By the VetVerdict team · Published September 9, 2026 · General news summary, not veterinary advice
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The Wise RabbitI keep an ear to the ground so you don't have to. Here's what's actually worth knowing from this week.
Nationwide recall: Northwest Naturals raw pet food (Salmonella & Listeria)
Northwest Naturals, based in Portland, Oregon, is voluntarily recalling its Frozen Chicken Recipe (cat food, 2 lb. bags) and Frozen Raw Diet for Dogs Chicken Recipe (6 lb. bags) after FDA testing found possible Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The recalled products were distributed to retail stores nationwide, and while no illnesses have been confirmed yet, both bacteria can sicken pets and are also a handling risk for humans in the household.
What to do: if you feed this brand, check the lot number and best-by date against the official FDA recall notice, stop feeding it immediately if it matches, and watch your pet for lethargy, fever, or diarrhea.
A newer recall: pet supplement brand flagged for Salmonella
Vet Plus, Inc. issued a recall this week on its "FI" line of pet supplements over potential Salmonella contamination — one of the most recent additions to the FDA's running recall list. Supplement recalls get less attention than food recalls, but the same handling precautions apply, especially in households with young kids or immunocompromised family members.
What to do: check your supplement bottle's lot number against the manufacturer's notice, and wash your hands after handling any recalled product before disposal.
A different kind of recall: fresh dog meals pulled over eye-health reports
Years, a fresh dog food subscription brand, voluntarily recalled all of its fresh meals (apart from one specific product line) as a precaution while it investigates reports of sudden bilateral dry eye in dogs who ate them. This one stands out because it isn't a bacterial contamination case — it's a company pulling product proactively over an unexplained health pattern, which is a slower and less common type of recall to see.
What to do: if your dog eats this brand's fresh meals, check the company's recall notice for which specific products are affected, and mention it to your vet if your dog has had any recent eye irritation or excessive dryness.
New research: large dogs face bigger adoption barriers
Hill's Pet Nutrition's latest State of Shelter Pet Adoption Report, now in its fourth year, found that large dogs consistently wait longer in shelters than smaller ones. The most common barriers adopters cite are the cost of feeding a large dog, physical ability to handle them, and limited living space — and younger adopters (Gen Z and Millennials) are actually nearly twice as likely to consider a large dog than older generations, even though they're also more likely to run into pet housing restrictions.
What it means for you: if you're weighing a large-breed adoption, our Pet Annual Cost Calculator can help you see the real food and care cost difference between a large dog and a smaller one before you commit.
The bigger picture: pet ownership keeps climbing
Roughly 95 million U.S. households now own a pet, with dogs in an estimated 71 million homes and cats in 53 million, according to recently compiled 2026 industry figures. Shelter adoption rates are trending up too — euthanasia rates have fallen from about 10% in 2019 to roughly 8% in 2025 — though most pet dogs and cats still come from breeders, family, or other non-shelter sources rather than shelters directly.
What it means for you: the pet-ownership boom is part of why costs across food, vet care, and grooming have been climbing — all the more reason to budget realistically before bringing a new pet home.
Hill's Pet Nutrition — State of Shelter Pet Adoption Report (cited in the adoption item)
Pet-industry statistics compilations (cited in the ownership item)
This roundup is a general summary of publicly reported pet-industry news, written in our own words, for informational purposes only — it isn't veterinary advice. If your pet is showing any symptoms of illness, contact your veterinarian directly rather than relying on a recall list.
