Pet Anxiety Awareness Day expands to Europe

Pet Anxiety Awareness Month (PAAW), a US education initiative on fear, anxiety and stress in companion animals, is expanding to Europe. On 12 October, it will hold its first Pet Anxiety Awareness Day in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. The European programme is supported by Orion Pharma Animal Health, the veterinary division of the Finnish pharmaceutical company Orion, and was developed in collaboration with it. Orion has developed prescription medicines for anxiety in dogs, among them Sileo, a gel for noise-related anxiety that received EU marketing authorisation in 2015.

Unlike the US campaign, which addresses pet owners and the media each June, the European version runs through veterinary practices. Clinics receive a poster with a QR code, an infographic and a short video, and are encouraged to keep the material on display throughout the week. The aim, according to the organisers, is to help owners recognise changes in behaviour and raise them with their vet at an earlier stage. The materials are available at petanxietyawareness.eu in English and the six national languages.

PAAW was founded in 2017 by Kristen Levine, a US pet industry marketing professional, and is taking place for the tenth time this year. Levine describes it as a collaborative educational initiative that is not owned by any single company. The European day is intended as the basis for a broader, locally adapted international model in the coming years.