Health story: Don’t forget about your dogs this World Arthritis Day

Photo and filming opportunities with vets, families and their dogs

While human health usually dominates the spotlight on health awareness days, the impact of chronic pain on our much-loved pets and their families often goes underestimated and invisible. World Arthritis Day is an opportunity to shine a light on the importance of pain management for dogs living with osteoarthritis.

LATEST DATA: THE BIG IMPACT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS IN DOGS

• Osteoarthritis impacts more Australian dogs than humans.  Approximately two in five (40%) dogs currently live with osteoarthritis pain, but Australian vets report diagnosing it in only 25% of their canine patients.
  • For context, 8.3% of the Australian population are estimated to be living with osteoarthritis, which is a stark comparison with almost half of Australia’s dog population (40%) potentially suffer from the silent pain of osteoarthritis.
• Pet owners wait; pain doesn’t. Most Australian dog owners (70%) believe pain affects a dog’s life as much as it affects humans, yet over a third (34%) admit that they wait until symptoms are obvious before acting on their dog’s health.
• Pain overlooked as a normal part of life. While 90% of the surveyed dog owners were able to name at least one sign or symptom associated with canine osteoarthritis, a quarter (25%) of respondents revealed that they consider pain to be a normal part of life for most dogs.

STORY OPPORTUNITIES

There are several story opportunities to explore ahead of World Arthritis Day, including:

• Interview/photo/filming opportunities:
  • Australian families available to talk about the impact osteoarthritis has had on their family pets.
  • Vets and pet owners who are working as a team to combat the debilitating effects of the condition.
• Listicle opportunities:
  • The ‘tell tail’ signs your dog may be living with osteoarthritis
  • They key things you may not know about osteoarthritis in dogs

For all media enquiries, please contact: