As a fellow Pet Parent, I know that we all do our best to raise happy, healthy Pet Kids. The industry has changed through the years to keep up with the high demand of doing better and providing better quality products and services. But what I am most excited about is the shift in perception about pets; from being seen as property to now being cared for as members of our families. And this shift, in fact, continues to create change in our laws and our policies which alters how we live, work and play with our pets.

One organization that has been in the fight for the past 50 years to create a fair and responsible world for animals, pet owners and the pet care community is the Pet Advocacy Network, formerly known as Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC). The Pet Advocacy Network launched the rebrand of the association on March 22, 2022, stating that, "today we announce a comprehensive rebranding with a new name, logo and website that reflects its evolution over the past 50 years as the legislative and regulatory voice of the responsible pet care community."

Additionally, "The Pet Advocacy Network continuously monitors information sources to learn about proposed government bills and actions that could help or harm their members' businesses, and acts, as needed, to advance or stop prospective legislation or regulations before they become law. This work is especially crucial as the percentage of U.S. households containing at least one pet continues to rise while legislative and regulatory challenges to restrict opportunities for pet ownership or impede access to pet care products and services intensify."

After having a great conversation with Josh Jones, Director of Government Affairs and specialist in reptiles and amphibians, he assured me that over the past 50 years their work to protect and advance the priorities of the responsible pet care community has grown exponentially. Even though life is better now for pets, in many places, there is still more education to share and more laws to consider adding or changing to help protect and improve the health and well-being of pets. But the good news is, that the collective feeling is people want to make these changes so there is a lot of work to do for the next 50 years.

To find out more about Pet Advocacy Network and how you can get involved, please visit their website, PetAdvocacy.org