and—of course—Tonic, the cat from Caught Stealing. Bonus: They’re all decked out in Chanel, Bottega, and Hermès.

• RIP Hanna, an incredible search and rescue dog in Ukraine who located more than 170 bodies and saved one person who had been missing for more than seven days. Hanna—a brown Doberman—was diagnosed with a terminal illness last year and given only two to three months to live, according to the Antares Search and Rescue Canine Unit. She lived for another year, working to the very end to rescue humans lost in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

• Global Pet Expo, one of the pet industry’s biggest trade shows, begins this week in Orlando. I’ll be keeping an eye on all the new product launches.

• The latest blow for designer “doodle” dogs: Poodle crossbreeds are everywhere, thanks in part to their looks and a widespread belief that these dogs are better family pets. But researchers at the Royal Veterinary College say there’s little to no evidence to support that assumption. In a recent survey of cockapoos, labradoodles, and cavapoos, the researchers found that these designer crossbreeds exhibit “more undesirable behaviours” compared to their purebred counterparts (cocker spaniels, Labrador retrievers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and poodles). Cockapoos in particular “displayed the most undesirable behaviours of the three designer crossbreeds.”

  • The takeaway: Having a designer crossbreed doesn’t mean that dog is predisposed to behave better or require less training than any other breed.

• We have updated numbers on the major animal hoarding case in LA. Approximately 250 dogs and 66 cats were retrieved from an LA County property last Friday in what may be one of the largest animal hoarding cases in the country. Officials had initially estimated there to be upwards of 700 animals on the property in Lake Hughes, a region in northern LA County between Lancaster and Santa Clarita.

  • Christine De Anda, who runs the Rock N Pawz animal rescue on the property, told KTLA that she plans to fight the seizure in court and maintains the animals were not neglected or mistreated.

  • The influx of animals will place major strain on the county’s shelters, which are already operating at capacity. De Anda has not been charged with any crimes as investigators continue to gather evidence, but the dogs and cats seized from the property must remain in holding and cannot be adopted out, as they may be evidence in a potential animal cruelty case.

  • If you’re local to LA, this would be a great time to foster. It goes a long way toward clearing space and alleviating the strain on rescues and shelters.

Thanks for reading and supporting my work. If there’s anything you think I should cover, reach out at clara@readtailmail.com.

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I love gift giving because it’s an opportunity to think deeply about a person: what they like, what they need, what they’d love but wouldn’t get for themselves. But I am also a person who forgets to do her holiday shopping on Black Friday and needs a deadline, such as the five days left until Christmas, to get her moving.

So if you’re reading this now and still have people on your list, consider yourself officially on notice. Let this be the last gift guide you need to cover the pet lovers in your life.

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The one who loves rescues

Merch from their favorite animal rescue

If you know where they adopted their pet from, check to see if there’s any cute merch that goes toward supporting the organization. I’ve had my eye on these hoodies from Wags & Walks, an LA-based rescue where I adopted my first dog, Gemma.

A donation toward a rescue is always a thoughtful gift during the holidays, when shelters may see an influx of surrendered or abandoned animals. With more resources (including fosters), rescues are able to pull more at-risk pets from shelters and increase their chances of survival.

I’m including links for the rescues I’ve adopted my dogs from or have interacted with, but support the ones local to you or your giftee!

Hoodie: $65 from Wags & Walks

Donation: A Purposeful Rescue

Donation: Beezy's Rescue

Donation: Love at First Mutt

Grounds & Hounds coffee

Grounds & Hounds donates 20% of its profits toward rescue organizations, so it’s a win-win all around. Now through January 15, a portion of every purchase of the Rescue Roast is going to the Beagle Freedom Project, which rehabilitates and rehomes animals that were used for animal testing. (If coffee isn’t their thing, go for their ceremonial matcha or dog-themed mugs.)

$19 from Grounds & Hounds

Matcha: $30 from Grounds & Hounds

Embark DNA kit

Your rescue-loving friend or relative can finally stop guessing what unique combo of breeds their rescue mutt is.

$90 from Amazon

$95 from Embark Vet

The one who loves quirky decor

LEGO Tuxedo Cat

Conveniently perfect for cat lovers who are also allergic to…cats.

$100 from Target

Dachshund ceramic planter

A cute and compact ceramic planter to keep your friend company on their desk.

$20 from Amazon

Pyropet candle

Black cats aren’t just for Halloween! Perfect for the more gothically inclined friend.

$40 from Amazon

The one who likes matching with their pet

Carhartt chore coat

For dogs who want to be stylish and warm.

$55 from Amazon

$55 from Carhartt

Oh yeah, and for the human.

$120 from Carhartt

The one who loves gadgets

Furbo 360º dog/cat camera

Thank you to my brother, who got me a Furbo when I adopted my first dog, Gemma. I consider this a must-have for pet parents: not only does the camera allow you to check in on your pets while you’re away, it also doubles as an effective security camera, thanks to the 360º swivel and speaker/microphone that you can control from your phone.

The cat version (in black) comes with a feather toy and treat tosser, while the dog version (in white) just has the treat tosser.

$44 from Amazon (subscription required)

$129 from Furbo (camera only)

The smart litter box

Oh ho ho, you didn’t think I’d forget about the smart litter box, did you? If you live in a multi-cat household (or have a loved one who does) and feel like balling out, look no further than Pet Libro’s AI-assisted litter box.

$539 from Amazon

$600 from Pet Libro

The one whose dog is always itchy

The medicine cabinet gift basket

These gifts may not be glamorous, but they are effective. And what’s better than a gift that’s actually useful? Chlorhexidine (at a 2-4% dilution) is a safe and effective antiseptic to treat an overgrowth of bacteria, yeast, fungi, and other issues that can cause itchy paws and skin in dogs and cats.

Here’s my favorite way to keep my dogs’ paws clean and itch-free, especially after a muddy day outside in the grass:

1. Pour a splash of chlorhexidine into a tall plastic tub (like an old deli soup container) and fill to the top with warm water.

2. Dip your pets’ paws into the tub.

3. Use a soft nail scrub brush to remove dirt and debris.

4. Rinse with clean water.

4% chlorhexidine: $20 from Amazon

2% chlorhexidine: $6 from Chewy

Nail brushes: $5 from Amazon

For itchy ears, go for the vet-recommended GOAT: Mal-A-Ket Plus TrizEDTA Flush (really rolls off the tongue, right?).

1. Soak a piece of non-woven gauze (it’s softer than standard gauze) with the solution. Fold the gauze into a compact triangular shape.

2. Massage the solution into your dog’s ear canal and wipe up any debris.

3. Let them shake their ears, and then go in with a clean gauze to dry the ear out.

Ear flush: $40 from Amazon

Ear flush: $40 from Chewy

Non-woven gauze: $9 from Amazon

Dog is Human multivitamin

One of my former dog walking clients said these multivitamins helped keep her Cavapoo’s fur silky soft.

$46 from Dog is Human

The one who’s always on the go

Beis Sport Sling

I’ve talked about this bag before and I’ll do it again. This is my favorite dog walking bag, hands down.

$68 from Beis

Baggu foldable bags

Bags so cute they’ll remember to bring them to the grocery store.

$14 from Baggu

Set of 3: $42 from Amazon

Springland dog travel water bottle

I have my eye on the 44 oz. bottle to keep Gemma and Pippa hydrated during their morning runs, but go for the size that best suits your situation.

$28 from Springland

$28 from Chewy

The one who has kids

Veterinarian play set

Plant the seed now for the next generation of veterinarians.

$21 from Amazon

$21 from Target

Cat night light

Quiet things down before bedtime with this soft, silicone night light molded in the shape of a sleeping cat.

$14 from Amazon

The one who likes staying in the know

A yearly Tail Mail subscription

Wink, wink. It’s less than 1 cup of coffee a month.

Looking forward to kicking off a new year of Tail Mail with you all.

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In today’s Tail Mail: The most popular pet names, a smart litter box, dating for dog people, and a house arrest for a house cat.

Have something you think I should cover? Email me at clara@readtailmail.com

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• C’è la luna! Luna is the most popular name for girl dogs and cats, according to Rover. Charlie and Milo take the top spots for boy dogs and cats, respectively, while Elphie and Tater are the top trending names in the U.S.

• Set up a Twitch stream for your cat’s litter box. A new $600 smart litter box lets you watch a livestream of your cat using the bathroom and uses AI detection tools to analyze pee and poop for any irregularities. And if that’s not enough info, this litter box—complete with a built-in fan—can differentiate between 10 cats, so you’ll never have to wonder if it was Luna or Milo who took a massive dump and didn’t bury it.

• There’s a dating app for dog people. Frolly (“frolic” and “jolly”) lets you create a profile for yourself and your dog to help you connect with fellow dog lovers. The app just launched in Charlotte, NC.

• A French court has put a cat on house arrest for repeatedly roaming into a neighbor’s garden. The legal matter has already cost Remi’s owner €800 in legal fees, according to Agence France-Presse.

• A local volunteer group is providing food and medical care for cats in Gaza. The Animal Care Group is traveling to different neighborhoods to help cats whose owners have died in the war, as well as caretakers who are struggling to provide for their pets as resources remain scarce in the city.

• Happy birthday to the legend himself, Tonic!

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Tom Brady’s newest dog, Junie, could pass for Lua, his pit bull mix who died in 2023. The chocolate coat, the white chest patch, even the expressive brows—it’s all there. But the NFL superstar didn’t just luck out with a lookalike dog. Junie is Lua’s genetic clone.

Brady is the latest celebrity, along with Barbra Streisand and Paris Hilton, to work with the biotech company Viagen to clone a beloved family pet. Viagen clones more than 100 pets a year, with the waitlist averaging about nine months, a company spokesperson told Tail Mail. Dogs, cats, and horses can be cloned, though dog owners are more frequently requesting the service.

The cloning process costs a cool $50,000 and begins with a tissue sample from the original dog or cat, which is used to create new cells. If viable, one of those cells is then fused with a donor egg to form an embryo, which is then implanted into a surrogate mother. The mother will later give birth to the cloned animal.

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I have some reporting that’s fallen on the back burner as I prepare for a certain law school admissions exam,1 so I appreciate your patience as I’ve been a bit MIA lately. That being said, Halloween is coming up and I’d love to see your pets’ costumes. Send me pics at clara@readtailmail.com.

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• Can dogs become addicted to toys? Some highly play-motivated dogs included in a recent study demonstrated “excessive fixation on toys, reduced responsiveness to alternative stimuli, and persistent efforts to access toys” — behaviors that are strikingly similar to those seen in humans with addictions. It’s too early in the research stage to conclude whether dogs can become toy addicts, per se, but these findings are a good reminder to rotate out your pet’s toys as we continue to learn more about canine behavior and psychology.

• The Hollywood Reporter took a cue from Tail Mail and published a pet-themed package with pieces on cosmetic surgery for dogs, pet-friendly airlines like Bark Air, and the displacement of animal actors due to AI. (THR, you should call me next time you want to write about dogs and cats.)

• The art of the anti-peeing sign: Homeowners are getting creative with their “curb your dog” signs and deterrents, as documented by The New York Times. There are the signs that appeal to the health of trees, the ones berating dog owners, and the ones with adorable illustrations featuring stinky poops and confused-looking dogs. The real question: Which sign is most effective?

• Spending on pet food is slowing down. Though global pet food sales are expected to hit $152.9 billion this year, dog and cat food spending isn’t seeing the same kind of exponential growth as previous years, likely due to the weaker economy. Nestlé Purina PetCare (the parent company behind Fancy Feast, Friskies, and the Purina Pro Plan lines) continues to drive the most sales of dry dog and cat food around the world.

• RIP KitKat, a beloved bodega cat who was allegedly killed by a driverless Waymo car.

• California is the latest state to ban cat declawing for non-medical reasons, joining Illinois, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Though the legislation has been applauded by animal rights advocates, the California Veterinary Medical Association has opposed the bill on the grounds that the state should not be dictating or legislating veterinary care. “Veterinarians need to be able to freely exercise professional discretion on a case-by-case basis in making decisions for animal patients along with their owners,” Grant Miller, CVMA’s director of regulatory affairs, said.

• Artist Andrea Cáceres’s latest book, Dog Affirmations, is out this week. My copy just arrived in the mail and I can confirm that it’s very cute. Would make a great gift for any dog lovers in your life. (Andrea designed my tattoo of Gemma!)

• A pregnant woman’s sonogram looks like her dog.

• A helpful cheat sheet on how to keep your pets safe during Halloween.

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Roscoe, an English bulldog who rose to fame as Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton’s companion, died on Sunday after complications from pneumonia. He was 12 years old.

With his trademark bulldog jowls and wrinkles, Roscoe was a regular fixture on the F1 scene as he accompanied Hamilton to races and events around the world, racking up millions of followers on Instagram in the process and getting a cameo in Apple’s F1 movie starring Brad Pitt and Damon Idris. He was Hamilton’s second bulldog alongside Coco, who died in 2020.

Roscoe is part of a pantheon of celebrity pets who shared the spotlight with their parents and nabbed brand deals of their own. Last year, Roscoe became a spokesdog for Bramble, a vegan dog food company. (Hamilton has been vegan since 2017 and began feeding Roscoe a plant-based diet in 2020 in an effort to improve his health.) And just last month, Roscoe landed a cover on Dogue, Vogue’s dog-centric project.

Hamilton said he made the difficult decision to euthanize Roscoe after the bulldog was on life support for four days. Roscoe had been admitted to the hospital due to pneumonia but fell into a coma during the sedation process.

“I feel so grateful and honoured to have shared my life with such a beautiful soul, an angel and true friend,” Hamilton wrote in an Instagram post. “Bringing Roscoe into my life was the best decision I ever made, and I will forever cherish the memories we created together.”

Many local animal shelters and humane societies provide grief support groups led by professional counselors for those who are grieving the loss of a beloved pet. Pet Cloud also hosts a weekly support group available online.

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In other news…

• Wildlife veterinarians are beginning to test a bird flu vaccine on elephant seals. As H5N1 infects wildlife and farm animals on land, the virus has spread to marine mammals. An early trial is testing a vaccine with six seals being rehabilitated at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. The goal is to prevent the disease from harming more endangered marine mammals, including Hawaiian monk seals.

• Would you pay $125k to build a custom patio for your cats?

• A new study found multiple bacterial groups (genera) and antimicrobial resistant genes in commercially produced raw and freeze-dried raw cat food. Raw diets have increasingly become popular among pet owners seeking alternatives from highly processed kibble, but studies like this show that the risk factor remains high—especially in combination with the threat of bird flu, which has been fatal for some cats.

  • A literature review in the Journal of Food says there is an “immediate need for stringent surveillance and improved biosecurity in raw food supply chains” to minimize bird flu transmissions and keep humans and pets safe. Still, regulation of the pet food industry remains convoluted, as I wrote about earlier this year, and manufacturers have relatively few federal and state resources available for widespread testing of their products. Research (and funding for such research!) also remains lacking on whether the potential health benefits of a raw diet outweigh the risks.

• I loved this story about a crow and a dog becoming best friends.

• I’ll leave you with this musical performance by my dog Gemma and my mom’s dog Carrie.

In today’s Tail Mail: The cat taking over Hollywood, a promising development in canine cancer research, an Oura ring for horses, GLP-1 implants for dogs, and a strike team of feral cats vs. New York City rats.

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📩 Have a tip? Email clara@readtailmail.com or DM me on Instagram @readtailmail.

I’m going to a movie theater for a cat.

This week, I’m catching a screening of Caught Stealing, the new Darren Aronofsky film starring Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz, and Tonic the cat. I wasn’t planning on seeing this movie until red carpet photos from the film’s New York premiere dropped. I mean, just look:

I’m sorry, but no actor will ever be as cool as this cat.

Unlike the Choupettes of the world, Tonic’s journey to Hollywood began on the streets of Ontario, where he was found as a stray kitten some eight years ago. He was adopted by the trainer Melissa Millett, who was scouting rescues for cats to act in the 2019 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, which involves a family cat dying and coming back to life.

Tonic was an immediate yes. “The second he came out of his crate, he looked like he thought he was the king of the world and he was ready for all the chicken,” she recently told The New York Times. He went on to play the pre-death version of Church the cat, sharing the role with another cat actor named Leo who embodied the zombified version.

In Caught Stealing, Tonic has a leading role in Bud, a cat who gets dragged along in a crime caper involving mistaken identity and a lot of cash, all set against the backdrop of the East Village in the ’90s. He’s the de facto sidekick to Butler’s Hank, a bartender and former baseball player who gets caught up in the drama when he starts cat sitting for his neighbor (The Crown’s Matt Smith, sporting a ridiculous mohawk).

If Superman’s Krypto sparked a surge in dog adoption interest this summer, I hope we see the same love for shelter cats. There’s another Tonic waiting to shine.

In other news…

• Horses have their own $600 version of an Oura ring. Garmin released a tail wrap that tracks data like a horse’s skin temperature, stride, gait, heart rate, and recovery rate. We’re going to continue seeing new products in the wearable tech space for companion and sport animals as consumers get more invested in the health and wellbeing of their pets.

• An 11-year-old golden retriever is cancer free in the latest success for a clinical trial. Two years ago, Lola began participating in a UC Davis trial that involved inhaling immunotherapy drugs to treat oral melanoma, an aggressive mouth cancer that already spread to her lungs. Today, her tumors are gone. (The study was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, which is facing major funding cuts under the Trump administration that will impact cancer research.)

• Would you bring your pet to college? A handful of college campuses are allowing students to have cats and dogs in their dorms in a bid to improve mental health.

• Ozempic for dogs is coming. Biotech company Okava is beginning trials on a GLP-1 implant that will help suppress appetite in overweight dogs, similarly to how popular weight-loss injections like Ozempic and Mounjaro work.

• New York mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa wants to deploy a team of feral cats to deal with the city’s rat problem. “It would be like they’re on patrol. Consider them like Batman and Robin—Gotham caped crusaders at night, especially.”

Welcome back to Dog Training 101, a Tail Mail series dedicated to helping you set your dog up for success. You can read the first installment here, which goes over training basics: how it works, common lingo, and popular training styles.

This issue is all about finding the right dog trainer: how to start your search, key questions to ask, major red and green flags, and what you need to know about training certifications.

Stay tuned for part three, which will cover common training tools.

Have something about dog training you want answered? Leave a comment or drop me a note at clara@readtailmail.com. I’d love to hear your feedback.

Finding a good dog trainer is a lot like dating.

You might need to talk to and meet several trainers before you find the right fit, and that’s okay! Every conversation and interaction helps refine what you like—and don’t like—in a trainer.

Start your search with a set of clear goals or specific challenges you want help with. Did you adopt a puppy and need support with potty training, crate training, leash manners, and basic obedience? If you have a spicy dog,1 what situations trigger their reactions? What kind of training have you already done with your dog?

Having these examples on hand will help when you start compiling a list of trainers to contact.

Leverage your network

There are many people who call themselves dog trainers, so a Google search of “dog trainers near me” will be an overwhelming place to start. Instead, start your search by leveraging your network.

If you adopted from a reputable rescue or responsible breeder, they should have a network of trusted trainers to recommend, Delaney Rogers, Wags & Walks’ placement and training partnerships lead, tells me. Dog parent friends (or friends of friends) who have worked with trainers can also be a great resource.

Next, Rogers recommends taking a look at each trainer’s social media presence to see their work in action: What are their training philosophies? Do they have videos showing how they work with dogs? Do you vibe with the way they interact with the dogs in their care?

“You want to make sure that the way the trainer is training aligns with how you, ultimately, as a pet parent, want to be training the dog in your home,” Rogers says. “If the trainer is using methods that you know you won’t be able to upkeep, it just doesn’t make the most sense to go with [them].”

From there, you can narrow your list to the trainers you’re most excited about. Reach out for a consultation and come prepared to discuss your needs and goals.

Observe and ask questions

Consultations may take place over the phone or in person, depending on a trainer’s preferences. Trainers usually charge for in-person consultations, which run about an hour and allow the trainer to directly assess your dog’s needs, demonstrate some of their techniques, and answer your questions. This is an opportunity for both you and the trainer to get a feel for your working relationship and determine whether it’s a good fit.

Regardless if you have a virtual or in-person consultation, some questions to ask include:

1. What tools and methods would you use with my dog?

2. What program style (one-on-one sessions, board and train, group classes) is best for my dog? What’s the total cost? Do those costs include tools and resources I can take home afterward?

3. What will long-term management look like? A dog may thrive in the training environment but regress once they go home if a trainer isn’t thinking about a long-term management plan for you and your dog that’s realistic to your lifestyle.

4. What kind of support do you provide outside of sessions? A good trainer will be available via text/email to answer questions that come up outside of paid sessions. (Just be respectful of their time, too!)

5. Do you have training certifications? Training isn’t regulated in the U.S., so anyone can call themselves a trainer, behaviorist, dog expert, etc. A good trainer should be proud to discuss their experience and educational background, which may include widely recognized certification programs that require hours of hands-on experience and written exams. Not all certifications are made equally, so I wouldn’t make a decision solely based on whether a trainer has or doesn’t have one of the common certifications included in the cheat sheet below. (If you’re in need of a dog behaviorist, however, credentials are absolutely important. More on that later.)

6. Why did you become a dog trainer? I like this question because it can help you sus out if they’re working with dogs for the right reason.

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As you meet or talk with potential trainers, watch for these signs:

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Today’s newsletter includes: An update on the mystery illness affecting dogs who have walked around the Venice Canals, an open casting call for the next Air Bud movie, medieval cat art, and drama in the doodle dog breeding world.

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At least five dogs have died in recent weeks, with dozens more becoming seriously ill, after walking around LA’s Venice Canals, a picturesque neighborhood near Venice Beach known for its manufactured canals.

Public health officials have not yet determined the cause of the illnesses, which have affected at least 26 dogs, but preliminary testing of the canal water has found the presence of algae-produced toxins, county health officials said on Friday.

Blue-green algae occur in lakes, rivers, and ponds and can form large blooms in warm, stagnant water. The blooms are the result of an overproduction of cyanobacteria that produce cyanotoxins, which can be fatal to dogs who drink or swim in the contaminated water. Common symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures, liver failure, and sudden death.

Of the dogs who have grown ill after walking around the canals, reported symptoms appear similar: seizures, vomiting, lack of coordination, and severe lethargy. But if the algae toxins are indeed the cause of the illnesses, it’s not clear how the affected dogs became ill, because “most have had no direct contact with canal water,” according to Ashley Oelsen, a conservation biologist from the California Coastal Alliance.

As public health officials continue with testing, dog owners have been urged to avoid walking their dogs around the canals and keep an eye out for potentially contaminated water, which can appear scummy, foamy, or otherwise discolored.

The Venice Canals illnesses coincide with another case happening up in Santa Clara, where several dogs who visited a dog park have also mysteriously become ill with seizures, vomiting, and diarrhea. At least one dog has died after visiting the Nuevo Dog Park, which is located near Levi’s Stadium and Great America. City officials have temporarily closed the park until a cause is identified.

In other news…

• Calling all golden retrievers: There’s an open casting call for the next Air Bud franchise film. All submissions are eligible for prizes, even if your dog doesn’t land the leading role. Please let me know if any of your dogs audition.

• Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum has a new exhibit showcasing cats in medieval manuscripts. The Middle Ages’ version of the cat walking all over your keyboard? Inky paw prints on your manuscript.

• More than 100 cats were adopted at CatCon, an annual convention for cat lovers in Pasadena.

• A Florida cat has helped his owner, a virologist, discover two new viruses. Pepper the black cat is a skilled hunter, and his latest catch—an Everglades short-tailed shrew—led his owner, a virologist, to identify a new strain of a virus associated with encephalitis, meningitis, and gastroenteritis. This is the second time Pepper’s work has led to scientific discovery.

• Whistle pet trackers and activity monitors will stop working at the end of this month. The company was acquired by its competitor, Tractive, for an undisclosed sum. Existing Whistle customers are eligible for a replacement device from Tractive until Sept. 30.

• Doodlemania has created a $1B+ industry. Bloomberg has a fascinating piece on the massive doodle dog industry and the ongoing battle with the American Kennel Club for breed recognition. Purebred advocates are not fans of doodles, which are crosses of poodles and other breeds like the golden retriever (goldendoodle), labrador (labradoodle), and Bernese mountain dog (Bernedoodle). “They will destroy your breeding program, and they will destroy you personally and even dox you,” one breeder told Bloomberg. “They make it their entire personality to tear apart anyone associated with the doodle world.”

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Welcome to Dog Training 101, a new series here on Tail Mail where we’ll dive into everything you need to know to set your pup up for success.

In this first installment, we’re getting down to the basics: how training works, what all that lingo means, and how This information will help you better understand the relationship between dog and handler and wh…

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Biggest perk of the move so far is living right across from a dog-friendly public park, which has made walks and training so much more convenient. (My favorite dog park in LA was a 20 minute drive from my house.) New daily routine includes having Gemma and Carrie, my mom’s dog, practice their down stays as they’re surrounded by distractions: pickleball games, kids on tricycles zooming past, other small leashed dogs. I’m hopeful the proximity to this park and added training sessions will do wonders for Pippa when we’re reunited next month, since we’re still working on building her confidence and keeping calm around other people and dogs.

I’ve been catching up on some reading, including the U.S. release of The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read by U.K. dog behaviorist Louise Glazebrook. I appreciated the early chapters that take an honest approach to what a potential dog parent needs to know before bringing a pup home—including being realistic about what they want in a dog and acknowledging whether they’re drawn to a breed purely for aesthetics. I’ll come back with more fleshed out thoughts when I’ve had a chance to finish the book.

I also finally read The Atlantic’s profile of celebrity fitness trainer (sorry, “self-made scholar”) Tracy Anderson, whose regulars include J. Lo, Madonna, and Ms. Goop herself, Gwyneth Paltrow. I’ll let you check out Xochitl Gonzalez’s piece to learn more about her $10,000 studio memberships and the impressive fitness empire Anderson has built, but I simply have not stopped thinking about this one passage:

Anderson greeted me at the door of her house in Brentwood, California, followed by a pack of beautiful dogs, including a cavapoo, standard poodles, and another breed I couldn’t place. It turned out to be the product of the male cavapoo and a female poodle that had fallen “madly in love,” according to Anderson. When they “anatomically could not express themselves to their fullest ability,” Anderson asked science to step in. “They deserve to be helped because they were trying so hard to procreate that his, like, his male parts were bleeding.” The poodle was artificially inseminated, and they went on to have eight puppies.

Her way of speaking—warm and Midwest-earnest—makes even something as outrageous as doggy IVF seem like a gesture of compassion. In that moment, all I felt was happiness for those dogs. Shouldn’t we all be able to express our love?

I’m not going to get into the ethics of artificial insemination or IVF for dogs, as readers here will know I’m a huge advocate for spay/neuter and rescue, but I did go down a rabbit hole on the procedures.

Researchers at Cornell University bred the first IVF puppies in 2015 using embryos from beagle and cocker spaniel parents that were implanted in a surrogate hound mother. At the time, one of the lead researchers said this breakthrough would allow humans to help preserve endangered dog species and potentially “identify certain genes that cause disease and then fix those.”

Artificial insemination, which Anderson did for her cavapoo and poodle, is a much more common practice among breeders for a multitude of reasons: breeding from a champion line where distance is prohibitive; males and females (referred to as “studs” and “bitches” in the breeding world) who might hurt each other when they’re, for lack of a better word, fucking.

There’s no exact record of how many dogs have been bred via AI, but the practice has effectively become mainstream. The American Kennel Club accepts litters bred using this method, and hundreds2 of canine fertility clinics operate around the world, leading some watchdog groups and advocates to raise the alarm about the practice’s impact on animal welfare and genetic diversity.

In fact, artificial insemination is how most brachycephalic dogs like French bulldogs and English bulldogs are bred, as these breeds typically can’t reproduce or give birth on their own due to physical attributes that have been exaggerated over years of selective breeding to satisfy humans’ aesthetic tastes. When it comes time to giving birth, many of these artificially inseminated dogs must then go through one more traumatizing surgery: emergency C-sections. Bulldog puppies’ heads, for example, are too large to naturally pass through a mother’s pelvic canal without the procedure.

Personally, I have a hard time seeing any of this as an expression of love.

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In other news…

• A children’s bookstore in Montrose, CA, hosted a 10th birthday party for its resident cat, Pippi Longstocking.

• BARK is not having a good year. The subscription dog toy company’s stock price has fallen so low that the New York Stock Exchange issued a notice of non-compliance last week. Bark will have six months to raise the stock price or risk getting delisted. Let’s see how company execs address it next month when they announce Q1 earnings.

• Have you seen the new Superman movie? The James Gunn movie is drawing praise for its more realistic depiction of dog ownership (minus the super powers) thanks to Krypto, the Man of Steel’s super cute but super misbehaved pup. While the movie dog was digitally created, he looks like a schnauzer/terrier mix based on the director’s own rescue dog.

• Modern Animal launched a podcast with its top veterinarian, Dr. Christie Long.

• A shelter dog at an adoption event alerted a man who was about to have a seizure. The three-year-old lab and pit bull mix wasn’t previously trained to detect seizures but went right up to the man, put her paw on his leg, and refused to leave his side at an adoption event. “This is the kind of magic that shelter dogs carry inside them—unspoken wisdom, deep empathy, and an unfailing ability to connect with us in our most vulnerable moments. Sienna wasn’t trained to do this. She simply felt it,” the shelter wrote in a Facebook post. Excuse me while I dry my eyes!

• Some Tennessee school libraries are banning copies of The Complete Book of Cats and The Complete Book of Dogs. Animal reference books were some of my favorite to pore over at libraries as a kid, but apparently knowledge is now inappropriate for children? Good grief.

• The ICE raids are tearing families apart—including pets.

• A New York design studio sold shirts with a “missing cat” poster design but accidentally used a real person’s phone number. The woman, who’s been fielding dozens of calls, also has a cat, who is very much safe at home. Big oops!

It’s a weird time to be launching something new on Substack. The platform is oversaturated; success feels contingent on the ancillary work and algorithmic luck of being a “writer” in today’s attention economy, especially when building an audience from scratch.

And then there are the realities of life—those annoying things!—that demand more attention, more money, more time away from the creative work. It’s a battle of doing more, more, more with less, less, less in an industry that spits in your face and tells you to leave, leave, leave. More or less.

Sorry, am I still talking about this newsletter? Let’s get things back on track.

For every big name moving to Substack and making millions, there are those of us who can’t afford to do this full time but are still willing to try. Is it disheartening at times? Yes. But if the work gives me a reason to keep writing and is interesting to others, then I’ll keep at it. And hey, it’s only been three months!

What remains true is that I love my dogs and relish every chance to explore the culture of modern pet parenthood—in all its silliness and seriousness. If that resonates with you, I’d love for you to join.

In today’s newsletter: Trying out the Van Leeuwen x Ollie dog ice cream with my pups Gemma and Pippa, Tiki the rescue dog’s new home, Royal Canin’s latest launch, and a travel guide for stray cat lovers.

I was having dinner with a friend on Fairfax recently when we walked past Van Leeuwen and saw a sign for dog ice cream. No surprises about what I bought next.

The peanut butter and banana dog ice cream, created with the subscription-based fresh dog food company Ollie, is back for another summer and comes just in time for this spicy heat wave. (Now would be a good time to revisit Tail Mail’s summer survival guide.)

The ice cream is certainly a treat, as it includes ingredients like coconut cream, tapioca syrup, cane sugar, and oat milk, in addition to banana purée and peanut butter. The serving size recommendation is 1/4 cup for a 50 lb. dog.

The taste test

First up, I gave a spoonful to my Doberman, Pippa. She hopped with excitement after I removed the lid and ate her spoonful in one go, no hesitation. She will pretty much eat anything, though, so this was an easy win. ✅

Next up, a spoonful for my picky mutt, Gemma. She was interested in sniffing the ice cream but didn’t go in for any licks, even when some accidentally got on her face. Gem is definitely more of a savory gal, so this was a no for her. ❌

Gemma’s reject then went to Gordo the bulldog. He ran from inside and smushed his face through a patio gate to get to the ice cream, though he licked with such force—and fended off an interception from Pippa—that the spoonful of ice cream dropped to the ground. That didn’t stop him from finishing it off. The boy was zoomin’ afterward. ✅

And then I had a taste for myself. It’s delicious—and sweet. I was expecting the treat to be blander than human ice cream, but if you didn’t tell me it was for dogs, I wouldn’t have noticed a difference.

The verdict

While it tastes great, I don’t love the ingredient list. Bananas and peanut butter are naturally sweet on their own, so the added cane sugar and tapioca syrup, plus the high-fat content of the coconut cream, aren’t the best for a dog-formulated treat. (Some of those ingredients are important for texture and mouthfeel, but those qualities are low on my priority list for dogs!)

For healthier alternatives, you can follow DIY recipes for fruit purees or limited-ingredient blends that you can freeze in cute molds. Whatever you choose, your pets will thank you for the treats.

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🐶 What should Tail Mail cover next? Email me: clara@readtailmail.com 🐱

In other news…

• Tiki the rescue dog got adopted! Follow his new adventures @tikiplustwo.

• You can rent out someone’s pool for your dog. I recently found out about Swimply, the Airbnb for pools, after a friend booked a really nice backyard pool for her birthday party. The company just added a feature where you can upload a profile of your pet(s) and filter for pet-friendly spots with specific amenities like secure fencing and shallow entry points.

• Cats do not dream of labour. The UK’s Parliamentary building has a huge mouse problem, but the British government will not be employing a fleet of cats to deal with the issue, despite a request from one member of Parliament. Why? Construction, automatic doors, lack of pet care.

• Officials in Maine are investigating the death of the state’s first comfort dog, who was left unattended in a hot vehicle. Rest in Peace, Baxter.

• Royal Canin is the next Big 4 brand to launch a frozen, gently cooked food line. There’s been an explosion in popularity for fresh pet foods, especially with the rise of direct-to-consumer brands like Just Food for Dogs, The Farmer’s Dog, Ollie, Nom Nom, and Spot & Tango. Earlier this year, Hill’s acquired the Australian pet food company Prime100 to enter the fresh pet food market.

• These are the best cities to meet stray cats.

• Good to see that even champion dogs have to respond to the call of nature👇

The USDA is set to rescind its rules around organic pet food mere months after such standards were put in place to address inconsistency and confusion around the labeling of organic pet food.

In December, the USDA—which regulates the “organic” label—clarified that organic pet food would be distinct from organic livestock feed by allowing ingredients like:

• Organic slaughter byproducts (bone, offal, gristle). These ingredients, which typically comprise a large proportion of the protein used in commercial pet food, are not allowed in organic livestock feed because these animals will later be consumed by humans.

• Synthetic taurine. This amino acid is naturally present in raw meat but is destroyed in the heating process, so pet food manufacturers usually add a synthetic version of it to dry and wet food to meet nutritional standards.

The rules also clarified what could be labeled as “100% organic,” “organic,” or “made with organic [ingredient].”

At the time, the USDA said these amendments would help the organic pet food industry by reducing certifying confusion, thus increasing “the availability of organic products for consumers and bolster[ing] markets for organic ingredients by increasing demand.”

Now, the federal agency is reversing course and seeking to rescind these rules in full. The USDA said that doing so will remove the “paperwork burden” for pet food manufacturers. A representative for the federal agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At least one major pet food advocacy group is sounding the alarm. The Pet Sustainability Coalition—which represents more than 200 pet product brands, including Hill’s, Royal Canin, Open Farm, and Ollie—has said that removing such rules will instead “reverse years of progress, increase regulatory confusion, and harm small businesses, processors, and pet food companies.”

“Since the rule’s adoption, many PSC members have begun sourcing organic ingredients and developing new products,” the group said in a statement last Thursday. “Rolling back the standard would derail these efforts, undermine innovation, and limit consumer choice—particularly for pet parents seeking the same quality of nutrition for their pets as for their families.”

Tl;dr: Without clear rules for organic pet food, manufacturers may have a harder time getting organic food and treats on store shelves. That will mean fewer choices for pet parents seeking organic options for their dogs and cats.

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For more details on how pet food is regulated in the U.S. (it’s more confusing than you’d think!), read this Tail Mail deep dive on bird flu in pet food.

In other news…

• Cactus, a rescue pup from California, threw out the first pitch at a Miami Marlins game.

• It’s earnings season! Everyone is bracing for the full impact of the tariffs, as I wrote about earlier.

  • Chewy had a good first quarter, with net sales increasing 8.3% year-over-year to $3.12 billion. About $2.56 billion of those sales came from Autoship subscription orders.

  • Petco brought in $1.5 billion in net sales during this first quarter, down about 2.3% compared to the previous year. The company, which closed five stores in Q1, is forecasting a similar decline for the next quarter.

  • Bark (the company behind BarkBox and Bark Air, the private planes for dogs) reported a 5% decrease in revenue during the fiscal fourth quarter ending in March. That decline was due, in part, to the company pulling back marketing because of uncertainty around tariffs.

  • PetSmart reports earnings next week.

• People in Iran still love dogs, even as government officials ban dog walking in at least 20 cities. Dog ownership is not banned, but Iranian officials are cracking down on people walking their dogs or traveling with their companions in a car. “Pets, including dogs, have become integral to Iranian family culture, even in religious households,” Dr. Damoon Ansari, a veterinary surgeon in Tehran, told the New York Times. “Whether officials approve or not, they cannot eliminate the millions of pets in Iran.”

• Ed the zebra is back home. His owners, who don’t plan on getting any more zebras (…), say they hired a team from Texas to use a gator to chase Ed away from the road and into an open field. From there, he got airlifted out by helicopter.

• A cat traveled all the way from China to Minnesota in a shipping container. The cat is now with the rescue Pet Haven and will soon be in a foster home, where she can recover from her three-week journey.

• Actress Dakota Johnson adopted a new puppy, Tokyo, from a shelter in Santa Barbara. We love rescue dogs here at Tail Mail!

• I’ll leave you with this final message from one of my favorite dog content creators, @mistermainer1.

Forget the summer solstice. Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer in my mind, even if my only plans are to visit the farmers market, eat so much fruit, and stay inside1 to catch up on some reading.

My dogs, however, are tapping my shoulder to remind me that they do not want to do the same. Alas, we’ve been navigating a heat wave here in LA and I’ve been experimenting with how best to keep them physically and mentally stimulated without both of us getting heat stroke. For me, that’s looked like limited time outside in the shade and lots of indoor play, even in my tiny apartment.

Luckily, there are smarter and more seasoned dog and cat people I know who have figured out the best tools and tricks to keeping their pets cool and entertained in the heat. Read on for Tail Mail’s summer survival guide.

Safety first

As much as they love playing outdoors, dogs can get heat stroke. Common causes include excessive exercise in hot weather, being left in a hot car, or too much time out in a yard without enough shade and water.

Indoor cats can also get heat stroke if they’re in a room without enough ventilation or cool air, such as a sunroom.

Signs to look out for include excessive panting, drooling, disorientation, dark gums, vomiting, and diarrhea. Please go to the vet immediately if you think your dog or cat is experiencing heat stroke, as it is a medical emergency.

In the meantime, work on cooling down your pet’s body temperature. The VCA recommends using wet cloths with cool (not cold) water on your dog or cat’s head, stomach, armpits, and feet. If you don’t have cloths, you can pour the water directly onto those spots. Use a fan to make sure there is plenty of air flow and keep your pet in the shade.

For dog parents, also keep in mind that asphalt retains heat and can be hotter than the outside air temperature, which poses a risk for burns and blisters on paw pads. Save your long walks for early in the morning and late at night; for unavoidable mid-day outings, limit time outside, stick to the shade, and have your dog walk on grass or dirt whenever possible.

🔥 Air Temperature vs. Asphalt Temperature

Air Temp                          Asphalt Temp
77°F (25°C)                       ~125°F (51.7°C)
86°F (30°C)                       ~135°F (57.2°C)
87°F (31°C)                       ~143°F (61.7°C)

If your pet does injure their paw pads, remember to avoid ice. Use cool water to flush their paws and gently clean the area with a chlorhexidine solution. Contact your vet for further care instructions.

Now, onto the fun stuff!

Frozen treats

Mo Kim (@girlandrescue), a dog trainer and all-around great animal guardian who regularly watches my pups, gets creative with frozen treats or meals for the dogs under her care on hot days. After a hike or during the hottest hours of the day when humans and pets need to stay inside, Mo told me she likes to use a pre-prepared lick mat or freezable treat toy with frozen layers of food to keep her pets cool and busy. She’ll prep her treats like this:

Base layer: Kibble/freeze dried + broth/water or raw food

Second layer: Yogurt with single ingredient treats

Third layer: A small layer of peanut butter and blueberries

Top: A trachea or duck neck

She recommends freezing these treats in layers; you can use as many or as few layers as you’d like, depending on if you’re feeding a full meal or just making a treat. If you don’t have a lick mat or want to stick with what you already own, Mo says these treats can still be made and frozen in your dog’s regular food bowl.

Another option is to make special ice cubes with yogurt, broth, or pet-safe fruit (like blueberries) and water to add to their regular food. You can add these ice cubes to hydrate and cool down your pet’s meals.

Pro tip: If you don’t have a dishwasher, Mo says to look for lick mats and bowls without the added shapes, as those are harder to clean up.

• LickiMat UFO Slow Feeder Dog Bowl, LickiMat Wobble Slow Feeder Bowl

• West Paw Zogoflex Treat Dispensing Toy

• Frozen “pup cups” from BiBimPaws (the rainbow sherbet flavor is also safe for cats)

• Silicone ice cube tray

• Woof Pupsicle Interactive Dog Toy

• Woof Pupsicle Refill Pops

• Kong Classic Stuffable Dog Toy

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Indoor activities

Sometimes, the safest thing to do is just stay inside and wait out the heat. So how do you keep an active pup from getting antsy?

Tricia Ritter Carvajal (@carvajal.crew), the head of West Coast operations at Beezy’s Rescue, says her doggie treadmill has been a “game changer” in helping keep her pack stimulated and fulfilled at home. Treadmills provide both physical and mental exercise, as dogs need to remain focused to stay balanced and match their stride with the treadmill’s pace.

Start off slow and make sure you properly introduce the treadmill to your pup so they have a positive association with the machine. Your pups don’t need to be outright running; slow walking on the treadmill is a fantastic training exercise!

Snuffle mats, puzzles, and other nose work games are also great for tiring out your dogs and cats without having to step foot outside. Just sprinkle some of your pet’s favorite treats or dry food into one of these toys and let them go to town.

Pro tip: Mo Kim says she reuses cardboard boxes her deliveries come in as a makeshift toy. Stuff the box with packing paper, cardboard toilet paper rolls, and any other recyclables you may have lying around to give your pet a challenge as they look for the treats or dry food you’ve sprinkled inside.

• Dog treadmill (Lifepro, dogPACER)

• Outward Hound Dog Brick Treat Puzzle Enrichment Toy, Level 2

• Outward Hound Dog Twister Treat Puzzle Enrichment Toy, Level 3

• Mewoo Snuffle Mat

• Nocciola Tangerine Interactive Dog Toy (best for small- to medium-sized dogs)

Outdoor gear

My dog Gemma loves a doggie pool. I can’t tell you how exciting it was to watch her actually play in it for the first time, as she and my neighbor’s dog Pickle thought it was just a large water bowl for the longest time.

Foldable doggie pools are great if you have limited outdoor space and don’t want to use a ton of water. Just get one large enough for your dog to stand in. If you’re lucky enough to have a pool in your backyard, there are tons of floatable dog toys on the market.

For other outdoor activities, Hillary Rosen, the president of A Purposeful Rescue, likes using cooling pads and a portable misting fan. On hikes, she recommends putting cooling clothing on your dog and bringing a hydration pack.

As a special spa treatment when you get home after a hot day, you can try this neat trick from APR’s Miranda Gooding: Use an ice roller—the same kind people use on their face for depuffing—on your dog’s belly, face, and ears to help them cool down. Her dog Amelia gives it a 10/10. (Just remember not to use ice for treating burns or heat stroke.)

• Foldable Dog Pool

• Dog Pool with Sprinkler

• Chuckit! Paraflight Flying Disc

• Ruff Dawg Gummy Bear Toy

• Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Fan

• Ruffwear Swamp Cooler Cooling Neck Gaiter

• Green Pet Cooling Pad

• Ice Roller

• Hydro Flask 14L Down Shift Hydration Pack

• Coolaroo Elevated Dog Bed

Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments. If you liked this guide, please share it with any dog or cat parents in your life.

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Tail Mail may receive a small commission for items purchased through the links provided here, but I also encourage you to shop at your local pet store. I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this guide.

In today’s newsletter, we’re talking about the increasing similarities between short-faced dogs and cats (e.g., French bulldogs and Persian cats), leadership changes at Chewy, and the famous cat starring in a luxury watch campaign.

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Dogs and cats are becoming more similar because of breeding.

A glance at the most popular dog and cat breeds will show you some striking similarities: smushed faces, big eyes, flat noses, and skin folds with daily cleansing routines that rival my own.

Yes, I’m talking about brachycephalic1 dogs and cats like French bulldogs, Persian cats, Boston terriers, Himalayan cats, and pugs. Humans have fallen so in love with these specific face shapes that we have effectively bred these dogs and cats to be more similar to one another than they are to their wild ancestors, according to a recent study published in the National Academy of Sciences’ official peer-reviewed journal.

Dogs and cats evolutionarily diverged some 50 million years ago; that’s why wild species like coyotes, from the Canidae family, or bobcats, from the Felidae family, don’t look or behave similarly. But selective breeding has led to a convergent evolution—the development of similar traits between unrelated organisms—between some dog and cat breeds because of human interests, rather than natural selection.

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“These are completely new skull shapes that only came about because of what humans want to see in their companion animals,” Abby Grace Drake, the lead author of the study, told Scientific American.

The evolutionary biologists leading the study analyzed the skull shapes of nearly 2,000 different domesticated dogs and cats, as well as those from their wild ancestors from the Canidae and Felidae families. Using 3D models, the researchers then compared the skull shapes to identify similarities across breed and species; they found that brachycephalic dogs and cats have skulls unlike those of any naturally evolved species. It makes total sense, as these breeds cannot survive in the wild:2 These skull shapes are linked to a multitude of health problems that impact breathing, eye and dental health, and total lifespan.

Convergent evolution, influenced by breeding, is also happening within the same species. For example, Pekingese dogs are not related to English bulldogs, yet they both share similarities in their skull shapes because of selective breeding.

Whether there are any similarities in the genetics of brachycephalic dogs and cats remains to be studied. But one thing is clear, as study co-author Jonathan Losos put it to Scientific American: “We’ve substantially erased 50 million years of evolution.”

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In other news…

• Looks like raw milk is back on the menu in North Carolina. State lawmakers were prepared to move forward with a bill that would ban the sale of raw milk, including for pets, due to the risk of diseases like salmonella and bird flu. But as of last Tuesday, after hundreds of raw milk advocates and dairy farmers loudly protested the move at a committee hearing, the ban was scrapped and replaced by an amendment that would instead study how to make raw milk more accessible to the public. Talk about a 180.

• Chewy’s chief financial officer is leaving the company next month. The pet goods supplier will report its fiscal Q1 earnings on June 11; I’d expect to hear lots of talk about tariffs.

• Elizabeth Holmes’ partner is launching a startup that supposedly will test for diseases in pets. While Holmes is serving out a prison sentence for defrauding investors in her blood-testing company Theranos, her partner, Billy Evans, is raising money to fund his own diagnostics company that he says will test for diseases from samples of urine, saliva, and, uh, blood with a device that bears more than a few similarities to the Theranos machine. Evans’ company will start with pets before moving on to humans, according to potential investors who spoke with The New York Times. I think it’s safe to sit this one out.

• NASCAR drivers love bringing their dogs to work.

• Choupette, Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved cat, is the new face of the luxury watchmaker Hublot’s latest campaign. Somebody please tell me how much her agency (which also reps Messi, the dog from Anatomy of a Fall) and Lagerfeld’s estate is making from this deal.

  • I need someone to write the definitive piece on Choupette. Now living with Lagerfeld’s former housekeeper (a recent interview here), the Birman cat is turning 14 years old (she celebrated her 13th birthday at the Palace of Versailles, because of course), eats out of Chinese porcelain bowls, and is still actively modeling. I have so, so many questions.

Mother’s Day is exactly one week from today, and I can’t think of a more useful gift for dog moms (and dads, if you’re shopping early for Father’s Day) than what I consider to be the best dog walking bag out there.

I’ve cycled through my fair share of bags, including standard fanny packs and crossbodies specifically marketed for dog walking, complete with built-in poop bag holders. (In my experience, those never have enough structure to keep your roll from coming undone.)

These are my requirements:

• Space for my essentials (phone, wallet, keys, hand sanitizer, lip balm)

• Convenient access to my phone

• A place to hook a poop bag holder

• Room for a water bottle

• A separate compartment for dog treats or space to clip on a treat pouch for training

• Hands free and compact enough to not be a burden on long walks

• Stylish enough that I can use in my everyday life without looking like I’m always going on a walk

Let me introduce you to the Béis Sport Sling. (This post is not sponsored, but if anyone from Béis is reading this, feel free to reach out…)

Each of this bag’s four compartments are thoughtfully designed. The main compartment includes an internal key leash so you never have to dig around for your keys, as well as a microfiber-lined pocket to hold sunglasses and protect them from scratches. A second compartment has card slots for those who like to forego a wallet, but my wallet fits in there alongside a treat pouch. The outermost pocket is for whatever you want to have easy access to. For me, that’s my phone.

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The crossbody strap is soft and adjustable for use on either shoulder, and the buckles attach on either end of the bag so they don’t dig into your shoulders. I like to loop my poop bag holder from Wild One onto the strap.

My favorite part of the Sport Sling definitely has to be the hidden water bottle compartment. I like carrying a bottle for myself or my pups, but I don’t always need one on shorter walks or when I’m running errands. With this bag, a hidden compartment features an attached pouch that can be pulled out to carry a water bottle or stuffed back in when not in use.

I’ve used this bag almost daily for the past six months and haven’t looked back. I bought the version in black, but they’re also available in fun shades of pink, green, blue, and brown.

Great job with this one, Béis.

What’s your favorite dog walking bag or accessory? Let me know in the comments.

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Disclosure: Tail Mail may earn a small commission if you purchase an item linked in this post. All products listed here have been independently purchased and tested by me.

In other news…

• In case you missed it: Earlier this week, I reported on proposed budget cuts that will impact Los Angeles’ animal shelters. The story involves major protests, the mayor’s office, and $5 million. Read the full piece here.

• Scammers are trying to prey on people who have lost their pets. The Humane Rescue Alliance is warning pet owners in D.C. that scammers are posing as employees or vets from their organization and contacting owners, claiming they’ve found their lost pets but need money for their medical care. This is a good reminder that a rescue or shelter will never ask you for money over the phone in order to get your lost pet back. You can always call that organization directly to confirm their statements.

• Petfluencers are making enough money from social media to quit their jobs. Chasity Hobbs, the creator behind @through.the.lleaves, told NBC News that she makes around $400k a year from sharing the lives of her cats, reptiles, and dog on social media. I used to cover the creator economy for The Hollywood Reporter, so this does not surprise me one bit—creators have direct access to an engaged audience that marketers want to reach.

• A reptile store in Berkeley hatched a rare, two-headed snake. Meet Angel and Zeke.

I’ve spent the last few days poring over city budget proposals, talking to LA Animal Services volunteers and employees, and doing on-the-ground reporting at protests to understand what exactly is at stake for both animals and Angelenos. In the process, I’ve untangled the mess behind the budget proposal rollout, which even Mayor Karen Bass recently acknowledged led to widespread “confusion.”

A lot has happened in the past 48 hours. Let’s unpack it.

You are reading a post for paid subscribers. To help me continue doing this kind of original reporting, please consider subscribing or upgrading to the paid tier of Tail Mail.

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Budget cuts, protests, and a $5 million question

It’s been a confounding week for animal shelter employees, volunteers, and rescue advocates in Los Angeles, who have loudly fought against sweeping budget cuts to the city’s Animal Services department and eked out a win.

Getting there, however, has involved sorting through an administrative mess.

Last Monday, Mayor Karen Bass’s office released its proposed budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, which included about $4.8 million in cuts and major staff reductions to the LA Animal Services department, which runs six shelters across the city. Chief among the proposed cuts were layoffs affecting 62 employees, including animal care technicians, who are responsible for day-to-day operations at the city’s shelters like feeding the animals and cleaning kennels; Animal Control officers, who capture strays and respond to reports of attacks and animal cruelty; administrative clerks, who field phone calls and process adoptions and licensing; and veterinary technicians, who handle euthanasias, microchipping, and sterilization procedures, among other responsibilities.

Shortly after the budget proposal was released, a top LAAS official sounded the alarm, warning city council leaders in an April 22 letter that the anticipated job cuts would be dire enough to force the closure of half of LA’s shelters and result in mass euthanasias due to space constraints.

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Remember getting your driver’s license? The government didn’t just hand you an ID and let you loose on the road.1 First you had to pass a written exam to prove you understood basic traffic laws and road signs. Then you had to practice for months behind the wheel, supervised. And when you finally felt ready, you proved your mettle during an in-person driving test with a stone-faced proctor sitting next to you.

As cumbersome as the whole process is, I’m sure most would agree that the logic behind it is sound: Driving can be dangerous, so it’s imperative that people understand the rules of the road and how to operate a car safely.

Now imagine if this thinking was applied to dog ownership.

We’re about to see that play out in Zurich, Switzerland. Beginning this June, dog owners living in Zurich will have to pass a theoretical exam and attend up to six hours of training sessions with their companions to comply with the Hundeverordnung, or dog regulation.2 The exam, with questions determined by the Swiss Veterinary Office, will cover topics like how dogs behave, what they need to survive, and how they learn; dog training tools; the legal responsibilities of owning a dog; and the financial and time commitments of dog ownership.

An owner and their companion must also attend training sessions to learn basic obedience (sit command, loose leash walking, recall, holding down stays), practice socialization (calmly walking past other dogs and people in public, properly greeting humans), and get acclimated to using a humane muzzle. The Hundeverordnung also emphasizes building a bond between handler and dog through setting and respecting boundaries, reading body language, and by getting both human and dog comfortable with the grooming process.

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There are exceptions: People who’ve had a dog for at least six months can skip the written exam; handlers with service dogs (who go through a different training program) or senior dogs ages 10 and up may also skip the practical training requirement. Otherwise, dog owners—regardless of their dog’s breed or size—must pass the written exam and complete six of the 60-minute training sessions with a certified dog trainer.

This will be the second time in recent history that Zurich’s legislature is implementing a widespread dog training mandate in response to a rise in dog ownership and an increase in dog bite incidents. The current iteration, still in effect until June, had different training requirements based on a dog’s life stage (puppy vs. young adult vs. adult), and the training was only mandatory for medium to large dogs.3 The updated dog law is supposed to simplify the training requirements, reduce the total number of hours, and remove the size and weight exemptions.

Switzerland previously had a national dog training regulation in place between 2008 and 2017 that required owners to attend four hours of training and complete a one-hour class on dog ownership basics. Despite pushback from some members of the Swiss Parliament, the legislature ultimately repealed the law and left it up to the 26 cantons to determine their own dog training mandates, if any. At the time, lawmakers supporting the repeal said the dog law caused too much of an administrative burden, enforcement was difficult, and there wasn’t enough evidence that the training reduced dog bite incidents or improved behavior. (It should be noted that 20% of dog owners didn’t attend training classes, according to a 2016 report by the Swiss Veterinary Office.)

Zurich will soon see if the second (or third) time’s the charm for a mandatory dog training law. Still, these regulations are a far cry from the comparatively lax rules in the U.S., where even local leash laws are rarely enforced or followed.4 State and local laws around dog behavior vary widely but are typically focused on animal cruelty, general nuisance, rabies vaccination, and protocol following a dog bite or attack. There are no federal guidelines around dog training in the U.S.5

So will there ever be a mandatory training law in the U.S. like that in Zurich? I doubt it. But let’s not forget that having a dog carries the weight of having a car. Please drive responsibly.

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In other news…

• Congrats to Juno, who won the Corgi Derby. Look at their little shirts!

• The New Yorker’s latest cover captures the chaos of a dog park. “Sometimes the oblivious, unbridled joy of all those dogs is an amazing mood-lifter, and sometimes—especially lately—it fills me with an irrational mix of annoyance and envy,” the artist, Adrian Tomine, said of his illustration. I’m zeroing in on the humans stuck on their phones while their dogs run wild.

• Rosie O’Donnell has a new Hulu documentary about service dogs for kids with autism. The doc tells the story of Kuma, a service dog who helps O’Donnell’s child Clay, and explores the Guide Dogs of America’s prison training program, where incarcerated people can become service dog trainers.

• The City of Los Angeles’ proposed budget for 2025-26 includes about $4.8 million in cuts to the Animal Services department. The largest proportion of cuts are set to come from layoffs impacting 57 people, including animal care technicians, vet techs, animal control officers, and communications staffers. Do you work at an LA City shelter and have insight on the impact of these proposed cuts? Let’s chat: clara@readtailmail.com

Today’s paid newsletter is all about Modern Animal, a veterinary clinic using technology to revamp the vet experience for owners, pets, and veterinarians. I had a great conversation with Modern Animal’s CEO, Steven Eidelman, and chief medical officer, Dr. Christie Long, for this piece.

Some housekeeping: If you’re not receiving email notifications for Tail Mail, make sure to move this newsletter to your primary inbox and add me to your contacts so you won’t miss any issue. Know someone who’d like this newsletter? Please spread the word so we can keep growing the Tail Mail community.

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My dogs have better health care than me.

The first time I walked into a Modern Animal veterinary clinic, I was floored by everything it wasn’t: loud, stressful, smelly. A receptionist in blue Figs scrubs greeted me from behind a large iMac, directing me to take a seat in the waiting area and help myself to a free La Colombe coffee or La Croix sparkling water. I admired the cute pet photos and dangling greenery on the walls as I sipped my cold brew, laughing at how quintessentially “LA” this all seemed.

It was 2022 and I was a first-time dog mom. I had already spent the past month mentally preparing for the huge responsibility I was undertaking, checking my bank accounts to make sure I could reasonably afford vet bills, food, and training. And so when the appointment went smoothly, it felt like one less thing to worry about. The vet and technician answered all my questions, knew how to approach my nervous dog, and walked me through the cost and purpose of every vaccine and preventative treatment they recommended. I got to approve what I wanted to pay for, and my pup left with a clean bill of health and a new toy. Suddenly, I was jealous. Why couldn’t my doctors’ visits be this nice?

Alas, there is a reason I love living in LA, and a bougie vet clinic with great service is one of them.

Modern Animal is a veterinary chain that provides primary care, dental cleanings, and non-orthopedic surgery in locations across California, Texas, Colorado, and (soon) Arizona. But the mission behind the company is ambitious: to revolutionize the veterinary business for owners, pets, and veterinarians.

Pet owners spent $39.8 billion on veterinary services last year and are projected to spend as much as $41.4 billion in 2025, according to the American Pet Products Association. Despite this, the legacy veterinary clinic model has remained outdated, Modern Animal CEO and co-founder Steven Eidelman said.

“What I saw was, as a Millennial, I’m not getting the care and the experience that I want when I go to any veterinary hospital,” Eidelman told me. “The experience that people have working in them is even worse. … If this is about building a better relationship with a veterinarian and a client, we need to change the environment that they’re working in.”

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