AVMA, Hill's target obesity in new broadcast

National Report

-- The AVMA and Hill’s Pet Nutrition have teamed up to create a public service announcement that they hope will spur dialogue on pet obesity between veterinarians and pet owners.

In their fight against pet obesity, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and Hill’s Pet Nutrition have partnered to create the Alliance for Healthirt Pets Obesity and Awareness and Prevention Program. Through the alliance, the AVMA and Hill’s have produced a short public service announcement to rise awareness about pet obesity and hopefully get pet owners to start a dialogue with their veterinarian.

The video was set to be broadcast on 800 public and 500 cable stations beginning in March and running throughout 2009. The announcement is expected to run more than 100,000 times, generating more than 500 million audience impressions.

The hope is that the video will encourage pet owners to make appointments with their local veterinary hospitals to discuss their pet’s nutrition.