Senior Pet Con debuts as a virtual event for aging pets and their owners

Senior Pet Con will hold a two-day virtual program on Sept. 12-13, 2026, pairing pet-parent education with RACE-approved continuing education for veterinarians. The launch aims to address a large gap in senior-pet care as millions of dogs and cats enter older age.

Why it matters: - Senior pets now account for about 72 million dogs and cats in the United States, or 44% of the pet population. - Wellness testing finds clinically relevant abnormalities in two out of five senior dogs and three out of five senior cats. - The event is designed to help pet owners and veterinarians spot problems earlier, manage aging better and discuss end-of-life care more openly.

What happened: - Senior Pet Con launched as a first-of-its-kind virtual event for senior pets and the people who care for them. - The event runs Sept. 12-13, 2026, with one day for pet parents and one day for veterinary continuing education. - Sessions will be held 100% virtually, with the goal of making senior-pet education easier to access from home or the clinic.

The details: - Day One, Sept. 12, is built for pet parents and includes live sessions on massage and touch therapy, senior cat care, nutrition with a live cook-along, early problem detection and the emotional side of loving an older animal. - Organizers say research shows 75% of pet owners experience anticipatory grief, and many carry that burden alone. - Day Two, Sept. 13, is RACE-approved continuing education for veterinary professionals. - The veterinary day includes 12 hours of geriatric care content across two channels, with up to 6 CE hours per attendee. - Topics include pain and mobility, senior cats, emergencies, client conversations, peaceful euthanasia and aftercare. - The faculty, hand-picked by Dr. Monica Tarantino, includes Dr. Natasha Olby, DACVIM (Neurology), Distinguished Chair in Gerontology at NC State University; Dr. Katie Bennett, DACVAA; Dr. Petra Cerna, DACVIM; and Dr. Amy Thomson, DAVDC, plus more than a dozen speakers. - The two days conclude with the Pet, Vet, Aftercare Roundtable, described as the first session to bring both sides of the exam room into one conversation about end of life. - Sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. Pacific each day. - Pet parent tickets cost $49. - Veterinary professional tickets cost $149. - Group rates are available for veterinary teams, and special pricing is available during launch week. - Hundreds of people had already registered during the pre-launch period before the July 15 announcement. - Registration is available at seniorpetcon.com.

Between the lines: - Senior Pet Con is meant to fill a training gap in veterinary medicine, where many clinicians receive little formal geriatric education in school. - The event also reflects a broader shift toward treating senior-pet care as a shared responsibility between veterinary teams and pet families. - The roundtable format signals a push to normalize end-of-life conversations earlier and in a more collaborative setting. - Virbac is the presenting sponsor, and the company frames mobility and comfort as central to preserving the human-animal bond.

What's next: - Organizers expect attendance to grow after the launch-week promotion and as the September event approaches. - Tarantino and Greenbaum will lead the program, with Tarantino bringing the Senior Dog Veterinary Society network and Greenbaum bringing an audience built through WhiskerCloud, now PetDesk, and Love, Baxter. - Founding sponsors include Virbac, Gateway Services Inc., Purina, Loyal Animal Health, Fera Pets, PawsTime and Pawsitive Payments. - More event materials, including speaker bios, headshots and the schedule, are available at seniorpetcon.com. - Love, Baxter says it will continue expanding its senior-pet and end-of-life resources and its tree-planting memorial program.

The bottom line: - Senior Pet Con turns senior-pet care into a dedicated virtual event, aiming to give owners practical guidance and veterinarians more specialized training for a growing slice of the pet population.